The property is on Ford Road between Morton Taylor and Sheldon roads. The anchor is slated to be a Lowe's Home Center, says Jeff Goulet, a planner for Canton. "I'm not sure they've signed a lease agreement. Not a lot of details have been worked out yet, but that's the plan," he says.

There's also a rumor that a Barnes and Noble bookstore will be a tenant, Goulet says.

The other project is Canton Town Center, a 350,000-sf retail project on Ford Road between I-275 and Lotz Road, by Kirco Development Corp. of Troy. Goulet says the company has 66 acres, but is only using half of the parcel. A flood plain cuts the land in half, and the north side will be developed while the south side stays untouched. Three connected lots of a total 39,000-sf are also part of the Kirco plan. The company says it could do the project for $33 million but Goulet claims that amount is not accurate.

"That's a low estimate; that's less than $100 per sf. You can't do that anywhere these days," he says.

Another rumor has a Home Expo on the site, but Goulet says those plans are on hold because the furnishing company is halting construction throughout the country.

Both plans need to get planned unit development approval and a final site plan approved by the planning commission, both probably at the May commission meeting, Goulet says. The city council will then bring the two projects up for consideration.

There has been some resident disapproval with both projects, he says. With the Grand Sakwa parcel, people don't want a home improvement store located so close to a residential area, he says. Traffic also is an issue.

"We're in negotiation for what they're going to do to mitigate traffic, what types of road improvements we can get them to put through. There's a general level of support for these projects," he says.

Canton Township has grown to a community of 80,000, with people moving west from Oakland and Wayne counties.

"The retail is following on the heels of these people who have money to spend," Goulet says. "We've had a lot of grocery stores, but not a lot of retail. Now it's following the growth trends."

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Large Retail Developments Proposed For Canton

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