Gov. Jennifer Granholm says the state would appeal as soon as possible. Last fall, the state legislature approved selling the land in Washtenaw County's York Township to Toyota for $9 million. The governor and other state leaders wanted the land to go to Toyota so the Japanese automaker could build a research and development center there, a facility that could bring more than 1,000 high-tech auto jobs to Michigan. Toyota already has one R&D facility in the area.
But DPG-York LLC, part of a West Bloomfield Township property group that wanted to develop the area primarily for residential use, offered the state more than $25 million for the land. DPG filed suit after its bid was rejected.
The state says Toyota is unwilling to close on the land purchase until the legal matters are settled. Time is of the essence in the appeal, the state argues. "Toyota, a major corporation in the fiercely competitive and complex global automative industry, is certain to act as any business would. Toyota may well move on to greener pastures outside the State of Michigan, if [DPG's] lawsuit is not dismissed," the state's appeal claims.
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