Airport City Hopes to Land New Projects

These include a 300-acre parcel at Smith and Vining roads and a 100-acre parcel along Pennsylvania Road between Inkster and Middlebelt roads, he notes.

These two pieces of land are slated for new development, Keyes says.

The 300-acre piece is owned by Kojaian Cos. of Bloomfield Hills, MI, a developerknown for its large office projects in the Detroit area. The word is that another office project, tentatively named the Romulus Corporate Center, is slated to be built on the site. Kojaian officials could not be reached for comment.

Keyes tells GlobeSt.com Kojaian has submitted preliminary drawings, butnothing more.

"We have a couple of schematics, but no word on square footage or number of buildings," Keyes says.

Another major mixed-use project is slated for the 100-acre site. He says Highland Development and Centex Homes have submitted a planned-unit development proposal to build about 200 single family homes, townhouses and about 14,000 sf of retail space.

"They've submitted engineering drawings to the city, and we're working on permits, and reviewing their documents," Keyes says. "They're looking at about 30 to 60 days before the city will make any kind of decision. I know they 're anxious to get the ball rolling."

The city is actively looking at ways to enable the growth of the city, largely dominated by residential homes and the airport. For example, Keyes says the Monroe Corridor has 14 hotels, but the city is trying to entice a restaurant or two to set up shop.

"All residents have to leave if they want to do any significant shopping," Keyes says. "We don't have any retail, per se. We're trying to entice grocery stores and other types of retail, so the citizens are better served.