Van Buren Commerce Center to Start Construction Soon

A new warehouse/distribution development is near groundbreaking in Van Buren Township, Mich. The area is already known as an industrial space belt. The township is located off I-275, a few miles from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Milwaukee-based Opus North Corp. is building two 200,000-sf industrial facilities on 28 acres in the township. The company has faced difficulty in getting their plans through. The proposed plans for the Van Buren Commerce Center had been for one 400,000-sf building, but the company cut the building in two after the township Planning Commission objected to the large-sized facility.

Canton Township, which borders the project, also required a review the plans. Larry Krause, senior vice president, told GlobeSt.com that construction should begin sometime in September.”We’ve owned this land for a number of years, we thought this was the best use for it. It’s a good location from a warehouse and distribution standpoint,” he says.

Opus already entered the Detroit market with the construction of the 165,000-sf ADVO building in 1997, about two miles away from the new project. Krause sayss setting up a Detroit office is a possibility. For now, they’re using Colliers International as the leasing agent for the new buildings.