Zoning Change Requested For Office Tower

TROY, MI-Burton-Katzman Development Co. is asking the city council tonight to allow the change of zoning on a small piece of property for a new office project. The company wants to build a seven- to 13-story, 300,000-sf office building at the northwest corner of I-75 and Big Beaver Road.

The building would go up on 5.5 acres of land the company recently purchased from Magna International Inc., a Canadian automotive supplier.

Magna built a facility on part of the land, but did not need the entire parcel.

Officials from Burton-Katzman have received approval from the city planning commission to change the zoning of a 2 acre piece of property to a higher commercial use. Magna’s site is mostly zoned high-office, but the new parcel is vacant, and has research center zoning.

Burton-Katzman paired with Sterling Bank and Trust of Southfield to buy the land. The parcel is across the street from the 25-story Top of Troy building, the largest building in the city, and is surrounded by the top Southeast Michigan office developments, including Kirco’s 500,000-sf Columbia Center I and II about a half-mile east of the site and Kojaian Cos.’ recently-opened Troy Corporate Center two miles to the northwest.