News
Commerce DDA taps Insite to help market property
December 14, 2011
By: Angela Niemi
For the past month, cars have been traversing the M-5 roundabout and cruising along Martin Parkway, which means the Commerce Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA)-owned land along the parkway is primed for development to begin.
One way the DDA’s marketing committee is looking to spur retailers to come into the area is through the hiring of Insite Commercial, a metro Detroit area commercial real estate company that will help market the DDA’s property. Insite was one of eight firms that were interviewed for the job based on multiple reasons.
Insite has been retained under a 24-month agreement and will be paid on a sliding scale based on commission.
“We would be dealing with the president of the company, who is a local person and who has knowledge of the DDA area,” said Kathleen Jackson, the township’s planner who also is the director of the Commerce DDA. “We just felt it was the best match.”
The DDA has been busy putting out feelers to both national and local retailers.
Jackson said she is hoping to bring in a “mix of uses” into the DDA district, which includes property from two golf courses — the Links at Pinewood and El Dorado — that the DDA purchased several years ago. The former El Dorado course is located north of Pontiac Trail west of Haggerty Road, immediately adjacent to the M-5/Pontiac Trail/Martin Parkway roundabout site.
“We’re thinking that some portion may be residential with single-family homes or even multiple residences,” she said. “And then we anticipate the rest to be commercial (development) in the form of retail, restaurants, and hospitality. We’re looking to add a type of senior facility and perhaps some type of sports venue such as an indoor hockey rink or indoor soccer facility.”
Of the 350 acres of DDA-owned land in the district, only about 220 acres are available for development due to wetlands and paths.