Ashley Capital has commenced construction on Livonia West Commerce Center 2 (LWC2), a 365,000 square foot industrial facility at the intersection of Amrhein and Eckles Roads on the former GM Delco Chassis Plant land in Livonia, Michigan. The City of Livonia and Livonia Chamber of Commerce held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate on July 21st, 2021.
Maureen Miller Brosnan, Mayor of Livonia, Michigan, was thrilled to take part in her first groundbreaking since becoming Mayor in 2020. Brosnan was accompanied by numerous community and business leaders, including representatives from the State of Michigan, Wayne County, and RACER Trust. The new industrial real estate project in Livonia is expected to make a major, positive economic impact in the city.
“For all of us, this is important. Because this is an area that was a contaminated piece of property that did not see a ready opportunity to redevelop,” said Maureen Brosnan. “The fact that we had RACER Trust come together with Ashley Capital, it was the ideal mix.”
A Brief History of the Site
The site for LWC2 is part of a larger parcel that once housed the former General Motors Delco Chassis Plant. The entire site was transferred to the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response (RACER) Trust after GM declared bankruptcy. Ashley Capital acquired a portion of the land in 2014, with the remaining parcel acquired in early 2021 for LWC2.
The construction of the new industrial building highlights a major achievement for the property: it is the final parcel to be redeveloped on the site of the former plant, which finished operating in the early 1990s.
The industrial site has now rebounded, anchored by e-commerce giant Amazon, which opened a 1 million square-foot fulfillment center in 2017, and Republic National Distributing Company, who opened a warehouse on the property in 2019.
Once Ashley Capital completes LWC2, the number of jobs in the area is expected to total more than 1,700, said Dan West, president of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce.
Ashley Capital is Now Marketing the Space to Find a Tenant
Susan Harvey, Senior Vice President of Ashley Capital, confirmed that work on the new industrial real estate project in Livonia is expected to be completed by Spring 2022. Ashley Capital is marketing the property and expects to ink a deal in the near future.
“We have expressions of interest for space in the property, but Ashley Capital has developed almost all of its properties on a speculative basis. So that’s not new for us and it’s worked out,” said the Senior VP.
The redevelopment of the site is a boon for all of Wayne County said County Executive Warren Evans. Warren also attended the groundbreaking as a community leader in the area.
The presence of attractive business opportunities is what drives people to want to locate to Wayne County, he said. “I want the employees, when they come, to see Wayne County in a way that says, ‘I want to buy a home here. I want to live here.’ That’s how you cycle the economy and do good things,” said Evans.