Preliminary plan for Phoenix Mill OK'd by Plymouth

The Phoenix Mill in Plymouth Township may live up to its name as plans to restore and repurpose the building received preliminary approval from the planning commission recently.
The mill was one of three operated by Ford Motor Co. which shut them downdecades ago. The Phoenix property was closed in 1947 along with the Wilcox and Newburgh mills, all built in the 1920s and designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn. All three mills are located in Hines Park and the proposed sale of the sites has been the subject of protests by a the Save Hines Park group.

Developer Rick Cox purchased the Phoenix Mill, located at 14973 Northville Road in the park. He told the members of the Plymouth Township Planning Commission that he plans to reopen the facility next summer as a restaurant and banquet center, if all the necessary permits and approvals are forthcoming.
Cox said that he hopes roofing repairs will begin this month and that about 75 percent of the window frames in the building have been repaired and are awaiting glass installation.
“It's going to start to take shape as to what the building is going to look like with the fresh glass,” he said. His plans include a facility to be used for weddings and large events that could accommodate a few hundred people as well as a small restaurant to serve cyclers and hikers in the park. Cox said his plan includes limited parking at the site but would provide a shuttle service from nearby hotels and other venues for guests.
While Cox did not present a site plan to the commission members, he said that once the glass is installed in the windows, the concept for the building appearance would be more obvious. Commission members granted Cox, who also owns the Northville Valve Plant, preliminary approval for the renovation.
The Wilcox Mill, located at 230 Wilcox Road in Plymouth, is also under consideration as an art studio for Tony Roko who hopes to purchase the site and install a children's art center and sculpture garden at the site. No plans have yet been announced for Newburgh Mill at 37401 Hines Dr. in Livonia.