County commission to vote on sale of mills

Artist's rendering of plan for Wilcox Mill renovation.

Tony Roko and Richard Cox each had something special to be thankful for last week. During an overflowing public meeting of the Wayne County Commission Committee on Public Services Nov. 26, committee members voted unanimously to send both Roko and Cox' proposals to purchase the Wilcox Mill and Newburgh Mill, respectively, to the full commission for a vote. Roko's plan for the historic Wilcox mill, built by Henry Ford and designed by famed architect Albert Kahn, restores the abandoned building to public use as an art education facility and studio.

Cox, of Northville, plans to transform the Newburgh Mill property in Livonia into a distillery and a coffee shop. Currently, the Newburgh Mill houses the Wayne County Sheriff Mounted Division which would be relocated to land being purchased by the county on Farmington Road in Westland, according to a spokesman. That sale, he added, is still under negotiation and has not been finalized.

The current Wilcox Mill has not been used for decades.

County officials publicly announced the plan to sell the mills last year, noting the properties had been abandoned for decades and were falling into serious disrepair. The mills were built in 1922 by Henry Ford as part of his “village industries” program. Ford Motor Co. donated all three of the mills to Wayne County in the late 1940s but for decades both the Wilcox Mill and Phoenix Mill were used only for storage and eventually fenced off and abandoned, prior to the sale of the Phoenix property last year.
In announcing the plan for the sale of the sites, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said the county did not have the funds to maintain or renovate the abandoned properties. 
Roko, 49, is a Plymouth resident and a graduate of the Plymouth-Canton schools. He has a national reputation for his innovative art and has done commissions for several serious collectors across the country and his art is owned by several celebrities.  He began his career on the line at Ford Motor Co. after graduating from Canton High School. His artistic talent was soon discovered by supervisors and nurtured by corporate management, who assigned him numerous art projects throughout the plants.  He has also completed several art commissions for the auto manufacturer and was recently awarded a commission as part of the restoration of the former Michigan Central Train Station in Detroit.
He said he was both relieved and happy after the committee members agreed to send the plan for his Art Foundation center to the full commission for consideration. He said he has been interested in the 5,500 square-foot building for nearly two decades as a perfect site for an art studio. Currently, Roko's Art Foundation provides art education to disadvantaged youth in a studio in the Plymouth Arts and Recreation Complex (PARC).  He said that he and his partner in the foundation, Greg Hoffman, have a vision for the abandoned and derelict mill.
“I'm relieved,” he said after the committee meeting last week. “I think the commissioners voted in the way that their constituents expected them to.”
Roko and supporters of the Art Foundation sale noted that the mill building is boarded up, fenced and off limits to the public and has served as a dumping ground for 70 years.
“A historic site is important, but it can't be our financial priority,” Evans said earlier this year about the plan to sell several unused county properties. “Those mills either die a slow death or become a part of a turnaround, which is a public-private partnership.” Roko has reportedly offered a bid in the mid-$300,000 range for the building and the 3.4-acres of property.
The bid for Newburgh Mill is in the $400,000 range, but no confirmation on the sales amounts was forthcoming.
During the meeting, members of the Save Hines Park group expressed their objections to the potential sale of the properties. Nancy Darga, a former member of the Northville City Council and retired chief of design for the Wayne County parks, said the vote by the commissioners was a betrayal of voters who continue to approve taxes to support the parks.
“We've been betrayed by the commissioners who we have given $250 million to take care of the parks,” Darga said. She and members of the group presented petitions with more than 15,000 signatures protesting the sale of the mills to the commissioners.
Conditions of the sales include restrictions on the development and prohibit the destruction of the mills. The new owners are required by the sale documents to pursue historic recognition of the sites and to provide public use of the former mills. The county has also demanded first right of refusal should the properties ever be placed for sale in the future. If Roko or Cox should ever attempt to sell the property, Wayne County would have the first option to buy the mills and the land before other offers could be considered.
Assistant County Executive Khalil Rahal said the county had negotiated a purchase agreement that is as close to a lease as possible.
Darga was critical of the attempted compromise and said that if the county already sold the land, there is no impetus for them to buy it back. “It doesn't protect us (the taxpayers). It's better than nothing, but it doesn't protect the land,” she said. “We don't want it in private ownership.
Support for the sale has been publicly announced by Canton Township Supervisor Pat Williams, Livonia Mayor Dennis Wright and Westland Mayor William R. Wild along with several other area elected officials.