Residential development planned at site of abandoned school
Members of the Westland City Council were expected to approve a proposal to demolish Marshall Upper Elementary School to allow a new 68-unit single-family home development on the property.
The Wayne Westland Community Schools District is offering to sell the abandoned building and land to the city for about $1 million to facilitate the development. The school was closed in 2020 due to declining enrollment and has been the subject of criticism and safety concerns from neighbors for several years. Neighbors of the Marquette Street building claim the abandoned site has impacted their own property values and city officials have acknowledged reports of break-ins and broken windows at the site.
Currently, Westland officials are reviewing a proposal to develop this property into a subdivision with single family homes starting at about $300,000. The proposed development would require the city to use money from the Brownfield Redevelopment fund, tax capture funds utilized specifically to clean up contaminated sites. In the case of the Marshall property, given the age of the building, there are potential concerns of asbestos within the school, officials said. Brownfield funds would be used to pay for a portion of cleanup and site remediation costs.
The total Brownfield capture of the Marshall Brownfield Middle school is projected to be $4,196,426 over 10 years, according to officials. The total eligible cost of the developer, Pulte Homes, is $1,868,405, which should be repaid within 5 years of the development. The remaining 5 years will include $1,868,405 in Tax Increment Financing Authority (TIFA) revenue to the Westland Brownfield Revolving Authority.
Another $49,821 will go to the Michigan state revolving fund and $409,756 will be used for administrative fees to maintain the administration and ensure all compliance measures are met. Officials claim the development will bring more than $700,000 in new local tax revenue to the community. Currently, they said, the property contributes nothing to the tax rolls in the city.
The city previously explored turning the 120,000-square-foot facility into a recreation/community center, a project which included a potential YMCA partnership.
That plan was abandoned due to the increased costs of asbestos remediation, demolition and reconstruction at the site.
Results of the councilmembers vote on the proposal were not available at press time.
