Planning Commission backs Somerset West concept plan, recommends U‑M medical facility anchor move forward

The City of Troy Planning Commission voted to recommend city council approve the Somerset West Concept Development Plan and the Phase 1A Preliminary Development Plan, a redevelopment proposal for the former Kmart/large-office site on Big Beaver that would include a 250,000‑square‑foot University of Michigan medical facility and mixed uses across roughly 40 acres.

The recommendation matters because the project would convert a long‑vacant corporate headquarters site into a mixed‑use node anchored by a constitutional corporation health facility, with the applicants estimating a quarter‑billion dollar capital investment and the potential for hundreds of thousands of patient visits annually. The commission’s approval is a recommendation; the final decision rests with Troy City Council.

Planning staff told commissioners the item is a two‑step PUD (planned unit development) request: a concept development plan for the whole site and a preliminary development plan for Phase 1A. The concept plan submitted by developers Forbes, Frankel, Troy Ventures LLC proposes up to 500,000 square feet of office, up to 300,000 square feet of retail, up to 750 residential units, up to 250 hotel rooms and up to 17 acres expected to be sold to University of Michigan Health. Brent Carlisle of the planning department reviewed the PUD process and the standards the commission must weigh, including consistency with the master plan, public benefits, transitions to neighboring uses and mitigation of transportation impacts.

Developer representative Robert Forbes walked the commission through renderings and said the University of Michigan parcel is focused on the south side of Cunningham Road with additional acres north of Cunningham reserved for potential future medical/ancillary facilities. Forbes told the commission: “The minimum we’re gonna do is build that football field in front of you, and it is gonna be the nicest football field in Oakland County.” He also described the U‑of‑M building as a four‑story, roughly 250,000‑square‑foot specialty facility and described an anticipated construction start in mid‑June and a patient‑care opening the following February.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on several recurring topics: - Which precise 17 acres will be conveyed to the University of Michigan and whether the concept map or the PUD agreement language will control that designation; City Attorney Julie Dufresne told commissioners, “The PUD agreement is going to control over the city zoning ordinance,” and recommended the commission include any desired clarifications in its resolution to council. - Open space sizing: the plan includes a 1.1‑acre park and a one‑acre open space south of the U‑M parcel; the applicant said the one‑acre area will not be expanded at this time and offered a narrative explaining that stance. - Allowed uses: the applicant removed many previously permitted uses but retained townhomes and a drive‑through use for a financial institution; commissioners debated whether to require removal of those uses. - Phasing and timing: the applicant provided a five‑phase diagram but did not commit to firm timelines for later phases; planning staff explained concept approval is typically good for five years while preliminary development approvals are effective for three years and can be extended administratively in limited circumstances.

Several commissioners said they wanted greater predictability written into the PUD agreement (for example, minimum uses or timing), while staff and the developer explained the tradeoff between predictability and market flexibility. Dufresne and Carlisle both told the commission the PUD agreement and the concept development plan should be consistent and that specific recommendations for council should be included in the commission’s resolution if the commissioners wanted council to consider tighter commitments.

A public commenter who identified herself as a longtime community member thanked commissioners and suggested staff provide concise briefing materials before meetings.

Outcome: The Planning Commission voted to recommend city council approve the Somerset West Concept Development Plan and the Phase 1A Preliminary Development Plan. Motion by Mister Fox, second by Mister Faison. Roll call recorded all members voting yes; outcome: recommendation to city council to grant concept development plan and preliminary development plan approval. The Planning Commission also recorded a list of specific items it had asked the applicant to address during subsequent PUD and preliminary plan work (acreage specificity for the 17‑acre U‑M parcel, material samples, landscaping buffers, phasing detail and use‑list refinements).

What’s next: The commission’s action is a recommendation to City Council; council will consider the PUD agreement, the concept development plan and the preliminary development plan, and the council may accept, modify or reject the commission’s recommendations. The developer and University of Michigan told commissioners they expect construction drawings for the U‑M facility to be substantially complete and, if council approvals follow, to proceed quickly with site work and vertical construction.

Speakers quoted or attributed in this article appear in the speaker list below. Ending: The commission approved the recommendation; council review and the final PUD agreement language remain the next formal steps.