52% of property owners approve Special Assessment Lighting District;  Added signatures still being sought

Property owners with more than 52 percent of the lineal feet along Gratiot have approved the Special Lighting District along Gratiot.  Additional signatures continue to be sought.  The Gratiot DDA must collect signatures from owners of more than 50 percent of the lineal feet along the corridor for the Clinton Township Board of Trustees to approve the program.  Once approved, the Gratiot DDA plans to install energy efficient LED fixtures that promise to dramatically reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs.  The 166 LED streetlights for Gratiot from 14 Mile Road to north of Metropolitan Parkway will burn five times longer than traditional high pressure sodium lamps and would require less than half the energy.  Though more costly to install, the DDA anticipates that the new lights would pay for themselves in 5 or 6 years.  The average property owner will pay less than $150 per year for the median lights that includes construction, energy costs and maintenance (See August issue of The Avenue under Newsletters for added info.)

Gratiot spells big sales for long-time automotive dealers

Three of the world's top sales leaders in domestic car and truck sales are right here on Gratiot. Jim Causly Pontiac-GMC, Mike Dorian Ford, and Moran Chevrolet are all outstanding representatives of their respective automotive lines, consistently scoring as a top 10 dealership for the past decade.

New Ford Fusion Hybrid reports 41 miles to a gallon in the city.

"Our community is an automotive community, and it shows in how our customers have rewarded dealers in the area," says Vice President Carolyn Dorian.  "Our sales rely on repeat business and word-of-mouth recommendations to friends and family members.

Rob Causley recently oversaw the reconstruction of his dealership and ended the sales year as the number one Pontiac-GMC dealer in the nation.  Pat Moran Chevrolet was ranked number eight in the country.  Pat Moran looks forward to customers seeing the many new models GM plans to introduce in the coming months, including the electric Volt that will debut in 2010.

New irrigation rules in effect May 15th

Clinton Township has adopted new water irrigation rules in order to restrain water and sewer rate increases from the City of Detroit.  Effective May 15 through October 15 business and residential water sprinkling systems using automatic timers may not be used between the hours of 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. EST.  Systems using hoses and manual watering methods may not be used between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.  Odd addresses may irrigate on odd days of the month; even addresses on even days of the month.  For more info call 286-9300.

Gratiot attracting the eye of new local businesses and national franchises

When DDA member Pete Thomas decided he wanted to expand his Cash Exchange business, he thought long and hard about moving to another part of the township or, maybe, even outside of the community.  After examining his options, Thomas purchased a recently vacated 10,000 sq. ft. property on Gratiot north of 15 Mile Road that more than doubles his office space at an affordable price.

Thomas even received some important support from the township when the Board of Trustees voted to reduce the amount of parking spaces needed for the larger business since additional parking was non-existent in the immediate area.

It was a good example of business and government working together to help promote our community's growth, Thomas said.  "After looking elsewhere, I wanted to stay on Gratiot because of the high traffic count, the fact that my customer base is in the area, and I am confident that more good things are about to happen here," Thomas added.  So confident in the area is Thomas that he also purchased the adjacent shopping plaza to his new building.

Another example of growth is the construction of a new Hampton Inn which has begun along Gratiot.  The new 93-room facility will go behind the Aldi food market between 14 Mile and Quinn.  The 3-story hotel represents a multi-million dollar investment that is expected to spur other growth in the area.

The Gratiot Downtown Development Authority is a vision for the future

Located along the Gratiot Avenue Corridor from 14 Mile and extending past 16 Mile to Wellington Crescent, this 3 mile stretch is on the road to becoming a showcase for Macomb County shopping, business, dining, entertainment, etc.

The Clinton Township Downtown Development Authority commissioned the Gratiot Avenue Redevelopment Plan to provide immediate strategies for corridor beautification and redevelopment to position Clinton Township as leader in Michigan's urban land-use initiative.

We have a great vision for the DDA and we welcome input and ideas from business owners and residents.

To learn more about the DDA, attend a monthly DDA meeting, view past meeting minutes, or download the Gratiot Avenue Redevelopment Plan, click here.