Transit users in Troy, located to the north of Detroit, spent the weather standing outside waiting for trains and buses while a $6.3 million (indoor) transit facility sat unused due to a legal dispute.
Lauren Abdel-Razzaq tells the curious tale of the Troy Transit center—a $6.3 million transit facility, 13 years in the making, with access to Amtrak and SMART bus services. The facility completed construction in the fall but has yet to open to the public.
“The city is committed to gaining control of the land, which the judge ruled belongs to developer Grand/Sakwa Properties, the owner of the Midtown Squareshopping center surrounding the transit center,” reports Abdel-Razzaq.
The developer of the site originally donated the land under the stipulation that the city had the money by 2010. “The city secured an $8.4 million federal grant, but the developer says the money was not acquired before the deadline, meaning the land reverted back to the developer.”
In another curious wrinkle, the developer claimed in its lawsuit to win back the land that the city failed to adequately plan for the traffic impacts of the new facility.
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