The acreage at the intersection of Plymouth and Northville townships was once home to a prison.
Since 2017, it’s been the home of the Michigan International Technology Center. And on Monday, the MITC got even bigger. The center, the focus of an 800-acre, emerging high-tech and research and development collaborative real estate initiative, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of what MITC officials say is “critical infrastructure” at Ridge 5 Corporate Park.
Located at Ridge and 5 Mile on the border of the two townships, Ridge 5 Corporate Park is a 60-acre industrial subdivision within MITC.
Developed and managed by Novi, Mich.-based Hillside Investments, it houses nine custom, build-to-suit lots, designed to house international high-tech, light industrial and R&D corporations. Total capital investment for the entire Ridge 5 project is estimated at $100 million. Construction began in 2019 and is expected to be complete by 2026.
MITC consultant Gary Roberts said Ridge 5 Corporate Park “fulfills a critical component of the vision for MITC.”
“We’re creating a world-class, commercial real-estate environment, nestled among some of SE Michigan’s most desirable communities and surrounded by the world’s leading automotive research and development firms,” Roberts said. “We look forward to more high-tech businesses calling MITC home.”
The MITC land was once part of the prison farm at the Detroit House of Corrections from the 1920s to the 1980s. DeHoCo later became a state correctional facility, closed permanently at the end of 2004 and was redeveloped into the MITC in 2017.
The ribbon-cutting event included remarks from Wayne County Executive, Warren C. Evans; Plymouth Township Supervisor and MITC Authority Board Vice Chairman Kurt Heise; Northville Township Supervisor and MITC Authority Board Chairman Bob Nix and Jaimey Roth, principal of Hillside Investments.
“Members of the Ridge 5 community will find themselves in a serene setting with beautiful views in all directions,” said Roth. “The community includes a nearly 1.5-mile walking path, designed by renowned landscape architects, PEA Inc., that loops around its perimeter and will connect to the Coldwater Springs Pathway. At Ridge 5, employees and guests will find themselves immersed in the beauty of nature.”
