Buzz-creating Topgolf/Chik-fil-A project could hinge on Warren Rd. entry/exit point
Canton Township Planning Commissioners want TOP CANTON, LLC to find a way to add an entrance exit to its sprawling development near this site on Warren Road, just east of I-275.
Enthusiasm and concern merged at Monday night’s Canton Township Planning Commission meeting during the hour-long portion focused on the potential construction of two popular restaurants (Chik-fil-A and Portillo’s), a Topgolf indoor/outdoor recreation facility and a four-story hotel on 55 acres of property located between I-275 and Lotz Road (the property is bordered to the north and south by Warren and Ford roads, respectively).
Commissioners reiterated their excitement for the project — Commissioner Sommer Foster said she has never seen so much public interest in a development in all her years on the planning commission — however, their enthusiasm was subdued by multiple concerns, most notably the plan’s single-entry/exit off Ford Road and the potential traffic congestion patrons may encounter once they entered the few-of-its-kind multi-faceted development.
Steve Robinson, vice president of acquisitions and development for Broder Sachse Real Estate, was urged by Vice Chair Doug Weber to attempt to figure out a way to add an entry/exit point off Warren Road so that potentially disruptive traffic stacking near the Ford Road entrance could be alleviated.
The developer’s plan currently includes a single-lane emergency vehicles-only entry/exit point off Warren Road.
Warren Road entry point not feasible
Robinson said a number of factors — including the area’s proximity to a bridge that travels over I-275, and a steep downward slope in the land just south of Warren Road — make adding a Warren Road road entry/exit point next to impossible.
“The Warren Road issue cannot be a condition of this project because the math does not work,” Robinson said, adding that a required deceleration lane at the point wound create traffic back-ups onto the Warren Road bridge over I-275. “There simply isn’t enough room.
“I stood on that bridge a year and a half ago and I knew it was going to be a problem (to add an entry point there), and it’s still a problem.”
Weber encouraged the developer to go back to the drawing board.
“I’ve seen many complex projects overcome far more complicated issues than this,” Weber said.
Not giving up
Robinson said his firm would continue to work with the Michigan Department of Transportation and investigate solutions to the single-entry issue.
Commissioners also shared concerns about traffic congestion patrons would face once they entered the 55-acre complex — noting Chik-fil-A drive-thrus are notorious for long lines of vehicles.
A Chik-fil-A spokesperson emphasized that using the chaos-creating congestion that unfolded when one of the chain’s restaurants opened in Novi in 2020 is an unfair comparison in 2024.
“When the Novi location opened in 2020, COVID had shut down a number of restaurants and there was no dine-in option, so, yes, the drive-thru traffic was unusually heavy when Novi opened,” she said. “Currently, 40% of our business is from dine-in customers, which drastically cuts down the drive-thru lines. The long lines are being alleviated, too, as we open more restaurants in this area.”
‘Honeymoon period’ could be challenging
The spokesperson admitted the early stages — or “honeymoon period” — of the potential Chik-fil-A opening in Canton would “be challenging, but all of the businesses (in the proposed development) are committed to making it work, whatever it takes.”
Broder Sachse Real Estate initially presented its plan to develop the property during the planning commission’s Dec. 18 meeting. The plan was approved for rezoning, however, the commission deferred the approval of the developer’s application for a Planned Development District to the Jan. 8 meeting or until the township’s traffic study was submitted.
Results of the traffic study — which sided with the developers with conditions — were received just days before the Jan. 8 meeting.
Broder Sachse is hoping to break ground on the project in 2024, with a 2025 opening in its forecast. However, there are still several stages of governmental approvals that must be cleared before the first shovel meets dirt.
