Top Canton LLC gets green light; here’s when construction could start

 Top Canton LLC gets green light; here’s when construction could start

Construction on Chik-fil-A and Portillo’s could start as early as May.

The highly-anticipated Top Canton, LLC development — which includes a Chik-fil-A, Portillo’s and Topgolf entertainment center — was unanimously approved by the Canton Planning Commission Monday night following years of planning, site-plan adjustments and traffic studies.

The development will be divided into two phases: Construction on the first phase, which could begin as early as May, will include the building of the Chik-fil-A and Portillo’s restaurants, which will be located just north of Ford Road.

Construction of the Topgolf facility, which includes a massive outdoor driving-range facility enhanced with amenities, will be phase two of the project, so construction won’t start until early-2026 at the earliest, developer Steve Robinson confirmed Monday.

Topgolf is a sprawling lighted driving range that offers games and amenities
Topgolf is a sprawling lighted driving range that offers games and amenities

The development was initially supposed to include a hotel; however, that project was eliminated in order to preserve wetlands that are located north of the development and south of Warren Road.

The development will be built in the current wooded area just east of I-275 between Ford Road and Warren Road – and just west of  Village Squire Apartments and Lotz Road.

Preserving wetlands

Eliminating the hotel allowed developers to move the Topgolf facility more south to preserve several acres of green space south of Warren Road.

There will be an emergency-only entrance/exit off of Warren Road.

Planning Commission’s primary concerns before approving the development centered on timing of lights near the Ford Road entrance to the development and at the intersection of Ford Road and Lotz Road, which is just east of the development’s entrance.

Traffic lights timing issues

The Michigan Department of Transportation and Wayne County — who will control the road-related elements of the project — have told Canton Township  they cannot adjust the timing of the lights until the businesses are open and they can assess the impact of the expected increased traffic.

The development site is shaded in green
The development site is shaded in green

Multiple commissioners argued that the timing issues of the traffic lights need to be addressed as soon as possible — preferably before Portillo’s and Chik-Fil-A open — so traffic in that area does not create safety and traffic-flow issues.

Traffic studies conducted by the developers confirmed there will be an uptick in traffic in the area once the two popular restaurants (and later Topgolf) open.

Parking spaces vary

The developers explained that Chik-fil-A has roughly half the parking spaces than Portillo’s (40-something to 90-something) because a higher percentage of Chil-fil-A customers historically pick up their food in the drive-thru, while Portillo’s patrons are more likely to eat inside the restaurant.

The 2,500-square-foot Portillo’s facility will be about one-third of the size of the recently-opened Portillo’s in Livonia. Robinson revealed the smaller building size is a recently enacted strategy by Portillo’s to build smaller restaurants.

Developers assured the planning commission members that cars stacking in the Chik-fil-A drive-through lanes will not create back-ups onto Ford Road.

“Chik-fil-A has been doing this a long time and they perfected protocols that move the lines along as quickly as possible,” Robinson said.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.

Ed Wright

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