By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE — Construction is set to begin next month on an extension of Brest Road that will also help spur business development and bring new jobs to the city.
City Council unanimously approved the plan June 4 following a presentation by City Administrator Brandon Fournier.
Completion of the road from Allen east toward Reeck Road and the AJM Packaging facility will, according to a memo Fouriner read to council, be paid for by a Community Development Block Grant of $850,000 that was received last year.
“A condition of the grant requires that the street be dedicated as a public roadway allowing for public access,” Fournier said.
Construction is expected to begin next month, a continuation of an ambitious expansion plan that AJM Packaging proposed in 2012. The city acquired ownership of the property last month, and Fournier said completion of the the company’s corporate offices is expected to bring approximately 200 new jobs to the city.
AJM Packaging purchased in 2012 five parcels of property near Northline and Allen roads, and city officials approved a rezoning of 16.2 acres for commercial use to facilitate AJM’s relocation of its world headquarters from Bloomfield Hills. AJM expanded its production facility on Reeck Road that year by 50,000 square feet.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)