Finding the center in Center Line

On an early January day, Dennis Champine is preparing for a new year in the city of Center Line. It's one he hopes will bring change to this stalwart blue-collar town in southwest Macomb County.

Champine, who serves as city manager and director of the city's Downtown Development Authority, is working on building a town center at the intersection of Van Dyke and 10 Mile Rd. He's building on plans and ordinances adopted over the past year and a half which lay the groundwork for change in a city that has seen little of it in recent memory.

For Champine, who was born and raised just about a half-mile to the south of his office on 10 Mile, the plan represents a way to move his city into the future.

"This is my stomping grounds," he claims with pride. "This is where I hung out as a kid, and it has been a big part of my life as an adult as well."

Center Line is a residential and manufacturing town of approximately 8,100 people. It's geographically surrounded by the state's third-largest city, Warren, with 135,000 residents and an even larger daytime population owing to workers at the GM Technical Center.

At present, there's little to physically differentiate Center Line from its behemoth neighbor. The main thoroughfares connecting the two cities, 10 Mile and Van Dyke, contain a similar mix of manufacturing, retail, restaurants and car dealerships surrounded by older housing stock.

But Champine wants to see that change. He's hoping to attract and retain millennials to the city, which has a median age of 41. And that means building the amenities millennials want.

Dennis Champine. Photo by David Lewinski.

"My goal is to create a downtown for our city that still gives you that small-town lifestyle and feel, but also reaches out to the larger population that surrounds us," he says. "Southwest Macomb County doesn't really have a downtown. And we're going to take advantage of that."

A revived Downtown Development Authority

Champine is partnering closely with mayor Bob Binson, who took office in September of 2015 shortly after Champine assumed his dual roles at the city. Their vision for Van Dyke at 10 Mile is a walkable village district with storefront retail on the first floor and residential uses above. He'd love to see a craft brewery somewhere in the mix.

To implement this vision, the city has reactivated its Downtown Development Authority. The DDA had been in place since 1999, and a tax Increment financing program (TIF) in place since that time generated revenue over the years, but little in the way of concerted action.

"There was no plan," says Champine. "No one in city government was pushing for development in the downtown district."

Under Champine and Binson, the city has revived the DDA, updated the DDA master plan and instituted an innovative facade improvement grant program for businesses that emphasizes green infrastructure. Other planned programs include gateway signage, enhanced wayfinding, streetscape maintenance and online marketing.

Mayor Bob Binson in his office at Binson's Medical Equipment & Supply. Photo by David Lewinski.

And a new zoning code, adopted in December, designates a "City Center Redevelopment District" along Van Dyke from Stephens to just north of 10 Mile. The code allows for three-to-four story structures in the district built right up to the sidewalk line.

"We are looking to have something unique to single us out from Warren, because you've got to come through Warren to get to us," says Binson. He thinks the city can offer something more to lunchtime crowds near the GM Tech Center who frequent the adjacent Applebee's and Olive Garden.

"We would like to make people want to drive past them and come to see us," he says. He points to existing city gems like the Te Roma bar, Martin's Ham & Cornbeef, the Dairy Freezzz and Butter-Nut Bakery as providing a solid foundation for future business growth.

"The hardest part will be changing the perception that we are part of Warren," says Binson. "We've been an independent city for 80 years."

Overcoming challenges

According to Center Line's long-time planning consultant, Dave Scurto of Carlisle Wortman Associates, the city has already overcome the biggest hurdle.

"The first challenge is getting the willpower, and getting a champion," says Scurto. "Center Line has overcome this fantastically. Everybody's working together with the same vision and message. The mayor and the council understand the business community."

That's important for attracting private development, says Scurto, because potential investors want to know that everything's running smoothly in city administration.

Scurto, who has been working with the city since 1990, says a big challenge associated with redeveloping older communities like Center Line is their existing infrastructure.

"They've got buildings in place," he says. "You have smaller blocks and existing infrastructure that new developers may want to get rid of. So costs associated with demolition go up compared with someone going to develop a greenfield. But it can be done."

David Scurto at City of Center Line offices. Photo by David Lewinski.

Scurto points to another of his clients, the City of Riverview, as an example of what's possible when a city has a solid vision. That city took control of a site, paid off back taxes and worked out a deal with a developer to tear down an old shopping center to make way for a new medical complex.

Another challenge facing Center Line, according to Scurto, is the status of Van Dyke as a state trunkline, which may run counter to the city's goals for creating a pedestrian feel with easy business access.