The city’s fiscal health is reinforced by a balanced tax structure of 45% commercial/industrial and 43% residential, and the balance as commercial personal property. “That’s a nice healthy balance and reflective of some great planning by the city and prior leadership over the years,” says Brown, emphasizing its role in sustaining services. This stability enables strategic investments, including a recent rebranding initiative to modernize Wixom’s identity.“We rebranded our new logo and we’re in the process of creating new community gateway signs,” explains Beagle.The rollout spans digital platforms and physical infrastructure, with updated wayfinding signage slated for 2025–2026, a visible commitment to the city’s forward-looking vision. HOUSING AND THOUGHTFUL DEVELOPMENT Wixom’s housing strategy reflects its industrial legacy and modern urban planning. The city maintains a diverse inventory, from apartments originally built for Ford employees to newer high-density developments. “We’re unique in that aspect where probably half space has been fully leased since 2021.“We’ve seen a lot of logistics distribution. So Amazon, Renaissance Global Logistics, NationsBenefits, Wayfair,” notes Drew Benson, highlighting the site’s rapid absorption. “We’ve just seen a ton of activity within the last few years.” The remaining 70 acres present additional opportunities, with plans for 500,000–800,000 square feet of future industrial development. Smallerscale projects like Yuken America’s 30,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility and People Driven Technology’s 26,000-square-foot building further diversify the industrial base. “As a whole, Wixom is roughly 80% built out across all of our planned land uses,” Benson adds.“We really are in the heart of what I’d call our second huge growth period. Since Ford left, we’ve reimagined what Wixom is. It’s a huge priority for the city to be forward-thinking about how we plan and accommodate businesses of all sizes.” 111 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 WIXOM, MI
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