Showcase features investment opportunities

Developers, investors, brokers and businesses interested in owning a piece of prime Oakland County real estate can shop for available parcels at the county's second annual One Stop Ready (OSR) Community Showcase.

The event is set for Friday, Oct. 30, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford. Featured properties include a rare vacant lot in downtown Oxford; 240+ acres of mixed used land in Orion Township and a shopping center in Oak Park. The showcase is free to attend. Registration is available at AdvantageOakland.EventBrite.com.

"These are opportunities that are becoming increasingly rare as our economy improves and offer a wonderful opportunity for savvy investors to move their projects forward quickly," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "These One Stop Ready communities have streamlined their processes to deliver great customer service without compromising their development goals, master plans or community needs."

Twenty Oakland County communities have committed to be One Stop Ready, simplifying the process of owning and developing land within their jurisdiction. Eighteen communities will showcase a parcel, building, city lot or development-ready project available in their municipality. Properties will be detailed in the take-away One Stop Ready Showcase Book. Attendees will also be able to meet with representatives from each of the communities and view a virtual tour of the property.

Patterson developed the One Stop Ready program to train and support communities interested in being ready for development with a minimum of delay.

Staff and stakeholders in these communities attend the OSR Academy, a series of three workshops designed to help a community self-evaluate its current processes, identify ways to improve and enact change as needed to achieve outstanding customer service. The academy also introduces the best practices that drive development readiness including Internet accessibility, proactive project tracking, business and community input and efficient permitting processes.

Paramount to the program's success is buy-in by key decision-makers such as city council, planning commissions, managers and mayors, who must pass an official resolution committing to be "One Stop Ready."

Since the program was launched in 2013, 20 communities have become One Stop Ready. They are: Auburn Hills, Clawson, Groveland Township, Hazel Park, Highland Township, Independence Township, Keego Harbor, Lyon Township, Oak Park, Orion Township, Oxford Township, Oxford, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Southfield, Troy, Waterford Township, West Bloomfield Township, White Lake Township and Wixom.

The showcase is hosted by the Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs and its Planning Division. For more information contact Rachel J. Loughrin, department real estate project advisor, at 248-858-0870 or at loughrinr@oakgov.com.

For additional information on the OSR Academy, visit AdvantageOakland.com.

Published: Tue, Oct 20, 2015