The city of Brighton is putting up a valuable, 22-acre parcel of land on the real estate market for possible development.

The property is located behind the MJR Brighton Towne Square Cinema 20 movie theater off Challis Road. The city owns the property and officials feel now is the opportune time for it to be developed. At its meeting Thursday night, council was told that the city acquired the property in January of 2017 from the state in a tax foreclosure. As a result of a default judgment, the city holds the full and unencumbered title to the property.

The vacant land, which is zoned OR for office research and light manufacturing, was recently assessed at $1,350,000 by the firm Frohm & Widmer of Farmington Hills. Council agreed to open bids at a minimum of $1.2 million. Brandon Skopek, assistant to the city manager and Downtown Development Authority coordinator, tells WHMI that, considering its proximity to the 297,000-square-foot Brighton Center for Specialty Care, which just opened, the land is ripe for development.

Although it just opened this week, the new University of Michigan medical facility at Challis Road and Karl Greimel Dr. has been the catalyst for other development in the area. That includes three new hotels which are either already completed and open for business, or under construction. The bid invitation will be listed on the Michigan Inter-governmental Trade Network (MITN) and on the city’s website. The bids are due back to city hall by Oct. 8th at 10 a.m. If the city gets favorable bids, the matter will come back to council for possible action at its Oct. 18th meeting. (TT)