Canton Twp: $9.5M investment will bring new restaurants, breweries to Cherry Hill Village

New restaurants, open-air dining and breweries – along with a new park and new programs – could become a reality for the west side of Canton Township if everything goes according to plan.   

Over the past year, Canton Township officials have been working with Wayne County to revitalize Cherry Hill Village with a project dubbed Canton Town Square.

“We’re going to create a walkable community,” Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said. “Canton needs a livable, walkable, economically vital downtown community, and (with the Wayne County partnership) we have the chance to double our funding on a transformative main street project.”

Established in the early 2000s, the sprawling Cherry Hill Village community was designed to break away from the traditional subdivision design of the time and instead feature homes with large front porches, picket fences, parks and walkable streets.

The original vision also included a vibrant commercial district that would serve as the traditional downtown Canton Township lacks.

“It didn’t really get finished,” Graham-Hudak said. “Over the years, small businesses have gone there and struggled. We really want to invest and make it a more walkable downtown area.”

At a meeting of the Canton Township Board of Trustees in January, members voted unanimously to approve an intergovernmental agreement with Wayne County to fund the project.

Canton will contribute $4.75 million to the project through American Rescue Plan Act funds, Wayne County millage funds and its general fund. Insurance proceeds will be used to rebuild the Cady-Boyer Barn, destroyed by fire in 2021 when adolescent plans for a social media video went wrong.

Canton officials hope the $4.75 million contribution will be matched by Wayne County ARPA funds. On Feb. 28, township representatives will present the project for approval at the first of two meetings with the Wayne County Commission.

According to township documents, the investment­ will “improve the quality of life for residents, increase property values, grow the tax base and spur small and medium-sized business development in Canton.”

While plans have not been finalized, the concept for Canton Town Square features the Village Square Park, Village Arts Factory Campus, including the creation of Factory Park on the undeveloped 14 acres behind the factory, Preservation Park improvements, Leisure Services programming, Partnership for the Arts & Humanities events, open air dining, restaurants, breweries, a better-connected sidewalk and trail system, wayfinding and parking improvements.

At the January meeting, Clerk Michael Siegrist noted that residents in the west side of Canton Township do a great deal of driving and tend to go elsewhere for entertainment.

“I think those are two really big challenges when it comes to sustainable community in the long term,” Siegrist said. “I hope this vision and this project will allow people in Canton to feel more comfortable staying in Canton, and for less people to have to drive a long distance to get access to things. It's good for the environment, it’s good for the community.”

Siegrist also noted that plans for the Canton Town Square project would be presented to the public before implementation.

Trustee Sommer Foster said she was grateful to those working on the project.

“I also appreciate the commitment to working with partners at (Wayne County) to make sure we get this done for our residents,” Foster said. “I think this is a first for Canton Township, where we seen this kind of investment in the township from the county. I appreciate everyone on the team for…working to make this one step closer to happening.”

At its Jan. 24 meeting, the Canton Township Board of Trustees also approved a $518,000 purchase of a half-acre parcel at 50525 Cherry Hill Road in Cherry Hill Village. According to township documents, the parcel consists of commercial land with a small building, blighted beyond repair.

The property is being purchased for future public use and/or commercial use, however no plans have been finalized.

Get the latest headlines for metro Detroit every morning in your mailbox by signing up for our daily briefings newsletter.

Contact reporter Laura Colvin at lcolvin@hometownlife.com or 248-221-8143.