GREEN OAK TWP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A proposed Michigan National Guard training center could be coming to Green Oak Township after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation allowing the transfer of state-owned land from the Michigan Department of Corrections to the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The law clears the way for the potential transfer of 93 acres currently used as the Michigan Department of Corrections' Training and Professional Development Center. State officials say the property could eventually be used as a readiness center for the Michigan National Guard.
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The site is located on M-36 near East Michigan Avenue in Green Oak Township, north of Ann Arbor.
The property has been part of the Green Oak Township community for decades.
From 1960 until 2015, the site was home to the W.J. Maxey Boys Training School.
The transfer does not automatically mean a National Guard training center will be built, but it allows the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to consider the property for future use.
Randy Dean, a lifelong Green Oak Township resident, lives about a half-mile from the property and says he does not oppose the proposal.
"I don't have nothing wrong with that," Dean said.
Dean said increased traffic is already part of life near the facility.
"There's a lot of traffic through here, especially in the mornings," he said.
The legislation allows the land transfer to move forward, but state officials have not announced a timeline for any potential National Guard development on the property.
