County hopes to get W. Oakland facility on market

The county’s West Oakland Office Building is expected to go back on the market within a month.

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners Planning and Building Committee was expected to go into closed session yesterday, Tuesday, July 10 to discuss the sale of the building after new appraisals were completed.

The McDonald’s Corporation, which was slated to purchase the West Oakland Office Building located at 1010 E. West Maple Road in Walled Lake, had let its purchase agreement for the property expire in 2011, essentially nullifying the original offer of $675,000 it reportedly made last year for the 17,000-square-foot, single-story building situated on 1.64 acres near Pontiac Trail.

Art Holdsworth, director of the county’s Facilities Management Department, said “a couple of assessments” of the property’s market value have been completed since that time.

County commissioners are expected to discuss the price they are hoping to get for the property from a private sector buyer.

Holdsworth added that the county would like to get the property on the market as soon as possible.

The county expects to reap a $135,000 annual savings by relocating services formerly housed at the Walled Lake building to other locations, and realize the ability to forego $500,000 in capital improvements that were expected at the Walled Lake building that was once home to staff of the county Health Department, the Probation Department of the Probate Court, the Circuit Court Family Division, and the Information Technology communication hub.

Local and county officials have also pointed to the fact that the West Oakland Office Building, since it is expected to be placed in the hands of a private company, will also be added to the local tax rolls, meaning additional revenue for the city of Walled Lake and other taxing authorities.