A rezoning approved last week by the Oxford Township Board could allow a local manufacturer to potentially move, expand and hire a few more people.
Officials voted 7-0 to rezone a 1.98-acre parcel, located at 533 S. Lapeer Rd., from General Commercial (C-2) to Light Industrial (I-1).
The request was made by Puritan Magnetics, Inc., located at 900 S. Glaspie St. in the village. The manufacturer has a purchase agreement in place with the property’s owner, Clarkston State Bank, and is hoping to move its operations there.
‘Nothing’s set in stone right now as far as us moving,? said Al Crawshaw, president and co-owner of Puritan Magnetics. ‘This could potentially fall through. This is just one hurdle that had to be overcome. It’s still not a done deal.?
Founded in 1995, Puritan moved to Oxford from Brighton in 2002. The company manufactures a wide range of magnetic equipment for capturing, controlling and removing metal contaminants from products and processing systems. Its products are for industrial uses such as food processing.
The rezoning was recommended by the township planning commission in a 5-2 vote at its Dec. 10 meeting.
It was also recommended by township planner Brian Oppmann, of the Ann Arbor-based Carlisle/Wortman Associates.
In his Dec. 1 review letter, Oppmann noted the site already has industrial-zoned properties to the east and south.
‘The change in zoning is consistent with surrounding land uses and will not adversely impact surrounding properties,? he wrote.
M.D. Hubbard Spring Co. (595 S. Lapeer Rd.) has been manufacturing custom and standard metal parts on the adjacent property to the south since 1973 and township officials voted to rezone it from C-2 to I-1 in January 2013.
Puritan has been leasing a 9,600-square-foot space on S. Glaspie St. since 2008. But Crawshaw said the company needs more room for current and future operations.
‘We’re just bursting at the seams here,? he said. ‘We’ve been in business 21 years and we continue to grow. We need a little more floor space to grow into.?
Puritan was once considering purchasing the 3.6-acre former industrial site at 98 S. Glaspie St. from Oxford Village. The company offered $300,000 for the property in February 2014, but no deal ever happened.
‘We’ve had a couple of buildings under contract in the past couple years and things just didn’t work out,? Crawshaw noted. ‘Hopefully, this will all work out for us.?
If the purchase of 533 S. Lapeer Rd. goes through, Puritan won’t need to construct a new facility because there’s already a building there with approximately 29,000 square feet of space. Crawshaw estimated Puritan would probably utilize about 20,000 square feet.
‘We won’t occupy all of it,? he said. ‘We don’t need all of it at this point.?
Puritan currently employs about 18 people.
If the company is able to secure this larger building, Crawshaw said it would allow for the hiring of additional manufacturing workers. He estimated hiring another three to five people within the first year or two.
‘That’s going to happen, probably, right off the bat,? Crawshaw said.