Athletic Training Complex awaits trustee vote

By Dana Casadei

The Bloomfield Athletic Training Complex has been nearly a decade in the making, and as of Monday, September 16, is now one step closer to becoming a reality after the Bloomfield Township Planning Commission unanimously voted for the site plan to go on to the board of trustees.

“I think it’s such a great plan,” said Neal Barnett, planning commission member and trustee. “It adds a sense of excitement and energy to the township that is often lacking, and is a great collaboration between all of you and our various departments… I remember when it started many years ago, so I’m just excited to see it moving forward.”

Also excited are the property owners of the Detroit Skate Club and the Bloomfield Tennis and Fitness Club, who are working together to consolidate their properties along Denison Court, all of which would fall under the new Bloomfield Athletic Training Complex, with hopes of it ultimately becoming an international training complex for both junior athletes and more seasoned professionals looking for private places to practice in the area.

The site plan is ambitious, and consists of additions to the Detroit Skate Club and a dormitory at the Bloomfield Tennis and Fitness Club, as well as a 128,000-square-foot field house that would be used as a multi-purpose sport facility.

The field house's aesthetic will be consistent with the other two buildings, which will also have similar changes, and consist of brown face brick, beige EIFS, beige cast stone or limestone, and brown metal panel roof and canopies.

The field house will contain a multi-purpose specialized athletic turf field that will have a baseball diamond with a small outfield, and an Olympic/International-sized soccer field, the latter of which will be one of only a few soccer fields throughout the state of that size. This turf field will also offer opportunities for lacrosse and field hockey throughout the year.

For the Detroit Skate Club – which has the changes that would probably be completed last in the plan – there would be two small additions to the space. The first would be one story adjacent to the middle ice rink and where the new drop-off area for the arena will be constructed; the other would be a new locker room, bathroom, mechanical and storage rooms on the south side of the building.

The Bloomfield Tennis and Fitness Club would see some updates as well, including one of the most interesting additions to the complex, a dormitory. The dormitory will provide 36 individual units for athletes who are training at either the field house or the Detroit Skating Club, who will share a large kitchen, as well as entertainment and meeting rooms throughout the area. Secured parking under the building will be provided.

Because the Detroit Skating Club has an International Skating Union’s Center of Excellence designation – one of only 11 across the world, and the only one in North America – these dorms will greatly benefit them, seeing as they are the only club with this designation that does not have dorms provided for those training there.

“This would be an amazing thing if we can get it done,” aid Jason Dungjen, director and resident coach at the Detroit Skating Club, and two-time Olympian. “If we look at what people are doing in other parts of the world, this is the way it’s going. They’re putting together these sports complexes, and all these sports can help each other. I hope you can see the value of this.”

While many planning commission members were very outspoken about their excitement for this project, Richard Atto and John Kelly both asked if they had a phased-out plan for this project’s construction.

A very general plan, as of right now, would be to start construction in the spring of 2025. The first phase would be for road and parking improvements and the construction of the field house. Once completed, the next phase would be the creation of the dorms, then lastly, the additions to the Detroit Skating Club.

Kelly advised the group that having a detailed plan for the phases of construction would probably go a long way with the board of trustees, where this plan is off to next.

Within the plan the board of trustees will not only see all of the changes listed above, but the termination within Denison Court of a revised cul-de-sac for access to the consolidated properties with the creation of the new training complex.

This portion of the right-of-way was abandoned by the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) in 2014, then in 2015 was vacated by Bloomfield Township with easements for the township’s public water and sewer lines for continued operation and maintenance.

RCOC is hoping that the additional right-of-way rededicated area would turn the entire turnaround into a public right-of-way that would be 100-feet by 10-feet, allowing for ease of access when people are dropping off or picking up at the Bloomfield Athletic Training Complex.

As part of the abandonment, no easement was reserved for the storm sewer that continue into the abandoned portion of the court, so RCOC wants the maintenance of that storm sewer to be turned over to the property owners since it’s no longer serving as a public road.

Not only will this right-of-way make for easier travel, but would also be beneficial to the surrounding property areas, who would no longer be near an abandoned right-of-way, therefore, helping increase their own property value, officials said.

Stormwater will be the only part of Bloomfield Athletic Training Complex where the finances will be covered and shared by all the property owners.

A site plan of this size also needed the approval for the recommendation of its proposed variances, which the planning commission had no issue with or follow up questions about.

Many of the variances brought up by Andrea Bibby, deputy director of planning, building and ordinances, where existing non-conforming variances that were already in place on the property, and range from the field house needing a variance for building height to a variety of setbacks.

Bibby also noted that this site plan has gone before the design review board, who passed along their recommendation at their meeting on Aug. 21.

The township departments of assessor, building, fire, engineering and environmental services, ordinance, public works and police have reviewed the site plan for the Bloomfield Athletic Training Complex as well, and found no issues.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for the township,” Bibby said.