By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. — The Oxford Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of the Community breakfast meeting March 19, giving attendees the opportunity to hear from local government leaders about what is transpiring in Oxford.
Oxford Village Manager Joe Madore, Oxford Township Communications and Grants Manager C.J. Carnacchio and Oxford DDA Executive Director Kimberly Smith all spoke during the meeting to offer insights into some of the development that has taken place in the community over the past year and what’s to come.
Village of Oxford
Oxford Village Manager Joe Madore discussed upcoming projects in the village, including a new water main project on Moyers Street between Pontiac and Mechanic streets scheduled to be done over the summer.
The road will be closed during construction and will be resurfaced once the water mains are installed.
“I know a lot of people use that (road) between DA (Daniel Axford Elementary) and OES (Oxford Elementary School). There’s a lot of traffic there each morning,” Madore said. “It probably won’t start until the summer time and we hope to wrap it up by the start of the school year.”
Madore also has been in talks with some property owners, such as the new owner of the old Hampton Block and Supply location on E. Burdick Street who are interested in demolishing the building and creating new development on the site.
“They are looking to do the demolition of that old building and clean up the site relatively soon. They’re actually hoping to do it next month,” Madore said, adding that there currently is not a development plan but that getting the building demolished and the site cleaned up was the first step in the process. The property is currently zoned for housing.
Madore said another property owner is interested in demolishing the old Oxford Party Shoppe, 18 S. Washington, which has been vacant for years.
The village will also look to repave Oxford Lake Drive in the Oxford Lakes subdivision, possibly this summer. Many people use the road to cut through the subdivision.
“It’s on the radar yet to do,” Madore said. “We have that in our budget this year. We have plans to redo the paving on Oxford Lakes Drive all the way through the sub.”
Oxford DDA
Oxford Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Kimberly Smith said the DDA is looking to focus on maintaining the big events that draw people to Oxford, and infrastructure improvements.
“The last several years have been instrumental in really building Oxford up and creating a new destination for people to want to go,” Smith said. “There’s been a lot of things done. There’s new streetscapes, there’s new stores, there’s new events that have kicked off, there’s new community spaces and there’s a lot of fun things to do that people are really excited about.”
“In 2025, the goal for us is really to keep that momentum going. We want to continue to have the events that are bringing big groups of people into town,” Smith said, citing the summer concerts, farmers market, Scarecrow Festival and Soup & Sweet Stroll.
Installing new crosswalks on Burdick Street, upgrading the gazebo in Centennial Park and doing sidewalk improvements to make the downtown “more walkable and pleasurable for those visitors that come” are some of the DDA’s planned improvements, Smith said.
“The biggest thing that we’re going to look at in 2025 is development,” Smith said.
That development includes a training program for DDA board members, committee members, staff members and developing a volunteer program. “It’s all about us working together as a community to try and make Oxford better,” Smith said.
Oxford Township
Growth, development, infrastructure improvements and public safety were key features in Oxford Township in 2024 and the township expects to continue that trend in 2025.
Communications and Grants Manager C.J. Carnacchio said the biggest development in Oxford in 2024 was the opening of McLaren Oakland’s state-of-the-art 54,000 square foot medical building on Lapeer Road. The new medical facility represents a $35 million investment in Oxford and has a 24-hour emergency department.
“We’re extremely grateful to McLaren for their partnership and their faith in the future of our community,” Carnacchio said.
Oxford Township issued 75 permits to construct single-family homes in 2024. The planning commission has also granted final site plan approval for an additional 86 homes and preliminary site plan approval for 165 more homes.
“New residents mean more customers to help existing businesses prosper and attract new ones to our community. New residents mean more diners in our restaurants, more shoppers in our store and more people in need of service businesses,” Carnacchio said.
Public safety was another major item for the township. The Oxford Township Substation had the second highest case clearance rate – with 84.49% of criminal offenses solved – in 2024 among the 12 substations staffed by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
The Oxford Fire Department responded to 2,343 calls for service in 2024, with 77% of those being medical calls and 23% being fire-related. This summer, the fire department will also have a new, three-story training tower constructed behind Fire Station #1 so that firefighters can practice a variety of exterior and interior exercises and drills.
Last year, the township constructed a new 18-inch diameter sanitary sewer line along the east and west sides of M-24 between Harriet Street and Dunlap Road, Carnacchio said.
This year, the township plans to install a 16-inch diameter water main along the south side of Seymour Lake Road between Dunlap and Sanders roads, which will allow the township to loop its water system in that area, Carnacchio said.
The township also expanded its pickleball courts at Seymour Lake Township Park to eight and installed a new playground at the park that is accessible to wheelchair and mobility device users and offers components to promote physical, social, sensory, communicative and cognitive development.