An east Michigan town proud of its local community feel
Wixom is a Michigan city leaning wonderfully into its village vibe. With a new look for its downtown area, new residential developments across the city and plans to connect the city’s park and trail systems to those of surrounding cities, Wixom aims to give residents the feel of a small town while providing all the amenities of a big city. “They’re trying to create an actual downtown,” says Lori Beatty, residential building consultant and owner of Lori Beatty, Incorporated and associate broker with RE/MAX New Trend. “A lot of the surrounding areas have nice downtown areas, and that’s what Wixom is going for. They’re trying to recreate that local feel around here.”
Arts showcases and many other festivals
For city officials and residents alike, bringing people together is vital to growing the city’s small-town character. This makes for a full, yearlong calendar of events around the city. “They do so many events I couldn’t even start to count,” says Nandita Bajaj, Cultural Ambassador of the Center for Performance Arts, an independent performance arts studio making performance arts accessible in Wixom. One annual tradition that attracts anywhere from 250 to 300 people each year is the center’s outdoor summer showcase, where students show off the skills they’ve developed over the year. In addition to the Center’s summer showcase, the city holds events like annual father-daughter and mother-son dances, downtown sip and stroll nights for women and a Lighting of the Tree Festival for Christmas. “In the fall, they do a huge outdoor event with different studios and musicians,” Bajaj says. “They do fireworks shows in the summer, and local businesses do outdoor shows during the summer.”
Kroger for groceries, local shops and restaurants
For a great start to a day on the town, Trail’s Edge Café offers fresh brews and breakfast sandwiches on Pontiac Trail. With Kroger and the local collectible shop—Back to the Past Collectibles—also on Pontiac, residents can pick up their groceries or grab a stack of comics on the same road. For shopping options at the south end of town, the intersection of Wixom Road and Interstate 96 holds Meijer and other national brands, while Beck Road has one of the city’s highest-rated lunch spots, Lena’s Kitchen. Earning hundreds of great reviews on Google Maps, Wixom’s most popular dinner spots take shoppers back to Pontiac Trail, where they can enjoy the upscale Italian fare of Volare Restaurant or the Mexican street food of the more laidback Pancho’s Tacos and Meat Shop. For a nice pint to finish the evening, Drafting Table Brewing Company is just down the road from Trail’s Edge Café.
Modern homes in a small town setting
Home styles vary across the city, but the architectural landscape is growing more modern as homes and neighborhoods are built. Adding to the mix of ranch-style homes, classic Colonial Revivals and modern farmhouses, the city has a heft inventory of townhome-style condos ranging in price from $270,000 to $400,000. Single-family homes can range from $210,000 to $990,000. The median price is $393,250, up 12% from the previous year.
Walled Lake Consolidated School District
Wixom is part of the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, which earns an overall A-minus on Niche. With 12,102 students, the district maintains a 21:1 student-teacher ratio and a graduation rate of 92%. The district is home to 12 elementary schools, five middle schools and three high schools and offers theater and music classes, football and other sports programs and preschool programs. In addition to Walled Lake District schools, Wixom students can enroll in classes at the city’s two private schools—Wixom Christian and St. Catherine’s High School.
Parks for people and pooches
Residents have their choice of numerous parks around Wixom, and the city is threaded by miles of trails connecting parks and other parts of the city. Beatty says city officials also plan to connect Wixom parks and trails to a system that will take residents beyond the city. “All of the cities in Oakland County have a master plan to connect their trails,” says Beatty. Parks of Wixom include Gunnar Mettala Park, Gilbert Willis Park, Wixom Habitat and Gibson Park. The parks offer amenities like a disc golf course, gazebos, sledding hills and basketball courts. Lyon Oaks Park also spills into the city and offers a dog park where Wixom pooches can run.
Public buses connecting the town to the city of Detroit
Thanks to bus stops along Grand River Avenue, Wixom is connected to Southeast Michigan’s regional bus system, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). The SMART bus system takes residents to destinations throughout Detroit and surrounding counties. The only major interstate readily available to Wixom drivers is Interstate 96, which can take drivers east to downtown Detroit or West to Lansing and beyond. The interstate connects drivers to I-275 and I-696, just a short distance from the city. For air travel, the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is 32 miles south of Wixom by way of I-96 and I-275.
Photography Contributed By
Colette Lane
