Signature Associates

Saline Area Schools taps Pittsfield Township property to expand preschool programs

Signature Associates’ Steve Gordon, Jay Chavey and Drake Filippis are handled the sale and marketing of this property.

Posted By: mlive on May 14, 2026.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Amid a push to meet the demand for more preschool options, Saline Area Schools is moving ahead with the purchase of property south of Ann Arbor that officials say will support the expansion of the district’s early childhood programs.

Members of the Saline School Board signed off on buying commercial property at 5683 Hines Drive in Pittsfield Township following a closed session discussion Tuesday, May 12.

The decision authorizes Superintendent Rachel Kowalski to finalize the purchase agreement with Tecumseh Products – weeks after the district launched an updated program guide surrounding pre-kindergarten choices for local families.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the district emphasized the purchase’s completion as contingent upon its due diligence process. But School Board President Tim Austin called the pending buy a “tremendous opportunity” for students and the community at large.

District officials said plans to develop a new district-operated early childhood center on the site would help SAS build a more “consistent, proactive system” to support young learners in step with efforts to expand options over the last several years.

That approach could mean better developmental screening, officials said, behavioral support, early literacy learning, communication development, social-emotional learning and inclusive instruction practices.

“Investing in an early childhood center is a prevention, equity and readiness strategy,” Julie Voelker, executive director of special education, said in a statement. “It would help more children receive the right support at the right time, in a setting designed to meet their needs from the very beginning.”

The Hines Drive property is located off Textile Road on the west side of State Street. A roughly 50,000 square foot building on 5.7 acres, the warehouse and office space has been listed with real estate agency Signature Associates with a sale price of $8 million.

Tecumseh Products purchased the building in 2010 in the State Street Business Park for $1.2 million, according to Washtenaw County records, later operating a technology center there and moving its headquarters into the site in 2013.

Saline Area Schools has not formally stated its prospective purchase cost, though the district is set to utilize funds from the bond OK’d by voters in 2022.

“Through careful planning, collaboration, and cost management, the district has avoided significant escalation costs in bond projects since 2022, resulting in substantial savings for the community,” Miranda Owsley, Saline’s assistant superintendent of finance, said in a statement. “Additionally, we have been able to capture a $1.4 (million) rebate through solar-integrated roof projects through the IRS, with more rebates expected.

“This strategic investment reflects an ongoing commitment to meeting the growing needs of children and families in the community.”

The school district soft-launched its early childhood effort with a newly revamped website about options in mid-April. A month earlier, officials received a study from firm Plante Moran, pointing to preschool as one area where public school participation has lagged behind private school options.

“We know that research shows when children have access to strong preschool and early childhood pipeline programs, they build all of the skills that we need them to have and as a foundation for kindergarten,” Kowalski said at a meeting April 14.

“We’ve been very intentional,” she said, “about what the experience that we’ve launched … looks like.”

Previously, one free preschool classroom, providing instruction from Monday to Thursday, was added at the start of the 2025-26 school year.

By this spring, district displays described three full-day, Monday-Friday classrooms and one morning-only classroom. Much of the expansion comes in time for the next 2026-27 school year.

According to SAS’ website, the free half- and full-day options are through the state-backed PreK for All initiative. However, while still accepting applications, the district reported this week that applications for the free slots have already exceeded availability with 72 applications for 64 openings.

As is, the district’s expanded programs have reportedly outgrown the space available at their current location at Liberty School, where preschool has been since 2017.

Opened in 1959, Liberty is also the district’s oldest operated building.

At the new property, district officials said they hope to continue to increase preschool enrollment capacity, while also enhancing learning environments and provide space for other future initiatives, including with an emphasis on STEAM programs.

In a statement, SAS Executive Director of Operations Rex Clary said the “excellent condition of the building” will allow the district to utilize a “phased approach” to renovations, retrofitting the space for instruction with “minimal investment.”

According to its release, the district also plans to relocate the South and West Washtenaw Consortium’s building trades program, currently housed at an off-site facility, to part of the Hines Drive building. That move could come as early as fall 2027 with an annual lease agreement of over $70,000.