The Sashabaw Road corridor area has been identified as the center for new economic development and community identity for Independence Township.

The Vision 2020 Strategic Plan called for the Sashabaw Road corridor area to become a Town Center by encouraging mixed-use developments, vehicular, and pedestrian-friendly circulation patterns, and appropriate architectural styles. Later, the Sashabaw Overlay District and Town Center Design Guidelines were further developed to carry out this idea.

In 2000, Independence Township and the Road Commission of Oakland County, began an engineering project that would expand Sashabaw Road to four lanes and add a median to the road. Concurrently with this engineering project, Carlisle/Wortman Associates prepared a design plan to guide the development of the pedestrian and aesthetic design of the corridor.

The design plan includes an analysis of the corridor as well as proposals for development design features including pedestrian pathways, pedestrian crossings, pavement, site furnishings, landscaping, and lighting.