AUGUST 8, 2007

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today announced that the creation of three new PLUS offices in southeastern Michigan will mean enhanced service and greater convenience for customers.

The PLUS offices will open later this month in Detroit, Oak Park and Chesterfield Township after being converted from traditional branch offices. They are being created through consolidations with three other nearby branches.

"Customers consistently praise these modern PLUS offices for their expanded hours, added staffing and other features that make visiting a branch office a quick, convenient experience," Land said. "I'm pleased to be able to expand services in the metro area and bring those services closer to customers."

The opening and consolidating schedule for affected branch offices is as follows:

• The Detroit-East PLUS Office opens Monday, Aug. 20 at the current site of the Detroit Mack-Alter branch, 14634 Mack Ave. The office is being consolidated with the Harper Woods branch at 19258 Kelly Road, which closes at 5 p.m. Aug. 14.
• The Southeast Oakland County PLUS Office opens Monday, Aug. 20 at the current site of the Oak Park office, 26196 Greenfield Road. The Oak Park branch closes for renovations Aug. 13 - 17 before reopening as the PLUS office. The office is being consolidated with the Ferndale branch at 261 E. 9 Mile Road, which closes at 5 p.m. Aug. 14.
• The North Macomb County PLUS Office opens Monday, Aug. 27 at the current Chesterfield Township branch site, 51305 Gratiot Ave. The Chesterfield branch closes for renovations Aug. 20 - 24 before reopening as the PLUS office. The office is being consolidated with the Richmond branch at 66775 Gratiot Ave., which closes at 5 p.m. Aug. 21.

PLUS offices offer enhanced services, such as payment by Discover credit card at the counter, expanded Wednesday hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., instant titles, the ability to purchase your own driving record on site and Self-Service Stations for tab renewals, which the new offices will receive in the near future. Staff and resources from the consolidating branches will relocate to the three new PLUS offices.

The creation of the new PLUS offices is part of the 2007 phase of Land's Branch Office Modernization Program. The goal is to provide customers with state-of-the-art services while containing expenditures. The program's emphasis on investing in people and services, and not "bricks and mortar," has allowed the Department of State to minimize costs by using existing facilities and materials whenever possible as well as preserve employee jobs.

The program was launched in April 2004 and resulted in the development of 23 PLUS offices and five SUPER!Centers. Customer satisfaction has consistently been high thanks to the modern, convenient services and enhanced efficiencies these offices provide.

During the program's 2007 phase, which will be completed later this summer, eight PLUS offices and one SUPER!Center will be created. In 2008, three more PLUS offices are scheduled for development.

For more information about branch office locations and services, visit the Branch Office Locator at www.Michigan.gov/sos.