What Commerce Township businesses film from the air
Commerce Township is a lake community that is building a downtown, and aerial work follows both threads. Lakefront homes on Commerce Lake, Lower Straits Lake and Long Lake need drone photography that shows frontage, docks and the water in one frame. Just north of M-5, the township’s Downtown Development Authority says it bought two golf courses and 50 acres of Metroparks land in 2004, 350 acres in all, with the goal of creating a downtown for Commerce Township.
The centerpiece is Five & Main, at Pontiac Trail and Martin Parkway. WXYZ reported it as a $150 million project with 275,000 square feet of space, including a boutique hotel, restaurants and shops, and Continental Properties opened its 284 unit Springs at Five & Main apartments there in September 2025. Projects on that scale use repeat drone video from fixed points to show owners and lenders how the site is moving, and finished buildings need aerial leasing content.
Mostly open airspace, with one controlled corner
According to the FAA’s Class Airspace data, most of Commerce Township is uncontrolled Class G airspace at the surface. Our point checks put Commerce Lake, Lower Straits Lake, Wolverine Lake, Township Hall, the Five & Main site and Proud Lake Recreation Area in Class G with no FAA facility map grid, so no LAANC request is needed up to 400 feet.
The exception is the northeast corner. Oakland County International Airport (PTK), in Waterford Township, has Class D airspace from the surface to 3,500 feet MSL, and when we overlaid it on the Census township map it covered about 5 percent of Commerce. That slice includes Long Lake and the township’s share of Union Lake, where most FAA grids are 0 feet. LAANC cannot approve those, so a Long Lake listing needs a separate FAA DroneZone request and more lead time than a shoot a mile south.
The Huron River and state land
Proud Lake Recreation Area, on the township’s west side, is the big piece of public land. The Michigan DNR describes it as about 3,000 acres on the Huron River, and the Huron River Water Trail lists Proud Lake as the launch point for a 4.5 mile paddle downstream to Milford. The DNR requires written permission for any commercial drone flight in a state park or recreation area, so business shoots there are cleared before a date is set. On private lakefront we launch from the client’s parcel with written permission and keep the aircraft off neighbors’ yards and docks.
Light and seasons
Lake homes look best from late May through September, with docks in and trees full, and calm mornings keep the water flat. October color along the Huron River corridor at Proud Lake is a strong reason to book a fall shoot. Construction clients usually want the same angles repeated on a set schedule through the building season, which is simpler here because most sites need no FAA request.
Planning a Commerce Township shoot
Whether you need a drone photographer for a listing or a drone videographer for a brand or construction piece, send the address, date window and what you need delivered. We check whether it falls in PTK’s Class D, whether the launch site is private, village or state land, and the owner’s permission before we quote. See our Detroit drone photography services, including construction drone photography and waterfront drone photography, or contact us to start.