Southfield Mayor Shares
Development Successes in State of the City Address
(C. Proxmire, April 5, 2016)
Southfield MI – Southfield Mayor Ken Siver had a lot of great Southfield news to share at his State of the City Address on March 21. He talked about Southfield’s strong commitment to public safety, stating that major crimes are down for the 8th year in a row.
Road-wise, Southfield had the honor of having the most road construction in 2015 of any Oakland County community, with $34.7 million in projects completed in the 2015 road construction season. Projects included Cranbrook, Cambridge, Washington Heights, Tapert Baseline and Meadowvale Neighborhoods, Northwestern Service Drive, Evergreen (between 10 and 11 Mile Roads), First Center Drive, Bridge Street Light Industrial Park, 10 Mile and Greenfield intersection and 11 Mile and Franklin Road at BASF.
There are $41.6 million in projects scheduled for the 2016 season including Bell Road, Bushand Helen Streets, 9 Mile Road (between Beech and Telegraph), Northland Drive, Ranchwood, Alhambra and Roseland Streets, Streets in Woodburn Woods, Kingsley Estates, Berg Hills and Edgewood Hills Neighborhoods, Magnolia Neighborhood (West Side), Pierce and 10 Mile NW (Hilton and Jeanette), and Pierce and 10 Mile SE (Addison, Harden, Templar and Maryland). Some of the construction includes upgrades to the water and drainage systems.
In addition to infrastructure investments, the city moves forward with mindfulness in development. The presentation included a conceptual rendering of what kind of growth could happen in the City Center in the coming years.
Already in the works is a new Vibe Credit Union building going in on Evergreen to replace the Masonic Building north of Friday’s.
Mayor Siver talked about the challenges presented by Northland Mall. The City of Southfield took ownership of the Center on Dec. 17, 2015. The building was secured, environmental studies were conducted, ad an oversight committee went to work creating an RFP for the site and selecting a team to create a Master Plan. The Northland Mall site is 114 acres. There have been 8 proposals for the site which are currently being reviewed. The City also took out a loan to purchase artwork that was in the mall, and a campaign is on to raise $3,000 to cover half the loan. The other half will be covered by a generous matching grant if the fundraising is successful.
Other developments include BASF opening a new plastics and coatings lab on its Southfield Campus last fall, creating 300 new jobs. Gasket-makers Elring Klinger purchased the former Staples Office Supply warehouse and will expand this year. Comerica Tower just north of 12 Mile on Telegraph is expected to get a $2.5 million boost of upgrades and repairs, including improved parking lot circulation and lighting, enhanced entrances and common spaces, improved elevators and other amenities.
The long vacant Holiday Inn on Telegraph has been acquired by KIWI/VR Group and a major rehabilitation of the property is underway. They are expected to open as a Best Western Premiere with 192 rooms and banquet/meeting space in Aug. 2017. They plan to expand into adding a Best Western Premiere location in Dec. 2017 and a five-story tower will become LaQuinta Hotel with 95 rooms and a new spa and pool complex opening in 2018. Siver talked about 42 West, an 114-unit apartment complex that have “high end finishes” including granite counter tops and enclosed garages.
Southfield is working on improvements in the residential neighborhoods as well, including an ordinance passed in Jan. 2016 that requires every home that is not owner occupied must be registered, and every rental home must be inspected every three years. Southfield owned McDonnell Towers and River Park Place are getting modernized.
The developments and the work are just some of the topics Mayor Siver shared.
To read more of the successes Southfield is experiencing and the planning taking place, check out the full PowerPoint presentation at https://www.cityofsouthfield.com/Portals/0/docs/Mayor/Southfield%202016%20State%20of%20the%20City%20Address.pdf.
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