HARPER WOODS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Eastland Center in Harper Woods could soon be demolished and redeveloped into industrial and warehouse space and the City Planning Commission is considering the idea.
Eastland Center in Harper Woods may soon be nothing more than a memory if everything goes as planned for a redeveloped site.
“We think it will work well for the city of Harper Woods and the surrounding areas,” said Tom Conder, vice president of Northpoint Development.
Conder says they plan to demolish the Eastland Center after the retail space has struggled for years.
“It was a site that we felt would be a very good industrial development, a Class A development site,” he said.
Harper Woods Mayor Valerie Kindle says this is a huge growth opportunity for the city and development.
“We have a tax base once again. We have something that we can look forward to," the mayor said. "The jobs and just something being done and not someone trying to take us to the tax tribunal to get a reduction in taxes when you’re using all our services."
The plan is to bring three buildings, totaling a little more than a million square feet, from commercial retail to light industrial. The Harper Woods City Planning Commission will meet again with the developer in a month.
“We’re very excited about this. I’ve talked to most of the citizens and they are very excited to see something positive with Eastland,” said City Councilman Ivery Toussant.
Major retailers that once called Eastland Center home are now long gone, but the new developers are hoping to revive the area.
“Harper Woods has been fantastic to work with. I think very highly of them, they’ve been great to work with and we hope to have continued success,” Conder said.
On Thursday, Harper Woods Mayor Valeria Kindle will be at Eastland Center for a major announcement at 10:30 a.m. We will wait and see what comes next.
