NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — A stretch of Grand River Road in Novi could look dramatically different in the next several years, with new housing, restaurants, a convention hotel and entertainment spaces all part of a sweeping $407 million development proposal.
Blair Bowman, co-owner of Vibe Credit Union Show Place, is proposing the project, dubbed "Novi City West," which includes 12 projects along the corridor between Beck and Taft roads, an area the city rezoned from light industrial to City West District with the goal of making it walkable and vibrant.
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The plan calls for 750 housing units in a variety of formats, restaurant and retail space, and a centerpiece 225-room convention hotel.
“Frankly, we were looking for a vehicle and a program where we could do something of scale at our location that would allow us also to have the resources in terms of new and needed hotel rooms to conduct our operations and be attractive to meeting planners going forward in the future as well,” Bowman said.
Housing components residential plans include:
- 112 Pulte townhomes
- 200 condominium-style units from Three Oaks Group
- A neuro-inclusive housing community where 25% of units would serve developmentally or intellectually disabled adults
- Workforce and caregiver housing
- Additional market-rate apartments nearby
Entertainment and public space Bowman described:
- “The Mix,” an indoor-outdoor entertainment and dining concept
- Dog-friendly gathering areas
- Recreation spaces with bocce ball, croquet and lawn games
- Public event and social gathering spaces
- Walkable connections and bike paths linking developments together
Bowman is also exploring the use of the state's Transformational Brownfield Program to help recoup a large portion of financing. He estimated reimbursements could total approximately $230 million to $240 million over 30 years. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan legislation raising the Transformational Brownfield Program cap to $3.2 billion, opening the door for the possibility.
"We have a languishing corridor that is contaminated in several of the site's old construction, heavy industrial yards that have — frankly, besides our showplace investment and a couple of smaller investments around the corridor — has just not for the last five to six decades has not seen any type of investment or development," Bowman said.
Bowman described the moment as a rare opportunity.
"It's two very long roads coming together now at a junction that really, I think, is a once in a generation lifetime as far as an economic development and community revitalization program," Bowman said.
But residents living near the proposed site have concerns. Khurram Abbas has lived in the Asbury Park subdivision, tucked behind Grand River Road, for a little over five years.
"One of the things I love about this neighborhood is how green it is. It's very serene, it's secluded and a lot of wild life over here," Abbas said.
Abbas worries the development signals a shift in Novi.
"A lot of the residents in Novi, we're actually pretty concerned about what we consider overdevelopment in Novi, and this is a big part of that," Abbas said.
Neighbor Krishnan Mahesh shares similar concerns about the character of the area changing.
"It's very close to our neighborhood here and so I'm concerned that it's in terms of the transient type of population as opposed to more of a neighborhood population here. And we moved here because it was close but had a community type of feel, and I feel that's going to be destroyed," Mahesh said.
Traffic is one of the concerns they raised. Bowman signaled a potential for a traffic light at the proposed hotel entrance.
Some residents plan to attend Monday night's city council meeting, where the plan will be formally presented to council members. Abbas said he and other neighbors have already been in contact with Bowman.
"We've actually been in touch with the primary developer. He's been nice enough and reached out to us and listened to some of our concerns, but at the end of the day, he is a developer. He is going to do what is best for his development and we're going to try our best to make sure that the city of Novi, its elected council, they listen to us and they address some of the concerns that we have," Abbas said.
The project is still in the beginning phases and will need multiple approvals at the local and state level.
In additional to the local council, the project will also need approvals from local Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Michigan Strategic Fund and Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
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