Stantec Takes Final Thoughts for Former Psychiatric Hospital Property in Northville

Biking trails, walking paths and other passive nature amenities should dominate a park plan for the redevelopment of the former psychiatric hospital property along Seven Mile Road, residents have said.

And Northville Township's Board of Trustees is inclined to agree.

The board Thursday night held its last planning session with Stantec, the company hired to help create a master plan for the 332 acres. After discussing four rough plans, company officials said they were ready to create the final proposal for the property.

Thursday’s meeting move comes almost exactly 10 years after former Gov. John Engler offered the site for sale to raise money for the state budget. Since then, developers and the township have been back and forth, in court and across the negotiating table, over plans for the large site. However, Thursday night, Stantec Principal Stephen Plunkard said the way is now clear.

“We understand what you want,” he told the township board.

He said his firm, which is getting paid about $100,000, from money made from salvage efforts at the site, will present the board with its recommendation for the site at a meeting in January. The date for the meeting is not yet available, said township officials.

For two hours Thursday, the board discussed the four proposals, which were put together by Stantec after a year of planning sessions and 918 resident surveys turned in about the ideas. Each plan includes set-aside nature areas and hiking/biking trails. Plan A has a large pond, a sledding hill, and a recreation center. Plan B includes a garden center, a conservatory. Plan C includes a splash pad, a community center, an amphitheater and a pavilion, with lots of gathering spaces. Plan D includes commercial development. The plans can be accessed at the township website here.

According to the surveys, the elements most desired are hiking, biking and running trails, a pond and an ice skating rink. Least desired is commercial development and any sort of sports fields. These uses dovetail with the results of the vote by township residents to buy most of the land for strictly public uses.

However, Supervisor Mark Abbo said even passive uses at the park, such as paths or ice rinks, are not self-sustaining.

“My question is, who’s going to pay for it? If we don’t find a way of funding these uses, this may be a waste of time,” he said.

The trustees discussed setting aside about 10-20 acres for future commercial development to help pay for the park upkeep. REI Investment Group Inc. and Schostak Bros. own the remaining 82 acres along the northeast section of the site, at the southwest corner of Seven Mile and Haggerty. Abbo said the venture hopes to bring a commercial development proposal to the board in early 2012

If there were to be more of the park sold off, it may be wise to leave a zone near this proposed development that could be easily converted and sold, said a few trustees. However, Trustee Marv Gans said there shouldn’t be any more park land sold for commercial use.

“You do that and you’ll have a lot of residents upset. They wanted this to stay public,” Gans said. Most of the board urged Stantec to bring back a plan that includes many of the recreation ideas,  but also some “dazzle,” said Clerk Sue Hillebrand.

Even if the board approves a plan in January, there’s still years before anything will go up on the park area. The Environmental Protection Agency agreed to provide $200,000 to help clean out the asbestos in the old hospital buildings, but these facilities still have to be torn down and the rubble likely removed, though the trustees talked about collecting it to make a snow hill. Old tunnels around the hospitals will also have to be removed.

Residents Jack and Carol Lee said during the meeting that they would like to see mountain biking trails at the park.

“It’s an activity that is getting stronger all the time. There’s a lot of people in our neighborhood who do it,” said the 51-year-old Jack Lee, who’s been a resident for eight years. “The riders are dedicated, and they help keep the trails maintained.”