The city of Southfield today announced it has purchased the closed Northland Center mall for $2.4 million and will spend an estimated $8 to $10 million to demolish, remediate, and sell the property to a developer.
“The city of Southfield purchased the 114-acre property to protect, maintain, and ultimately increase the property values for Southfield’s home and business owners,” says Mayor Donald Fracassi. “The city does not intend to develop or own the property, we plan to demolish it and clean it up so it can be sold to a qualified property developer who will build a new, revitalized mixed-use development containing office, retail, and residential space on the site.” The city expects demolition and cleanup to begin next year.
The Northland Center mall, located at Eight Mile Road and the Lodge Freeway, has seen many stores close over the past decade. In August 2014, the mall went into receivership and this spring, the remaining stores were closed.
Fracassi says the two major sources for funding for the project include the tax base initiative fund, a $7.8 million fund that’s intended for city redevelopment projects, and the local improvement revolving fund, which began in 1983 and has $15.3 million of which $12.5 million is in liquid assets.
A $31 million mortgage lien on the property which will be extinguished after the city closes on the property. Fracassi says the city will not have to raise taxes to pay for the project.
“The city plans to hire a private company through a published bidding process to demolish and clean up the site,” says Fred Zorn, city administrator for Southfield. “We anticipate that within six months of receipt of the property title, the city of Southfield, through its building department, will post a Request for Proposal to solicit bids for demolition and cleanup.”
