Mayor pushes big plans for Livonia ‘downtown’

Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan thinks Livonia is doing well. During her annual state of the city address March 19, the mayor touted all of the good things she thinks the city has, naming safety, a local road repair program, the small business community and the city’s large parks system as examples.

The one thing missing, she says, is a common gathering space. Now in her second term, Brosnan is inching closer to a central campaign promise she’s been working on for years: A downtown-like area.

“The dream of building a downtown Livonia is closer than it’s ever been,” she said. “The time is now.”

Brosnan said she expects to break ground for a new senior center in the near future. The $22 million project, she said, is mostly funded by grants from state, federal and county officials. The city also dedicated $4 million of its American Rescue Plan dollars toward the project.

“The senior center itself is going to feature a lot of amenities that, quite frankly, were prioritized by seniors themselves,” Brosnan said.

The senior center, now at 15218 Farmington Road, will be relocated to become an extension of the Kirksey Recreation Center at 15100 Hubbard St. The new center will be 25,000 square feet and include space for gathering, classes, dining and more.

The addition of a senior center wing, Brosnan said, will also mean the Kirksey Recreation Center will see some updates as well.

The Livonia Public Schools Board of Education voted to sell the city 4.1 acres of the Bentley Field property, right next to the Kirksey Recreation Center, during a March 18 meeting, creating room for the city to add parking and a dedicated entrance to the senior center.

Brosnan said the new center will likely include an 18-month buildout.

When the senior center moves, Livonia will be able to demolish the buildings at the southeast corner of Civic Center Park, which includes the current senior center, the old courthouse and Sam’s Place restaurant. Those demolitions will create 10 acres of space for new development in the beginning of what officials hope will be a downtown-like space. During the Livonia Vision 21 Master Plan process, residents said they’d like to see retail, dining and middle-market housing in a downtown-like area.

“Imagine a clean slate,” Brosnan said. “What do we want to see coming in there? Residents have told us what they want to see built at that vibrant Civic Center area; the challenge now is for us to build it.”