Northland redevelopment project secures state funding

Shuttered shopping mall to become retail, residential development

A state board has approved $26 million in public funds for the $402.5 million redevelopment of the long-shuttered Northland Center shopping mall in Southfield.

The $26 million from the Michigan Strategic Fund will pay for brownfield remediations at the site, in the area of Greenfield and Eight Mile roads.

Demolition on the mall could begin as soon as next month and no later than this fall, said Michael Manion, city of Southfield spokesman.

The city bought the mall property for $2.4 million in 2015, as officials wanted to have control over what new development would locate there. The mall had been in decline for decades, had gone into receivership and then closed.

Last year, the city announced that Contour Companies of Bloomfield Hills had signed an $11 million purchase agreement and planned a retail and residential development. Contour plans to keep portions of the mall, including the flagship Hudson’s department store.

The city has already torn down some buildings, including a Target store that was attached to the mall and a Firestone Tire store on the outlot.

Contour seeks to develop 14 new mixed-use buildings on the site. The new buildings will be constructed throughout the site and will fill in much of the existing massive parking lot.

“Much-needed workforce housing will be provided throughout the development and nine of the buildings will include commercial and retail space,” the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said in a statement. MEDC is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development.

“As part of the project, the former J.L. Hudson Co. store located at the mall, once the largest branch department store in the world, will be returned to use as the Hudson City Market, a food-and-goods marketplace that will be filled with dining and entertainment options. The project will also include public infrastructure improvements, including lighting,

sidewalks, and more,” the statement said.

The 3-million square foot project includes the following residential developments:

More than 1,500 total residential units over more than 1.9 million square feet, including 254 loft-style apartments adjacent to the marketplace and nearly 1,300 units in the 14 new buildings.

One-bedroom units will range from 720-1,200 square feet at $1.75-$1.86 per square foot rental rates, while two-bedroom units will range from 1,260-1,440 square feet at $1.49-$1.58 rates.

“The overall project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $402.5 million, ultimately supporting the creation of the 500 new, full-time equivalent jobs, and will revitalize an underutilized site into high-quality commercial space and housing. The project will improve density and walkability in the area and is expected to serve as a catalyst for future development,” the statement said.

When Northland opened in 1954, it was the largest mall in the world and among the first of its kind. It began as an openair mall and was enclosed 20 years later.

Northland was credited with changing the way people shopped and with leading to the decline of downtown areas, historians have said.