Legacy Park Taking Shape

Township making progress on major projects for former hospital site

By Larry O’Connor | Photos by John Heider

A135-foot-tall water tower stands as a symbol of progress, a tangible measure of what lies ahead for Northville’s highly anticipated 350-acre Legacy Park.

The white spheroid-shaped beacon is surrounded by swathes of unkempt buckthorn trees and punctuated by mounds of broken concrete, twisted metal and unearthed soil. The rubble signals a pivotal stage in the township’s 14-year effort to transform the former state psychiatric hospital property into a gleaming community asset.

“People will start seeing it all come together within the next year,” said Bob Belair, Northville Township Public Services director and overseeing the massive project.

Once completed, Legacy Park is anticipated to become the crown jewel in the Northville Parks and Recreation Department portfolio while also serving as a conduit to state-owned Maybury Park and Wayne County’s Hines Park.

Green Space

The sprawling green space is designed for passive use, leveraging the site’s natural beauty for leisurely pursuits like walking, hiking, jogging and biking. At least 17.5 miles of trails are designated for nonmotorized use.

Residents shared ideas on Legacy Park features they would like to see during an open house on Aug. 3 at Northville City Hall.

Northville Parks and Recreation Department officials are gathering community input while developng a five-year Master Plan, which will serve as a blueprint for Legacy Park’s development.

Township resident Kathy Northcutt suggested planners produce a monthly newsletter so people can track the project’s progress.

“There is so much going on,” said Northcutt, a 32-year resident who lives on Maxwell Street near the Seven Mile site. Northcutt also lobbied park officials to keep artifacts -flagpole and historical marker

— from the psychiatric hospital, which opened to much fanfare in 1952.

“Every time I leave the neighborhood, I see the flagpole is there,” Northcutt said. “It reminds me of what they did at Tiger Stadium when they took it down.”

The township bought the Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital property from Schostak Brothers and Co., and partner REI Investment Group Inc. for $23.5 million in 2009 with money from a 2009 voterapproved millage.

“The concept was that this will be the last piece of land that the township will ever need,” Northville Township Supervisor Mark Abbo said.

New Township Buildings

Planners carved out a 15-acre parcel for the township’s new 60,000-square-foot Essential Services Complex, which will house public safety and public works headquarters and a second fire station. An adjoining 100-space parking lot will serve a trailhead for recreational users.

The complex’s $36 million cost will be covered by a $17.5 million bond issue and from existing funds, including $3 million from the 2022 American Rescue Plan, Abbo said. Construction will start later this year.

The township continues to seek grants and other funding to pay for the park’s recreational amenities.

“Everybody’s really, really enthusiastic about what we can do at Legacy Park, and we want to get the ball rolling,” the township supervisor said.

A looming water tower further speaks to the hospital site’s utility.

The $6.8 million reservoir complements the township Water Department’s 161-foot water tank on Beck Road, north of Five Mile. The new tower will go online next spring once it passes inspection.

Strategically, the second 500,000-gallon tank will enable the township Water Department to conserve the Great Lakes Water Authoritysupplied resource when rates are less expensive. Those reserves will flow to customer water taps during peak hours, when GLWA sets rates for communities.

A few years ago, township officials considered linking up with Livonia, Westland,

Plymouth and Canton townships to form a water authority, Abbo said. The township opted to build another holding tank instead.

The second tower will save the township Water and Sewer Fund $1 million annually, according to a preliminary engineering study.

“So the payback is real quick on it,” Abbo said. “The cost (to build a second water tower) was about $7 million, but the million dollars a year in savings is forever.”

Demolition

Along with splashes, Legacy Park’s evolution has been highlighted by crashes — as in the sound of empty buildings getting leveled.

Demolition started in 2012 and proceeded as money became available. The hospital complex contained 22 buildings and a water tower, power station and underground utility tunnels when the township assumed ownership.

Northville Hospital’s ninestory and 252,174-square-foot treatment center was torn down in 2018. This summer, contractors finished leveling 10 of the remaining 11 structures.

Building 14 is the sole edifice spared from the wrecking ball. The vacant 15,000-square-foot

Continued on Page 8 structure housed the hospital’s laundry operations, said Belair while providing a tour of the Seven Mile Road site.

The interior remains gutted while its walls are strafed with graffiti. The abandoned premises became a popular vandalism target after the hospital closed in 2003.

“There have definitely been some kids in here,” said the public services director, brandishing a flashlight to illuminate the spray-painted musings.

Vandalism hides the structure’s greater potential, township officials said.

Champagne-shaped pillars extend to a sturdy roof on the 15,000-square-foot facility, which includes two sets of restrooms and a half-basement. The gaping structure could be converted into an open pavilion or an art gallery, Belair said.

“The term that’s often used is it was a building that had good bones,” Abbo said. “It just seemed a shame if we had to destroy it because it was a very strong structure. So we thought that we’d save it and try to utilize it for something in the future.”

Revitalization is a constant theme throughout Legacy Park’s birth.

Specialized contractors removed toxic materials — including paints and solvents — and remediated asbestos contamination, which bogged down the comprehensive demolition project. In 2021, township board trustees approved a $12 million bond sale to shift the razing project into high gear.

Last year, contractors completed environmental clean-up at six structures, setting the stage for this summer’s final teardown.

Remaining debris has value.

Workers are busy salvaging metals and pulverizing concrete into 1- to 3-inch stone, which will be sold for road paving aggregate. Excavated soil accumulated around the site will be reused as backfill, the public services director said.

The township is joining forces with forestry experts and the state Department of Natural Resources in devising a plan to clear brush and overgrown weeds, Belair said.

“They are going after it,” he said.

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