Partial Demolition Begins At Northland, New City Center Under Construction

(CBS DETROIT) - After 67 years, the milestone regional shopping center, Northland, is under construction to become Northland City Center and the new attraction is bringing a bit of the past into the future.

Selective demolition at Northland Mall kicked off on Sept. 13.

Plans for phase one include transforming the site into a mixed-use development, with 15-hundred housing units, restaurants, and entertainment.

"And we're going to build six and seven-story, multi-use buildings there that will house residences, which will be apartments with balconies, and ground-level retail, first-floor that will be convenience type retail along Greenfield," said Bruce Kopytek, Contour Companies Chief Architect.

The centerpiece of the project is the Hudson City Market, a redevelopment of the original J.L. Hudson Department Store.

Kopytek says the vision is to restore the old 1954 structure and tear down what was built around it during the 70s, 80s, and 90s, including the J.C. Penny building and Sears Auto.

"It's such a big project and we're talking you know the first phase being almost a half-a-billion dollars, 15 new buildings, plus renovations, all the new infrastructure, roadways, boulevards, that are going to make it a city center and an environment," said Kopytek. "That takes a long time so we're going to start in phases. One building at a time."

The mall shut down for good in 2015.

The City of Southfield took ownership until Contour companies purchased the property this summer.

"That was the northland of yesterday, so it's also going to be the northland of tomorrow the way we're developing it," said Kopytek. "And I think it should be really exciting for people to see this mixture of past, present and future all in one location."

Phase one of the project is expected to be complete in 2025.

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