Southfield City Centre

The Southfield City Centre was created in 1992 as a special assessment district, and it was originally planned to improve pedestrian amenities and facilitate economic development. The area has approximately 26,000 office workers in finance, insurance, real estate, health care, IT, automotive, government, education, software, and other emerging industries. The City Centre is a pedestrian friendly mixed-use district for the City of Southfield.[2][3][4]

The main campus of Lawrence Technological University forms the western boundary of the district. Additionally, satellite campuses of Central Michigan University and Siena Heights University exist locally.[5]

Historically significant sites such as the Mary Thompson Farm [6] and Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church [7] are located along the Evergreen Road corridor.

Southfield Public Library operates the library, which serves residents of Southfield and neighboring Lathrup Village.

On August 24, 1992, through ordinance 1352 and pursuant to Act No. 146 of the Public Acts of 1992 (PRINCIPAL SHOPPING DISTRICTS, Act 120 of 1961, as amended), the Southfield City Council established the City Centre Advisory Board (CCAB) “to promote economic activity in the City Centre, and to provide for the maintenance, security, and operation of the City Centre.[8]"  

The City Centre Advisory Board (CCAB) currently has 11 members to oversee the special assessment district. The board members are appointed by the mayor with confirmation by the city council. As the district's geography has expanded, the board has grown from an initial nine members to its current size of 11 members.

The majority of CCAB members are representatives of City Centre businesses; one represents the City of Southfield (mayor), and one is a resident representative who resides in the boundaries of the City Centre. A primary goal of the CCAB is to attract and retain professionals to the City Centre district. The CCAB's overall vision for the City Centre is a vibrant pedestrian-friendly center of education, commerce, culture, entertainment, and community activity.

Since 1994, the City Council, at the request of the CCAB, has approved several special assessments to establish annual operating budgets for activities within the City Centre District. The CCAB has utilized these funds to develop, promote, and maintain the City Centre area.

Examples of the use of these funds include: 1) Placemaking through crosswalks; wayfinding signage; public art installations; sidewalk infill and new shared-use pathways; enhanced bus stop shelters; district gateways; and significant financial contribution to the reconstruction of Evergreen Road between Ten and Eleven Mile Roads; 2) Marketing of businesses and events through Social Media and the creation and maintenance of the Southfield City Centre website; and 3) Promotion of Special Events (i.e. Food Trucks, Concerts, 5K Race, etc.) in the district.

On March 14, 2017, the CCAB voted to request Council to expand the boundaries of the City Centre District to include [the properties in Exhibit A: FY 2017-2022 CITY CENTRE SAD MAP approved 4/17/17] and authorize a special assessment of five cents ($.05) per square foot of gross nonresidential building area within the newly expanded City Centre District for a period of five fiscal years effective July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2022. Monies raised will provide funds annually to the CCAB for development, operation, and maintenance, and to promote activities within the district. The council approved Special Assessment P-1174 (FY 2017-2022) on June 12, 2017.

In 2016, the city adopted Sustainable Southfield, the second Master Plan to be adopted in the city's history. The plan was developed with support of the residents and businesses, and created a long-term vision for the City Centre district.[9][10]

According to Sustainable Southfield, "sustainable communities are places that balance their economic assets, natural resources, and social priorities so that residents' diverse needs can be met now and in the future." As a Comprehensive Master Plan, "Sustainable Southfield will take a holistic approach to land use and community planning, which will include environmental, social, and economic sustainability.[11][12]

The top three priorities requested during the public input process were:

1.   Walkability and connectivity throughout the City Centre (i.e. sidewalks, bike paths, increased pedestrian amenities, etc.)

2.   Street and road repair.

3.   Redevelopment and/or renovation of older commercial properties.

On October 19, 2015, the City of Southfield formally completed the Evergreen Road Improvement. The project cost approximately $12 million, with $4.8 million in federal transportation funding for the road construction, and $450,000 from a Michigan Transportation Alternatives Program grant for the pedestrian amenities and stormwater mitigation features. The City's Water and Sewer Fund contributed $3.5 million, and the Major Street Fund contributed $700,000. The Metro Act Fund provided $1 million, the CCAB contributed $100,000 toward the pedestrian amenities, and the Local Improvement Revolving Fund contributed the remaining $1.5 million.

Approximately 21,500 motorists travel this road daily.

The project reconstructed a one-mile segment of Evergreen Road between 10 and 11 Mile Roads, reducing from six and seven-lane roads into a four-lane boulevard, and incorporating two roundabouts, one at Evergreen and Civic Center Drive (south roundabout) and one at Evergreen and the Municipal Campus driveway (north roundabout).

Reconstruction included enhancements of landscaping, green infrastructure, irrigation, bollards, planters, LED street lighting, electrical outlets for holiday displays, benches, trash receptacles, bus shelters, mid-block crossings, way-finding signage, historic interpretive panels, shared-use pathways, and sidewalks.

Storm water improvements included permeable pavers, bio-retention pond, native plant materials, acquisition of easement for 60-inch storm sewer to improve drainage, replacement of the City's 12-inch water main along the roadway. These improvements reduce storm water runoff by an estimated one-third, or 32,000 cubic feet, and filters the water before it reaches streams and other waterways.

Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. provided design and construction engineering services, and Michael J. Dul & Associates, Inc. provided landscape architecture services. Dan's Excavating, Inc. was the construction contractor. The project was given the tagline of "The Magnificent Mile" by City officials.

Southfield's city hall was built in 1964 as part of the wider Civic Center Campus, and was designed by Pirscher & Jarrett. The former Federal Mogul Staff Office building was built in 1966 and designed by Louis A. Rossetti.[13]

Both buildings are considered examples of the Mid-century modern movement.[14][15]

In 2017, the Southfield City Centre launched its first bikeshare program and contracted with Zagster to install seven stations with 27 cruiser-style bicycles, including a three-wheel accessible version, available for short-term use by residents, visitors, and the district workforce.[16][17]

In 2015, the Southfield City Council approved, through Ord. No. 1657; and Enactment of Arts Commission: Ord. No. 1630,[18] a measure to incorporate public art in the City and established a Public Arts Commission. The city purchased 18 pieces of art, many by mid-century American artists, from the bankrupt Northland Center with a loan for $500,000. The city moved the art in April, 2015, established a Public Arts Commission and fundraised $600,000 to repay the loan and begin restoration.[19] In 2019, Southfield Mayor Kenson Siver established the nonprofit Friends of the Southfield Public Arts to "finance the procurement, transport, installation and restoration of art for public enjoyment in the City of Southfield.[20]

The fund also supports public engagement of the arts and arts education.

In May, 2016, Boy and Bear, a sculpture by artist Marshall Fredericks was the first piece to be placed and now sits inside the lobby entrance to the Southfield Public Library.[21][22]

Prophet, a sculpture by artist Sorel Etrog was restored and installed in the side garden of the Southfield City Hall in March 2018.

The Crowd by Italian sculptor Gio Pomodoro is on loan to the 2000 Southfield Town Center building and sits in the lobby.

The Peacock, by Arthur Kraft and Gwen Lux was restored and placed in the circular drive outside the main entrance to the Southfield Public Library in October, 2018.

In February, 2019, Moby Dick, a sculpture by artist Joseph Anthony McDonnell, was placed in the fountain in the grounds of the Southfield Public Library. Work is in progress to refurbish the fountain, landscape the area, and create a public park.[23]

Two sculptures by local artists sit in the center of the two traffic roundabouts that are on Evergreen Road. Diversity, by John Piet, former art professor at Macomb Community College and 35-year resident of Southfield sits in the center of the northern Evergreen Road roundabout.[24] Gratitude, by nationally-acclaimed Southfield sculptor Jay Lefkowitz, sits in the southern Evergreen Road roundabout.[25][26]

In 2017, Pioneer Family II, a sculpture created by Belgian-Canadian artist Andreas Drenters [27] was installed at Mary Thompson Farm, a historical farm site that complements the materials used for the sculpture.

In August 2018, Red Pole Park opened officially on the shared-use path along the Northwestern Highway service drive, north of Civic Center Drive. The 140-linear foot interactive park has 65 repurposed, 35-foot tall telephone poles painted red. In March, 2019, a majority of the poles were topped with solar-activated, battery-powered blue lights. The park was funded by 3,665 sponsors in a 2017 Patronicity crowdfunding campaign and a matched grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's (MEDC) Public Spaces, Community Places initiative.[28]

The poles represent the conscious choice of the community to embrace civic values. Throughout the city's history, the community members have prioritized and embraced values that are commonly held and which connect the community into a complex whole of sustainability, stewardship, and education.[29][30]

The red, a symbol of strength and the color of energy, love, and passion, inspires action. The tallest poles are a symbol of the ancestors of the city who were rooted in civic mindfulness. The shorter poles represent new growth. Others are red circles on the pathway, which symbolize the generations to come who will continue to practice civic values.

Integral to the City Centre is its connected pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly shared-use path, which spans 7.75 miles when completed. The four-season path highlights public art, historical landmarks, bikeshare stations, and nature. In 2019 and 2020, the areas along northbound and southbound Northwestern Highway service drive will undergo construction to expand the shared-use path and on-street bicycle lanes.[31]

On April 5, 2019, the City of Southfield Planning Department presented to the City Centre Advisory Board the Southfield City Centre Trail Map which highlights the shared-used pathway throughout the district, a milestone in the movement from a vehicle-centric center to a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly, walkable district.

The Southfield City Centre hosts and sponsors public events and festivals each year, including concerts, food truck rallies, and sponsored walks. A summer-long "Eat to the Beat" concert and food truck series takes place on the 2nd Thursdays of June, July, August, and September each year at Central Park Blvd. and Civic Center Dr.[32] Beginning in August 2018, Southfield City Centre holds its annual Jazz Festival, featuring jazz artist Kimmie Horne.[33] In June 2018 and 2019, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Michigan Chapter held its fundraising and awareness-raising events in the Southfield City Centre, utilizing the district's shared path amenities.[34][35]

Amenities that exist in the City Centre district, and which complement the expanding share-used trail, include outdoor "rooms" which have art installations, nature interpretive panels, rain gardens, pedestrian respite areas, bike repair stations and additional interactive green spaces.

In 2019, the City of Southfield will install bird houses along the shared-use path to provide visual interest for humans and residences for birds.

A 8.6-acre parcel of land made available in 2010 by the demolition of three vacant buildings is the site of EverCentre, a development designed by Hamilton-Anderson Associates through research by Gibbs Planning Group. In 2017, EverCentre received the Planning Excellence Award for Urban Design by the Michigan Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The plan proposes 184,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and flex space, 250 units of multi-family rental and condos, a parking garage, boutique hotel and conference center, and linear public green space. The City of Southfield is currently seeking commitments from development teams to purchase and break ground on the project.[36]

• Southfield Town Center