Fates of huge Oakland County sites to be decided soon

Posted on April 3, 2017

Photo by Prime Design Inc.A “major sports and entertainment development” project is planned on the site of closed Summit Place Mall in Waterford Township.

The fates of three prominent north Oakland County properties could be resolved in the next several months.

Officials in Pontiac and Waterford Township have long tried to find solutions for the blighted Summit Place Mall and Pontiac Silverdome properties. Meanwhile, the owner of The Palace of Auburn Hills is in the process of determining what to do with the arena once the Detroit Pistons pack their bags for Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit later this year.

Now, demolition of the Silverdome is scheduled to begin this summer, and new details have emerged about what a yet-to-be identified developer wants to do with the mall that straddles the Waterford/Pontiac border.

Combined, those properties and the Palace make up more than 300 acres of property with either active redevelopment proposals or a high likelihood of redevelopment in the not-so-distant future.

Time will tell what happens: There is a crucial April 10 meeting on the Summit Place fate, and last week’s court agreement makes it all but certain the Silverdome will be demolished in the next several months.

They are among the most prominent — and perplexing — sites in north Oakland County, with bounds of potential uses for whoever can make the redevelopments work.

Another 100 acres of developable land across three sites are available at the Oakland Technology Park in Auburn Hills, though development questions have proved less vexing for these parcels.

Summit Place Mall

It has been the target of redevelopment proposals ranging from minor-league baseball stadiums to water parks to multifamily housing, none of which have materialized.

Now the Waterford Township board expects to vote April 10 on whether to allow a sale of the property to a private development group that has not been publicly identified due to a nondisclosure agreement.

“‘Hello and welcome, or goodbye,'” Supervisor Gary Wall said, characterizing the decision expected to be made next week.

What happens with the site is up in the air. But Eric Banks, executive principal and executive director of brokerage services for Bingham Farms-based Core Partners, which is representing Santa Monica-based owner SD Capital LLC in the sale, said a “major sports and entertainment development” project is planned.

The nuts and bolts, according to Banks: a 12,000-seat arena with basketball courts, four hockey rinks, a wave pool, an IMAX theater, a hotel, 100,000 square feet of sports-related retail space, outlot restaurants, soccer and football fields and other uses.

Continue reading full article on Crain’s Detroit Business.