America's First Suburban Mall: Northland Center Redux

CM credit hours for mobile workshops are awarded based on the planned dedicated instructional time. Adjustments to CM hours will not be made after the live event.

Northland Center, a first-of-its-kind, modern, suburban mall opened in 1954. It went into receivership in 2014 and closed in February 2015. In December 2016, the City of Southfield completed site acquisition - excluding three big-box pads and several smaller lots that were acquired later. More than 70 easements were identified that impacted future development. Post-acquisition, the city dealt with break-ins, squatters, a fire, asbestos removals, environmental cleanup, reality TV proposals, and more.

With community input, the city developed a comprehensive plan, vision plan, and design guidelines for mixed-use redevelopment, bringing to the table a planned-unit development tool, brownfield plan and other incentives. After three failed developer proposals, the project is finally, albeit slowly, under construction.

See the development in its current stage and hear from city officials, the developer, and other stakeholders about the site's transformation and surrounding improvements. Visit first mixed-use buildings and the state's first Costco Business Center.

Learn about inclusive public engagement that informed the vision plan and how the city's perseverance, problem solving, and leadership overcame site acquisition, environmental issues, economic factors, COVID, and more. See progress to date and discover lessons learned.