Legacy Park is named as Project of the Year
Northville Township’s 350-acre Legacy Park has been named the 2025 Project of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA).The organization recognized the “Redevelop & Recycle: Legacy Park” project at the annual conference. In addition to Northville Township, the project contractor, Asbestos Abatement Inc. and consultant Fleis & VandenBrink, were included in the award.
“This was a great achievement for our community,” said Director of Public Services Bob Belair. “The board of trustees had a vision to get these buildings down after owning the site for several years. We finally have a clean palette to start developing the park and making it accessible to our residents who own the property.”
Legacy Park has been a multi-year project. Once the former Northville Psychiatric State Hospital on Seven Mile Road, Northville Township took ownership of the property as a result of a successful millage election in 2009. The goal of the land purchase was to provide recreational opportunities for township residents and to preserve a unique piece of nature within the community. At the time, there were 22 deteriorating buildings, a water tower, smokestacks, related utility tunnels and roads on the 350-acre site.
Demolition of the nine-story main hospital was completed in 2018. Northville Township approached this in a fiscally responsible manner, completing the project. Beginning in 2022 and completed in 2023, all remaining 10 buildings were safely abated and demolished, leaving a blank slate to shape a recreation and public services complex.
Throughout the demolition, Northville Township and Asbestos Abatement Inc. recycled much of the concrete, building debris and steel. Much of the concrete was ground down and reused under the foundation of the new Essential Services Complex and as the base of the parking lot. Some of the recycled concrete material was sold and put into roads being constructed throughout the state. The steel and metal were recycled or scrapped to keep prices down on the project, officials noted.
“This Project of the Year honor acknowledges how truly special Legacy Park is,” said Township Supervisor Mark J. Abbo. “Northville Township prizes its greenspace and we are committed to being good stewards of the crown jewel of our community. It remains a work in progress but the best is yet to come.”
