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Park Land Acquisition and Facilities:
Need and Opportunities

Parks, Partnerships, and Property

Map of Land owned by Novi Community Schools

The City of Novi takes pride in maintaining an excellent relationship with the Novi Community Schools, working collaboratively to provide the highest quality services for the community. This relationship transcends providing superior education for our youth. It involves sharing facilities, land, marketing efforts, and programs. Examples include:

• The City provided land to accommodate the recent Novi High School expansion
• The Novi Schools share facilities for City programming
• School Resource Officer
• Youth Assistance
• Marketing and communications

Community Need

The 2003-2008 City of Novi Community Recreation Plan, utilizing the National Recreation and Park Association standards, identified the need for an additional 80-100 acres of park land to meet the residents’ recreation and park needs. Additionally, the 2007 Older Adult Strategic Plan recognized the “boomer” and senior population has grown rapidly and is expected to increase by 269% in Novi over the next 14 years. This projected growth supports the need for increased recreation programs, facilities, and park land. Currently, civic park and recreation facilities, plus all shared opportunities, are being utilized at capacity.

The City of Novi utilizes school facilities for recreation services to the extent possible. However, this use is nearing capacity. For the past several years, the City of Novi has been looking at ways to meet growing needs and recently has engaged in conceptual discussions with the Novi Schools on possible land opportunities. Prior to these discussions, the City of Novi evaluated available properties in the community to determine which best met its needs.

The Novi Community Schools owns 74 acres of property at Eleven Mile and Beck Roads as public land. The schools were wise to land bank this property for future potential improvements. This property could now be leveraged to provide immediate public benefit and still provide the schools long-term opportunity to fulfill future needs through a collective agreement. The City of Novi is now expressing interest in obtaining, through exchange and future development rights, this property to fulfill community needs for park and recreation space. As an indication of the City’s commitment, the City is exploring the possibility of acquiring three parcels of land (39 acres) adjacent to the western edge of the school property. These properties (a combined 112 acres) would fulfill ALL current and future park land needs.

This centrally located property provides easy access for the entire community and is adjacent to the ITC Transmission corridor. This provides the opportunity to develop a contiguous pathway from ITC Community Sports Park to this property and St. John Health’s Providence Park. Funding options for property acquisition and facility development are being explored. A City-led development of the property, if able to be assembled, would provide site development (roads, utilities, etc.) beneficial to future school needs.

Creating a SIGNATURE Park

In January 2008, City Council placed among the top of its priorities the need to acquire land and create a Signature Park to meet the parks and recreation needs of the community now and in the future.  A Signature Park is one that creates an image of who the community is and what it represents; it is a park for which the community is known. The park offers a full complement of active and passive recreation opportunities, structured programs, and self-directed activities, as well as festivals and events for ALL ages. Examples of Signature Parks include Central Park in New York City, Grant Park in Chicago, Piedmont Park in Atlanta, and Mill Race Park in Columbus, Indiana. In southeast Michigan, Signature Parks include the Summit in Canton and Campus Martius in Detroit.

Potential components of the Signature Park could include:

• Community Recreation Center (teen activities, older adult center, theatre, gymnasiums, and various community programs)
• Festival area
• Variety of outdoor amenities
• Art in the park
• Nature trails
• Ball fields

The development of such a park would alleviate pressure on existing school and community facilities, by enabling enhanced programming and recreation opportunities.

If the land acquisition is successful, the City would engage community members in a visioning process that would distinguish this park from all others in the area and culminate in a Signature Park serving all residents.

If you have any questions regarding this property and the enhancements, please contact the Community Relations Office at (248) 735-5628 or Email.

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