The old Firestone building at Northland Center will meet the wrecking ball Monday morning as the city of Southfield moves forward on plans to redevelop the 125-acre site.
Demolition of the structure near Greenfield and Eight Mile roads was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Dore & Associates Contracting Inc. of Bay City is overseeing the work, expected to last two weeks, through a $572,650 contract the city awarded last year, a news release said.
The city obtained the deed to the building when it acquired the vacant mall property for $2.4 million in 2015. Officials promised to remediate, demolish and sell the large swath of land for development. A year later, the city of Southfield revealed an ambitious plan to attract hotel, apartments, retail and office developments.
Environmental assessment and remediation of other parts of the mall continues as more demolitions are planned for the months ahead, the release said.
Developers have begun to show interest in the site. A San Diego health care developer is looking at taking about 25 acres. The city is also considering separate proposals from Bloomfield Hills-based Edward Rose & Sons and Southfield-based General Development Corp. to build senior housing and office space, respectively, on about 50 acres total.
Northland was the largest shopping mall in the world when it opened in 1954. The shopping center, once anchored by J.L. Hudson’s, J.C. Penney and Target, closed in 2015 and saw its first wrecking ball in 2017.
