Posted on 05/14/2018 2:40:47 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A need that was identified years ago may soon be filled.
Novi City Council has approved the conditional purchase and sale of a 10-acre property located along Grand River Avenue, just east of Town Center Drive and south of 11 Mile Road for $3.15 million. The developer, Sakura Novi LLC., an affiliate of Robert B. Aikens and Associates, plans to construct a $50 million Asian Village.
The village, which will feature housing, restaurants, lifestyle services, retail and office space as well as a 25,000 square-foot Asian market and food-hall operated by Novi-based One World Market, will be a significant asset to the county and region, according to Irene Spanos, the county’s director of economic development and community affairs.
“For years we’ve heard from our Asian residents and from our Asian Businesses that there is no central gathering place,” said Irene Spanos, Oakland County’s director of economic development. “We’ve for years thought this was need in our community.
Spanos said the idea for an Asian Village began when One World Market asked for help in creating a new prototype market.
“We thought this was the perfect timing,” said Spanos. “The developer One World Market selected loved the idea and off we started. This Asian Village will help us retain and recruit Asian companies in our community. The idea of the Asian village came from our Asian business owners that wanted a “central gathering place”.”
Novi has the largest Asian population of any city in the state and one of the largest in the Midwest. The county is also home to over 270 Japanese-owned firms, 50 Chinese-owned firms and 40 Korean-owned firms.
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said it’s this large concentration of Asian-owned businesses and Asian residents that makes Novi the perfect location for this “dynamic project.”
“We’re excited that the Asian Village, once only a concept, is now going to be a reality,” said Patterson.
Developer Scott Aikens, whose company is also developing a $100 million town center in Commerce Township, said he envisions the village to be a vibrant entertainment and residential hub unlike anything else in the region.
Aikens said that in addition to the market, which will anchor the village, there will be a Japanese-style garden, 4-acre lake, an entertainment venue, a range of restaurants including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Indian, and a collection of Asian-focused retail and services.
“The residential community enfolded into the project will make the Asian Village a dynamic place to live as well as play,” said Aikens.
The project, located on a partially contaminated property that used to house a car wash and landscaping company, is in its infancy stages and is contingent on the creation of a Brownfield plan and due diligence, including survey, title review, site inspection, and rezoning plan, by Zakura, according to Sheryl Walsh, Novi communications director.
She said lifestyle amenities like the Asian Village are critical to help people feel more at home while they are living away from places like Japan, Korea, China and India.
“Novi prides itself on and embraces its rich diversity and the Asian community plays a large role in that,” said Walsh. “This initiative embraces the world. Much like Michigan, Novi is a global-facing community which is enhanced by foreign investment.”
The conditional agreement of purchase and sale, which was approved last week by city council, gives the city 90 days from the date of signing to complete the purchase. If the city is unable to do so, Sakura has 30 days to decide whether or not to go through with the purchase. Ultimately, closing must occur within 18 months.
On Monday, area residents were posting their concerns on Facebook about the impact this project will have on traffic.
Walsh said she understands residents’ concerns about a possible increase in traffic congestion but said just as with any development in the city, “traffic will be looked at and addressed” and that the project will be served by drivers coming from 11 Mile Road as well as the Novi Town Center.
ASIAN INFLUENCE IN OAKLAND COUNTY
In October, county officials announced the development of a Japanese-style garden at the Michigan State University Tollgate Farms in Novi. The project, which will feature 17 Japanese cherry blossom trees, is expected to be completed this summer.
Among the over 1,000 foreign companies, from 39 countries, located in the county, there are over 270 from Japan alone, the county’s largest cluster of foreign companies.
Spanos said the county’s recently formed “Japanese Welcoming Committee” just produced the “Japanese Resource Guide, which will help new executives and their families from Japan quickly get situated in Michigan.
The guide was distributed to every Japanese company in the county, which includes information about utilities, food establishments and supermarkets, family and child services, education, community attractions as well as work and business resources.
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180117/oakland-county-foreign-investment-tops-1-billion-since-2014
JAPANESE GARDEN COMING SOON: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20171030/japanese-style-garden-coming-to-michigan-state-universitys-tollgate-farms-in-novi-ceremonial-launch-wednesday
CONDITIONAL AGREEMENT OF PURCHASE AND SALE: http://cityofnovi.org/Agendas-Minutes/City-Council/2018/180507/5-ConditionalAgreementofPurchaseandSaleNorthGrandR.aspx
$100 MILLION FIVE AND MAIN PROJECT IN COMMERCE TOWNSHIP: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180416/100-million-downtown-district-planned-for-commerce-township-featuring-dining-shopping-and-condos
TOP COUNTY OFFICIAL HEADS TO JAPAN: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180305/top-oakland-county-official-travels-to-japan-seeking-economic-growth-opportunities
ECONOMIC FORECAST: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180427/oakland-countys-economic-forecast-shows-job-growth-talent-gap-and-wage-increases
Asians ex. Japanese, Chinese, Korean work hard & aren't terrorists that go around shooting people or blow stuff up
I good friend of mine and I often have brunch at a Chinese buffet in Chattanoga, TN, until the last time. The insides of the toilet stalls in the men’s room were carved with pictures of sex organs, mostly male. OGH!! No more! They just lost two very good customers.
Did you see the business name on that sign?
Meow Mein’s
LOL
Novi, Michigan. Named after a train station in the area. The NO.VI train stopped there, hence the name.
CC
Well, if you don’t mine eating cats and rats, then you take your chances.
Lol...ghetto?
I'll wager that project becomes the most successful commercial venture in the county and "we" won't have anything to do with it's success.
“you no come eat all day
you come eat go home”
Interesting. Thanks for posting. I’m about 30 minutes from that location, here in White Lake. Patterson has been a terrific commissioner for Oakland County. The quality of life in this county is FANTASTIC.
HOORAY L. Brooks and the rest of the county administrators.
The US auto industry is just as health as ever.
There’s juuuust one catch:
It’s CHANGING HANDS.
:(
A new Chinese colony?
It’s 30 minutes from/to Detroit. I kind of feel it’s too close. As Chinese I’ll other venture in first
I’ve heard it was named after a race car that wore the number 6
Oakland county has what they called “automation alley”, which is where all of the machine tool, automation, robotics, engineering, and tier suppliers were all concentrated.
I grew up in Oakland county, in Pontiac.
It was a boom town, up until the early 1990’s.
A lot of auto suppliers, and industries that use similar manufacturing set up shop over around Novi and surrounding areas. Mostly Asian firms. So the whole Asian thing would probably work out well there.
I moved out of Michigan 8 years ago, thanks to our friend Jenny Granholm and her blowing me away. I didn’t realize Brooks was still County Exec.
Great leader.
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