Demolition of Northville Downs is starting. Here's what we know

NORTHVILLE — It won’t be long before Northville Downs disappears forever from the city landscape.

Building demolition is scheduled to begin in April, and wrap up by mid-summer. Developers are already in the early phases of clearing the 80-year-old racetrack and other buildings from the property where Hunter Pasteur Homes plans a $250 million redevelopment project.

Northville Downs, Michigan's last horseracing track, hosted its final race Feb. 3.

Seth Herkowitz, COO and a partner with Hunter Pasteur, said asbestos abatement, the first step in the demolition process, is underway. Demolition of the paddocks and track buildings will follow, with completion anticipated for July.

“The first activities and priorities…will be to create a safe and contained site, implementing soil erosion and sedimentation control, pest mitigation deployment throughout all vacated buildings, along with asbestos abatement and demolition,” Herkowitz said in an email.

Renascent Incorporated, based in Indiana, has been awarded a $1.9 million contract for the demolition, approved by the Northville City Council during a special meeting Feb. 26.

Of the $1.9 million, $600,000 is earmarked for the river park portion of the property and is eligible for ARPA funds. Hunter Pasteur is responsible for the $1.3 million balance.

Herkowitz said a series of construction impact mitigation strategies will be implemented to minimize disturbance to surrounding neighborhoods during the demolition process. Plans include fencing, dust mitigation, truck traffic routing consistent with approved streets outlined in its development agreement, and pest control.

Northville City Manager George Lahanas said the city building official is reviewing the required demolition permit that will outline the flow of construction traffic, containment of the site and other issues.

“Our plan is to make sure we’re mitigating time of activity, the noise, the disturbance, the pests,” he said. “You have to make sure you minimize that for the neighbors.”

Lahanas said downtown Northville should not see much impact from the project, and that summer events will continue as usual.

“Everything is planned for normal,” Lahanas said. “We would expect that construction and demolition traffic would not be going through the city proper, but would stay on Seven Mile and minimize travel through the city.”

In the weeks ahead, he added, the city is planning a meeting to provide residents with a forum to  learn about the demolition and construction, ask questions, and sign up to receive updates.

A date for the meeting has not been set, but will be posted on the city website and social media channels.

More:Northville Downs slaps Plymouth Township with lawsuit over denial of new racetrack

Contact reporter Laura Colvin at lcolvin@hometownlife.com or 248-221-8143.

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