NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Officials in Northville Township are asking for the public’s input to help turn the site of a former psychiatric hospital into something the community can enjoy.
Northville Parks and Rec wants to learn what residents want in the new 350-acre Legacy Park, so they’re holding a series of public input sessions to address and questions or concerns.
The public is encouraged to give input at the meeting, which takes place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 16, at the Northville Township Hall Assembly Room, located at 44405 Six Mile Road, near Sheldon Road.
The former Northville State Psychiatric Hospital once stood at the half-square mile site. The township acquired the Seven Mile Road property in 2009, six years after the Northville Regional Psychiatric Hospital was closed. At the time, it included 20 buildings, a water tower, a power plant and other infrastructure.
The first buildings were demolished in 2012. The signature nine-story, 252,174-square-foot psychiatric hospital came down in 2018. The remaining structures were demolished in 2022.
Now the township is working to develop the land into a beautiful park for the community to come together for peace and healing.
“So we’re trying to be very respectful of the past, but also provide this as an opportunity to turn this into something positive where people can visit the site and receive those benefits of recreation of mental physical relaxation or exercise or just an opportunity to get back in the woods,” said Parks and Recreation Director Derek Smith.
The current plans for the park feature 16 miles of trails for mountain bike races and plenty of wooded areas to give people the opportunity to get outside and plug back into nature.
Smith said he’s grateful to have a blank canvas and to be able to work with residents to find out what they want done at the park.
“And that’s where the goals come from,” Smith said. “Just being able to connect with those residents and provide them quality of life services for the long term.”