Vacant Prison May Begin Coming Down in May

The Northville Township Board of Trustees will finalize in the next few weeks a contract with salvage company Adamo Group to demolish the former Robert Scott Correction Facility.

"We should be able to see construction begin in early May," said Township Supervisor Bob Nix at a special meeting Thursday.

He said he will meet with Adamo on Friday to further discuss the contract for the demolition. Demolition on the property at Five Mile and Beck roads would take approximately nine months to complete, Township Manager Chip Snider told Patch in February.

"I like the idea that they're keeping the unpopular wire up," said Trustee Marv Gans at Thursday's special meeting.

Of the several layers of fencing along the perimeter of the prison property, Nix said Adamo plans to leave one. He said that will save the township from seeing the same issues with trespassers like at the vacant Northville Psychiatric Hospital.

The township has not yet made a decision on what the 53-acre land will be used for after plans to knock it down. 

The prison was shut down in 2009, and the township bought the property from the state for $1 in September. The state had the right to sell it for $1 to a community that would maintain it as a property with a public purpose, Nix said.

One of the township's options is to sell the property under a development agreement, he said. This agreement would give the township control of what gets developed on the land, which he said is better than simply assigning the land a particular zoning. 

"I'm also trying to resolve the repurchase agreement with the City of Detroit," Nix said.

The City of Detroit, which previously sold the property to the state, has the right to repurchase the property at an appraised value, he said. 

Whether that happens—which Nix said he doesn't expect—or the township decides to sell the property, the prison will get torn down, he said.

What are your ideas for what should replace the former prison? Tell us in the comments.