Redevelop & Recycle: Legacy Park

The Charter Township of Northville wanted to turn the former old Northville State Psychiatric Hospital into a 332-acre green space oasis with 17 miles of non-motorized trails. To create the future Legacy Park and preserve a unique piece of nature within the community, the 13 remaining dilapidated buildings needed asbestos removal, demolition, and brownfield restoration.

The old buildings, which sat dormant for 20 years, posed both a physical and health hazard because they contained asbestos and were falling apart. The Township Board of Trustees approved a $12 million bond sale for the demolition.

Fleis & VandenBrink (F&V) conducted a hazardous building materials survey to assess the condition of building materials and identify any materials that may require special handling and/or disposal prior to demolition. The assessment also included an asbestos containing materials survey to determine how much asbestos was present and needed to be removed, its location, and quantify cost associated with the removal.

During the demolition, a concrete crusher was mobilized to the site and was used to recycle building materials and concrete. The concrete debris was crushed to gravel, ‘cleaned’ by a magnet and transported to various sites in southern Michigan, where it was used for construction aggregate. Thousands of cubic yards of the recycled crushed materials were left for the Township’s future use on its non-motorized trail construction.

The demolition, which put over 96% of the property back into a natural state, paves the way for future redevelopment and transformation of the 332-acre parcel off Seven Mile Road between Haggerty and Northville roads. One of the buildings – Building 14, the former laundry facility – was removed from demolition list, and remains on-site to be repurposed as a legacy building for recreational use.