Information meeting on Woodward Bates project

The city of Birmingham will hold an information meeting for city residents on the Woodward Bates project and the upcoming bond proposal vote on Tuesday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m. the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC).

Birmingham residents are being asked to approve bond proposal on August 6 in the amount of up to $57.4 million to secure financing for replacement of the N. Old Woodward parking structure and an extension of Bates Street.

What is the Woodward Bates project, and is it good for Birmingham? Those questions will be answered at the meeting at the BBAC, 1516 Cranbrook Road.

The parcel of land being discussed is approximately four acres in the city’s central business district, consisting of the current N. Old Woodward parking garage, an adjacent parking lot and adjacent parcels. Over the last few years, the city solicited creative and innovative development plans from qualified developers to extend Bates Street from Willits to N. Old Woodward, connecting the north and south parts of Birmingham, to redevelop the remainder of the site by constructing a new parking structure that will provide a minimum of 400 parking spaces in addition to replacing the 750 parking spaces currently on the N. Old Woodward / Bates Street site, plus adding residential, commercial and/or mixed uses in order to create an activated, pedestrian-oriented urban streetscape while also providing public access to the Rouge River and Booth Park to the north.

The city commission chose Woodward Bates Partners LLC in June 2018, and have proceeded with predevelopment agreements, development agreements, and approval of the bond resolution vote.