City manager says Lakeside Mall redevelopment has 2 important dates in May
Posted By: Macomb Daily on April 9, 2026. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
The long-awaited redevelopment of the Lakeside Mall property in Sterling Heights has two “important milestone” dates coming up next month to further the project, city officials said this week.
The Sterling Heights City Council on Tuesday, April 7 set a public hearing on a Combined Transformational Brownfield Plan for the project for May 5. Officials said the hearing will then trigger the Michigan Strategic Fund to review the plan at the state level on May 19 in Lansing.
Miami-based real estate firm Lionheart Capital, which purchased Lakeside Mall on Hall Road (M-59) in 2019, plans to convert the 110-acre site into a massive mixed-used development called Lakeside City Center. Lionheart closed the shopping center in 2024.
Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool told City Council the process is “inching forward.”
“That’s the last hurdle for the project,” he said of the strategic fund review. “Then, the developer will proceed with the next phase, which is getting everything ready for the infrastructure buildout.”
Council members have said demolition of the mall could begin by the end of the year.
Lionheart intends to transform the former mall site into an extensive new development of housing, restaurants, retail shops and more that city officials predict will serve as a new type of downtown. Developers are investing more than $1 billion into the multi-phase project that will take about 20 years to finish.
According to city officials, the brownfield plan will combine revenue from local tax increment financing with state tax increment financing that involves increased tax revenue from higher property values that are set aside for future investments in the property.
Lionheart will be able to use the revenue from the plan on anything related to “hard construction costs,” such as buildings, demolition, and water and sewer infrastructure, officials said.
A master development plan for Lakeside was approved by the Sterling Heights City Council in December 2024. It includes transforming the property into five neighborhoods, some of which could include high-rise buildings, along with retail, restaurants and open space.
A main focal point will be a Central Park, which would be “a flexible space” filled with restaurants and outdoor seating for music, art and events.
Vanderpool said the city is preparing plans for surrounding residential neighborhoods once the demolition gears up.
“We will get with residents to work on a robust traffic plan when we are getting ready to commence,” the manager said. “We want to minimize the impact on neighborhoods as much as possible.”
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