I think there should be some balance. We're never going to be a destination for shopping. And we're probably not going to be a daytime destination for offices, like Dearborn or Livonia or Southfield or Troy. Instead, the township will concentrate on family oriented projects, Yack said. For example, plans are in the works to buy 120 acres of park land the township will hold until they need to develop.
Plans are also under way to build a performing arts theater.
Then the community will be in a position where it will simply need to maintain those facilities. That's a departure from where a community, like Livonia, wants to be in 20 years. By 2020, Livonia's population will drop to become the third largest city in Wayne County, behind Detroit and Canton Township, with about 96,000 people, demographers estimate. Celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, Livonia sees its major challenges as keeping a thriving business community, and hanging on to as much population as it can. Changing faces Livonia's challenges are more typical of suburban Wayne County where finding housing for an aging population and the spread of households top the lists of community concerns.