Costco Business Center to Anchor $403M Detroit Mixed-Use

Costco Business Center. Image courtesy of Friedman Real Estate

Costco is one step closer to developing its first Michigan business center. The company acquired a 13.4-acre parcel in Southfield from Contour Cos., public records show. The upcoming 160,000-square-foot retail warehouse will differ from the firm’s existing consumer facilities and focus on the business component.

Costco’s Southfield business center was first announced last year in October. The retail warehouse will anchor Northland City Center, the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Northland Mall. At full build-out, the property will comprise office, retail, medical and residential space.

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Costco Business Center will take shape at the corner of Northland Drive and Northwestern Highway, 13.5 miles from downtown Detroit. The development site has access to multiple routes, including interstates 75 and 696, as well as State Route 10.

Senior Vice President Alan Stern and National Director Rich Deptula with Friedman Real Estate represented the seller in the transaction.

From shopping mall to mixed-use development

The 1.4 million-square-foot Northland Mall, completed in 1954, stayed opened until 2015 when the City of Southfield took ownership of the property with plans to demolish it. Six years later, Contour Cos. acquired the 97-acre site for $11.1 million and proposed the $403 million mixed-use project currently underway.

Northland City Center broke ground a few months later, in October. As part of the development, the original J.L. Hudson department store building is redeveloped into a food and goods store called Hudson City Market. Michigan Economic Development Corp. provided $26 million in Brownfield tax credits for the project. The completion date is set for 2026 or 2027.