Farmington Hills City Council changes course with Costick Center

FARMINGTON HILLS — At the April 27 meeting of the Farmington Hills City Council, members voted to move forward with an architectural study for the new Costick Center at the site of the current Costick Center, and to no longer consider The Hawk’s location.

The Hawk is Farmington Hills’ activity and cultural center, located at 29995 12 Mile Road. During previous meetings, community members had voiced strong opposition to The Hawk as a potential site for the new building, pushing for it to instead be built at the site of the current center, located at 28600 11 Mile Road. Despite this, council voted 4-3 at a November 2025 council meeting for The Hawk.

Among the reasons that The Hawk was attractive to some members of council was because it was expected to produce annual savings of $250,000, despite some aspects of the project costing more due to building on uneven ground.

Also, some members liked the idea that it would be a recreational and community hub with all the buildings consolidated on one campus. The original property at the 11 Mile location could then be sold, providing additional income for the city.

Councilwoman Valerie Knol said at the April 27 meeting that she did not want to have to raise taxes, and The Hawk would provide “bigger bang for the buck,” adding that “there are more operational efficiencies, more amenities,” and concluding that “I am very concerned about the funding of this building — we talk about a fund balance, (but) I see it draining very quickly.”

Councilmen Michael Bridges and Charlie Starkman maintained their position of wanting the original site that community members had wanted.

According to Mayor Theresa Rich, the project is slated to cost around $30-$35 million with an operational lifespan of 40–50 years. The city’s fund balance is more than $60 million.

“We are committed to maintaining at least half (of the fund balance) to retain our AAA bond rating and use some toward the activities center,” Rich said.

Gene Carroll, executive vice president at Neumann Smith Architecture, presented his plans to city officials before. The council appeared pleased.

“You are going to play a very important role in this project,” Bridges told him.

Carroll mentioned the importance of designing spaces that are “flexible” and can be used by seniors and then used by teens when school is out.

The council voted 5-2 to have Neumann Smith Architecture handle the engineering and architectural studies at the Costick Center site only, for a price of nearly $1.8 million.

Both Knol and Councilman Jon Aldred said they voted “no” because both sites were not being considered; with an architectural and engineering study at each site, there would be more data for the council to compare.