Victor Saroki, a Birmingham architect, said the $50 million worth of new construction plans for the block bounded by Main Street, 11 Mile Road and Troy and University streets will be a perfect "bookend" for the city's northern downtown.
The improvements are being considered by Joseph Freed & Associates of Palatine, IL, and were presented to city officials on Tuesday.
Three buildings ranging in height from seven to nine stories and connected by wide sidewalks with fountains and sculptures will "bookend" the Main Place of Royal Oak project, developers said.
Technically, the project site isn't in downtown, but the developers are asking the city to treat the property as a planned unit development, which makes them eligible for the same kind of parking and height variances without going to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The project still is in the working stages but the vision unveiled before representatives of the four city boards, including the City Commission and Plan Commission, calls for:
• A nine-story, 120-ft building on Main at University with retail on the ground floor level, a health club or offices on the second floor, then two levels of private and public parking topped by five floors of residential space.
• An eight-story, 110-ft building at Main and 11 Mile with ground-floor retail, two floors of private parking and five floors of residential.
• A seven-story, 100-ft building at 11 Mile and Troy also with ground-floor retail will be built over a six-screen, 1,100-seat "art house" theater that could be the Main Art Theatre if the owners, who just signed a 20-year-lease, are willing to relocate. The upper floors would be parking and housing.
If the Main Art stays at its current location, the developers will build around it and it will remain a three-screen, 980-seat theater.
In partnership with MJM Group LLC, the development team has acquired all the pieces of its property puzzle except for the theater and part of the Fresard Pontiac-Buick dealership.
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