Farmington Hills studies replacement for aging Costick Center; consultants outline three site and funding paths

Farmington Hills City Council members on June 23 heard a presentation from Sports Facilities Companies outlining options to replace the aging Costick Center with a new roughly 40,000-square-foot activity center after public outreach and a financial review, but made no formal decision at the study session.

The consultant, Evan Eloff of Sports Facilities Companies, said the review builds on work that began in 2022 and synthesizes public listening sessions, an online survey and historic usage data. "We would recommend that maintaining access to your programs, to your physical spaces, to where people recreate and where people gather is critically important," Eloff said, emphasizing that any replacement plan should avoid interrupting services for the 50-and-better population while work proceeds.

Why it matters: City staff and consultants say the Costick Center is nearing the end of its operational viability and that the special services division runs an annual operating gap (described in the presentation as about $4,000,000). The report is intended to give council options that preserve senior services while addressing capital and operating shortfalls.

What the consultant presented: Eloff summarized community input from 586 survey respondents (about 98 percent in the 50-and-better category among those who reported age) and focus groups. Top desired assets were an indoor walking track, group exercise space and indoor aquatics. The team analyzed three site options: - Existing Costick site: retains the "dedicated" senior-center feel many users prefer and benefits from existing utilities and parking. Eloff said…