Sterling Heights council adopts Lakeside Corridor CIA development and TIF plan, 6–1

The Sterling Heights City Council on Tuesday approved the Lakeside Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA) development plan and its accompanying tax‑increment financing (TIF) plan, a 25‑year redevelopment strategy designed to spur mixed‑use growth and corridor improvements around the Lakeside Mall area.

Economic development manager Dylan Clark told the council the CIA district would encompass the Lakeside Mall frontage and adjacent corridors and put standards in place for open space, active storefronts, street trees, stormwater integration and pedestrian design. Clark said the city estimates roughly $80 million in public investment may be needed over 25 years for public‑realm projects such as property acquisition, site preparation, storm infrastructure, sidewalks, trails and façade improvements; most of that would be funded by TIF capture, bonding, grants and donations.

Clark described the plan’s financial assumptions: a $57.65 million base taxable value for the district, modeled at 3% annual inflationary growth and producing roughly $63 million of incremental taxable value over the life of the plan. After applicable village and jurisdictional adjustments, Clark said the plan estimates about $17 million in captured revenue available to the CIA across 25 years.

During the public hearing resident "Mr. Smith" urged caution, calling the Lakeside redevelopment a potential money pit. Council members pressed staff on two topics: whether state preemption bills would affect the plan (City Manager Mark Vanderpool and Sen. Michael Webber said the preemption measures mainly target single‑family zoning and were unlikely to block this commercial corridor plan), and how the CIA differs from the Lakeside brownfield/TIF approach. Vanderpool and Clark explained the Lakeside Mall brownfield (a separate state process) would fund transformational cleanup at the mall parcel, while the CIA captures incremental revenues from parcels outside the Lakeside ring road for corridor improvements, sidewalks and street trees.

Council members voiced differing perspectives about governance and oversight but agreed the CIA fills a gap in coordinating public realm improvements around the mall. Councilmember Michael Radke said the district would help create a cohesive, mixed‑use downtown area; Councilmember Yannis raised questions about captured amounts and was satisfied after staff explained the numbers in Table 1 and Table 2 of the TIF analysis.

Councilmember Zarko moved approval of the resolution adopting the Lakeside Corridor Improvement Authority development plan and tax‑increment financing plan; the motion carried 6–1.

The plan now becomes part of the city’s formal redevelopment strategy; Clark noted demolition for Lakeside Mall’s redevelopment project is anticipated to start after Michigan Strategic Fund review and potential approval in late June, with demolition targeted for early 2027 if state approvals come through.

What’s next: the city will continue coordination with the Lakeside brownfield project and with regional partners as it sequences infrastructure investments and applies for available state funds.