Livonia mayor presents a reimagined Civic Center Park during state of city address

State of the city speeches are often about looking back on recent successes, but Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan said her favorite part of her 2022 address was getting to look ahead. 

The mayor delivered her speech March 24 at Laurel Manor in Livonia. The crowd, which greeted Brosnan with a standing ovation, included local officials, business leaders and community members.

Given there were so many potential partners and investors in the room, Brosnan used part of her speech to make the case for redeveloping part of Civic Center Park, located at the corner of Five Mile and Farmington roads.

The project is part of the Livonia Vision 21 Master Plan. The plan also calls for the redevelopment of the Plymouth Road corridor and the old Livonia Mall property at Seven Mile and Farmington roads. Officials hope reimagining key areas of the city will create downtown-like environments and bring more young families into the city.

The mayor noted Livonia has already received $3 million in federal funds thanks to Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Waterf) and hopes to secure more funds from the state and Wayne County. Brosnan has previously said she doesn't want to increase taxes to pay for Vision 21 projects.