An entity tied to Southfield-based Ciena Healthcare Management Inc. in Southfield has purchased a key piece of Midtown real estate with plans for a mixed-use development.

In what is so far the most expensive land sale of the year in Detroit, the 3.78-acre property at 3750 Woodward Avenue immediately north of the Whole Foods grocery store sold to a limited-liability company registered to Ciena CEO Mohammad Qazi for $15 million, or $3.97 million per acre, according to city property records. It was recorded with the city on Sept. 24.

Ciena Healthcare manages 45 skilled nursing homes and rehabilitation centers in Michigan, according to the company's website.

On Monday during a brief phone conversation, Qazi said the site is subject of "some exciting plans."

"It will be one of the most exciting projects to take place in Detroit. It's going to be a mixed-use development, upscale," he said.

He referred further inquiries to a spokeswoman from the Detroit office of public relations firm FleishmanHillard.

Tranéy Thames, senior account executive with FleishmanHillard, said a groundbreaking ceremony is expected in the spring and that more information will be made public by the end of the year.