JC Reindl

Detroit Free Press

Royal Oak would get a new city hall inside a seven-story downtown office building as the centerpiece of a proposed $100-million public-private development plan that is gaining momentum. Ground could be broken on it this fall.

The project aims to fill two pressing needs in Royal Oak: replacing the outdated and deteriorating City Hall and adding more high-quality office space to downtown's prevailing mix of restaurants and bars.

It also calls for a six-story parking garage and new Royal Oak police headquarters that would be attached to the nearby 44th District Court building. A new Central Park would later take shape at the site of the existing City Hall and police station buildings, which both would be razed. A map of the site plan can be viewed here.

"Royal Oak used to have a major downtown park, and we built the police building and City Hall on it," City Manager Donald Johnson said Tuesday. "This would be returning it back to its original use."

The new Royal Oak city hall would occupy a two-floor wing of about 30,000 square feet within the proposed new seven-story building. The building would total about 190,000 square feet and be called the Royal Oak City Center, or ROCC.

The remaining space would be owned by the project's private development group and leased for office space and other commercial uses, such as a ground-floor restaurant and small market.

The project represents the vision of three private developers who have been working closely with the city. Their group — the Central Park Development Group — is comprised of Lansing-based Boji Group, Birmingham-based Surnow and RAD Development Group of Birmingham attorney Randall Denha.

Glenn Frey Drive sign unveiled in Royal Oak ceremony

The project's estimated $100-million price tag would be split about equally between the private sector and the city, said Ron Boji, the development group's managing partner. Royal Oak officials said they are planning to present more details about the city's share of the costs at an April 18 town hall meeting.

“We really want to hear the public’s feedback on this project," said Todd Fenton, Royal Oak's economic development manager.

The City of Royal Oak has hired Plante Moran Cresa for advice on whether it makes better sense to proceed with the Royal Oak City Center project or renovate the existing City Hall and police buildings.

If the project does go forward, ground-breaking could happen as early as this fall, and the main building could be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2018, officials said.

Johnson said Royal Oak's current City Hall dates to the early 1950s, has asbestos issues and needs a major overhaul. There are burst pipes and flooding nearly every year, most recently on primary election day this month, when the offices of the city clerk and city attorney had to be evacuated. The clerk's office is still working out of the police department and the attorney's office is in three buildings around town.

"The building very much looks like an old schoolhouse," he said.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Boji said there has been strong interest among potential office tenants for the new City Center. The asking rent would be $30 per square foot, he said.

"There's a huge demand for Class-A office space in Royal Oak," Boji said. "We've been talking to numerous candidates from 30,000 up to 120,000 square feet. ... It's going to be one phenomenal grand-slam project."

The trio of developers in the development group came together following the March 2015 death of developer Jeffrey Surnow, 63, of West Bloomfield, who was hit by a car while bicycling in Hawaii. Surnow had been handling the project and now his sons, Sam and Max Surnow, are in charge.

What’s proposed