The Ilitch family has been granted more than three additional years to submit a development plan for a Woodward Avenue property across from Little Caesars Arena in exchange for about $500,000 in land to be used as park space.

The Downtown Development Authority board approved a deadline extension to Sept. 12, 2022, after the family's Olympia Development of Michigan real estate company failed to submit a development plan for the property at 2473 Woodward Ave. by the previous June 28, 2019 deadline.

Olympia had been in violation since.

In return for the extension, the city is to receive a 0.065-acre property at 3118 Fourth St. in Midtown that city property records say has a value of $111,581, and a Brush Park property totaling 0.172 acres at 242 Watson St. valued at $390,069.

Olympia and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., which staffs the DDA, had refused to answer questions about the Woodward property which sits at Henry Street and the deadline since the Ilitches violated it almost six months ago. City land records say the parcel is 0.33 acres with a value of $1.26 million.

Keith Bradford, senior vice president for Olympia Development, said in a statement that the company will "continue to carefully consider the possibilities and potential for the Henry Street development." It had at one point been envisioned as a hotel.

In a memo addressed to the DDA board, Sarah Pavelko, director of development services for the DEGC, wrote that Olympia's response to a default notice sent by the DDA said "that it had, except for the western edge of the parcel, developed the 2473 Woodward parcel with sidewalks, pavers, water supply lines, sewers and other infrastructure improvements, as that area is being used as an entry and exit point to Little Caesars Arena, consistent with the pedestrian plaza and outdoor gathering and entertainment space approved by the DDA ... "

Her memo goes on to say: "Based on the location and size of the property, DDA and ODM representatives agree that the highest and best development potential for the site is for the site to be developed in conjunction with the adjacent parcels owned by ODM and DDA staff supports additional time to allow an appropriate development for this site."

Those adjacent parcels also have a Sept. 12, 2022 deadline for a development agreement, although a DEGC spokeswoman said the organization couldn't provide a list of what those properties are until the middle of next week.

Brad Dick, general services director for the city's Parks & Recreation Department, said in an Olympia press release sent Thursday afternoon: "Receiving these two strategically located parcels will give us the final land we need to improve and expand two major parks in areas of the city that are seeing significant residential growth."

Transfer of the Fourth Street and Watson Street parcels is subject to city due diligence and approval by the City Council.

In the last week, Olympia has announced a pair of office tenants for new and redeveloped buildings — the co-working company Spaces taking 47,000 square feet in the Women's City Club building at 2110 Park Ave. and Boston Consulting Group, currently in Troy, taking 30,000 square feet in an under-construction building which is also expected to house the law firm Warner Norcross + Judd and the Detroit Medical Center next to the new arena.

Those announcements come after criticism over lack of progress in the family's District Detroit development area, which was pitched more than five years ago as a bustling entertainment district to be developed concurrently over three years with housing, office, retail, bar and restaurant and green space. Instead, it remains largely as it was in July 2014 when the plans were unveiled: a smattering of surface parking lots and vacant buildings.

There have been new developments, such as the Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business and the Little Caesars Global Resource Center, as well as other new tenants, such as Google. The Ilitches also attracted the Detroit Pistons to move back to the city after nearly 30 years at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The area is anchored by Little Caesars Arena, which opened in September 2017 after receiving $398.1 million in taxpayer funding and costing $862.9 million to build.

Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc., said in May that the company's timelines for some of its development and redevelopment activities, particularly with regard to residential space, "proved to be aggressive."