Novi, Michigan

Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately 25 mi northwest of the center of Detroit, and 29 mi northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located within the boundaries of the survey township of Novi Township. The remaining unincorporated township is only a tiny fraction surrounded by the city.

History
Novi was incorporated as a city in 1969 after the approval of a city charter by Village of Novi voters. The approval of the charter followed an election on May 20, 1968 where voters approved the incorporation of the city on a vote of 694 in favor and 283 votes against. The approval of incorporation and the city charter followed several previous attempts at incorporation that were rejected by Novi voters. The city was incorporated along the boundaries of the existing Village of Novi.

In the 1970s, the city annexed portions of Novi Township that had remained separate from the Village of Novi after the village incorporated in 1958. A lengthy legal battle between the city and the township was decided by the Michigan Supreme Court in favor of the city. The legal disputes around the annexation battles were not fully resolved until 1984.

Origin of name
Several popular but historically inaccurate explanations have been given for the origin of the name Novi. The township was named Novi when it was organized in 1832 from Farmington Township. The name was offered by resident Dr. J. C. Emery, at the suggestion of his wife. Residents were reportedly looking for a shorter name than Farmington.

One version is that it was named after the 6th toll gate (No. VI) on the Grand River toll road. However, the township was named in 1832 and the toll road was not constructed until the 1850s. A similar claim is made about the township being stop number 6 on the railroad. However, the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railway (now CSX Transportation) was not constructed through the township until 1870–71, almost 40 years after the township was named. A third popular misconception is that Novi was the sixth stagecoach stop outside of Detroit.

Historic sites

 * Historic Township Hall: The historic Township Hall was originally located on Novi Road, south of Grand River. It was moved to the Novi Library property in the 1980s. It was recently relocated again onto the property that was the site of the Jacob and Rebecca Fuerst Farmstead.
 * Tollgate Farm: 160 acre (650,000 m²) farmstead and educational center.
 * Colonel Samuel White Homestead: Site includes a Michigan Historical Marker.
 * Novi Depot: Portion of the original railroad depot constructed in 1871 for the Holly, Wayne and Monroe Railroad (currently CSX railroad).

Former historic sites

 * Jacob and Rebecca Fuerst Farmstead: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The City of Novi demolished the Fuerst Farmstead. The north barn was destroyed on July 16, 2008. The farm house was demolished in August 2008.  The south and east barns were dismantled and removed from the site. None of the original buildings from the Farmstead were preserved on the site.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.3 square miles (81.1 km²), of which, 30.5 square miles (78.9 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of it (2.74%) is water. Walled Lake, which lies mainly within Novi, is the largest lake in the city. It also serves as the headwaters of the Middle Branch of the Rouge River. Shawood Lake lies southwest of Walled Lake. Several smaller lakes within the city were created by gravel pit mining or as stormwater retention areas. Most of the city lies within the Rouge River watershed. Some areas on the north and west side of the City are part of the Huron River watershed.

The city's location provides direct access to several major freeways including I-96, I-696, I-275 and M-5.

Demographics
The city population based on the 2010 Census is 55,224.

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,386 people, 18,726 households, and 12,321 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,555.2 per square mile (600.5/km²). There were 19,649 housing units at an average density of 644.9 per square mile (249.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.26% White, 1.92% African American, 0.19% Native American, 8.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.80% of the population. 16.3% were of German, 10.5% Irish, 10.3% Polish, 9.2% English and 8.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000.

In 2000, there were 18,726 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city in 2000, the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $71,918, and the median income for a family was $91,369 (These figures had risen to $78,151 and $101,286 respectively according to a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $65,590 versus $38,432 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,992. About 1.6% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Novi operates under the council-manager system of government with an appointed city manager and elected City Council. The city manager oversees the day-to-day operations of the city, manages staff operations, recommends the annual budget and makes policy recommendations to the council. The City Council consists of the mayor, elected to a two-year term, and six at-large council members elected to four-year terms. The Mayor is the presiding officer of the council with the same voting powers as the other council members but otherwise has ceremonial duties. The council is responsible for hiring the city manager. The City Council approves the City budget and sets city policies and ordinances. The current council consists of Mayor David Landry, Mayor Pro Tempore Bob Gatt and council members Justin Fischer, Terry Margolis, Andrew Mutch, David Staudt and Wayne Wrobel.

The City Manager is Clay J. Pearson. The city has 249 full-time employees (including Library) and a total budget of $63.1 million. The Novi Civic Center is located at 45175 West Ten Mile Road, between Novi and Taft Roads.

The first city charter was adopted by the voters in 1969. The last major charter revision was in 1977.

The Novi Public Library opened a new 55000 sqft library west of the previous library in June 2010. The old library was demolished to provide a parking area for the new library.

The Novi Police Department was formed in 1954. Prior to that date, Novi contracted with the Oakland County Sheriffs Department for police protection.

Sister cities

 * [[Image:Flag of Japan.svg|border|20px]] Owani, Japan

Public education
Novi includes all or part of four public school districts including Novi Community Schools, Northville Public Schools, South Lyon Community Schools, and Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Most citizens fall within Novi Schools while the northwestern end of Novi falls within South Lyon, the southern and western ends fall within Northville, and the north end falls within Walled Lake. Walled Lake operates two elementary schools, Hickory Woods and Meadowbrook, and Northville operates an elementary school, Thornton Creek, within the Novi city limits.

Private education
Detroit Catholic Central High School is a private, Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school located on Wixom Road.

Franklin Road Christian School is a K-12, coeducational, college-preparatory school with a nondenominational Christian philosophy located on Thirteen Mile Road.

Higher education
One of Walsh College's three campuses is located on Meadowbrook Road south of I-96. Walsh College focuses on accounting, business, and finance education.

The Art Institute of Michigan is located on Cabot Drive in the Haggerty Corridor Corporate Park.

South University is located in an office building at the corner of 12 Mile Road and Meadowbrook Road.

Parks and natural areas
Most of the farmland and open spaces present in the mid-20th Century have been developed. The exceptions include the Tollgate Farm located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Twelve Mile and Meadowbrook Roads. This farmstead is owned by the Americana Foundation and is currently leased and operated by Michigan State University as an agricultural extension. Lakeshore Park is another prominent natural area. The park is located between Walled Lake and Twelve Mile Road, west of Novi Road. While portions of the park were turned over to a developer to settle a lawsuit, it remains one of the largest municipal parks in southeast Michigan. Ella Mae Power Park, located behind the Novi Civic Center, hosts softball and baseball games and tournaments. City-owned property which was once the site of the Walled Lake Casino and Amusement Park on the shores of Walled Lake is planned to be developed into a park.

In 2004, the City of Novi negotiated for the donation of several parcels of parkland on the west side of the city. These properties, along with several adjoining parcels owned by the city preserve 253 acre of environmentally sensitive areas in the Huron River watershed. In 2005, the City of Novi was awarded a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grant to acquire 51 acre two areas of environmentally sensitive property in southeast Novi within the Rouge River watershed. The properties were acquired in 2009. In 2007, the City was awarded a second MNRTF grant to acquire 16 acre of natural area in southwest Novi within the headwaters of the Huron River watershed. The property was acquired in 2010. In 2010, the City was awarded a third MNRTF grant to develop the city-owned property on the south end of Walled Lake into a public park.

Economy
Novi continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in Michigan. The construction of Twelve Oaks Mall in the 1970s made the city a major shopping destination in the Detroit metropolitan area and is often credited with ushering in an era of growth that lasted for 40 years (although, in fact, the community had been growing rapidly since the 1950s). This growth has led to substantial increases in the city's population, as well as commercial and industrial developments in the city.

Novi has a local economy that includes businesses of all sizes from international corporations with local and regional offices in Novi to owner-operated businesses serving the local area. While Novi is recognized for its large concentration of retail businesses clustered at the Novi Road and I-96 interchange, there are several large retail centers in the city as well as many individual retail businesses. Novi has a number of car dealerships along Haggerty Road and Grand River Avenue. The city's industrial and office parks are home to companies in high tech research and development, health care, transportation and logistics, manufacturing and domestic and foreign automotive-related suppliers. Energy-related companies are one of the fastest growing sectors in the city. These companies include the headquarters for ITC Transmission, Novi Energy and offices of Patrick Energy Services.

The business community in Novi is represented by the Novi Chamber of Commerce.

Kroger operates its Michigan regional offices at 40399 Grand River Avenue in Novi.

The City’s commitment to economic development includes a web site (InvestNovi.org), devoted entirely to attracting new and retaining existing businesses. This site informs potential business investors and celebrates existing businesses’ successes.

Novi ranks among the top Oakland County communities for research, technology and service companies. To manage growth and to continue to attract commerce with its accessible location, Novi partners with local, state and federal agencies to enhance infrastructure. Novi has a Neighborhoods and Business Relations Group to attract and retain businesses and streamlined many of its planning and approvals processes to encourage new business and development, as well as redevelopment. The enhancements speed the process, allowing businesses to move ahead with plans for relocation or expansion. Novi has been able to attract several smaller, innovative international firms that have been able to incubate and expand into a larger facility, such as Howa USA Holdings, a Japanese auto supplier with a new research and development center in Novi specializing in interior components for vehicles.

Ryder Systems Inc. constructed a new regional headquarters, representing a $22 million investment in the community. ITC Transmission Company, the nation’s largest independent electrical transmission company, made Novi its national headquarters. In 2008, St. John Providence Park opened a 200-bed hospital on a 200 acre total, health campus. In addition to the full-service hospital, the campus provides an array of services in a beautiful wooded setting, complete with walking and cycling paths and 18 acre devoted to health-related retail establishments.

Over the last few years, Novi has focused its economic development efforts on the telematics and car connectivity industries. Within the telematics industry, more than 5,000 firms employ approximately 70,000 people in Oakland County, many of them are employed in Novi. Those firms in Novi include Cooper-Standard Automotive, Freescale Semiconductor, Elektrobit, and Harman/Becker Automotive.

Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top private sector employers in the city are:

Health care
Novi is home to some of the region's largest health care systems. St. John's Health opened the Providence Park Hospital in September 2008. The hospital is part of a 200 acre health care campus.

Henry Ford Health Systems largest facility in Oakland County is located in the Columbus Corporate Office Centre. Services at the location include adolescent and adult outpatient psychiatry; occupational and physical therapy; athletic medicine; gastroenterology; and pediatric services.

Botsford has two speciality facilities in Novi. Trinity Health, the fourth-largest Catholic health system in the United States, is headquartered in Novi.

Notable residents
Novi is home to six Swedish Detroit Red Wings.


 * Nicole Blaszczyk (1987-), winner of Miss Michigan (2009)
 * Craig DeRoche (1970-), former speaker of the House, State of Michigan
 * Jonathan Ericsson (1984-), defenseman, Detroit Red Wings
 * Johan Franzén (1979-), center, Detroit Red Wings
 * Dr. Sanjay Gupta (1969-), chief medical correspondent for CNN, graduate of Novi High School
 * Ernie Harwell (1918–2010), MLB radio announcer
 * Tomas Holmström (1973-), winger, Detroit Red Wings
 * Niklas Kronwall (1981-), defenseman, Detroit Red Wings
 * Nicklas Lidström (1970-), captain, Detroit Red Wings, who has a Novi street named in his honor.
 * Andreas Lilja (1975-), defenseman, Anaheim Ducks
 * Damien Woody (1977-), guard, New York Jets

Recognition

 * Novi was ranked #48 on Money magazine's list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in 2008.