Planning

Plymouth Road Development Authority Development Plan and Tax Increment Financing Plan

On December 17, 2025, the Livonia City Council amended the Plymouth Road Development Authority (PRDA) Development Plan and adopted a new Tax Increment Financing Plan. These actions will enable the PRDA to continue making a difference in the Plymouth Road corridor for years to come.

The PRDA is a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) authorized initially under the Downtown Development Authority Act (PA 197 of 1975), which was later incorporated into the Tax Increment Finance Act (PA 57 of 2018).  DDAs are equipped with broad powers, including the ability to acquire and sell property, borrow money, and collect taxes, among other things. DDAs can also plan and propose the construction, renovation, repair, remodeling, rehabilitation, preservation, or reconstruction of a public facility or other buildings. The primary purposes of a DDA are to halt property value deterioration and promote economic growth. The projects and improvements that DDAs undertake must be based on a Development Plan approved by the DDA Board and the local legislative body, which, in the case of Livonia, is the City Council. Many of the PRDA's achievements over the past 30 years were projects identified in the original Development Plan, financed primarily from tax increment revenues made possible by an adopted Tax Increment Financing Plan.

A Development Plan must address all the required elements of Act 57, including establishing the Development Area and district boundaries, which is the jurisdiction within which a DDA can operate. Exhibit A of the amended PRDA Development Plan and Tax Increment Financing Plan illustrates the district boundaries. The PRDA district encompasses 1,945 acres, approximately 3.0 square miles. It comprises a total of 553 commercially zoned parcels, and no residential properties. The 2025 changes to the district primarily involved the removal of several residential properties that had been added since the district was last modified.

Another requirement of a Development Plan is to list the projects and improvements that the DDA intends to undertake during the plan’s life. This includes projected cost estimates and how each of the projects, improvements, and other activities identified in the plan will be funded. The amended Development Plan updates the list of projects, programs, and capital improvements the PRDA may undertake.  It now includes the PRDA's Asset Management Program, as well as the planning, design, and improvements to Shelden Park, the former Fire Station, and the former Alfred Nobel Library sites. The Asset Management Program is an ongoing effort of the PRDA that includes maintaining all the streetscape and other improvements along the corridor, including landscaping, walls, piers, fencing, street furniture, lighting, and traffic control measures. Another added project recognizes the significant commitment the PRDA is making to assist in the financing, designing, and constructing of a new Shelden Park. As an extension of this, the amended Development Plan will now allow the PRDA to potentially play a key role in the planning, design, and construction of the remaining areas of the public land surrounding Shelden Park, including the former Noble Library on Plymouth Road and the land adjacent to the former Fire Station on Farmington Road.

The second part of the document is the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Plan. Exhibit D is the new Schedule of Estimated Tax Increment Revenues, which commences in 2026 and will remain in effect for 30 years. Initially, the PRDA's funding relied almost solely on capturing tax increment revenues. As the taxable value of properties (both real and personal) within the district increased above the established base value, the PRDA collected and retained the taxes on the incremental difference between the two. However, a TIF Plan is only successful if the future aggregate taxable value of all the properties in the district exceeds the established base value. In 1995, the taxable value of all real and personal property within the district was approximately $691 million, which became the established base value. As the taxable value of the district increased above $691 million, the PRDA captured the incremental taxes and used the revenue to fund the various improvements and programs identified in the Development Plan. However, beginning in 2008, multiple factors led to a significant decline in the district’s taxable value, which fell well below the established base value. As a result, the PRDA has not received any TIF revenues since 2009.

Terminating the original TIF Plan and adopting a new TIF Plan allows the initial (base year) taxable value to reset to the current tax year. This will enable the PRDA to capture the incremental tax revenue once again as the value of the district’s properties increases above the base value, over time. The newly established (2025) base value is approximately $461 million. While this is roughly $230 million less than the base value established in 1995, it is still $114 million more than the district’s taxable value in 2016, when it reached its lowest point at $347 million. The TIF Plan projects that the PRDA will begin collecting tax revenues in 2026. The plan assumes a conservative annual increase of 1% in the taxable value. If the assumptions are correct, the yearly tax collection could grow to over $1 million in 10 years.