LIVONIA, Mich. – My my how times have changed in Livonia.
"Ten years ago they were looking at this site, went elsewhere. Ten years later, they're back," said Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey.
Mayor Kirksey is talking about Dave & Buster's. The entertainment and restaurant business will open at a 40,000 square-foot building on Victor Parkway near Interstate 96 in mid December.
The mayor says it will bring more development to the city.
"People when they come to go here will also go elsewhere. They'll be visiting a gas station or whatever so it brings a lot of synergy to the city," he said.
That's exactly what's happening near the Menards. It just opened in August on Middlebelt Road just south of I-96.
"The vacant land around Menards has really, really become very hot property. We have a number of businesses going in, four or five restaurants are going into land that has been vacant for years," said Kirksey.
Mayor Kirksey says the city is experiencing an economic boom. Over on Middlebelt and Schoolcraft roads, Dick's Sporting Goods and Jo Ann Fabric are in the works in the old Walmart building. But not just shopping places are popping up in Livonia.
At 5 Mile and Levan roads a new two-story medical center is coming. Then at 7 Mile and Haggerty roads Schoolcraft College is renovating an office building. What's behind the boom?
The mayor points to public safety.
"When a company comes into our city or they're here they want their business to be protected, they want their employees to be protected, they want their customers to be protected," he said.