Though it announced the plan thisspring, the joint venture presented its plan for thePavilions of Troy to the council for the first time on Mondaynight. The city's planning commission agreed at its Sept. 11meeting to recommend the project to the council.

Hunter Richardson, a principal of the self-named firm, told thecouncil that there's a demonstrated need for more retail in thecity, even though the project will be very close to the popular,affluent Somerset Mall. "We think Somerset will actually do betterbecause of our development," he told the council. "We're going tomake this a livable, walk-able community, with people places,places to dine and places to live. There's not anything like it inthe Metropolitan Detroit area."

Brian Murphy, the real estate director for Troy, tellsGlobeSt.com that Richardson is right about the retail. "Thisproject will be complimentary to Somerset," he says. "We had astudy done by the Chesapeake Group, and they showed that Troy iswell-positioned to be able to absorb greater levels of retail anddevelopment than what is proposed." The city of 80,000 doesn't havea downtown to call its own, and lost its last movie theater whenOakland Mall closed its AMC about a decade ago.