WELL,
THEY CERTAINLY
DIDN'T GO TO
ed interest in having a local facility,"
said Weiss.
The success of the Detroit Red
Wings and the increasing appeal of
Figure skating also played a key role
in creating a strong market for ice
arenas in the metropolitan area.
Developers and municipalities have
been quick to realize that ice rinks
can be profitable operations. And
Novi should be no exception.
One of the fastest-growing com-
munities in Oakland County, Novi's
1990 population of 32,998 soared to
40,553 by 1996. Five hundred sin-
gle-home building permits were
issued by Novi in both 1 996 and
1997. Up to now, the city's biggest .'
commercial success has been the
440,000-square-foot Novi Town
Center, which currently boasts a
99.3 percent
occupancy rate.
"I don't even
know if I've
been to a hockey
game in nine
years," said
Weiss, who
admits to being a pond skater. "Our
interest was more in the simple
aspect of promoting healthy activi-
ties for children, and doing some-
thing that was a benefit to the com-
munity," he said.
The property was owned 90 per-
cent by Weiss, who has served as
managing partner of the Novi Ten
Associates land development group
since his father, Hungarian-born Al
Weiss, scaled down his involvement
and moved to California 18 years
ago.
Does Weiss still have land in
proximity to the parcel? "We had a
whole piece here of about 100
acres," he said. "But we've done no
development on this property nor
does our family business, Weiss
Construction, have any plans for
development or construction." Weiss
Construction primarily develops
water filtration plants for municipal-
ities.
Weiss said Novi approached him
two years ago, looking to buy a site
for an ice arena. Their site selection
committee chose his acreage as their
first choice, and wanted to know if
he'd sell it to them.
But they really didn't have any
idea what the land was worth. All
they knew was how much money
they had to spend. As it turned out,
Novi wrote Weiss a check for
$232,000 for a 19.7 acre parcel that
was worth $3.4 million.
In defense of Novi, Weiss said the
city had seen other deals where
things were sold for below market
value or where people would make
donations or partial donations.
"They never said the word 'dona-
tion' to me, ever," said Weiss. "I
think it is a can-do attitude that is
to their credit. If you don't have
enough of what you need to get
something accomplished, then you
just proceed to make a wholesome
attempt and sometimes you get sur-
prising results."
A ballot initiative wasn't necessary
because the construction was funded
by a Wall Street bond issue. Pro-
forma cost projections showed the
arena would be self-sustaining finan-
cially, not only to pay for the main-
tenance and
operation,
but also to
pay the prin-
ciple and
interest to
retire the
bonds.
Novi Parks and Recreation
Director Dan Davis is lavish in his
praise of Weiss. "It was a good work-
ing relationship from beginning to
end. With this complex, we've creat-
ed a campus effect with both a
high-quality private recreational
facility and the public municipal
arena."
Does that enhance the property
value in Weiss' eye? "Businesses like
to know there are other businesses
next door," he said.
"There are no strings attached but
one, that the property be used for
recreational activities for children.
There is more than double the
amount of land already used avail-
able for future expansion for an ice
bowl arena, grounds for soccer fields
or jogging paths. Making it a recre-
ational complex is part of the deed,"
said Weiss.
Weiss, who is 44, was born in
Detroit and graduated from North
Farmington High School in 1971.
He attended Antioch College in
Ohio and then Wayne State
University Law School. After a short
stint with the Federal Aviation
Administration regulatory staff in
Washington D.C., he went into the
family business.
Weiss and his wife Michelle have
three children; Jake, 5 1/2; Melissa,
3 1/2; and six-month-old Michael.
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