It has been over a full year since Northville Downs closed, and as development is underway on the old horse racing track, Mayor Brian Turnbull says other projects have begun that will make the city more of a destination. 

Northville is set to celebrate its 200th birthday in 2027, and that milestone, plus the 49 acres of land being developed on the old Northville Downs, has motivated the city to attract more families and revitalize the downtown. 

"We're connecting city parks with township parks to county parks to state parks. We're pretty excited, and that's why we're trying to get this all done by our bicentennial to bring people to Northville to share these different attributes," Turnbull told CBS News Detroit.

Three major projects are underway in the city: renovating Ford Field Park to create a waterfall area, a Vista overlook, fencing, a staircase, an ADA entrance, and a play structure; creating a riverwalk at the site of the Downs; and the Downs Initiative, which will bring more diverse housing to Northville, with townhomes and apartments all embedded into a more green and vibrant area. 

"We were running races here one year ago, unbelievable. All the action you see here today and things going vertical it's exciting," Turnbull said.

As a fifth-generation native of Northville, Turnbull says he's happily anticipating these projects to help not only the city's residents but also the hundreds of thousands of residents in local communities like Livonia and Novi who come to Northville's downtown. 

Because of the development at Northville Downs, the city's popular Thursday farmers market is being relocated to 7 miles near Hines Park and will open this May.