The Sterling Heights City Council is expected to enter into the final stages for the beginning of the years-long effort to redevelop the mostly-closed Lakeside Mall.

Council members on Tuesday will review an application submitted by Florida-based developer Outside of the Box Ventures (OOTB) for the Lakeside City Center Master Redevelopment Plan on 104 acres of land near Hall and Schoenherr roads.

Included in the application are plans for building numerous multi-family housing complexes and a Central Park area surrounded by restaurants and retail in a $1 billion planned unit development that could take up to two decades to come to fruition.

“This large-scale redevelopment encompasses 10 separate parcels totaling 104.4 acres, including most of the former Lakeside Mall and excepting the parcel improved with the former Sears retail store and associated out lot building,” city planner Jake Parcell said in a letter to the council.

The Sterling Heights Planning Commission reviewed and approved the materials at the commission’s November meeting.

Out of the Box Ventures is a commercial real estate subsidiary of Lionheart Capital, a firm that specializes in transforming distressed retail spaces into mixed-use destinations that purchased the mall in late 2019 and closed it this summer.

The company submitted the master development plan for Lakeside City Center to Sterling Heights planners in early September. The master development plan is the governing document for the project, which includes details such as the setbacks for buildings and zoning uses, city officials said.

Sterling Heights zoning regulations call for a developer of any new development that significantly alters or expands the footprint of Lakeside Mall or its anchor buildings or creates new buildings or structures must submit and obtain approval of an overall “master development plan” and a correlating development agreement in accordance with the process, according to agenda materials.

A map in the Lakeside City Center design guidelines shows the development would be made up of five five different geographic areas.

One is named “The Crossroads,” which would be “a neighborhood that supports a blend of suburban and urban lifestyles.” Another is called “The Senior Social,” which would be “a neighborhood that promotes active senior living lifestyles.”

Others include The Urban Green, The Lakeside Heart, and The Suburban Retreat.

The document also shows the Lakeside City Center would contain multi-family housing complexes, ranging from apartments to condos. The plan includes two apartment buildings for people 55 years and older and two senior housing facilities.

Other facilities in the Lakeside plan include a hotel and a building that would include office space and parking. The center of the property would be home to a “Central Park,” which would “a flexible space lined with restaurants that spill out activating the edges with comfortable outdoor seating for music, art, and events.”

The map includes a regular JC Penney store and a smaller JC Penney furniture and appliance store. The current Lakeside Mall also has a vacant Sears store, which is owned by Lakeside Circle Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Troy-based development firm MKiezi Investments.

Included in the documents are letters of consent for the two remaining businesses at the mall — Macy’s and JC Penney.

In separate letters, OOTB refers to Macy’s and JC Penney as “integral and vital part(s) of the redevelopment plan.” Both retailers are asked to approve zoning changes called for to implement the redevelopment as outlined in a mutually agreed upon site plan at the developer’s expense.

Demolition of the mall property is anticipated for the last quarter of 2025, according to City Manager Mark Vanderpool.