Novi residents will get access to a competition pool, an eight-lane indoor track, and a multi-sport facility at Novi High School after the school district breaks ground this fall on the first major project funded by the $425 million bond voters approved in November 2025.
The activity center will rise on the east side of Novi High School near the former tennis courts, between the civic center and the high school. Through a partnership with the City of Novi, the facility will be open to residents, not just students.
"We're going to be reimagining Novi High School into something that I think is going to be a model for schools all over," Superintendent Ben Mainka told WXYZ on Thursday, July 23.
What's inside
The center will house aquatics facilities including a competition pool with diving area and a therapy and recreation pool. It will also include multi-purpose gym space with basketball and volleyball courts, indoor turf and field space, an eight-lane indoor track, wellness and walking areas, classroom and esports space, and year-round band and performing arts practice rooms.
Mainka said the facility will be especially valuable during Michigan winters, when weather limits outdoor options for students and families.
Timeline and sustainability
Mainka said construction will unfold in phases. Months of earthwork will follow the groundbreaking, and he said the building's shape won't become visible until approximately summer 2027.
The district plans large solar arrays on the activity center. Mainka told WXYZ the arrays are intended to make the facility operationally efficient and revenue neutral over time.
No new taxes
When voters approved the bond on Nov. 4, 2025, the district described it as requiring no tax-rate increase. The bond replaces retiring debt to keep the total millage steady. The estimated levy for 2026 is 2.04 mills, with an average annual millage of 3.52 mills over the 30-year repayment period. In October 2025, ahead of the vote, Mainka told Hometown Life the bond adds "debt obligation, but not new taxes."
City-school land agreement
The Novi City Council and Planning Commission have taken steps toward a land agreement with the school district to accommodate the project. The Planning Commission held a public hearing Wednesday, July 8, on a proposed master plan map amendment to reclassify a parcel from Public Park to Public/Quasi-Public, facilitating a land exchange between the city and the district. The parcel includes a stormwater detention basin that would transfer to the schools but continue functioning as a basin.
Other bond projects
The activity center is one piece of a four-to-five-year construction plan funded by the bond. A 50,000-square-foot innovation hub is also in the works. Playground renovations are already underway at several elementary schools, including Novi Woods, with upgrades focused on accessibility through rubberized surfaces and new equipment.
