Planning Commission recommends development plans for site of beloved Farmington Hills arcade

Farmington Hills — A proposed development in Farmington Hills that would require demolishing a building that now houses a popular vintage arcade inched closer to becoming reality Thursday as the city's planning commission recommended sending the proposal to the City Council for approval.

In a unanimous vote just before 11 p.m., the planning commission approved the development proposal that would require demolishing part of the strip mall in which Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum now stands.

Commissioners described the plan as a reinvestment and revitalization of the property the 5,300-square-foot museum occupies, but the standing-room-only crowd begged commissioners to find a way to keep the arcade.

Commissioners attempted to add a recommendation to the proposed plans that Marvin's be offered space in the new development before the vote, but City Attorney Tom Schultz said the commission did not have the authority to impose conditions with the recommendation.

" ... We could not compel a contractual relationship between two private people," Schultz said.  

The vote was met with outcries from the crowd, with some storming out of the room.

"Shame on you," one person said.

The museum, located on the west side of Orchard Lake Road just south of 14 Mile, occupies part of the proposed development site.

The proposal was submitted by Timothy Collier of RPT Realty in July and calls for demolishing the building that now houses Marvin's. The plans have been going through the city's approval process since then, said City Manager Gary Mekjian, who warned that "occupation of the property is not determined by any city process."

"It is a legal agreement between the landlord and tenants of the property," Mekjian said.

Marvin's sits in the back of a strip mall-style shopping center. The developer is proposing a new commercial shopping center with space for a small-format Meijer supermarket, fast-food and sit-down restaurants, a drive-thru business and retail.

Lease negotiations with tenants were ongoing, "contingent on approvals going through," said RPT Realty Senior Vice President David Ortner at a Planning Commission meeting last month.

The Planning Commission said it considered four factors before making a recommendation to the council: the extent the plans comply with city regulations, the city's master plan, the community benefit of the project and community feedback.

The museum is home to vintage coin-operated video games and memorabilia, and was founded over 40 years ago by Marvin Yagoda. Today it is run by his son, Jeremy.

It has "a little bit of everything," said its general manager, Andrew Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld has worked there for 16 years and went there after school as a kid.

"We do have traditional pinball games and skeeball and photo booths. ... We have these animatronics that are custom made that Marvin had made," Rosenfeld said. "We are talking anything from 1905. We have an old flip card machine, they used to call it a mutoscope ... all the way up to the newest state-of-the-art games."

A change.org petition to save Marvin's that was started Tuesday has already gained over 25,000 signatures.

Arcade lovers from all over Metro Detroit showed up to the public comment period Thursday to advocate for Marvin's, including brothers Zeke, 5, and JD Gladstone, 8. They live in Detroit and had been to Marvin's a few times with their father, Carl.

"Save Marvin's," JD yelled, holding handmade signs with the same message along with Zeke outside the Farmington Hills City Hall. JD's favorite game in the decades-old arcade is skeeball.

Ortner assured the public at that RPT Realty would work with Marvin's and look for ways to maintain its presence at the shopping center either in its current space or a different one.

Tom Krent, 74, of Troy who designed the original Marvin's sign on Orchard Lake Road came to the meeting to support the business. Krent used to live in Farmington Hills and took his son to Marvin's.

"This place, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, is unique," Krent said. "When cities chip away at what makes them unique, they become a generic city. Why do we want to do that?"

'A Michigan staple'

Founded in the 1980s and originally located in the Tally Hall shopping center, Marvin's moved to its current location in 1990. The arcade bustled Thursday night with birthday parties, families and even first dates.

Nicole and Anthony Long brought their 4-year-old son, Gabriel, to Marvin's for the first time Thursday. Nicole, 30, first went with friends in high school. Since then, it's more packed with games, she said.

Vivian Navarro, 20, has been coming to Marvin's since she was 6 and brought Sophie Keil, 18, for the first time Thursday.

"It's been the place where I go for all of my birthdays," said Navarro of Grosse Pointe. "If my younger brothers, like, do anything good or they achieve something, then I bring them here. So it's been passed down within the family."

The pair spent much of their visit playing Dance Dance Revolution, and Keil said she was planning on returning soon. Neither was aware of the plans to demolish the building.

"Marvin's to me seems like a place that's never going to shut down," Navarro said. "It's such a Michigan staple."

Lisa Sheldon of Farmington Hills also grew up going to Marvin's. She heard about its possible closing and decided she had to take her granddaughter, Hailey Mitchell, 14, to see it.

"I wanted her to see it because it's a shame to see it go. I don't want it to go," said Sheldon, 57. "I don't think it can be reproduced anywhere. ... It's very nostalgic."

Marvin's could move to another location, Rosenfeld said. But it likely would not be the same.

"This building itself has just a magic to it," Rosenfeld said. "I would like them to figure out a way for us to stay and possibly do some improvements to the mall."

Marvin's had to shut down for seven months during the COVID-19 lockdown and started a fundraiser to stay in business. Business has rebounded since then, Rosenfeld said.

hmackay@detroitnews.com

Staff Writer Jakkar Aimery contributed.