Farmington, Michigan

City of Farmington
—  City  —
Location in the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°27′52″N 83°22′35″W / 42.46444°N 83.37639°W / 42.46444; -83.37639Coordinates: 42°27′52″N 83°22′35″W / 42.46444°N 83.37639°W / 42.46444; -83.37639
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Oakland
Government
– Type	Council-Manager
– Mayor	Valerie Knol
– City Manager	Vincent Pastue
Area
– City	2.7 sq mi (6.9 km2)
– Land	2.7 sq mi (6.9 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	751 ft (229 m)
Population (2010)
– City	10,372
– Density	3,893.2/sq mi (1,503.2/km2)
– Metro	4,296,250
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	48331-48336
Area code(s)	248
FIPS code	26-27380[1]
GNIS feature ID	0625837[2]
Website	http://www.ci.farmington.mi.us

Downtown Farmington. This view looks west on Grand River Avenue towards the intersection of Grand River and Farmington Road. The Farmington Civic Theatre can be seen on the right-hand side of the street, near the intersection. The street shown was resurfaced in 2006, after the date of the photo.

Farmington is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit and is part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,372.^[3] It is fully surrounded by Farmington Hills, except for a small portion bordered by Livonia to the south. Since 2009, the city's downtown has been the center of an extensive renovation and remodeling featuring a refacing or rebuilding of many buildings on Grand River Avenue, as well as brick paver sidewalks, the Farmington Pavilion, new lighting, and landscaping. The area is known for its historic downtown, elegant Victorian-style homes, and one of Michigan's top rated public school systems, Farmington Public Schools. In 2007, CNNMoney.com listed Farmington as number 55 in their Best Places to Live survey.^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2010, there were 10,372 people, 4,624 households, and 2,735 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,899.2 per square mile (1,505.5/km²). There were 4,959 housing units at an average density of 1,869.6 per square mile (721.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.5% White, 11.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 13.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population. There were 4,624 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,442, and the median income for a family was $67,407. Males had a median income of $54,780 versus $39,435 for females (2000 Census). The per capita income for the city was $36,281. About 2.6% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.^[5]

Government

Farmington utilizes the council-manager form of government, and thus is governed by a city council consisting of a mayor and four council members. The city council appoints a city manager, who manages the day-to-day operations of the city.

Farmington is surrounded by the city of Farmington Hills. The cities combine to form a district represented in Michigan's state government. Farmington is part of State Senate District 14, represented since 2009 by Democrat Vincent Gregory.

The Mayor of Farmington is Tom Buck. Buck was elected, by the council, to this position in November 2009.

In December 2006 a public meeting was held in Farmington Hills to review a sustainability study, which was undertaken by this neighboring city. One of several recommendations of the study was to investigate the possibility of merging with the City of Farmington. This has been an ongoing discussion for years but public awareness was heightened during this session. Farmington and Farmington Hills already share several services, such as a library and a district court.

Education

Farmington is served by the Farmington Public Schools, which also serve Farmington Hills, as well as local parochial and private schools in the area.

Media

In addition to The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, regional newspapers serving all of southeast Michigan, the city is served by two community newspapers. The Farmington Observer is published twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday. The Farmington Press is published weekly. The Oakland Press covers all of Oakland County.

Shopping

Downtown Farmington

A number of neighborhood and regional shopping centers are located within Farmington, and a traditional village downtown serves residents and the surrounding population.

Downtown Farmington has over 160 businesses that include large national retailers and small boutiques. The Farmington Civic Theatre shows family-priced movies. Downtown Farmington's Sundquist Pavilion and Riley Park host the Saturday Farmers Market, Rhythmz in Riley Park, a free Friday summer concert series and other activities.

National retailers in Downtown Farmington include Dress Barn, DOTS, H&R Block, CVS Pharmacy, Edible Arrangements, Goodyear, Firestone, Starbucks, Merle Norman and TJ Maxx.

Local restaurants include Luigi’s Tratoria, Bellacino's, Korea House, Page’s Food & Spirits, Green Olives, Dagwood’s Deli, Cedar, Basement Burger Bar, John Cowley & Sons, Dimitri's, Thai Kitchen and Burger King.

The Farmington Plaza is located at the corner of Grand River and Mooney, with anchor tenants ACO Hardware and Big Lots. Other retail and commercial tenants include Framery One, Domino’s Pizza and The Crossing Church.

The Winery Building is located on the south side of Grand River Avenue just west of Orchard Lake Road and houses most notably the "Haunted Winery" during the Halloween season. Community Living Centers which raises funds for the independent living of disabled adults is located in the northeast corner of the building.

The Drakeshire Plaza is located on Grand River Avenue, just east of Drake Road. In June 2007, the Drakeshire Plaza was approved by the City of Farmington for a substantial redevelopment of the center, with the primary tenant to be Walgreens Pharmacy. Existing retail and restaurant tenants in the center include Subway, Plato’s Coney Island and Suraj Indian Grocery.

The Halsted Grand Shopping Center is named after its two crossroads. Commercial and restaurant tenants include The Tile Shop, Diamond Boutique, Lin’s Kitchen, Yesterday’s Coney Island and Gift of India Grocery. K-Mart, a former anchor, closed in 2009.

Orchard Ten Plaza is a shopping center located at the southwest corner of Orchard Lake and Ten Mile roads. This neighborhood center has the following retail and restaurant establishments: Mrs. Maddox’s Cake Shop, Ramario’s Coney Island, Orchard Ten Foods, and a number of salons and boutiques.

The World Wide Center has a number of small ethnic businesses which include House of Lee Chinese Restaurant, NAM STE Indian Grocery, Bangkok Kitchen Thai Restaurant, and China Merchandise. Other retail businesses include Capitol Cigar, Harvey Electronics, and Tweeny’s Deli. The center is located at the southwest corner of Grand River and Whitaker.

History

Farmington was the site of three Native American trails - the Orchard Lake Trail, the Grand River Trail, and the Shiawassee Trail.^[6]

Farmington was founded in 1824 by Arthur Power. Like many Oakland County pioneers, he hailed from the state of New York. Power was a Quaker, as were the settlers who joined him, and the town was first known as Quakertown. In 1826, the name Farmington was officially chosen because it was the name of Power's hometown, Farmington, New York.

The name Farmington, which properly refers to the 2.7-square-mile (7.0 km²) municipality incorporated in the early 19th century, is sometimes erroneously used to refer to the 33.3-square-mile (86 km²) neighboring city of Farmington Hills (Farmington Township until 1973), which surrounds it.

In 1976, the National Register of Historic Places declared part of the city the Farmington Historic District.

Notable natives

Rex Cawley and Mickey Harris have been residents of the city. NHL goaltender Brent Johnson of the Pittsburgh Penguins is from Farmington.

Community

In 2007 CNNMoney.com listed Farmington as number 55 in their Best Places to Live survey. [1]

See also

Metro Detroit portal

• Farmington Community Library

External links

• City of Farmington official website
• Downtown Farmington

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Farmington, Michigan
3. ^ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Farmington city, Michigan". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. http://factfinder2.census.gov. Retrieved August 18, 2011. 
4. ^ Ashford, Kate; Bartz, Andrea; Cox, Jeff; Fitch, Asa; Gandel, Stephen; Hyatt, Josh; Kelley, Rob; Knight, Kathleen et al.. "55. Farmington, Mich". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_top_100.moneymag/55.html. 
5. ^ 2010 census chart for Farmington
6. ^ http://www.farmlib.org/HeritageCollection/slideshow1.html

• Wilkins, Korie (2006-12-19). "Merging Cities Debated". The Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20070326233242/http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061219/NEWS03/612190406. Retrieved 2006-12-19.