But first, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, city of Detroit and the developer of the $35 million plan, Stuart Pitman Inc., will need to forge a long-term lease agreement that will give the developer and its affiliates management of the site for decades into the future. The DNR, which operates the city-owned island park in the Detroit River under a 30-year management agreement that began in 2014, selected Stuart Pitman’s $35 million, public-private proposal for the boathouse site last fall.

Plans for the Belle Isle Gateway at the Detroit Boathouse include opening it to the public with a new welcome center, new marina with water taxis, canoe and kayak rentals, restaurants, restored event space and expanded areas for nonprofit rowing and sailing programs.

The school's return to City Airport will expand the aviation and engineering curriculum to include hands-on training and double the school’s current enrollment to about 200 students, the district said. The project will be funded by a $7 million state earmark made to the project last year and is expected to be completed in 2027, the district said.

The property is owned by a joint venture between the Forbes and Frankel families, which also together own the luxe Somerset Collection shopping mall next door.

In September, Nathan Forbes presented a revised vision for the site the families have owned for close to two decades. It follows up on a 2007 proposal for the site called The Pavilions of Troy, which featured many of the same components, minus a proposed University of Michigan Health multi-specialty ambulatory center for clinical and diagnostic services that’s now proposed for the property.

In addition to that, the development could include up to 750 residential units, up to 500,000 square feet of office space, up to 300,000 square feet of retail and a hotel with up to 250 rooms and parking.