Land owner: Novi paid me $1 million for road it never built

NOVI, Mich. (WJBK) - The city of Novi is paying thousands of dollars’ year after year for a road to nowhere.
    
Officials bought land in 1998, but 20 years later the road they planned to build still doesn't exist. The taxpayer dollars spent however, are still very real.

Novi Road in Novi just north of Grand River is a bustling area but there is a dead end road that has been that way, since 1998. 

"It was the utmost urgency to put the road in," said Kevin Adell, the land owner. "They paid me $800,000 in the late 90s, 2000 and they have been paying me $20,000 a year for the last 18 years."

Novi sued the land owner, Kevin Adell, in 1998 to force him to sell the one-acre property to build a road there. But it never happened. 

After a long legal fight, a judge ruled that Novi had to pay $800,000 upfront - and that Novi has to pay $20,000 a year - forever - until the city builds a road.

Kevin Adell owns The Word Network, 910 AM The Superstation. He also owns 23 acres next to the road with the water tower on it.  

The city of Novi has paid this millionaire over $1 million so far, all because there's no road.  

Why not say anything and collect the money?

"It's the citizens that are getting affected," Adell said.

Pete Auger, the Novi City Manager says they plan to build the road.

"Absolutely, we're waiting for a viable project come through and that will make the corner of the lot easier to navigate," he said. "We can build a road there, it is designed and ready to go. We just have to wait for the right project."

The city manager says that he has been working with Adell on developing these 23 acres.

FOX 2: "Does the road have anything to do with your project?"

"No because my project turns to the right," Adell said. "This project turns to the left."

Adell won't tell us what his new project is all about, but he says he doesn't need this road. 

"This is the road to nowhere," he said. "At the taxpayers' expense."