The Northville Downs harness racing track site is now in line to be redeveloped as 500 to 600 high-end rental apartments, townhouses and for-sale houses.

Hunter Pasteur Homes, a developer and luxury home builder, said Tuesday it has signed a contract to purchase the Northville Downs site and adjacent parcels totaling 48 acres. Randy Wertheimer, president and CEO of Hunter Pasteur Homes, announced the news.

Hunter Pasteur Homes will buy the Northville Downs site from the Northville Driving Club and the Carlo family partnership. Between the race track and the adjacent parcels, Hunter Pasteur Homes will assume ownership of approximately 48 acres of land in downtown Northville.

Northville Downs is the state’s last live racing venue. Just last week, Hazel Park Raceway announced suddenly that it was closing, throwing 90 people out of work immediately, badly damaging the Michigan thoroughbred industry, and ending 85 years of pari-mutuel wagering on the “runners.”

 “This project is in the preliminary stages, and we’re eager to continue working with the City of Northville and our partners to iron out the numerous details that come with a project of this scale,” Wertheimer said. “We expect to have all entitlements in place in 2019. As more details become available, we will share them with the community.”

Operations at Northville Downs will continue as usual until site development begins. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Northville Downs is looking to transfer its racing and wagering operations elsewhere nearby.

Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep.

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