DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning to discuss redevelopment of the former Uniroyal plant site on East Jefferson Avenue across from Belle Isle.
The 40-acre parcel of land was purchased by the city in 1981 and the Uniroyal plant was removed.
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Hopes were high for a spectacular waterfront redevelopment. However, cleanup costs associated with bringing the land up to residential use have been estimated at anywhere between $15 million and $20 million.
It has been 30 years of false starts and dashed hopes, but maybe now the city has someone to help get it done.
In 2004, former Mayor Kwame Kipatrick approved NFL star Jerome Bettis' plan for a large development on the site with office space, retail space and condos. Since cleanup costs were unresolved and the U.S. economy went south, nothing happened.
Bing has called for a 10 a.m. Friday news conference to address the future of the site. A representative for Bettis said he will be in attendance Friday.
Maybe this is the deal that Bing and the Detroit Economic Corporation have been pushing to get into place.
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