DETROIT – Wayne County announced Thursday a tentative agreement with the city of Detroit for the acquisition of land needed to proceed with billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert's proposal to build a new criminal justice complex.
Under the agreement, Wayne County would acquire part of the DDOT property bounded by the I-75 Service Drive and East Warren Avenue. That's where Gilbert's Rock Ventures would build the jail complex in exchange for the Gratiot Avenue site where the county's jail construction failed. He has plans for a soccer stadium on the Gratiot Avenue site.
In exchange for the DDOT property, Detroit would acquire the former American Motors Corp. (AMC) headquarters near Plymouth Road and Schaefer Highway on Detroit’s west side, which is currently owned by the Land Bank.
"This agreement gets us one step closer to a deal with Rock Ventures. Acquiring this land was one of the significant hurdles to Rock’s proposed criminal justice complex," Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said. “We worked out a tentative deal that makes a lot of sense for the city and county, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement.”
The DDOT property that is part of the deal does not include the transit system’s bus terminal itself, rather the land behind it, which means it will not affect DDOT operations at the facility, the executive's office said in a statement.
"The city is swapping land we don’t need to the county to enable the county to build a criminal justice center,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement. “In exchange, the county is swapping a vacant parcel in west Detroit that the city wants to take on as a redevelopment project to improve the neighborhood. This is a win-win.”
Mayor Duggan said after the parties execute a purchase agreement and it is approved by Detroit City Council and the county, the city will actively market the AMC building for redevelopment.
The Detroit City Council, the Wayne County Commission and the Wayne County Land Bank Board. Acquisition will need to sign off on a final purchase agreement.
Gilbert's proposal is more than $520 million
Gilbert said he has a $520.3 million plan to build the county its new criminal justice complex on the DDOT property if the county will give him the $380 million it would take to complete the failed jail site and give him the Gratiot Avenue land for a new Major League Soccer stadium and entertainment district. Obviously, this plan is contingent on Wayne County actually acquiring the DDOT property from the city of Detroit.
READ: Dan Gilbert, Tom Gores submit application to bring Major League Soccer to Detroit
The Rock Ventures proposal offers to build the county a new Criminal Justice Center with a 2,280 bed jail, criminal courthouse, prosecutor offices, sheriff administrative offices and a juvenile detention facility at an approximate cost of $520.3 million. Wayne County would be responsible for $380 million plus the cost of acquiring the land and Rock would be responsible for cost overruns.
Evans' office said negotiations with Rock Ventures continue. The proposed site of the Criminal Justice Center is on about 13 acres of land owned by the city of Detroit bounded by the I-75 Service Drive, E. Warren Ave., E. Ferry, Russell and Frederick, pictured here:
In exchange for this, Gilbert's Rock Ventures would get the Gratiot Avenue site so he and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores can build a mixed-use development, which likely would include a professional soccer stadium.
Rock’s initial proposal was to build the County a 1,600 bed jail, criminal courthouse, prosecutor offices, sheriff administrative offices and a juvenile detention facility on an alternative site, if the County paid the first $300 million and an undetermined amount for operational savings. Rock estimated the cost of the project at $420 million and promised to cover any cost overruns. Rock’s initial proposal included an option to increase the jail to 2,000 beds, but required the County spend an additional $43 million above the $300 million.
Here's the Gratiot Avenue site:
The county also is reviewing a Walsh Construction proposal as an alternative. Walsh's proposal includes two jail options at Gratiot Avenue with about 1,608 beds at $269 million and 2,200 beds at the cost of $317.6 million, according to the county executive's office.
You can view the full Rock Ventures Wayne County Jail proposal below:
You can view the full Walsh Wayne County Jail proposal below:
Sign up for ClickOnDetroit breaking news alerts and email newsletters