Downtown Detroit half-built jail site construction halted and now Dan Gilbert plans $500 million construction project that includes retail, parking, and housing.
Detroit has been financially embattled for some time, so a bankruptcy seemed like the natural next step that no one wanted to admit.
But Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers who is also a native of the Detroit area, has swooped into the city and has purchased prime real estate in the downtown area since 2010. Gilbert is also the chairman of Quicken Loans which he headquartered in Detroit and is now planning to go bigger and better. Where Detroit has a half-built jail site, Gilbert has planned a $500 million revamp of the area through his company Rock Ventures LLC that includes retail, housing and parking.
According to Crain’s Detroit Business:
“The five-year planned buildout would generate more than $20 million in annual property taxes, parceled out to a number of entities, including the city of Detroit ($8.2 million), Detroit Public Schools ($7.6 million), Wayne County ($1.9 million) and the state of Michigan ($1.5 million), according to an Ernst & Young study commissioned by Rock Ventures. The study indicates the tax revenue could be used to hire 100 police officers for the city and 100 school teachers for the district.”
This sounds like good news for Detroit, but who will be able to afford the housing in this area? It sounds like the city will be getting new inhabitants and hopefully, provide plenty of jobs.
Read more about the project here.
