"After five years of working to solve a complex set of challenges, today's vote is a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to create a great outcome for taxpayers and the region," Matt Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures who led negotiations on the deal, said in a written statement. "Now we can get to work on creating a new development fitting for the gateway to Detroit."

Today's vote was "the final string of approvals" needed for the justice complex deal between Gilbert and the county. The vote means that the county — in a deal separate from the site of the unfinished jail — will transfer to Rock Ventures the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Division I and II jails, and the Juvenile Detention Facility. The county will continue to use the buildings until it transitions into the to-be-constructed complex and the property is open for Rock Ventures to redevelop.

The justice center is expected to be complete in 2022, with the county issuing bonds later this summer to cover costs of the project.

The new complex would include 2,280 beds, 25 courtrooms, five hearing rooms, sheriff's and prosecutor department offices and a 160-bed juvenile detention facility. Southfield-based Barton Malow Co. would be the general contractor; St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Inc., better known as HOK, is the architect.

Wayne County commissioners voted in April to approve a land swap deal to make the project happen. In the deal, the county obtains 11 acres of land owned by the Detroit Department of Transportation near I-75 and Warren Avenue in a trade that gives the city of Detroit ownership of the 1.4 million-square-foot American Motors Corp. site on the west side at 14250 Plymouth Road. The former industrial site was foreclosed on in 2015 and was owned by the county land bank. The city said it will redevelop the AMC property.

Rock Ventures also gets up to $30 million in parking revenue from lots surrounding the site, while the county gets that revenue beyond $30 million.

The plan has sparked some opposition from residents living in the area of the planned new jail and from city officials concerned that it isn't the best deal for taxpayers.