Detroit council takes up Rock Ventures land swap deal Tuesday to build proposed $520M jail

Venus Patton doesn't worry about letting her three young daughters make the daily trek to their school, Golightly Education Center, just a few short blocks away from their apartment in Detroit's popular Art Center area.

That could change if a proposed land swap is approved between the City of Detroit and Wayne County that would allow billionaire Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures to build a $520.3-million criminal justice complex just east of I-75, near Warren Avenue. The proposal is drawing ire from many residents, including Patton, whose neighborhoods are nestled on the other side of the busy freeway.

Related:

Detroit-county land swap deal still alive despite scrapped plan for soccer stadium downtown

Ford family joins Detroit's MLS bid, offers Ford Field as venue

"I just don't understand how they can talk about building a jail over there and we've got all these schools and stuff over here by us," said Patton, whose daughters are 9, 8 and 4. "My thing is, y'all didn't even finish building the jail that you started building on Gratiot. We don't want all that stuff in our neighborhood. ... My girls walk to school. I'm very concerned. That's why I'm totally against it."

The City Council is set to vote Tuesday on the deal, which would give the city the former American Motors headquarters site on Plymouth Road in exchange for 11 acres of city-owned land needed to build the jail complex. If approved by council, the deal would still need to win approval from the Wayne County Commission, which has yet to discuss the deal, according to a spokesperson.

"The Commission’s Policy Research and Analysis department just recently received paperwork but analysis has yet to begin," Commission spokesman Jim Toth told the Free Press.

According to the agreement, Detroit has the option to forgo swapping the land and instead opt to receive the fair market value of the city property from Wayne County, estimated to be $757,000. The city has until Nov. 1, 2018 to make that selection.

But if the deal moves forward, the city plans to market the vacant 1.4-million-square-foot American Motors headquarters, on Plymouth Road on Detroit's west side, for redevelopment.

The American Motors site is owned by the Wayne County Land Bank, which would need to approve the exchange of that site.

Wayne County would then give the existing, unfinished jail site on Gratiot in downtown Detroit to Gilbert's Rock Ventures in exchange for building the new jail complex.

Ground was previously broken at the Gratiot site under the leadership of former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano in September 2011. Work was halted at the site in June 2013 when it was revealed that cost overruns were pushing the project $91 million over the $300-million budget. The idled site is costing taxpayers about $1.2 million a month in bond payments, storage and security.

Earlier this month, Gilbert scrapped plans to use the Gratiot site as a potential spot for a Major League Soccer stadium. But Rock Ventures Principal Matt Cullen said in a statement at the time that the company remains committed to building a mixed-use development on the Gratiot site, adding that it will become an "economic driver" for the community.

Patton believes the county should finish the jail at Gratiot.

"I think they need to leave the jail where the jail is, but I don’t think they're going to listen," Patton said. "They’re going to do whatever they want and they’re going to get what they want."

Residents say they're concerned about the impact of the proposed new jail site and frustrated by what they believe has been a lack of public engagement. In recent weeks, community members have mobilized in an united effort to prevent the deal from moving forward, by vocalizing their displeasure and circulating petitions.

But Wayne County Executive Warren Evans' spokesman Jim Martinez said the county is working hard to mitigate community concerns. Martinez said the administration met with about 30 community leaders Nov. 1 to discuss the project and hosted an informational forum last week specifically for neighborhoods closest to the proposed site.

"The administration is aware of some concerns regarding the proposed criminal justice center and is working with the city planning department on ways to address or mitigate those through the design process," Martinez said in an e-mail to the Free Press. "We’ve also agreed to have any site plans reviewed by the city planning department."

Concerns have also been raised by City Councilwoman Mary Sheffield, who said last week in a Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee meeting that she's concerned the community's concerns might go by the wayside since the county isn't required to abide by the city's community benefits process,

"Once the land is gone, that's the leverage that we have," Sheffield said.

Khalil Rahal, Wayne County's economic development director, said at the meeting that the entire deal is contingent upon whether the county is able to reach an agreement with Gilbert. Officials said the county has until Dec. 1 to iron everything out.

"We’re still in negotiations with the Bedrock folks to figure out what we’re going to do," Rahal said. "... They've (the community) voiced some really real concerns. ...This is not a done deal yet. But we are working with the planning department on things like zoning; we’ve talked about all these things to help try and address (their concerns.) ...There will still be folks out there that won't like this."

Resident Renee West, who lives in a town house near East Palmer and St. Antoine, attended the county meeting last week and said she has concerns about the amount of traffic the complex would bring to her neighborhood.

"We’re talking about a lot of transient traffic during the day and people don't give a doodly dang about one-way streets," West said. "They talk about protecting us ... but to me this is not a good fit. Neighborhoods are vulnerable. My concern is vulnerability of us being residential. This is the Arts Center, we’re drawing people down here. Let's keep it this way and keep building the image of Detroit as a sophisticated city."

Dan Axelson just purchased a condo near East Palmer in June.

"I think the whole thing is pretty incredible," Axelson said. "You're going on, living your life and wake up one morning and learn that here's a whole criminal justice complex that might be at your doorstep. There was very minimal opportunity for us to give input. I just find the whole thing to be kind of disappointing. I just think it reflects unfortunate leadership."

Axelson said he's concerned that the complex would "completely change" the nature and landscape of his neighborhood, which has become known for its growing arts scene.

"We're a quiet, diverse community and the type of community that Detroit should be proud of," Axelson said. "Taking an entire criminal justice complex and putting it in the midst of the arts center, the people who live there want to fight to keep the arts center there. ... I share the frustration of my neighbors."

Detroiter Nzingha Masani-Manuel said she regularly jogs in the area and now has safety concerns, not just for herself but children who attend Golightly and University Preparatory Academy.

"When the kids play on the playground every day, they'll have to look at the new proposed Wayne County Jail," Masani-Manuel said. "These are our future leaders and that’s why they have to look at every day? It’s people who have been living here for over 50, 60 years and there's so much history in this neighborhood. ...They don’t care about us at all. We don’t count at all. I think it’s a done deal and they're just going to ram it down our throats."

Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.