Wayne County is moving forward with plans to complete its unfinished jail in downtown Detroit after reaching a settlement with the original design engineers and architects and hiring a consultant to oversee the project.

Still up in the air is an effort by businessmen Tom Gores and Dan Gilbert to build a soccer stadium at the 15-acre site on Gratiot Avenue at I-375.

On Thursday, the Wayne County Commission approved a settlement with Detroit-based AECOM and Dearborn-based Ghafari Associates LLC, which provides the county with a $2.5 million payment from the two firms, ownership of all design documents and dismissal of all counter claims against the county and the building authority.

In addition, the county approved a nearly $4 million contract with Carter Goble Associates, which will serve as the county's owner representative on the jail project.

In December, the county entered into an interim settlement agreement with AECOM and Ghafari, requiring concept plans and cost estimates to complete the jail, along with a road map for completion. After discussions with Carter Goble Associates, the administration recommended approving the current settlement agreement instead of the interim settlement agreement.

"The commission's decision to approve the settlement agreement with AECOM and Ghafari puts us one step closer to removing the eyesore that the unfinished jail site has become," Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said in a news release. "Now that we have settled with AECOM and Ghafari, we can focus on completing the Gratiot jail; the next step is preparing and then issuing a design/build RFP."

Construction of the $200 million, 2,000-bed jail began in 2011 under County Executive Bob Ficano. Work was stopped in June 2013 because of about $100 million in cost overruns and corruption charges.

South Carolina-based Carter Goble Associates offers services, including developing and issuing design/build RFPs, reviewing RFPs and contractor selection, reviewing project plans and managing the project budget, according to the release. The release also states one of major problems in the construction of the jail was the county's failure to have a consistent and conflict-free owner's representative overseeing the jail project.

Evans said Thursday that until the design/build RFP process is complete and a bid has been received, he will cooperate with Gilbert and Gores in exploring alternative sites for the jail. The county will not use any of its funds to explore alternative options.

In April, a day after Gilbert and Gores announced plans to bring a Major League Soccer team to Detroit, Gilbert and Arn Tellem, chairman of Gores-owned Palace Sports & Entertainment, held a news conference that showed plans for a professional soccer stadium at the 15-acre jail site on Gratiot Avenue and I-375.

Major League Soccer hasn’t made a commitment to Detroit, but said it is one of seven cities being considered as the league expands.

At the time of the news conference, Evans said the total cost for completing the half-built jail site was still being finalized. He said a requirement he would have for the Gilbert-Gores project moving forward is that the county would get a new jail without additional costs to the taxpayers. Evans also requested a reasonable offer for the site be received by the late summer or early fall.

Gilbert bid $50 million for the site in 2013 when the county sought private alternatives for the land after it determined it didn't have the money to finish the jail, but county officials denied the proposal eventually because of the amount of time and money it already invested in the project.