Commonwealths, according to a U.S. State Department manual, exist under U.S. law as self-governing territories with their own constitutions whose right of self-government cannot be unilaterally withdrawn by Congress. There are two commonwealths in the U.S.: the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean and Puerto Rico.

The book is told through the eyes of the character Darin Fraser, an architect who is showing a friend from Damascus, Syria, how Belle Isle has become the "Midwest Tiger," rivaling Singapore as an economic miracle.

If an architect at the center of a book is reminiscent of Howard Roark of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, it's not accidental. The currency island residents use is called the Rand -- and not in imitation of the South African currency of the same name.

On Jan. 21, Lockwood, who is a member of the board of theand immediate past chairman of the, has organized an invitation-only lunch and presentation for area business and civic leaders and politicians at theto pitch his idea.

Speaking on behalf of Lockwood's plan are David Littmann, the former chief economist atand an adjunct scholar at the Midland-based, a free-market think tank; Hal Sperlich, the former president of; Larry Mongo, a longtime Detroit developer and owner of thein downtown Detroit; and Clark Durant, founding chairman of

"I support this 100 percent," Mongo told Crain's. He knows the project's backers will be hit with an oft-repeated criticism.

"For that segment that is saying, 'You're stealing our jewels,' I'd say: 'It's not recognizable as a jewel. We're in the 21st century now. We must develop models for the 21st century.'

"It might sound crazy, but I guarantee you it's going to happen. We're going to spend the rest of our lives working on this."

While the island would be an independent commonwealth under Lockwood's plan -- the fee for citizenship would be $300,000, which doesn't include the cost of buying a house or condo -- Detroiters would be free to come and go as they please and be able to access the island's amenities.

"Rod and I have been friends a long time," said Sperlich, who was one of the architects of the Mustang while atand later one of architects of the minivan at Chrysler when naysayers thought such a vehicle would never sell.

"This could be a tipping point," he said. "I'm excited about it, but it's going to take a long road to make it happen. But you can go way back and ask what were the chances of this country happening in 1776? Sometimes, big ideas work out.

"Yes, you'll hear the 'they're stealing our jewels.' But hopefully, people will see the intent here is to provide a massive impetus to the city. This will lead to massive development in downtown Detroit and massive development to the area adjacent to the bridge.

"The big challenge is political. Politicians tend not to gather around big ideas," said Sperlich. "Is there going to be a bankruptcy? Will there be an emergency manager? In the next year or so, there may be an interest in selling non-strategic assets."

"The island is a potential jewel," said Durant. "This is a city that needs to be energized, and to do that takes human ingenuity. Instead of the island being a drain on the city and a cost item, it becomes part of the revival. How much did they originally pay for the island of Manhattan? There was another island no one thought had any value."

Lockwood said he has developed an affinity for the island in part because of the many runs, including Free Press marathons, that he has participated in there over the years.

He said he envisions that, should the project come to pass, half of the residents will be U.S. residents and the rest recruited through advertising campaigns targeting countries in northern climates whose residents are not deterred by cold winters.

"Getting the money to do this and recruiting people is the easy part. ... As someone who's run numbers, I have no doubt the financials will work," Lockwood said.

"But people aren't going to spend a lot of time thinking about it unless we're getting political traction. How do we move the needle so the governor and the president and Congress say, 'We need to do this'? "

Detroit program management director William "Kriss" Andrews said he doesn't think the City Council will be any more receptive to a sale to private investors than it was to a proposal the state floated last year to lease the island and turn it into a state park.

Reaction by some council members was vociferous, although a poll of city residents by The Detroit News showed a substantial majority actually approved a state takeover.