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Facilities

Dan Gilbert Submits Final Proposal For Potential Downtown Detroit MLS Site

Wayne County (Mich.) on Wednesday "received two final construction proposals to choose from as it looks to either complete its stalled Downtown Detroit jail project or build a criminal justice complex elsewhere to make room" for an MLS stadium downtown, according to Dana Afana of MLIVE.com. Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures "submitted an expanded proposal to build a new criminal justice center" in exchange for a site "where an initial jail project was halted" in '13. Walsh Construction on Wednesday "submitted a proposal to complete the unfinished Gratiot jail" at a cost of $269M for 1,608 beds, or $317.6M for 2,200 beds. Gilbert's final proposal submitted Wednesday offers a $520.3M, 2,280-bed jail, "criminal courthouse, prosecutor offices, sheriff administration offices and a juvenile detention facility at a cost to the county" of $380M, "plus land acquisition obligations." Rock Ventures would be "responsible for any cost overruns, and would get the Gratiot site in return." The plan for the Gratiot site would include building a $1B commercial development that would include an MLS stadium "in partnership" with Pistons Owner Tom Gores (MLIVE.com, 6/29). In Detroit, Katrease Stafford in a front-page piece notes a "final decision is expected in late July and would then go before the Wayne County Board of Commissioners and Wayne County Building Authority for approval" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/30).

AN OFFER THEY CAN'T REFUSE? A DETROIT NEWS editorial writes the Gilbert offer "adds sweeteners that County Executive Warren Evans will find hard to refuse." Rock Ventures’ new offer is $20M "richer than Gilbert’s original bid, and the company has also backed away from a demand to share future operational cost savings from innovations at the new jail." The editorial: "Unless there is something we’re not seeing at the moment, Wayne County should take this deal and run" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/30). 

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