How the Morouns became Detroit’s least trustworthy billionaire family
With speculation that they’ll demo the Bel Air shopping center, it’s worth reviewing the family’s worst exploits
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Just over two years ago, billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun announced that he would hand the reins of his international trucking and real estate empire to his son, Matthew Moroun.
The younger Moroun told the Detroit Free Press his approach to business differed from his father’s. He preferred open dialogue to unilateral decision-making, and sought to “change the narrative” by becoming a better corporate neighbor that partnered with the community instead of punishing it.
“I’m trying to build a bridge, so I need friends. My father’s friends? They’re all gone, practically,” Matthew Moroun said at the time.
Since those proclamations, the Morouns have remained in the news. Most prominently, the family
sold Michigan Central Station to Ford Motor Company for $90 million.
Late last year, their real estate arm, Crown Enterprises,
purchased the Bel-Air Shopping Plaza, which holds the city’s only functioning mainstream movie theater. Their plans are unclear, but
some speculate the plaza will come down. Demolishing a movie theater may not endear the Morouns to the city’s residents, and that raises questions about whether the family is living up to its promise to be a good corporate neighbor...
Meanwhile, the family still can’t escape lingering animosity and suspicion from residents.
“We feel like they’re snakes in the tall grass waiting to strike again,” says Deb Sumner, founder of the Clark Park Coalition in Southwest. “We’ve got to watch them like a hawk for when they’ll strike next.”
https://detroit.curbed.com/2020/1/6/...entral-station
