April 13, 2011 1:08 PM
Wayne County plans to buy casino land to build new jail

By Daniel Duggan
Wayne County has a pending deal in place with Greektown Casino Hotel to buy 7.6 acres of vacant land along Gratiot Avenue in downtown Detroit for a new county jail.

The county, now under a period of due diligence on the deal, would pay $10 million for the land, once slated for the permanent Greektown casino, according to documents filed by Greektown with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under the terms of the deal, Wayne County also would swap 1.2 acres at 1231 St. Antoine St. with the casino. Greektown would use the new property for valet parking.

Wayne County’s chief development officer, Turkia Mullin, confirmed the deal and said the land would be used for a new jail.

She said the two downtown jails, at 570 and 525 Clinton, would be demolished. She cautioned, however, that the deal is contingent on approval by the Wayne County Commission and a satisfactory due-diligence investigation.

“We placed it under option pending due diligence,” Mullin wrote in an email. “If the site meets our expectations, we will recommend a purchase to the commission. We have 60 days to complete our due diligence.”

The 7.6-acre parcel — bounded to the north by Gratiot Avenue, to the east by I-375 and the west by St. Antoine — was purchased by Greektown Casino when all three casinos in Detroit had temporary locations and were securing sites for their permanent casinos.

Greektown later decided to build upon the temporary-casino site and add on. The Gratiot property has been listed for sale with an asking price of $34 million. It is currently being used as surface parking in Detroit.

According to the SEC filing, Greektown would receive from Wayne County the $10 million and the land at 1231 St. Antoine, which is currently being used as the administrative offices of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. The casino will use the land to build a valet-parking structure.

County Executive Robert Ficano has pitched the idea of a new jail as an eventual cost savings to the county.

In October, he said the new jail would save $26 million annually through more efficient operations. The Wayne County Commission approved the issuance of $300 million in bonds to pay for the project.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...build-new-jail

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If they demo the two old jails, it sure would be nice to have them become something other than MORE surface parking lots....