DETROIT -

The site of the old temporary MGM Grand Casino in downtown Detroit is being redone into a crime-fighting center.

Ground was broken May 29 to convert the site near Third Street and the Lodge Freeway into a new public safety headquarters for Detroit’s police, fire, EMS, Homeland Security, support services and the new Michigan State Police crime lab.

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Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said it will be a big improvement over the current headquarters.

"It was built in 1922. The heat barely works sometimes, air barely works. The infrastructure for IT is not there," he said.

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The 465,000-square-foot complex is scheduled to open in July 2013.

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