Wayne County executive: Gilbert's jail site offer warrants deeper analysis

DETROIT – Wayne County Executive Warren Evans held a news conference Monday morning during which he discussed the status of the Gratiot Avenue jail site and the offer from Dan Gilbert. 

Evans said he completed an initial review of Gilbert's Rock Ventures proposal to build a criminal justice center. Gilbert's company wants to build an entirely new criminal justice complex up the road from the site on Gratiot Avenue. In return, Wayne County would give up the current jail site to make way for a new soccer stadium. 

The complex would include a new adult and juvenile jail and a new courthouse. It would be on Forest Avenue at I-75, where the current Lincoln Juvenile Center is located. The county would pay the $300 million it already has set aside to finish the failed jail build on Gratiot Avenue across from the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. 

DETAILS: Dan Gilbert offers deal to fix Wayne County's jail problem

In exchange for this, Gilbert would get the Gratiot Avenue site so he and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores can build a mixed-use development, which likely would include a professional soccer stadium. 

"The Rock Ventures offer presents the county an option that warrants much deeper analysis before determining whether it’s the best course of action to finally address our jail issue,” Evans said. “I appreciate that Dan Gilbert and the Rock team submitted it before our deadline.  I am instructing my team to take the same thoughtful, and deliberate approach in vetting the offer as we did with the County’s fiscal crisis.”

Evans' administration formally provided the Wayne County County Commission with the following recommendations:

  • Approve a stipend agreement of up to $500,000 with Walsh Construction to prepare a proposal in response to the RFP, which was issued on Feb. 10.
  • Modify the contract with Carter Goble Associates LLC (“CGL”) to allow for analysis of Rock Ventures proposed jail site.
  • Approve a contract with CGL to assist in vetting the Rock proposal from an operations and detention facility approach.
  • Approve a contract with the National Center for State Courts to assist in vetting and analyzing the court and office programming of Rock’s proposal.
  • Approve a legal services contract with Zausmer, August and Caldwell to assist in legal issues related to the Rock proposal.
  • “We can’t expect Walsh to expend substantial time and resources to complete a proposal for finishing construction of the Gratiot jail while the County vets Rock Venture’s alternative offer  without offering some reassurance that their time and commitment will be adequately compensated. And quite frankly, today, we’re closer to building on Gratiot than we are at Rock’s proposed site,” Evans said.

    The stipend payment, if approved, will only be paid if the Walsh proposal is not accepted by the county, Evans said. 

    “I know our commissioners share my concern about protecting Wayne County taxpayers and getting the best possible solution for our residents. I look forward to their input and analysis throughout this process,” Evans added.

    VIEW: Anticipated timeline of Walsh construction

    In addition to releasing his recommendations, Evans highlighted the three top issues that need to be addressed in vetting Gilbert’s proposal.

  • Whether what Rock is proposing to build on the proposed site, for an estimated $420 million, are adequate facilities to meet the County’s criminal justice needs?
  • Whether it is appropriate to pay Rock for any operational efficiencies resulting from the use of these new buildings, and if so, the details of how they would be calculated, when they would be paid and the duration of such payments?
  • Resolving the uncertainty of tax issues relating to the use of the jail bond and any jail bond proceeds to build the jail on an alternative site.
  • “We must know that the $420 million proposed site will fully meet the County’s criminal justice needs and there’s a lot of work left to figure that out,” Evans said. “We also need to do our due diligence on the bond and credit issues to make sure any action we take is in the County’s financial interests."

    As a result of the RFP process, Evans said Wayne County expects to have a proposal from Walsh in May. On Monday, Feb. 6, the county received an offer from Rock Ventures proposing a criminal justice complex at an alternative site at East Forest Ave. The Wayne County Commission and Wayne County Building Authority would need to approve any contract with either Walsh Construction or Rock Ventures.

    “I agree with Dan Gilbert that this is a 50-year decision, but it’s important to remember that we’re nearly a decade into a debacle we inherited that will continue to cost Wayne County taxpayers for decades. Getting this right for them trumps any other concern I have,” Evans said. “Our residents have been staring at a demoralizing Gratiot site with $151 million of their money buried in the ground that continues to hold back this County from truly surging forward.”

    Evans' office said that in September, working with its Owner’s Representative, CGL, the county issued an RFQu to complete the unfinished jail at Gratiot, drawing a lone response from Walsh Construction. After reviewing their response, the county qualified Walsh in late December for the project. In November, Mannik & Smith Group completed a visual and physical inspection of the structural steel, concrete and masonry onsite. The report of the site condition assessment confirmed that the prior construction at the site is structurally sound and suitable for restarting construction in 2017.

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    About the Authors:

    Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner™ Professional.