SOUTHWEST DETROIT, Mich. – Detroit City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a land transfer deal involving the Detroit International Bridge Company.
The agreement was signed years ago and is legally binding, but protestors in Southwest Detroit are urging the council to include protections for homeowners.
It’s a big concern, and they’re also worried a third bridge could be built; Riverside Park might be affected, as well as the streets surrounding the Ambassador Bridge.
Activists and homeowners in Southwest Detroit protested next to the wall that separates the Ambassador Bridge traffic from their neighborhood.
“The concern is them taking more land, the pollution,” said Bianca Cuevas. “I need my kids to have fresh air. We don’t need so much traffic.”
They want the city council to vote against a land transfer they say will negatively impact Riverside Park and St. Anne Street.
“My concern is that they’re going to block the road and displace residents,” Pam Turner. “We need to stop it. It’s been going on for years, and we’re frustrated by it.”
“This has got nothing to do with St. Anne, and it’s got nothing to do with any threats to neighborhoods being upset,” said City Attorney Conrad Mallett. “This is only about the park.”
Mallett says the council is legally obligated to follow through on the agreement signed in 2016.
“All we need to do is have one more council declaration, this deal closes out, and we keep our word as an institution,” Mallett said. “I just don’t know why that’s not important.”
“There’s a real fear of a third bridge, and the community is fighting,” said Gabriela Santiago-Romero, Detroit Council Member District 6. “We’re tired of being ignored, and residents are afraid that the bridge company will encroach on the neighborhood and displace people as well.”
“I just really need the city council to step up and put protection in place before the land deal goes through,” Turner said.
We did hear back from the Detroit International Bridge Company, who said in a statement:
“The question before the Council tomorrow is whether it should vote for the city to perform the agreement or it should vote for the city to breach the agreement. In 2015, after months of negotiations and significant public comment, the city and the Detroit International Bridge Company entered into the Land Exchange Agreement. City Council approved it, making it a binding agreement. The LEA required DIBC to perform a series of actions before the city became obligated to transfer land to DIBC.
Those included (1) conveying approximately five acres of riverfront land to the city to be incorporated into Riverside Park, (2) removing the tenant from a warehouse building on that property, (3) demolishing the warehouse on the property, (4) making a donation of 3M to the city to improve Riverside Park, (5) installing over 1000 windows in the Central Station at a cost of $3M and (6) funding the city's application to convert 3.4 acres east of Riverside Park from parkland so that it could be transferred to DIBC.
No one, not even those who have historically opposed us, disputes that DIBC has kept every promise it made in the LEA. After we installed the windows in Central Station, Ford expressed interest in the building leading to the project you see unfolding now. After many years, the necessary government approvals to convert and transfer the city parcel were obtained. Now, the city is obligated to transfer the 3.4 acres to DIBC.
Once it does, DIBC will donate another 2M to the city, completing the transformation of Riverside Park to a world-class park in southwest Detroit. The City Law Department has opined that if the city fails to complete the transfer, the city will be in breach of the LEA.
We have engaged in discussions regarding other issues that the Hubbard Richard neighborhood has raised. We intend to continue to engage with the community, but the issues we are discussing are unrelated and should not be tied to completing the LEA, which was signed over seven years ago.”
Detroit International Bridge Company