Wayne County will work with Dan Gilbert, Rock Ventures on Detroit jail proposal

The site of a failed Wayne County jail project in Detroit. (WDIV)

DETROIT – Wayne County announced Monday that they will work with the Rock Ventures proposal for the unfinished jail in Downtown Detroit.

On June 28th, the County received proposals from Walsh Construction to finish building the jail on the Gratiot site and from Rock Ventures to build the County a new criminal justice center on an alternative site.

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“While both proposals remain options, I’ve directed my team to dedicate their time and resources toward attempting to reach a contract with Rock Ventures,” Evans said. “The Rock Ventures proposal has more upside, less risk and a smaller financial gap than Walsh Construction’s proposal.  There are, however, many issues to resolve with Rock Ventures before I could recommend the approval of a contract to the County Commission and the County Building Authority.”

In the coming weeks, Executive Evans’ team will work with Rock Ventures’ representatives to negotiate terms of a deal to create a new criminal justice center.  If negotiations with Rock cannot result in a contract in the best interest of County residents and taxpayers, the County Executive has 120 days from June 28th, the date Walsh submitted its proposal, to commence negotiations to complete the jail at the Gratiot site.
 


About the Author

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.

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