MICHIGAN STATE FAIRGROUNDS

The Detroit City Council has approved $18.6 million for a new transit center at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds site.

The Michigan State Fairgrounds may soon be the new home of the Detroit Department of Transportation transit center on Woodward Avenue.

click to enlarge David GiffordMichigan State Fair bandshell as of Dec. 13. Readers got nostalgic, and the piece went viral.Within days, someone created a change.org petition urging Amazon to save the bandshell. WXYZ-TV's 7 Action News picked up the story , and Amazon even issued a response, saying it's considering preservation. "Amazon appreciates the sentimental and historic value of the bandshell to the Detroit community," a spokesperson told the station. He can afford to do anything.Maybe the Ghosts of Concerts Past can convince him to save Detroit's bandshell.It would be a Christmas miracle.

DETROIT – The old Michigan State Fairgrounds is undergoing a quick transition tonight. It’s moving from decaying buildings to the state’s largest Amazon facility. They’re moving dirt and getting ready for a massive Amazon facility that’s exceeding original promises. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says Amazon and its $400 million development is about to change the neighborhood for the better. Duggan says Amazon has increased the number of jobs it will offer from 1,200 to 2,000.

click to enlarge State Fairgrounds Development CoalitionState Fairgrounds Development Coalition members (from left): Tonya Phillips, Marya Sosulski, Gary Hanafee, Frank Hammer, Al Martin, and Adrienne Warren. After being delayed by an eleventh-hour lawsuit from community activists, the sale of the Michigan State Fairgrounds is now back on track to convert the 142-acre site into a $400 million Amazon distribution center.A Michigan appeals court intervened in the case. In an October lawsuit, the State Fairgrounds Development Coalition argued that the city had indeed granted public financing to the project, not through tax incentives, but by lowering the sale price of the fairgrounds by at least $2 million. In a statement, the State Fairgrounds Development Coalition said it was “disappointed” by the court of appeals ruling.“We know that we are on the right side of history and we will continue to stand against these harmful, no-bid, no-disclosure, ‘rocket-docket’ sales of our public land,” the statement read. In an email, city spokesman John Roach tellsthat the city’s attorneys “expect the closing shortly and expect work to start immediately thereafter.”

DETROIT – Amazon has plans to build a “mega” distribution center on a portion of the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit, but that’s on hold since a judge issued a temporary restraining order against the project this week, WDIV Local 4 reports. A lawyer for the city of Detroit says the order was issued on “bad information,” the TV station reports. RELATED: Amazon to build distribution center at Michigan State Fairgrounds in DetroitThe sale was approved by city council earlier this month, which came after a protest from the State Fair Development Coalition, the same group that’s behind the current stop order, the report said. RELATED: Group protests sale of state fairgrounds to AmazonThe group says the city violated the community benefits ordinance, a specific sale process triggered when the city gives tax breaks to developers, by discounting the sale price due to environmental cleanup costs, the report said. Amazon and the developers aren’t getting any tax breaks or incentives, but the group says the reduced price should count as a break.

DETROIT – The sale of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds has been halted by a court order just over a week after the sale was approved. The Wayne County Circuit Court issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to halt the sale of 142 acres of the former fairgrounds site to two development groups. The Detroit City Council approved the sale on October 20, making the land available for a proposed Amazon distribution center and new indoor transit center. “In 2020, the Detroit City Council adopted a Community Outreach Ordinance requiring a specified outreach process before amending the city’s master plan. A proposed sale of acreage at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds would redevelop about half of the site into a new Amazon distribution center, with the rest saved for a transit center and other future developments.

DETROIT – The Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved the sale of a portion of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds that will be developed into an Amazon distribution center, transit center and more. A digital rendering of the proposed Amazon distribution center at the site of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds. According to the city council president, the sale of the untaxed land will generate $42 million in tax revenue over the next 10 years. Jones and one other city council member reportedly voted against the agreement Tuesday, with six city council members voting in favor. The city of Detroit purchased 142 acres at the site of the former State Fairgrounds in 2018.

DETROIT – A group protested Friday morning against the sale of the Michigan State Fairgrounds to Amazon. The State Fair Development Coalition says the sale price is too low and questions the number of jobs that will be available to Detroiters if it goes through, WXYZ Detroit reports. Amazon is looking to buy a portion of the fairgrounds at Woodward Avenue and 8 Mile from the city of Detroit for $9 million. The plan is to build a $400 million mega distribution center - 3.8 million square feet - that would create 1,200 new jobs for Detroiters. RELATED: Amazon to build distribution center at Michigan State Fairgrounds in DetroitBefore finalizing the sale, Amazon needs city council to change the zoning to industrial, the TV station reports.

DETROIT Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will hold a news briefing at 11 a.m. Tuesday to announce a proposed sale of acreage at the former State Fairgrounds that could generate over 1,000 new jobs. Watch the news briefing live at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the video player above. Officials say the proposal would sell 142 acres at the former State Fairgrounds to a development team. The city of Detroit purchased the 142 acres at the former State Fairgrounds for $7 million in 2018. Ex-NBA star Earvin Magic Johnsons Magic Plus LLC development company bought about 16 acres from the land bank for just over $29,500 per acre.

DETROIT Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Tuesday a proposal that would bring a new Amazon distribution center to the former State Fairgrounds site by 2022. Two development groups, Hillwood Investment Properties and the Sterling Group, are slated to purchase 142 acres at the former State Fairgrounds site from the city of Detroit -- and Amazon is expected to be their first tenant. The Detroit City Council is expected to review a purchase agreement in September after its summer recess, officials said. The city of Detroit previously purchased the 142 acres at the former State Fairgrounds for $7 million in 2018. The city of Detroit purchased 142 acres at the site of the former State Fairgrounds in 2018.

DETROIT Changes are coming for the former Michigan State Fairgrounds, located off of Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. The land is currently used as a coronavirus testing site, but Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Tuesday for new plans on the property. We want you to spend $7 million and build a transit center on the site, in addition the purchase price, and they agreed. They expect their first tenant on the first site, to be an Amazon distribution center. It will open in 2022, Duggan saidThe new transit center will be similar to the Rosa Parks Transit Center downtown and include safe, convenient pedestrian connections to the Meijer/Gateway Plaza nearby.

click to enlarge City of DetroitTesting site at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit. Michigan reported 62 new deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the state total to 479.With deaths more than doubling every four days, Michigan ranks third in the number of deaths in the U.S., behind New York and New Jersey. In Oakland County, there are 2,540 positive cases and 136 deaths. The average age for deaths is 7.16, with a median age of 73.Globally, there are 1.1 million coronavirus cases in 181 countries, and more than 58,00 deaths as of Friday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine . The U.S. has more positive cases than any country in the world, with 261,438 confirmed infections and 6,699 deaths.

click to enlarge City of DetroitCoronavirus testing site at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds. Another 524 police officers, 126 firefighters, and 133 DDOT employees are under quarantine. Donafay Collins Duggan has made testing a priority in the city. On Thursday, the city became the first municipality in the U.S. to begin using testing kits that provide results within 15 minutes. We will be fighting the coronavirus for months.

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer in Michigan -- and it's filled with events to celebrate. All around Southeast Michigan, big events are being held to mark Labor Day. The 22nd annual Arts, Beats & Eats will take place in Downtown Royal Oak on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 through Sept. 2. Every Labor Day weekend, Romeo hosts many events based around its prized crop, the peach. For the past three decades, the Hamtramck has celebrated Labor Day weekend with a festival on the Main Street of Joseph Campau.

Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer in Michigan -- and it's filled with events to celebrate. All around Southeast Michigan, big events are being held to mark Labor Day. The 22nd annual Arts, Beats & Eats will take place in Downtown Royal Oak on Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 through Sept. 2. Every Labor Day weekend, Romeo hosts many events based around its prized crop, the peach. For the past three decades, the Hamtramck has celebrated Labor Day weekend with a festival on the Main Street of Joseph Campau.