Proposed $3B New Center development gets vote

Tax-capture incentives for the proposed $3 billion development in Detroit’s New Center area involving Henry Ford Health, the Detroit Pistons and Michigan State University won a key approval Wednesday and will now head to Detroit City Council for consideration.

Members of the quasi-public Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority voted 7-1 in favor, with one abstention, of a “Transformational Brownfield” plan for the hospital, housing and medical research development.

The plan would capture $232 million in local and state-level taxes for the developers over a period of 35 years. The capture would apply to five of the development’s six projects, primarily 662 units of mixed-income housing to be built by the Pistons organization.

The sixth and largest project — a $2.2 billion Henry Ford Hospital expansion with a new 21-story hospital tower — isn’t seeking any incentives.

The lone “no” vote was from authority member Eric Dueweke, who, after the meeting, said that he doubts whether so large a subsidy is truly needed for the proposed housing.

He also said the Pistons lack a track record for developing housing, so he would prefer to see the organization partner with some local Detroit developers.

“I think they should be a little bit more transparent about who they (the Pistons) are going to partner with to get these things built, and if they are local developers,” said Dueweke, who also voted against the $1.5 billion District Detroit development last year.

Authority member Maggie DeSantis abstained from voting after remarking on the size of the requested incentives and how some requests to the developers from community members didn’t make it into the finalized Community Benefits package that gained preliminary approval last month.

“Tom Gores could write a check right now for that contribution,” she said of the Pistons’ owner.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority is a volunteer board whose members are mostly appointed by Detroit’s mayor. If council also approves the incentive, the proposal would then go to the Michigan Strategic Fund for a final vote.

There was a mix of positive and negative comments about the $3 billion development during the meeting’s public comments.

John Perkins, with the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, said they support the project and its potential to create construction jobs.

“We know that opportunities like this allow our members to create a sustainable lifestyle that allows them to build a middleclass future,” he said.