Residents Speak Out Against Jail-Land Swap for Soccer Stadium

October 20, 2017, 3:14 PM

Featured_screen_shot_2016-05-19_at_5.50.30_pm_21814
The stalled Wayne County Jail.

Detroit resident Renee West sums up it this way: 

"They want to get all that away from downtown because they wanna make it all pretty. Ya' know . . . screw the rest us."

West was one of about 60 residents voicing concerns at a community meeting Thursday about a proposal from Dan Gilbert to build a criminal justice complex, which would include a jail, on city Department of Transportation property near Interstate 75 and Warren, reports Nicquell Terry of The Detroit News.

As part of the deal, Gilbert and Tom Gores would build a soccer stadium on the site on Gratiot where the unfinished new jail sits.

Some residents say they're concerned about their kids having to pass by a jail on the way to school and inmates escaping into the community. 

Residents aren't the only ones pushing back. Councilwoman Mary Sheffield told the crowd Thursday she doesn't currently support the land swap.

"There has not been enough engagement," Sheffield said. "The traffic and issues around education and schools -- I have those similar concerns."


Read more:  The Detroit News


Leave a Comment:

Photo Of The Day