There's an old adage that says nothing is free. It's especially true for development projects in present-day Detroit.
But did the city give too much to get Fiat Chrysler to expand a plant and build a new one on the east side?
A new Free Press report examines the implications of some of the land swaps that helped the officials assemble the 215 acres Fiat Chrysler said it needed, providing the first complete picture of just what the city gave up. What it finds is that Detroit officials have compromised neighborhood stability to complete the deal, handing off parcels to the Morouns and speculators with checkered track records. In one case, the land swaps even went against the city's own development plans for a community.
"Every single larger development deal, this is the debate in the conversation: Labor is pitted against the community. And communities are pitted against each other," Councilmember Raquel Castaneda-Lopez is quoted as saying.
Among the Freep's findings:
♦ The Moroun family had already customized its portion of the land for Fiat-Chrysler's use. By agreeing to rent, rather than own the land outright, the city could have avoided having to fork over $43 million and parcels in Southwest Detroit to the Morouns. The land swap has caused a lot of anger among residents there.
♦ Three acres given to the Morouns in Southwest were last year slated for a community development project.
♦ 15 properties — almost in highly desireable Jefferson-Chalmers, where home prices are climbing — are going to Michael Kelly, a notorious speculator known for flipping properties for considerable profit.
