Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and Governor Rick Snyder gave final approvals Friday for a giant tree farm being created on Detroit's lower east side.
Hantz Woodlands is the largest urban farming plan in the United States, covering about 140 acres in the area between Mack, Jefferson, Van Dyke, and St. Jean.
The purchase agreement, announced Friday by the Department of Human Services and Hantz Farms Inc., involves 1,500 blighted parcels of land and was marked with the demolition of a long-blighted structure on Belvidere Street.
Representatives of the project have said the company would cover costs for title work, demolition of structures and removal of trash at a cost of an additional $3.2 million.
The Hantz Group received approval from city council to purchase the land in December after a long and controversial debate. Since then, the group has been mowing lawns and clearing debris. The new approval allows them to begin demolishing blighted structures.
The land will eventually be home to hundreds of trees that eventually will be sold, The Hantz Group says.
