NEIGHBORS
Leverette’s Legacy of Neighborhood Commitment Runs Deep Roots. B1
Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 81 – No. 27 | March 14-20, 2018
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US Sen. Cory Booker to deliver keynote at Detroit NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner By Roz Edward U.S. Sen. Cory Booker will deliver the keynote address to an audience of more than 10,000 at the annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Center on May 6. The Detroit NAACP chapter president, Rev. Wendell Anthony, noted that Booker is the latest in a long list of influential speakers at the annual dinner. "Speakers in the past have included presidents, secretaries of state, governors, historians, labor leaders, civil rights Cory Booker icons and those who shake the social foundation of our very society," Anthony said. Booker, whose mother is a native Detroiter and whose grandfather was a card-carrying member of the UAW during World said in an exclusive interview with the Michigan Chronicle that a comprehensive approach for resolving problems, foregoing quick fixes for long term and permanent solutions are key to advancing the national agenda. The New Jersey senator and former mayor of Newark, N.J. appears to be on a course similar to that of Barack Obama in route to the Oval Office. Obama first addressed the historic Fight for Freedom Fund dinner in May of 2005 while serving as a U.S. Senator from Illinois. Obama delivered later delivered keynote speeches in 2008 and 2009 at the NAACP’s 100th annual celebration in New York. “My intention is to run for reelection. I’m not going to play coy. I’d definitely consider [a presidential run]. But my focus right now is running for reelection,” said Booker in an earlier interview. But while the popular statesman maintained that he's not ready to announce a run for the presidency, his role in the Trump resistance has Washington insiders and politicos looking more closely at Booker for the nation’s top job. Many are still talking about the laser-like focus and righteous anger he showed at a recent senate hearing when questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kirsten Nielsen regarding whether or not she heard Donald Trump’s now infamous “sh-t hole countries” comment. Booker countered that Trump referred to people from Africa and Haiti with "the most vile and vulgar language" and said "when ignorance and bigotry are allied
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WHAT’S INSIDE
All aboard the QLine… but don’t forget to pay Money. B3
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Wayne County Land Bank announces ‘Action Before Auction’ Program By Roz Edward Wayne County’s auction program to decrease blight, increase investment In a heightened effort to relieve neighborhood blight and decrease the availability of homes to detached real estate speculators who very often purchase properties, displace residents, fail to maintain homes, and contribute to disinvestment in Detroit neighborhoods, the Wayne County Land Bank Authority has implemented the Action Before Auction program. Under this groundbreaking new program, the Land Bank will partner with eligible residents living in foreclosed properties to assist them with continuing to occupy the property either as a rent or a homeowner. “I’m very focused on this program,” says Bali Kumar, Wayne County Land Bank, executive director. Kumar, 33 took the position in October of 2017. “Last year the County and the Wayne County Land Bank came together and launched a pilot program to remove properties from auction by way of the Right of Refusal Process, where we can acquire foreclosed properties from the state and municipalities and remove them from the [conventional] auction process,” explains Kumar. The County’s housing auction process has been criticized historically for contributing to a counter-productive culure of speculation, allowing buyers from around the country and the world to accumulate properties in Detroit, force residents out and leave the properties abandoned and neglected for years, usually with the intention of selling at a profit at a later date. “Too often what has happened is
that a renter is living in the property, paying their rent on time, but the landlord doesn’t pay the property taxes and the property goes in to foreclosure. But letting that property go to auction can result in people who did nothing wrong getting kicked out of their homes … just because the landlord has a different business model,” said Kumar. The new pro-Detroit pro-neighborhood Action for Auction Program will end the speculation process which for decades has been a primary contributing factor in neighborhood decline and distressed communities. The Wayne County Land Bank, as part of its mission to promote community redevelopment in Wayne County, has begun accepting applications for the 2018 Action Before Auction program. Currently the County Land Bank owns approximately 1,300 properties. The Action Before Auction program will build on the Land Bank’s success of 2017, when it ran a pilot program that removed 141 properties from the foreclosure auction. All 141 properties are currently in the process of being rehabilitated and returned to productive use. Notably, out of the 64 properties that were identified as occupied, in the majority of those houses — 54 total, or 84 percent — occupants were given an opportunity to remain in the home or were given re-housing assistance as a result of the pilot program. “We’re pleased with the success of last year’s pilot, but we are not going to rest there.” Kumar said. “By improving and expanding on the pilot program, we can increase the number of properties we can affect and the number of Wayne County residents we can serve.”
The Action Before Auction program will operate on two separate tracks. Under the first track, participants will work closely with the residents of foreclosed residential properties, with the goal of turning those residents into successful homeowners. “We want to cast a wider net this year. The more participants, the greater the impact we can have.” Kumar said. wanted scenario. Rather than selling at auction to the highest bidder, a property placed in the program will be assigned to a participant that has the resources, capacity, and experience to work with residents and rehabilitate the property. Under the second track, participants will focus primarily on remediating foreclosed properties, investing in the properties, and then returning those properties to productive use. Both tracks work together to accomplish three goals: to avoid speculation, to keep residents in their homes, and to promote investment across Wayne County. Since the programs primary objective is remediation of blight, Kumar says that bidders who will not be selling or renting a property to residents, under the Acton for Auction program they are required to make a minimum $25,000 investment for improvements to the property. “The foreclosure process creates community upheaval,” Kumar. “Every foreclosed home perpetuates a cycle of divestment, transiency and blight that spreads from one property to other homes on a block, and from one block across entire neighborhoods. We want to take action to stop this cycle of blight
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BANK page A2
Wayne County, Rock Ventures reach tentative deal to build Criminal Justice Center Gratiot jail to be demolished, $533-million criminal justice center expected in 2022
spring/summer of 2022, with Rock responsible for estimated costs of about $153 million, as well as any cost overruns;
Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans announced last week a tentative agreement with Rock Ventures to build a new $533 million criminal justice center, providing the County with four state-of-theart buildings as a solution to its long-stalled Gratiot jail project. As part of the deal, the County would invest $380 million with Rock covering the remaining costs and any overruns.
If the actual cost of the criminal justice center is less than the budgeted amount, the County and Rock will share the savings based upon an agreed to schedule;
“We made the best of a tough situation and have a definitive path forward to address the failed jail project. It’s been an albatross for the County for far too long,” Evans said. “At the end of the project we will have an entirely new criminal justice complex, and most importantly, the County’s construction costs are capped. We now know what we are going to pay and can budget accordingly. That better posi-
tions us to tackle other facilities and infrastructure challenges beyond our jails.” As part of the deal, the newly constructed criminal justice center will house the County’s 2,280-bed jail, sheriff and prosecutor staff and administrative offices, criminal courthouse and juvenile detention facility.
The center will be completed on property bounded by the I-75 Service Drive and East Warren Avenue, which is being acquired from the City of Detroit. Key components of the deal, which now head to the County Commission and Building Authority for approval, include: Completion is expected in
Rock will operate and collect net parking revenues capped at $30 million present value for various parking sites around the criminal justice center, after which the County will take over operation and collection of parking revenues. The County, however, retains complete control of 119 secured parking spaces for County use at no cost; Rock has agreed to invest at least $250 million into a mixedused development on the properties it acquires from the County, while utilizing at least 51% of Wayne County residents in the jobs required for development of
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CENTER page A-2