City sues to acquire riverfront land

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT -- The city of Detroit filed suit in Wayne County Circuit Court to acquire property along the Detroit River to accommodate a $2 billion casino district.

The Detroit Free Press reported that 47 complaints were filed in condemnation proceedings to take possession of the land, which includes a car dealership and a company that has been in its location for more than a century.

The city is expected to argue that three casinos on the river will shore up the city's economy, create jobs and boost the tax base. Two of the three casinos are owned or co-owned by Las Vegas companies, Mandalay Resort Group and MGM Grand Inc., which are operating or building temporary casinos that will operate until the riverfront area is ready in 2003.

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