Some question $2 billion plan to move casinos to Detroit riverfront

Mayor Dennis Archer has promoted a plan to build a casino, hotel, restaurant and shopping district along the Detroit River. But the plan is in jeopardy because of skyrocketing land prices, delays in the city's schedule to buy the land, and opposition to the project.

Land prices could exceed the $250 million cap set by the city, and that does not include the cost to clean up from industrial environmental waste along the river, The Detroit News said Sunday.

The threat of cost overruns, on top of the two-year delay in the project and grass-roots opposition to casinos on the riverfront, is leading some to question whether the complex will ever be built.

The city has deals with 70 percent of the landowners. But if any of the remaining property holders refuse to cooperate, the city could face a long and risky court fight if it tries to wield its power to condemn land for the public's good, the newspaper said.

"I don't think this is going to happen," said City Council President Gil Hill. "The cost is going to be prohibitive. And we don't even know how much the (cleanup) is going to cost," Hill said.

That could be considerable. The land has been industrial for more than a century. Over the years, machine shops, die plants, factories and even freshwater shipyards have operated there. The city, however, insists it will acquire all the land for the project by spring and it will not exceed the $250-million cap.

"We are very close," said Archer spokesman Greg Bowens. "If we listened to the doubters, Comerica Park wouldn't have been built."

But there are major problems still looming for the casinos complex. Among them:

-City negotiators asked for another year to acquire the land, the second extension granted by the City Council. One reason it is taking so long is that the city has decided not to use condemnation to take the land. Courts in other states have ruled against cities that tried to use eminent domain to clear the way for casino projects.

-Many people oppose turning the riverfront over to casinos.

-Detroit's option with some landowners to purchase their property runs out March 31. Landowners could sell their land to other buyers after that.

-Time is running short as Detroit pushes to have the casinos and adjacent 800 hotel rooms ready by the time the Super Bowl comes to Ford Field in February 2006.

The delays have put businesses in the area in limbo.

"What do you do?" asked Chris Rodriguez, owner of Midwest Underwriters. "I'm putting in a $5,000 air conditioning system. You can't wait for the city. The landlord is putting a $250,000 new roof on or else the building will be ruined. It makes you uncomfortable not knowing what is going to happen."

Detroit's three casinos - the MGM Grand Detroit Casino, the MotorCity Casino and the Greektown Casino - are paying the bill, including any costs above the cap.

The newspaper said city council members say developers are expressing concerns over the price of the land. Casino officials would not comment on negotiations or the price of the land, it said.

Under the development agreement, Archer could decide to move the project elsewhere if land becomes too expensive along the east river site. But Bowens, his spokesman, said the $250-million cap is realistic.

"The landowners know that there is a cap and we can't go past it," he said. He also said the city expects to acquire all the land before March 31, when signed options between the city and landowners expire.

"We are not going to extend the options," Bowens said. "We are making deals."

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