DETROIT — Citing financial concerns, the Detroit Economic Development Corp. rejected a group's $65.3 million plan to redevelop Tiger Stadium as the site of a charter school, retail shops, nonprofit organizations and housing, according to a report at MLive.com.
“The Corner Development” would have served as headquarters for The Greening of Detroit and WARM Training Center, both nonprofit organizations, as well as a K-8 charter school operated by Cornerstone Charter Schools, the report said. The rehabilitated ball field would have been used for community recreation.
The 9.4-acre property sits in a tax-free renaissance zone and qualified for $3.8 million in earmarked federal redevelopment funds, according to MLive. The economic development group cited “significant concerns about the overall financial feasibility” of the project in a letter to organizers, MLive reported.
“I knew it wasn't a sure thing,” Thom Linn, president of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, told MLive. Linn helped put together the proposal.
The Conservancy already secured $3.8 million in potential federal funding due to a spending bill earmark by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, according to MLive.com. The money does not have to be used at the stadium, but is designated for preservation or redevelopment in the Corktown neighborhood, according to MLive. Levin's office previously said it did not know how long the funds would be available or what would happen if the city failed to approve a project for their use, the report said.
SOURCE:
MLive.com, "The Corner Development: Detroit rejects $65.3M proposal for 'living building,' charter school, retail and housing at old Tiger Stadium site," March 28, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Tiger Stadium proposed charter school site," Nov. 9, 2010
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