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Prison Legal News

Failed Michigan Jail Site to Host Innovation Center

Loaded on Nov. 1, 2020 by David Reutter published in Prison Legal News November, 2020, page 43
Filed under: Rural Prisons, Education. Location: Michigan.

by David M. Reutter

The University of Michigan (UM) is building a graduate campus on the grounds of the former site for a new Wayne County Jail (WCJ). The 190,000 square-foot research and graduate education building for UM students will focus on automotive mobility, artificial intelligence, sustainability, cybersecurity and financial education.

As PLN reported, construction was halted in 2013 on the WCJ after it was discovered the project was running tens of millions of dollars over its $300 million budget. [See: PLN, April 2016, p.58.]

At least $150 million in 2010 bond funds were spent on the half-built jail. Since construction was halted, taxpayers paid nearly $1.2 million per month in costs for debt financing, security, and other fees related to the site.

In early 2018, the site was sold to Dan Gilbert, who owns the Rock Ventures development company, for $21.8 million. His company demolished the half-built jail with plans to build a soccer stadium if Major League Soccer awarded Detroit an expansion team. Instead, teams were awarded to Cincinnati and Nashville.

UM announced in October 2019 plans to partner with Gilbert and billionaire real estate mogul and UM alum Stephen Ross to build the $300 million Detroit Center for Innovation on the former 15-acre jail site. The facility will serve up to 1,000 graduate and senior-level undergrads. It will focus on high-tech research, education and innovation, with the goal of supporting the economic development of Detroit and the state with “a pipeline of talent,” mlive.com reports.

The Center will also include incubator and startup services, collaboration space for established companies, residential units, a hotel and conference center and event space. 

 

Source: mlive.com

More from this issue:

  1. Milestone: Thirty Years of Prison Legal News and the Human Rights Defense Center, by Paul Wright
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. Fifth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Texas Jail Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
  4. Denied Medical Care During Pandemic, New Jersey Prisoner Treats Infected Wound With Bleach, by Dale Chappell
  5. Ninth Circuit: No Summary Judgment for Prison Officials Who Allegedly Allowed Attack on Nevada Prisoner, by David Reutter
  6. Lives at Stake as Pennsylvania County De-privatizes Prison, by David Reutter
  7. Coronavirus: A Second Wave of Infection, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
  8. Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Another Arizona Republican Primary, by Matthew Clarke
  9. Eleventh Circuit Vacates COVID-19 Injunction Against Miami Jail, by David Reutter
  10. Nebraska Declares Overcrowding Emergency in State Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
  11. Federal Judge Rules Prisoners Eligible for $1,200 Stimulus Checks; Application Deadline Extended to Nov. 21 for Online Filing, by Derek Gilna
  12. Fourth Circuit: Opening of Detainee’s Legal Mail Outside His Presence Violates Right to Free Speech, by David Reutter
  13. California Prison Guards Keep Jobs After Aiding Attacks on Sex Offenders, by Jayson Hawkins
  14. Texas: Prison Air Conditioning Needs Revisiting, by Edward Lyon
  15. Efforts to Keep COVID-19 Out of Montana Prisons Fuels Outbreaks in County Jails, by Alex Sakariassen
  16. Denial of Recruitment of Counsel for Wisconsin Prisoner Affirmed by Seventh Circuit, by David Reutter
  17. DOJ Finds Frequent Use of Excessive Force in Alabama Prisons, by David Reutter
  18. Third Circuit: District Court Erred in Ruling Against Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Civil Rights Complaint, by David Reutter
  19. Two-Thirds of Nevada Prisoners Confined in Arizona Private Prison Test Positive for COVID-19, by Mark Wilson
  20. Washington Prisoner’s State Public Records Act Lawsuit Results in His Freedom and $111,194 Award, by Matthew Clarke
  21. New Jersey Guard Acquitted in Sex Scandal, by David Reutter
  22. North Carolina Temporarily Closes Three Prisons for Lack of Guards; Final One Reopens During COVID-19 Pandemic, by Edward Lyon
  23. $225,000 Windfall in Lehigh County, Pa. But Officials Don’t Cut Jail Phone Costs, by David Reutter
  24. Second Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Connecticut Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
  25. Private Prison Industry Ramped Up Campaign Contributions, Favoring Republicans, by Derek Gilna
  26. Pennsylvania Prisoner Loses Part of Leg, Wins Appeal in Precedential Grievance Process Case, by David Reutter
  27. Investment Firm Buys Corizon, by Matthew Clarke
  28. Florida Spent $1.7 Million, and Counting, to Impede Felon Voting Rights, by David Reutter
  29. $1.25 Million Settlement Against Tennessee County Over Sheriff’s Violations of Labor Law, by Douglas Ankney
  30. Ankle Monitor Shortage at Chicago Jail Put Prisoner Releases During COVID in Limbo, by David Reutter
  31. Violence at New York City’s Rikers Island Jail Increasing Even as Population Falls, by Edward Lyon
  32. Failed Michigan Jail Site to Host Innovation Center, by David Reutter
  33. Second Circuit: Denial of Exercise Over Four Months Defeats Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
  34. Report: Screening Failures Cited in COVID-19 Outbreak in California Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
  35. Rikers Island Death Case Against City of New York Settles for $5.5 Million, by Derek Gilna
  36. Families of 4 Alabama Prisoners Who Committed Suicide File Federal Lawsuit Against Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
  37. ICE Detainees Pepper-Sprayed Over Hunger Strike, by Daniel A. Rosen
  38. Connecticut: Summary Judgment Denied in Deliberate Indifference Case Where Facial Lesion Turned Out To Be Skin Cancer, by Chad Marks
  39. Eleventh Circuit: Florida’s Treatment Plan for Hepatitis C-Positive Prisoners Constitutional, by David Reutter
  40. Sixth Circuit Reverses and Allows Ohio Prisoner’s Civil Rights Lawsuit to Proceed, by David Reutter
  41. Fourth Circuit Orders Sealing of North Carolina Court’s Order to “Protect Defendant from Harm”, by David Reutter
  42. Mental Health Crisis in California’s Lock-Ups Worsens With COVID-19, by Edward Lyon
  43. Native Americans Protest Theft of Alcatraz Island, by Edward Lyon
  44. Temporary Halt of Federal Prison Labor at National Parks, but New Policy Proposed To Resume It, by Jayson Hawkins
  45. $70,000 Settlement in Private Firm’s Failure to Treat Arizona Prisoner’s Broken Wrist, by David Reutter
  46. Guard Violates Eighth Amendment by Brandishing Knife and Threatening Prisoner’s Life, by David Reutter
  47. Seventh Circuit Dismisses Summary Judgment for Defendants in Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Beating, Choking, by David Reutter
  48. HRDC Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Colorado Sheriff for Censorship of Prisoner Publications, by Derek Gilna
  49. New York City BOP Prisoner Dies After Being Pepper-Sprayed, by Kevin Bliss
  50. Captain Accused of Abusing Mentally Ill Prisoners Cleared in Internal Investigation, by Kevin Bliss
  51. Former Pennsylvania Prison All Solitary with Silence Mandatory, by Edward Lyon
  52. Alabama Executes Non-Shooter in Police Killings, by David Reutter
  53. Former Angola Warden Burl Cain Appointed Head of Mississippi Prison System, by Matthew Clarke
  54. News in Brief
  55. Massachusetts Jail Phone Cost Reductions Under Attack, by Edward Lyon

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