Failed Michigan Jail Site to Host Innovation Center
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:
- Milestone: Thirty Years of Prison Legal News and the Human Rights Defense Center, by Paul Wright
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Texas Jail Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Denied Medical Care During Pandemic, New Jersey Prisoner Treats Infected Wound With Bleach, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: No Summary Judgment for Prison Officials Who Allegedly Allowed Attack on Nevada Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Lives at Stake as Pennsylvania County De-privatizes Prison, by David Reutter
- Coronavirus: A Second Wave of Infection, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Eleventh Circuit Vacates COVID-19 Injunction Against Miami Jail, by David Reutter
- Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Another Arizona Republican Primary, by Matthew Clarke
- Nebraska Declares Overcrowding Emergency in State Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Fourth Circuit: Opening of Detainee’s Legal Mail Outside His Presence Violates Right to Free Speech, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge Rules Prisoners Eligible for $1,200 Stimulus Checks; Application Deadline Extended to Nov. 21 for Online Filing, by Derek Gilna
- California Prison Guards Keep Jobs After Aiding Attacks on Sex Offenders, by Jayson Hawkins
- Texas: Prison Air Conditioning Needs Revisiting, by Edward Lyon
- Efforts to Keep COVID-19 Out of Montana Prisons Fuels Outbreaks in County Jails, by Alex Sakariassen
- Denial of Recruitment of Counsel for Wisconsin Prisoner Affirmed by Seventh Circuit, by David Reutter
- DOJ Finds Frequent Use of Excessive Force in Alabama Prisons, by David Reutter
- Two-Thirds of Nevada Prisoners Confined in Arizona Private Prison Test Positive for COVID-19, by Mark Wilson
- Third Circuit: District Court Erred in Ruling Against Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Civil Rights Complaint, by David Reutter
- Washington Prisoner’s State Public Records Act Lawsuit Results in His Freedom and $111,194 Award, by Matthew Clarke
- New Jersey Guard Acquitted in Sex Scandal, by David Reutter
- North Carolina Temporarily Closes Three Prisons for Lack of Guards; Final One Reopens During COVID-19 Pandemic, by Edward Lyon
- $225,000 Windfall in Lehigh County, Pa. But Officials Don’t Cut Jail Phone Costs, by David Reutter
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Connecticut Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
- Private Prison Industry Ramped Up Campaign Contributions, Favoring Republicans, by Derek Gilna
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Loses Part of Leg, Wins Appeal in Precedential Grievance Process Case, by David Reutter
- Florida Spent $1.7 Million, and Counting, to Impede Felon Voting Rights, by David Reutter
- Investment Firm Buys Corizon, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.25 Million Settlement Against Tennessee County Over Sheriff’s Violations of Labor Law, by Douglas Ankney
- Violence at New York City’s Rikers Island Jail Increasing Even as Population Falls, by Edward Lyon
- Ankle Monitor Shortage at Chicago Jail Put Prisoner Releases During COVID in Limbo, by David Reutter
- Failed Michigan Jail Site to Host Innovation Center, by David Reutter
- Report: Screening Failures Cited in COVID-19 Outbreak in California Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Second Circuit: Denial of Exercise Over Four Months Defeats Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
- Rikers Island Death Case Against City of New York Settles for $5.5 Million, by Derek Gilna
- Families of 4 Alabama Prisoners Who Committed Suicide File Federal Lawsuit Against Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
- ICE Detainees Pepper-Sprayed Over Hunger Strike, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Connecticut: Summary Judgment Denied in Deliberate Indifference Case Where Facial Lesion Turned Out To Be Skin Cancer, by Chad Marks
- Eleventh Circuit: Florida’s Treatment Plan for Hepatitis C-Positive Prisoners Constitutional, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Reverses and Allows Ohio Prisoner’s Civil Rights Lawsuit to Proceed, by David Reutter
- Mental Health Crisis in California’s Lock-Ups Worsens With COVID-19, by Edward Lyon
- Fourth Circuit Orders Sealing of North Carolina Court’s Order to “Protect Defendant from Harm”, by David Reutter
- Native Americans Protest Theft of Alcatraz Island, by Edward Lyon
- Temporary Halt of Federal Prison Labor at National Parks, but New Policy Proposed To Resume It, by Jayson Hawkins
- $70,000 Settlement in Private Firm’s Failure to Treat Arizona Prisoner’s Broken Wrist, by David Reutter
- Guard Violates Eighth Amendment by Brandishing Knife and Threatening Prisoner’s Life, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Summary Judgment for Defendants in Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Beating, Choking, by David Reutter
- HRDC Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Colorado Sheriff for Censorship of Prisoner Publications, by Derek Gilna
- Captain Accused of Abusing Mentally Ill Prisoners Cleared in Internal Investigation, by Kevin Bliss
- New York City BOP Prisoner Dies After Being Pepper-Sprayed, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Pennsylvania Prison All Solitary with Silence Mandatory, by Edward Lyon
- Alabama Executes Non-Shooter in Police Killings, by David Reutter
- Former Angola Warden Burl Cain Appointed Head of Mississippi Prison System, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Massachusetts Jail Phone Cost Reductions Under Attack, by Edward Lyon
More from David Reutter:
- California Appeal Court Won’t Let Prisoner Use Legal Mail to Send “Kites”, June 22, 2023
- Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Raise Change in Sentencing Precedent Following Remand, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Holds Ineligibility for First Step Act Safety Valve Relief Requires Proof of All Three Listed Criminal History Characteristics Satisfied, Widening Circuit Split, June 15, 2023
- Eighth Circuit Requires Source-of-Funds Finding Before Allowing BOP to Raid Account of Federal Prisoner in Missouri, June 15, 2023
- Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint, June 15, 2023
- $3,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Public Records, June 15, 2023
- Over $3.5 Million Paid to Incontinent Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Instead of Dining Priority Pass, June 1, 2023
- Eleventh Circuit Won’t Force Condemned Alabama Prisoner to Die by Method He Didn’t Choose, June 1, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Refuses Bivens Extension to Allow BOP Prisoner’s Damages Claim for “Degenerate Conditions” at Virginia Lockup, May 19, 2023
More from these topics:
- New York Finding Closed Prisons a Tough Sell, June 15, 2023. Cost of Prison Systems, Rural Prisons.
- State Prison Systems Failing to Provide Meaningful Programming, June 15, 2023. Education, Deterrence/Recidivism.
- Former Federal Prisoner Markets Game App He Developed Behind Bars, May 9, 2023. Education, Computers, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry.
- College Education Disrupted for Washington Prisoners, May 1, 2023. Education.
- Montana Becomes 13th State to End Prison Gerrymandering, May 1, 2023. Census, Rural Prisons.
- U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, April 1, 2023. Cost of Prison Systems, Rural Prisons.
- BOP Revives Plans for Controversial Prison in Kentucky, April 1, 2023. Cost of Prison Systems, Rural Prisons.
- Educating Prisoners: New Meta-Analysis Reinforces That It Reduces Recidivism, April 1, 2023. Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism.
- Judge Dismisses Suit Filed by California Town to Keep State Prison Open, March 1, 2023. Environmental Law, Plumbing, Rural Prisons.
- Burning Tires Left Louisiana Prisoners With Migraines, Breathing Problems, and Minimal Medical Care As black smoke poured out of a burning tire dump in Louisiana, people inside the prison next door struggled to keep the fumes out., Feb. 1, 2023. Medical Misconduct, Rural Prisons.