Property in Downtown Detroit with a history of Ilitch Ownership

As a reminder... At one time or another, during the last decade members of the Ilitch family, Michael Malik or their affiliates and enterprises controlled all these properties in the down town Detroit area.

Take a look.

Ilitch Hires Larson for Downtown Detroit Development

GlobeSt.com - Ilitch Hires Larson for Downtown Development

10.25.2011

By Robert Carr

Eric Larson | Olympia Development

DETROIT-Ilitch Holdings Inc. has hired Eric Larson, CEO of Bloomfield Hills, MI-based Larson Realty Group, as head of its property group. Mike Ilitch, the founder of the Little Caesars pizza franchise, holds one of the largest portfolios of downtown property through subsidiary Olympia Development.

Ilitch’s son Atanas stepped down as president of Olympia Development in mid-June to “focus on private outside business ventures.” Olympia is known for the redevelopment of the Fox Theatre, the Hockeytown Café and the development of Comerica Park, the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium.

Olympia also has the lease on the Joe Louis Arena, the Detroit Red Wings hockey arena downtown. There was talk this past year of Ilitch possibly building a new stadium downtown if the purchase of the Detroit Pistons basketball team went through, but the team was instead bought by Los Angeles-based billionaire Tom Gores. Olympia continues a short-term lease of the 32-year-old Joe Louis Arena, and Ilitch has been mum on future plans.

Larson will head the Olympia Development team, but he hires on only as an executive real estate consultant, and will maintain his private real estate firm. With more than 25 years experience, he previously worked for Hines and Bruce S. Brickman & Associates Inc. before joining his father, the late Robert Larson, a former CEO of Taubman Centers Inc...

Google map suggests more than 24 potential Shinnecock Casino sites

This Google map identifies more than two dozen Nassau and Suffolk County locations previously or currently under consideration for casino development by the Long Island-based Shinnecock Indian Nation and its Detroit-based partner Gateway Casino Resorts, L.L.C.

View Various Proposed Shinnecock Casino Sites in a larger map

Another Ilitch Leaves Family Business

Atanas Ilitch to leave Olympia Development real estate company

6.14.2011

By Daniel Duggan

Atanas Ilitch is leaving the family business.

The son of pizza and sports icon Mike Ilitch said today that he is resigning as president of Olympia Development. The real estate company, owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch, handles the real estate for all their companies.

The move was announced in a press release issued today in which Atanas Ilitch cited “outside business interests” requiring his attention as he leaves Olympia Development.

“The team we have at Olympia Development is highly capable, which makes me very comfortable in making this move at this time,” he said in the press release.“ My personal business interests continue to require more of my day-to-day time and attention.

“In my opinion, this is a win-win, and I look forward to recruiting a highly capable and experienced individual to lead Olympia Development into the future.”

A request for an interview was sent to Ilitch this afternoon, but no response was given.

Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc., said his brother has been a key part of the business.

“I greatly appreciate the leadership that Atanas has provided at Olympia Development over the last six years and the tremendous vision and leadership he has shown in our community,” Chris Ilitch said in the statement.

“My brother is one of the most passionate and creative persons I know, and he is absolutely committed to making our community a better place for all.”

Atanas Ilitch became president of Olympia Development in 2005. He has held other positions in the Ilitch companies over the years, including president of Olympia Entertainment from 1993 to 2000.

The search will begin immediately for a new president of Olympia Development. Atanas will help find his successor and stay on until that person is appointed, according to the company’s statement.

Ilitch must announce intentions for Joe Louis Arena June 30

Bill Shea at Crain's Detroit Business blogs:

... Mike and Marian Ilitch, the franchise’s owners [Detroit Red Wings] since 1982, have until June 30 to tell Detroit if they will modernize the 30-year-old, city-owned Joe Louis Arena or construct a new venue that likely would cost $300 million to $400 million.

Renovating Joe Louis reportedly could cost $180 million or more.

The lease expires July 1, 2010, but the Ilitches are contractually obligated to tell the city a year ahead of time their intentions. Doing nothing renews the lease for 20 years.

The team and city have been hush-hush about their Joe Louis talks. Scuttlebutt says the Ilitches want an extension to continue negotiations while they map out a plan for a new venue — likely on the land in the Foxtown area they’ve been buying up in recent years. (Full Post)

$2.5M taxpayer subsidy so Ilitch can demo its decaying structures in west Foxtown

First, recall the dashboard graphic published in the Detroit News on 9.23.08 to demonstrate the uparralled decline of Michigan's economy and that the week before on 9.17.08 Forbes ranked Michael Ilitch #301 on its annual list of the "400 Richest Americans."

And now, in an article published 12.11.08 in Crain's Detroit Business it has been disclosed that various Ilitch Family-owned entities (Olympia Development of MI LLC, Olympia Entertainment LLC, Elizabeth Street Properties LLC, etc.) will receive $2.5 million from taxpayers to demolish six strucutres that Ilitch boarded up and then left decaying during the last decade. Ilitch purchased these devalued properties with intention or in some cases was nearly gifted them by the Wayne County Treasurer; and now he wants another handout?

Capping the demolition list is the historic Fine Arts/Adams Theatre Building located on W. Adams Ave. in Grand Circus Park.

In the 12.11.08 Crain's story, Fred Beal of J.C. Beal Construction Inc. reports the facade of the Fine Arts Building will remain intact echoing a previous promise by Ilitch spokeswoman Karen Cullen. (Fine Arts is coming down; Ilitch Lifts City Hopes; Ilitches Downtown Power Play)

Included among the other buildings that would be demolished are West Grand River Lofts at 2030 W. Grand River Ave., and the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Noble Mythic Shrine at 2203 Cass Ave.

This is yet another of the Ilitch Family's taxpayer subsidized demolition plans. It will level all but two major structures from property controlled by Ilitch-owned entities in the west end of Detroit's Foxtown -- an area in downtown Detroit that's home to the headquarters of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., and where various Ilitch enterprises are dominate property owners. If this latest round of demo goes forward as planned, left standing on Ilitch owned property in the near vicinity would be just two pre-existing structures: (1) the former Chin Tiki Restaurant building featured prominently in Eminem's 2002 feature film "8 Mile;" and (2) the historic Moose Lodge Building which Ilitch acquired from promoter Blair McGowan.

At a time when working men and women in Michigan are facing some of the most desperate economic times in their adult lives, one of the richest men in America is asking for several million dollars in taxpayers handouts so he can demolish structures he let decay throughout the last decade. Is that just how rich guys in Michigan do it; spend their money flying around on corporate jets and other luxuries while they watch their business enterprises decay and then ask taxpayers to bail them out?

View comprehensive map @ live.com

Malik's legal appeal for right to develop houses and a marina on Harsens Island moves forward

7.30.08

Harsens Island development appeal heading for final pretrial

By Nicole Tuttle
Voice Reporter

The appeals process for two development companies looking to build a housing project on Harsens Island will take another step forward.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Daniel J. Kelley ruled last week that the final pretrial hearing for Grand Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC will be Aug. 25.

The date was set after Kelly heard the pretrial for the case July 21 in chambers. The case originally had been scheduled for Circuit Judge Peter Deegan's courtroom, but was moved after a conflict of interest surfaced when attorneys involved learned that Deegan's court reporter, Kathy Schweikart, is a member of the Clay Township Planning Commission.

The case is in court because the developers are appealing the planning commission's decision to reject a request for a special land use. The developers planned to create a 348-unit cluster housing development on the former Boys' Club property on the North Channel. The developers appealed the decision to the circuit court March 19.

Clay Township John McNamee said the judge will want to review documents, such as possibly the minutes of the planning commission meeting and what the commission considered before rendering a decision.

He said that he and Gary Fletcher, attorney for Grande Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC in the case, will need to determine which documents relating to the planning commission decision can be submitted to the judge for review.

"The court wants us to reach an agreement as to what is the appropriate record for review," McNamee said.

Once this process is complete, the judge will set a schedule for attorneys to submit briefs, Fletcher said.

In addition to the appeal, developers applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Land and Water Management Division in 2007 for dredging and a marina operating permit. The project would impact 16.6 total acres of wetland with excavation and fill activities. Existing roadways would also be impacted. The DEQ will make a decision on the permit on Aug. 28.

Click here to return to story: http://www.voicenews.com/stories/073008/loc_20080730009.shtml

NOTE: Grande Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC are entities controlled by Detroit-casino syndicator and developer Michael J. Malik, Sr. Mike Malik shares an office at the headquarters of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and has partnered with Mrs. Marian Ilitch on various casino ventures.

Detroit forum affirms Ilitch paid record price for .17 acre Foxtown parcel

On 12.24.07 a forum participant, 3rdworldcity, posted the following affirmation of a previous TVT post in a forum thread, "Motown site (Woodward/75) back in the news:"

Dennis K [Keffalinos] was paid $1,600,000 for the .17 acre parcel on Grand River. That's $234/sq. ft., not a bad price. (Price reported by Verifiable on this forum, which I verified from the seller.) What is amazing is that the Ilitch entity took no steps to prevent the public from seeing the purchase price, such as filing a Valuation Affidavit. Unbelievable. That [apparent] slip-up will cost them a fortune when negotiating future purchases and may sink an arena behind the Fox if they have much more land to acquire.

Will Ilitch build hockey arena on site of Berry Gordy's failed Motown entertainment complex

12.04.07

Motown entertainment complex plans fall through
Berry Gordy's group couldn't raise money to build $28M facility north of the Fox Theatre.

Robert Snell / The Detroit News

...Hockey arena a possibility?

The three Woodward properties faced foreclosure April 1, 2008, because Motown Center owed about $14,000 in unpaid property taxes dating to 2005, according to the Wayne County Treasurer's office.

The back taxes were paid Nov. 29, days after The Detroit News first called Heidelberg-Yopp, asking about the delinquency.

The Woodward land could be combined with the other parcels owned by the Economic Development Corp. and the city, and sold to a developer, Papapanos said.

The city and the Detroit Economic Development Corp. own about half of the land within the first four blocks north of I-75, between Woodward and Park.

But the cost of acquiring other parcels and offering the space for one development has been too expensive, said Brian Holdwick, the growth corporation's vice president of business and financial services.

The city has marketed some of its land to prospective developers, perhaps for a mixed-use development, Holdwick said. The nearly four-block area has been called an ideal spot for a new Detroit Red Wings hockey arena according to one development expert. But Ilitch Holdings spokeswoman Karen Cullen declined to discuss specific locations for a new arena.

One development official suspects the land would give Mike and Marian Ilitch, owners of the Red Wings, an option other than building behind the Fox Theatre, where the family empire has acquired a wide swath of land.

"Ilitch always has two or three areas (in mind) to stay ahead of the speculators," said Patrick Dorn, executive director of the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corp. "You can't get a better, sweeter spot for an arena," than the Motown Center land and surrounding properties.

Cullen acknowledges the company is considering more than one location. She was unaware of the Motown Center property, but wouldn't rule it out.

"In the broadest sense, I don't want to get into various sites," she said. "We haven't made a decision on the arena and are still considering all of our options, both whether to renovate (Joe Louis Arena) or build new."

James Canning, spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, has not heard of any city effort to offer the land to Ilitch for a new hockey arena.

"It's a great parcel of land and our development guys will go out and market it," Canning said.

Though the Motown project won't be built, Canning said: "We have an awesome Motown museum (on West Grand Boulevard). The community needs to continue to embrace that location."

You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028 or rsnell@detnews.com.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/ENT04/712040388/1424/ENT04

Speculation about Ilitch Family real estate development projects

Note: a map of some 160 downtown Detroit properties controlled by the Ilitch Family is available at maps.live.com

11.28.07

Ilitches chart Foxtown moves
New hockey arena relocation downplayed; family turns to lots behind Fox Theatre.

Louis Aguilar and Joel J. Smith

The Detroit News

With the MotorCity Casino complex nearly finished, the powerful Ilitch family will most likely focus on the empty lots and buildings they've steadily acquired behind their Fox Theatre headquarters in downtown Detroit, Marian Ilitch, matriarch of the billion-dollar family empire, indicated Tuesday.

But plans for that roughly 10-block area west of Woodward Avenue may not include a new hockey arena for the Detroit Red Wings, owned by Marian's husband, Mike Ilitch.

At a Tuesday press conference about the opening of her MotorCity Casino Hotel, Marian Ilitch was asked about the family's downtown properties.

"Most likely it will be to expand property behind the Fox Theatre. It may not turn out to be everything that everybody expects -- for instance, an arena -- however, it will be the best when it gets done," she said.

Marian Ilitch owns the MotorCity Casino. Together, she and her husband own Ilitch Holdings Inc., the Little Caesars Pizza chain and numerous downtown Detroit properties, ranging from concert venues like the Fox, restaurants like the Hockey Town Cafe and empty buildings and parcels.

"You have to be very careful about announcing future projects because if they don't come true you end up with egg on your face. But we do have other plans," Ilitch said.

Ilitch Holdings executives are deciding whether to renew the lease for the city-owned Joe Louis Arena, where the Wings now play, when it expires in 2009, or build a new facility. Speculation the Ilitches might build a new arena near the Fox Theatre has swirled as branches of Ilitch Holdings gained land and buildings behind the theater.

But that land certainly isn't the only empty space around the Fox Theatre and nearby Comerica Park, home of the Mike Ilitch-owned Detroit Tigers. The city of Detroit controls many parcels in the area.

In the past, the Ilitches have said they were in discussions with several national retailers about moving to the area, which the Ilitches have played a crucial role in helping rebuild.

Ilitch's comment Tuesday doesn't mean a decision has been made about building any new arena or what to do with the area behind the Fox, said Karen Cullen, spokeswoman for Ilitch Holdings.

"We've always said it's our neighborhood and we would like to continue to enhance it," Cullen said. "What specifically we will do there has not been decided."

You can reach Louis Aguilar at (313) 222-2760 or laguilar@detnews.com.

Find this article at: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/BIZ/711280390/1128/SPORTS0103

Ilitch comments on relocation of Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit

as published 11.14.07 in the Grand Haven Tribune reporting on the announcement that Quicken Loans would relocate its 4,000 employees to a new headquarters in downtown Detroit:

Also attending the announcement was Mike Ilitch, Little Caesar Enterprises founder and chairman of Ilitch Holdings Inc. who also owns the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and baseball's Detroit Tigers. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick praised Ilitch for "leading the move back to the city."

"We're thrilled (Gilbert's) coming to downtown Detroit," Ilitch said. "It's going to create a lot of excitement for the future, and it will get other companies thinking Dan knows what he's doing.

"This is not a normal move — this is somebody who gets things done, thinks big and does big things."

Detroiters hoping Ilitches will adopt their neighborhood too

8.28.07

Hope for Cass Corridor
Ilitch takeover of Masonic Temple may spur development of decaying area

Robert Snell and Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Ilitch Holdings Inc.-- the billion-dollar family empire of sports, entertainment, pizza and real estate in downtown Detroit -- hopes to venture into a long-abandoned stretch of the city: the Cass Corridor.

Ilitch's Olympia Entertainment is negotiating to take control of the iconic Masonic Temple, a city landmark mired in so much debt its owners, the Masons, face losing the building. The deal could be announced within a week to 10 days, said Bill Betz, president of the Masonic Temple Association, which would continue to own the 16-story landmark.

An Ilitch-run Masonic could be an energizing development for an area trapped in poverty and decay, according to city, business and neighborhood officials. It is the one spot left in the city core that could most benefit from a business titan who revived the Fox Theatre area 20 years ago, they say.

A Masonic deal could be transformational, Betz said.

"In five years -- the whole neighborhood -- you won't recognize it," he said.

Security and money from entrepreneurs willing to back projects near an Ilitch endeavor will likely follow the Little Caesars Pizza owner into "the Corridor," developers and city officials said.

Ilitch Holdings spokeswoman Karen Cullen would only say "discussions are continuing."

For now, though, much of the Cass Corridor looks forgotten and mean. Across from the Masonic is Cass Avenue Park, where on a recent afternoon a group of bare-shirted men with grocery carts full of personal belongings sat in a circle, sharing a bottle wrapped in a paper bag.

'Lots of things happen'
The Ilitches would not be the first major players to enter the Corridor, specifically the southern part, defined by Cass Avenue between the 1-75 service drive and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Other influential developers have purchased blighted properties with intentions to restore them to housing and small businesses, adding to the few already there. There's a dog day care center and renovated housing that advertises DSL access.

"Obviously a lot needs to be turned around down there," said George Jackson, president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, the quasi-public city agency promoting Detroit development. "But it's the logical place for growth if you want what's happening in Midtown to merge with all the growth that's going on downtown.

"With the Ilitches jumping in there, it becomes very interesting. Because when they set up shop in an area, lots of things happen."

One thing that could happen is the Masonic becomes a solid, steady venue for entertainment again.

But only after the Ilitches pay off the Masonic's outstanding bills, Betz said.

The Masonic association's debt grew in recent years as other Masonic organizations relocated from the Gothic-style building to the suburbs and entertainment bookings plummeted.

The association, which would still own the building under the deal that's being negotiated, owes about $242,000 in delinquent property taxes and unpaid water and sewer bills, and faces possible foreclosure in March.

There are parallels between the Masonic venture and Ilitch's work over the past 20 years that created a sprawling sports and entertainment district along Woodward just south of Cass Corridor across I-75. And while the company has similar deals with Cobo Center, Joe Louis Arena and Comerica Park, all of which they do not own, the company essentially controls all commercial business at those locations and reaps the revenue.


Slide worsened in 1980s
In the 1970s, the Cass Corridor was filled with Appalachian families and still had an area called Chinatown, said Patrick Dorn, executive director of the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation, which rehabilitates and builds affordable housing nearby.

Those with enough money left and the neighborhood started to decay once property owners started selling to negligent owners, Dorn said. The slide worsened in the 1980s when the city made the area home to social service providers such as homeless shelters.

"That was the finishing touch," Dorn said.

"Whenever you have isolationism where there's nobody there, except people you wouldn't want to meet in the dark, you're not going to be the first one to put money in."

The neighborhood is exceedingly poor, especially compared to the rest of the city. Median household income is $8,317, far below the city's median household income of $29,526, according to the U.S. Census.

It is the second poorest census tract in the city, and arguably the poorest populated area.

Joel Landy, a 30-year resident of the Cass Corridor, says he's been a part of more than $20 million in investments there and he intends to invest at least that much in the near future. He owns more than 45 properties ranging from small storefronts to multiple housing units to empty lots.

On a recent drive through Cass Corridor, Landy pointed out brothels and drug havens as well as restored buildings and new retailers.

"It looks pretty tough but there's so much opportunity and many beautiful buildings. I welcome the Ilitches because they've been a great force. I just hope they look around the area and notice what else needs to be done in the area," Landy said.

Other prominent developers such as Dwight Belyue have also recently purchased properties in Cass Corridor the past few years. "You know, when the Ilitches set up shop in the Fox, that area didn't look all that different from Cass Corridor," Belyue said, who owns the Belmar Development Group. He and Seattle developer Mike Dunne bought three apartment complexes on the corner of Cass and the I-75 service drive that were known crack and prostitute dens.

Betz, the Masonic president, said a deal to transfer management of the Masonic is imminent, though he refuses to identify Ilitch by name despite a Ilitch Holdings representative confirming the company is in negotiations.

"All the pieces of the puzzle, I believe, are in place," Betz said.

The temple has two theaters, which seat 4,400 people and about 1,550, respectively. A third theater sits unfinished on the temple's seventh floor.

There also are two massive ballrooms that host weddings and meetings, and a vacant 10-story office tower that could house lofts or apartments, Betz said.

You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028 or rsnell@detnews.com

Wayne County Treasurer reports Ilitch delinquent on 2006 Detroit Life Building taxes

According to the Wayne County Treasurer's Web site at the time of this post the 2006 property taxes are delinquent for the Foxtown parcel at 2210 Park Ave., Detroit, MI 48201 (parcel ID 02000447.

That's the address of the Detroit Life Building owned by Olympia Entertainment, Inc. (Ilitch Family) and said to be the future home of hundreds of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. employees.

The Detroit Life Building is located on Park Ave., directly behind the Ilitch-owned Fox Theater and Office Building.

Graphic of Downtown Detroit's Big Vacant Buildings

as published in the Detroit News

Ilitch plans depend on Quicken picking his downtown property, the former Statler Hotel & United Artists property

MLive Map detailing ownership of parcels in the greater Foxtown area of Downtown Detroit

8.24.07

A DOWNTOWN DILEMMA: Quicken considers a move to Detroit; two key sites spark pros, cons debate


BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

It's unanimous: Detroit's civic and corporate leaders all hope Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert will move his company downtown.

But far from unanimous, and sparking debate in Detroit development circles, is where in downtown Gilbert should relocate his Livonia-based company, if and when he decides to come.

The key question is: Which of the two sites offered to Gilbert would produce more spin-off benefits for downtown, bringing downtown closer to its goal of becoming a lively, walkable, 24-hour community?

The two parcels offered include the site of the old Hudson's store, demolished in 1998, and an irregular site off Grand Circus Park that once housed the now-demolished Statler and Tuller hotels and vacant United Artists Theater.

Of course, Detroit's leaders would welcome Quicken to either site should Gilbert decide to move.

"I'd be happy with them being in Detroit, period," George Jackson, the city's chief development officer and president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., said.

But as Gilbert mulls a decision, two camps have evolved. And both have strong arguments for each of the sites.

Quicken looked at other locations, including General Motors Corp.-owned riverfront just east of the Renaissance Center. It also has considered buying an existing office building, such as Comerica Tower at 500 Woodward.

But the Hudson's and Statler-Tuller sites are the main ones under consideration, according to Jackson and others close to the negotiations...

The Ilitch family, owner of the Tigers, Red Wings, Fox Theatre and other holdings, owns a portion of the Statler-Tuller site [and United Artists Building]. The family, which declined to comment for this article, hopes to lure Quicken to that site to bolster overall redevelopment in the vicinity.

And that could become an important consideration if the family decides to build a new hockey arena for the Red Wings behind the Fox.

The arena is something that the Ilitches have been weighing for more than a year, although no decision has been announced.

But two other factors may play into Gilbert's decision, assuming he makes the move.

Cost is one. The Hudson's site is development-ready, complete with a 1,100-space city-owned parking garage operating below ground, as well as foundations already in place for a future building.

No such foundations or parking exist at the Statler-Tuller parcel, so building there would be more expensive.

The second consideration is the matter of prestige. People close to the negotiations say that Gilbert, should he choose to come, fears that locating on the Hudson's site might seem like taking second place to Compuware's headquarters...(Complete Story)

Contact JOHN GALLAGHER at 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com.

Merriam-Webster's various definitions for "plot" are all relevant connotations when it comes to Detroit casino syndicators

as Merriam-Webster's on-line defines "plot," it would seem to have many relevant connotations for the circumstances surrounding various Detroit casino syndicators ...

plot

Main Entry: ¹plot
Pronunciation: 'plät
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English
1 a : a small area of planted ground <a vegetable plot> b : a small piece of land in a cemetery c : a measured piece of land : LOT
2 : GROUND PLAN, PLAT
3 : the plan or main story (as of a movie or literary work)
4 [perhaps back-formation from complot] : a secret plan for accomplishing a usually evil or unlawful end : INTRIGUE
5 : a graphic representation (as a chart)
- plot·less /-l&s/ adjective
- plot·less·ness noun
synonyms PLOT, INTRIGUE, MACHINATION, CONSPIRACY, CABAL, SCHEME mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end. PLOT implies careful foresight in planning a complex scheme <an assassination plot>. INTRIGUE suggests secret underhanded maneuvering in an atmosphere of duplicity <backstairs intrigue>. MACHINATION implies a contriving of annoyances, injuries, or evils by indirect means <the machinations of a party boss>. CONSPIRACY implies a secret agreement among several people usually involving treason or great treachery <a conspiracy to fix prices>. CABAL typically applies to political intrigue involving persons of some eminence <a cabal among powerful senators>. synonym see in addition PLAN

Ilitch has another year to determine fate of Joe Louis Arena

8.15.07

Lease up for Cobo, the Joe in 2009

It's Detroit law department's view; Tiger Stadium plan due Aug. 31.

David Josar / The Detroit News

Olympia Arenas, the company controlled by Mike Ilitch and his family, has until June 2009 to make a decision on whether it will extend its lucrative lease of the Joe Louis and Cobo arenas, according to a recent law department opinion.

The city law department delved into the issue last month at the request of the auditor general, said city spokesman James Canning.

Earlier this year, the City Council's fiscal analyst said the lease expired in 2008, and Olympia had to tell Detroit this summer what it planned to do.

The law department, after reviewing the lease and its sub-agreements which total more than 100 pages, decided the agreement runs through June 30, 2010, and Olympia has until June 30, 2009, to decide whether it will continue operating and using the venues.

The law department opinion brought relief to Red Wings fans who were unsure how long the team would play in Joe Louis Arena.

"At least we know we can stop gossiping for a couple years as to what will happen with the Red Wings," said Yancy Hunter, 43, during lunch at the Hockeytown Cafe on Tuesday.

"Not much is going on with the other teams right now, so this is becoming gossip fodder for us. Will The Joe be replaced? At least not now. Now all we have to worry about is Tiger Stadium."

A consortium led by legendary sportscaster Ernie Harwell is working against an October deadline to come up with a plan that could preserve much of Tiger Stadium, which has been virtually unused since 1999. The team starting playing in Comerica Park in 2000.

Grosse Pointe attorney Gary Spicer, who is working with Harwell, said the city will have Harwell's complete plan by Aug. 31.

Harwell, who was the voice of the Tigers for more than 40 years, is touting a concept that will incorporate museums, a 10,000-seat ball field, residential lofts and commercial development for the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.

"Things are moving forward," said Spicer.

The City Council voted last month on a plan that would mean demolition could begin in October, but George Jackson, the city's head of economic development, said a viable redevelopment plan with solid financing could keep the stadium standing.

The question about when Joe Louis Arena's lease expires has fueled speculation as to what will happen with the Red Wings.

Companies controlled by the Ilitches have acquired nearly all of the land behind their Fox Theatre and Hockeytown Cafe, fueling speculation they will build a new home for the Wings and move the team to the Foxtown area on Woodward north of Grand Circus Park.

The lease, which was crafted before the Ilitch family owned the team, is considered one of the most lucrative in the National Hockey League and is a reason the Red Wings are one of the league's most valuable teams.

Olympia Arenas pays the city just $450,000 a year to lease both Joe Louis Arena and Cobo arena. The city gets a cut of concessions plus a ticket surcharge, which has averaged around $2.5 million a year since 2000.

Detroit officials have no say in whether the contract will be extended.


Other related stories at the Detroit News:

• Harwell readies plan for stadium
• Harwell goes extra inning to save Tiger Stadium
• Tiger Stadium milestones
• Emotional fans criticize razing plans
• Harwell to make last pitch for old ballpark
• Tiger Stadium proposals fell short
• City: Revisit Tiger Stadium plans
• Detroit council wants more info on Tiger Stadium plans
• Tiger Stadium plan hits a snag
• Tiger Stadium's fate on hold
• Tiger Stadium project goes to council, public today
• Planning Commission doesn't back Tiger Stadium redevelopment plans
• Plan to raze Tiger Stadium resisted
• Tiger Stadium view from above was priceless
• Ilitch has to decide the Joe's fate soon

Map shows downtown Detroit's vacant and abandond buildings

Even as new projects help transform areas of Downtown Detroit like Grand Circus Park, vacant buildings remain, undermining redevelopment efforts.

Big vacant buildings impede Detroit redevelopment

8.06.07

Stumbling blocks: Vacant buildings impede Detroit redevelopment


Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News

Big empty buildings continue to stymie downtown Detroit's comeback, particularly in the area under consideration for the new homes of Quicken Loans Inc. and the Detroit Red Wings, developers and city officials say.

The long-deserted buildings litter the downtown landscape, ghostly contrasts to pockets of redevelopment along Woodward, Park Avenue and Grand Circus Park, one of the areas being eyed for the world headquarters of fast-growing Quicken Loans. The potential site for Quicken, for example, is flanked by empty buildings. Some fear a fire-damaged structure next to the site could pose a hurdle for any development there...


Olympia on a buying spree

Next door to the Grand Circus Park site is a building whose roof caught on fire when a city-hired construction crew razed the Statler Hotel a few years ago. City officials say something will have to be done with that building for Quicken to build there.

Building owner Anthony Pieroni said he has no immediate plans for the structure and contends no one from the city or Quicken has contacted him. "I don't intend to stop a deal but I don't know how I can be part of this process if no one is contacting me," he said.

He's also aware that all of the talk about Quicken and a new hockey arena makes his fire-damaged empty building more desirable.

"I know what the Ilitches are paying for properties around the area. I would sell that building for a bargain rate," he said, though he declined to give a price range.

Olympia Development, the real estate arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc., had no comment, spokeswoman Karen Cullen said.

Olympia Development, whose control includes the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings and the Fox Theatre, also owns property next to the Statler site. The city is offering that property -- which includes the former United Artists building -- along with the Statler to Quicken.

Olympia has been on a buying spree of mainly empty buildings and lots near Grand Circus Park. This comes at a time when its lease with the city-owned Joe Louis Arena, home of the Wings, soon expires. The company is looking to possibly build an arena in the area behind the Fox... (Complete Story)

Map shows downtown Detroit's vacant and abandond buildings

Ilitch's Sports Arena Hat Trick cheats other property owner

as published 7.22.07 at Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog, a project of the National Center For Public Policy Research:

The Detroit government low balled a local landowner for the sale of her property that it deceitfully said would be developed into a parking lot. As it turns out, the land was wanted for a hockey arena - a far more valuable project than a parking lot. The government also acquired the land on behalf of a private businessman, and it then tried to transfer the land to that businessman's firm to build the arena.

Sports Arena Hat Trick Penalizes Property Owner

Detroit property owner Freda Alibri received an offer she couldn't refuse. The Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority, a public entity, approached her in 1997 wanting to purchase land she owned. The stadium authority wanted the land for two new sports stadiums and parking lots.Alibri gladly sold the government the property, but later discovered that some of the parking lot land, which she sold to them at a parking lot price, was instead intended to be the site of a third sports venue that made the land worth a whole lot more. Furthermore, the third venue wasn't even a public project presided over by the Stadium Authority, but rather a private venture. When Alibri protested, she was told to be happy with what she got, but she considers the transaction to be an abuse of the government's power of eminent domain.

The taxpayer-funded Stadium Authority was reportedly acquiring land so new stadiums could be built for both the Detroit Tigers baseball team and the Detroit Lions football team. In addition to property Alibri owned directly on the site of the planned stadiums, she also owned a one-acre parking lot located several blocks away. While the Stadium Authority bought the property she owned directly where the stadiums were to be built for more than $6 million, they also said they needed her parking lot, ostensibly for stadium parking. Alibri sold the lot to the Stadium Authority for $268,498.

It was later discovered that the money the Stadium Authority used to buy Alibri's parking lot was "borrowed" from Mike Ilitch, the owner of the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Ilitch owned several properties close to Alibri's parking lot. He was considering building a new hockey arena on the site of the property the Stadium Authority bought from Alibri with his "loan." In 1998, the Stadium Authority tried to repay the loan by transferring Alibri's former property to an Ilitch firm. Alibri cried foul, arguing that she was deceived by the Stadium Authority so Ilitch could cheaply acquire land for his new hockey arena. She estimated her parcel would sell for almost $2 million as land for a prospective arena as opposed to $268,498 for stadium parking.

Fred Steinhardt, a condemnation lawyer with clients in the same area, told the Detroit News, "Sweetheart doesn't adequately describe what's going on. They're condemning parking lots so Mr. Ilitch can have parking lots? What's that all about?" If Ilitch's private firm could acquire the land at 1997 prices through the public Stadium Authority, then he would avoid having to buy the property for his hockey arena from individual owners at higher prices in the future.

Alibri went to court and got an injunction to stop the deal. She then sued to have her property returned. After a favorable trial court ruling was overturned on appeal, the case was brought before the Michigan Supreme Court. In July 2004, the Court sided with Alibri and returned her land.

Sources: Detroit News (August 14, 2000), Metro Times (April 23, 1997), Alibri v. Detroit/WayneCounty Stadium Authority (Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing, Michigan)**

Read this story and 99 other all-new outrageous stories of government regulatory abuse in the new fifth edition of the National Center for Public Policy Research's book, "Shattered Dreams: One Hundred Stories of Government Abuse."

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You may also want to review the following posts or click on the "labels" below for related posts:

• Aerial photo of possible Foxtown site for a new Detroit hockey arena posted at Flickr
• UPDATED: Ilitch has an insatiable appetite for land in downtown Detroit
• Supreme Court ruled against Ilitch eminent domain scheme
• State Subsidizing Plans for Detroit Hockey Arena
• Blogger tells how Detroit Billionaires are getting rich off taxpayer subsidies and the public dole
• Red Wings Owner demolishing, clearing downtown Detroit
• Map suggests Red Wings owner may be making way for a new hockey arena
• Behind the Scenes: Ilitch and City in Hockey Arena showdown