Both Archer and his press secretary, Greg Bowens, say land owners of just more than 40 acres along the river held out for too much money, and the city could not acquire enough land for all three casinos. "The mayor negotiated in good faith with all the land owners," Bowens told GlobeSt.com. "Escalating costs pushed away the choice of having all three of them there. Folks were acting like the city had a bottomless pit of money to pay for those sites."
Attorneys for the land owners had indicated they were close to signing deals with the city. However, many people in the city didn't think the entire property could be acquired. It's also believed that the three casinos, MGM Grand, Greektown and MotorCity, are happy in the temporary facilities they have already built and opened, spread out in the Downtown area.
However, Archer says MGM Grand has agreed to move to the river site, and all three will contributed money to create a large park along the water at the site.
Archer says the basic original agreement with the three casino companies will still be kept, and that each will build permanent complexes with 800 hotel rooms, retail and other amenities. This agreement has been written into a memorandum of understanding, signedby Archer, as well as the three casinos.
Specifically, the highlights of the memo are:
* MGM Grand Detroit will locate its permanent casino complex along the river. As committed in its development agreement, MGM will invest approximately$700 million in its permanent casino complex.
* Greektown Casino will develop its permanent casino complex at or near the site of its temporary casino in Greektown. As committed in its development agreement, Greektown will invest approximately $500 million in its permanent casino complex.
* Detroit Entertainment, or Motor City, will develop its permanent casino complex at or near the site of its temporary casino on Grand River Road. As committed in its development agreement, Detroit Entertainment will invest approximately $600 million in its permanent casino complex.
The mayor expects a full contract amendment to be ready by April 14. "We need to put this issue to rest now," Archer told the council. "Among other reasons, the city needs the higher tax revenues and greater number of jobs we expect to receive from the fully developed, permanent casinos. Also, these projects will spark further economic development."
The city council must agree to amend the contract. A few council membershave already murmured that they are angry about the change, and may not sign.
"We hope the council will look at the plan. We don't know when they'll makea decision," Bowens said.
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