Property in Detroit is dirt cheap. Where will the workforce come from?
A team of Detroit leaders spanning government and commerce is creating a proposal to lure Amazon that would offer the retail online giant multiple campuses across the region, possibly including the riverfront.
Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah confirmed in an interview with the Free Press that the city, chamber and Michigan Economic Development Corp. are working on a plan that likely will include real estate titan Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, and other key individuals.
Baruah said the city task force would take the lead on the effort, and it was “reaching out to the people with a significant amount of space available. Obviously Dan Gilbert is one of those people.
The official effort resides with the MEDC, us and City of Detroit,” he said, adding that the team would also reach out to the Ilitch family. ” We are coordinating the response to Amazon as we speak.
“This is our region coming together to present the best of what southeast Michigan has to offer. Detroit is our signature city but at the end of the day … ,” he said. “If it lands in the city of Detroit or a close suburb, it’s a win for all of us.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Friday that “as far as I’m concerned there’s one strategy, and Dan Gilbert is central to that strategy… We have a team. We have a plan, and we’re in the process of executing it.”
The confirmation of Detroit’s plan comes a day after Gilbert announced he had amassed a team to woo Amazon to Detroit. Gilbert could not be reached to discuss the level of collaboration between the two groups.