Morouns tidy up before Detroit land vote - The Detroit News
All are examples of how members of the billionaire Moroun family, owners of the Ambassador Bridge, are trying to clean up their properties — and image. It's in advance of a potential City Council vote Tuesday on a land deal they hope will lead to a second bridge across the Detroit River. The family wants to build the second span next to the existing one, and sink plans for a publicly owned bridge favored by the state and Canada. The Morouns already control 550 acres spread throughout Detroit, but they need three more: an unused patch of city-owned waterfront property near the current bridge. On Tuesday, the City Council may vote on whether to give the Morouns the riverfront property they want. The Morouns have agreed to give the city 4. 8 acres to expand Riverside Park, a rather plain waterfront public space in southwest Detroit. As part of the deal, the Morouns would pay up to $5 million to build a baseball diamond, soccer field, picnic and fishing areas and a riverside promenade. The Morouns want the land so badly that a member of the normally reclusive family and some company officials have been making public appearances to press their case. Source: www.detroitnews.com
