[animatedmartian]

Statement from winning bidder on Packard Plant raises concern
OCTOBER 29, 2013
CHRISTINE MACDONALD THE DETROIT NEWS



Detroit— Wayne County officials expect to see money Wednesday from a Texas doctor who won a tax-foreclosure auction for the Packard Plant, but acknowledge they’re concerned about a statement released by her staff that likened Detroit’s potential to hydroelectric power.

“It is the process that allows us to transform the lake from a canoeing and fishing kind of place into an energy producing kind of place,” reads a three-page statement from Dr. Jill Van Horn’s staff that was released to the media on Tuesday. “Detroit’s assets, like energy, also have a dormant value.”

The statement cited an energy analogy put forth by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto.

“Dr. Van Horn’s prophecy was to resurrect Detroit by providing education, jobs and vocational training to the city’s residence, simultaneously unplugging the financial arteries of the city,” the statement read.

In fact, if county officials doubt her means, she and her investors “are prepared to travel from Texas to Detroit and sit down the with county and make an offer for every vacant, abandoned and dilapidated apartment building within Detroit,” the statement reads.

Detroit has an estimated 70,000 vacant homes and structures.

The statement was attributed to Mark Day, who is identified as a Van Horn representative, and released by her spokesman, Davis Marshall. It was meant as a speech to investors, Marshall said.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz2jAZroghn