Michigan might create logistics district in Detroit
By Joe Guillen
September 5, 2015
Detroit Free Press
With the Gordie Howe International Bridge opening up a new supply route across the U.S-Canadian border and expanses of mostly vacant land sitting idle, the state is researching a $1.6-billion plan to transform Detroit into the logistics capital of the Midwest, perhaps in the same way Silicon Valley is known for its high-tech industries and start-ups.
The plan recommends using 1,000 acres in southwest Detroit and near the Coleman A. Young International Airport — widely known as City Airport — to create a special logistics district. The plan also includes redeveloping the Delray neighborhood by the river between downtown and the coming new bridge.
The idea is to create such grand facilities and slates of services, including warehousing and loading and unloading cargo, that any corporation, shipping company or other delivery business would choose Detroit as its gateway to and from the Midwest and parts of Canada.
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There’s a lot of money to be made in logistics and thousands of jobs could be created in Detroit from building a special district, says a 197-page report obtained by the Free Press through a public records request.
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“I think there’s a pretty good possibility that it will be pursued,” he said of the report’s recommendation for a Detroit logistics district. “The Gordie Howe bridge, for all intents and purposes, it’s a done deal. That’s going to be there and that’s going to be a big plus.”
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Assembling land for a Detroit logistics district and improving it for future development would involve a significant public investment — at least $380 million — and possibly relocating residents.
Priming the land for development also involves decommissioning the City Airport, which has long been underused by the city.
“We’re really separating it from air-driven usage,” said Joe Bryan, project manager for the team that produced the report. “It becomes like the rest of the property in that entire district.”
In northeast Detroit, near the existing airport, the vision for the logistics district is a cluster of manufacturers and suppliers operating in new, modern factories and facilities. The Delray portion of the district would focus on logistics operations.
Other key recommendations include fixing the surrounding roads and cultivating increased trade with Canada.
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But it provides plenty of reasons why Detroit is an ideal location for a large-scale logistics district that could generate up to 22,000 new long-term jobs in Michigan, including up to 8,000 in Detroit.
Detroit is close to three interstate roadways, four major railroads and a river. A handful of major infrastructure projects, like the Gordie Howe bridge and the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal, have taken root. There is an abundance of vacant land near existing industrial sites that could be developed into factories, warehouses and other logistics facilities.
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The purpose of the report’s recommendation is to provide the state with a complete set of logistics assets to spur economic growth. The logistics district in Detroit, anchored by proposed facilities in the Delray neighborhood and near the city airport, is a crucial aspect of that. But other things have to happen, too.
Significantly, three large infrastructure projects need to be finished: the Gordie Howe bridge, the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal and the Continental Rail Gateway. The latter two projects involve some uncertainty while the Gordie Howe crossing is considered by most to be a sure thing; construction of the new bridge is expected to be finished by 2020. Completion of these projects is considered necessary for a new Detroit logistics district to operate efficiently.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...tudy/71783260/