The Metro: A tale of two towers. The case for and against the RenCen deal

This week, Governor Whitmer signed a law that doubles the cap on a state tax break for big development projects — from $1.6 billion to $3.2 billion. The Renaissance Center plan had been stuck for more than a year waiting on it, because the program was nearly tapped out. Now the math works.

Dan Gilbert’s company puts in about a billion dollars. General Motors puts in 250 million. The public covers the rest. Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority has already approved $75 million, and the state tax break comes on top of that — though nobody has yet said what it’s worth. It can run for 30 years.

Michael Griffie is vice president and Detroit metro leader at AECOM, a global engineering and design firm. AECOM isn’t involved in the RenCen project, but has worked on riverfront redevelopments elsewhere. He joined Robyn Vincent to make the case for what the plan could do.

Later in the show, a different view. Dylan Wegela is a Democratic state representative from Garden City who refuses corporate donations. Last year he voted no more often than anyone else in the Michigan House — 204 times. He voted no on this law, too. He told Vincent why he thinks taxpayers are getting a raw deal.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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