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Tagged: belle isle

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Politics & Government
7:06 pm
Tue January 29, 2013

State set to withdraw Belle Isle lease offer after city tables vote

Update 7:06 p.m.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing issued a statement critical of both the city council for tabling the vote on the Belle Isle deal and the governor for pulling the deal off the table:

“I am extremely disappointed with today’s decision by City Council to table the vote on the Belle Isle lease deal with the State. I have just received a letter from the Governor's office confirming that he has now withdrawn the proposed Belle Isle lease agreement from further consideration. This plan would have provided state funding for the operation, renovation and maintenance of the island as a state park, while we work to stabilize the City’s finances. I believe the majority of Detroiters supported this lease agreement. City Council’s actions today will force us to look at making additional cutbacks that may negatively impact the City’s other parks.”

2:30 p.m.

A deal between the city of Detroit and the state over Belle Isle is off the table, state officials say.

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Politics & Government
9:18 pm
Thu January 24, 2013

Belle Isle plan moves to a vote, but faces resistance

Credit wikimedia commons
The Scott fountain on Belle Isle

It appears that a plan to turn Detroit’s Belle Isle into a state park will be voted on next week. But it’s far from clear how that vote will turn out.

The plan calls for the state to lease Belle Isle from Detroit for 30 years, and have the Michigan Department of Natural Resources manage it as a state park.

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Politics & Government
1:50 pm
Tue January 22, 2013

Detroit City Council, state officials close in on Belle Isle deal

Credit Mikerussell / wikimedia commons
The Belle Isle casino.

State and Detroit city officials appear close to an agreement on a deal that would turn Belle Isle into a state park, the Detroit News is reporting.

A City Council vote to approve the deal could come as early as Monday.

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Economy
3:04 pm
Wed January 16, 2013

Commonwealth of Belle Isle: The world's next city-state?

Credit commonwealthofbelleisle.com
The future of Belle Isle?

Belle Isle inspires big dreams.

First there was the state’s attempt to photoshop Belle Isle into a "Pleasantville"-style utopia of dog walkers and picnics.

Now, a group of wealthy investors want to buy Detroit’s island park for $1 billion, secede from Michigan, and develop the 982 acres into the Commonwealth of Belle Isle, a Singapore-like city-state with its own laws, customs, and currency.

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Environment & Science
3:02 pm
Sun December 23, 2012

Officials: Common terns doing well on Belle Isle

Credit DTE Energy
The uncommon 'common tern'

DETROIT (AP) - Officials say they've confirmed that common terns are doing well in restored habitat on the eastern tip of Belle Isle in the Detroit River.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says this year was the first time that the gull-like migratory birds have fledged, or grown enough to fly, in the area since the 1960s.

The habitat was created by the Detroit Zoological Society, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Detroit
1:15 pm
Tue October 16, 2012

Belle Isle plan blocked by Detroit City Council

Some Detroiters have expressed their displeasure with the Belle Isle plan.
Credit Sarah Cwiek / Michigan Radio
Some Detroiters have expressed their displeasure with the Belle Isle plan.

Matt Helms of the Detroit Free Press reports the Detroit City Council has dug their heels in on a plan for Belle Isle. The plan calls for the state to lease the park from the city and run it as a state park.

The Council has "indefinitely postponed" plans for a public hearing on the plan.

From the Freep:

The council's decision means the proposal can't go forward until council members get what they want: more funding guarantees from the state as well as a fuller hearing on alternative proposals for the island park.

Council members said the state had yet to respond to its request that guarantees of millions of dollars in upgrades to the island be put in writing, information that was not specifically spelled out in the state’s proposed 30-year lease. The lease would be for 30 years with two optional 30-year renewals.

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