Post by Camille on Apr 14, 2010 11:01:20 GMT -8
This stuff is basically cliff notes from a few articles I found with some of my observations thrown in.
Manuel (Matty) Moroun, a reclusive transportation magnate who is one of the most active buyers of city land. His best-known assets include the Ambassador Bridge (the one we held Esbat on), the long-derelict Michigan Central Station train depot (I think the one mentioned above) in southwest Detroit, and many smaller parcels occupied by abandoned homes or vacant commercial buildings. He has been an enthusiastic participant in foreclosure auctions, acquiring dozens of lots for the minimum bid of $500.
Many of the derelict parcels he has acquired had long ceased to generate tax revenues for the city, and real estate records suggest that Moroun promptly pays his own tax bills. Moroun's insists that he is interested in helping the city economically but it's difficult to square the continued deterioration of the train depot and other derelict properties with this statement. Moroun says preservationists will one day honor him for his refusal to demolish the train depot, but in more than a decade of ownership he has made no visible progress toward restoring it to its former grandeur. Many of his lesser properties would be cited for chronic code violations if Detroit had the wherewithal to enforce its own ordinances. However in a city that has spent most of the last decade paying out more in expenses than it collects in revenues can scarcely afford to look down its nose at those who pay taxes where others fear to tread.
Maybe we could follow suit, or find him and get him under our influence somehow. He has access to a lot of these properties and might have some information we don't. Even if he doesn't exist in game there are likely to be others like him that we could take advantage of. Or maybe we could just follow his example.
Manuel (Matty) Moroun, a reclusive transportation magnate who is one of the most active buyers of city land. His best-known assets include the Ambassador Bridge (the one we held Esbat on), the long-derelict Michigan Central Station train depot (I think the one mentioned above) in southwest Detroit, and many smaller parcels occupied by abandoned homes or vacant commercial buildings. He has been an enthusiastic participant in foreclosure auctions, acquiring dozens of lots for the minimum bid of $500.
Many of the derelict parcels he has acquired had long ceased to generate tax revenues for the city, and real estate records suggest that Moroun promptly pays his own tax bills. Moroun's insists that he is interested in helping the city economically but it's difficult to square the continued deterioration of the train depot and other derelict properties with this statement. Moroun says preservationists will one day honor him for his refusal to demolish the train depot, but in more than a decade of ownership he has made no visible progress toward restoring it to its former grandeur. Many of his lesser properties would be cited for chronic code violations if Detroit had the wherewithal to enforce its own ordinances. However in a city that has spent most of the last decade paying out more in expenses than it collects in revenues can scarcely afford to look down its nose at those who pay taxes where others fear to tread.
Maybe we could follow suit, or find him and get him under our influence somehow. He has access to a lot of these properties and might have some information we don't. Even if he doesn't exist in game there are likely to be others like him that we could take advantage of. Or maybe we could just follow his example.