Developers seek $34.5 million brownfield TIF and 10‑year PA 210 abatement for WNBA practice facility at former Uniroyal site

Developers and city economic‑development staff told Detroit council members that a planned WNBA practice facility and youth academy on the former Uniroyal site at 6000 East Jefferson would cost about $50 million, create an estimated 71 permanent jobs and roughly 291 construction jobs, and require extensive remediation.

At a Committee of the Whole public hearing, David Howell of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation outlined the financial case: the developer seeks a brownfield tax‑increment financing (TIF) reimbursement of about $34,500,000 and a PA 210 commercial rehabilitation certificate that staff recommend for 10 years. Howell said staff estimate a 33‑year net fiscal benefit to the city of roughly $19.4 million and projected about $37 million in new local economic activity tied to the development.

Why it matters: the site is a 42‑acre contaminated parcel that city and state regulators have been partially remediating for decades. The developer’s request would reimburse eligible cleanup and preparation costs from future tax increments rather than provide an upfront…