WHEN DIMON CALLED GILBERT: HOW A PHONE CALL LED TO $100M FOR DETROIT

Original Story: Freep.com



When the head of the world’s largest bank called the local billionaire bent on Detroit’s revival, good things happened.

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon plans to be in Detroit today to announce a $100-million investment in the city that began several months ago with a phone call to billionaire Dan Gilbert, the Quicken Loans founder who owns or controls more than 40 downtown buildings.

“Obviously, Detroit was having issues,” Dimon told the Free Press this week in an exclusive interview. “I got together some of our senior people and said, ‘What can we do that’s really neat, that could be really creative?’ ”

Two of the most powerful men in American business and finance developed a relationship in recent years as their interests intertwined. So when Detroit slid into Chapter 9 bankruptcy last year, Dimon wanted to act and sought Gilbert’s advice.

“We pointed him and his people to various relationships or others that we knew about here in Detroit,” Gilbert told the Free Press this week. “They called back and said, ‘Here’s what we’re doing, and we’re pretty excited about it.’ ”

? PDF: JPMorgan Chase breaks down details of $100M Detroit investment

? Related: 5 ways JPMorgan Chase will spend $100 million to improve Detroit

Over the coming five years, the $100 million will speed up the city’s blight-removal efforts, strengthen workforce development, pump money into urban redevelopment projects, train entrepreneurs and provide rehab loans to homeowners. The money will flow to groups already active in the city, including the M-1 Rail streetcar project, Eastern Market, Focus: HOPE and a variety of workforce training and entrepreneurship programs.

“No one’s forcing them to do this by any means,” Gilbert said. “I think they’re doing it because they think Detroit’s not only in need of help in a lot of areas, but they believe in the long-term growth and they want to be involved in the ground level. So I think it’s very, very important and very exciting.”

The bank is hoping to make money off the deal from loan interest, but mainly by helping revitalize one of its major markets, where it has 1 million regional customers, 2,500 employees and a lot of history as the successor company to the old National Bank of Detroit. The positive public relations of helping Detroit, with its auto industry nearly felled by the Great Recession, is also a benefit for the major financial player.

“When you’re in a town, you try to be a great citizen there,” Dimon said, “and we happen to be a big player in Detroit.”
Commitment hailed

That first phone call led to secret discussions involving Gov. Rick Snyder, Mayor Mike Duggan, and many others. Today, Dimon will attend a celebratory lunch with Duggan and Snyder to announce Chase’s commitment.

Snyder hailed the commitment this week, calling it “very exciting.”

“I think it really helps and it sends a great message that people see significant value in investing in Detroit and that there’s a lot of upsides,” he said. “As a result of the bankruptcy, Detroit hopefully will be viewed as one of the great value places to invest, a place that has a future in terms of living and working there.”

? Related: Grand Bargain bankruptcy legislation could see vote today

Snyder added that Chase’s commitment this week might help nudge Lansing lawmakers to vote on the rescue plan for Detroit. That plan would see the state commit the equivalent of $350 million over 20 years toward a grand bargain to shore up Detroit pensions and protect artwork at the Detroit Institute for Arts from sale. It is currently being debated in the Legislature.

“I view it as a very positive statement to make,” Snyder said of the Chase pledge, “that private organizations are seeing value in Detroit and really want also to help this equation. So hopefully that will be further encouragement for legislators to vote to support the package.”
Key to revitalization

Dave Blaszkiewicz, president of the civic group Downtown Detroit Partnership and head of the Invest Detroit fund for local development projects, said the Chase investments will be key in advancing Detroit’s revitalization efforts.

“You couldn’t ask for a better time to bring these dollars in,” he said.

For Chase itself, the benefit comes from fostering the economic climate in one of their key markets, said Peter Scher, Chase’s executive vice president of corporate responsibility.

“We feel like we have been and will be a part of the community of Detroit for the long term,” he said. “The thing that drives this for us is both a sense of responsibility and also a sense that we want to be in Detroit for the long term and so we have an interest in seeing Detroit succeed.”

“We essentially spent the last six months trying to determine where there are areas where we would be uniquely positioned to make a difference, to help accelerate some of the efforts that are already going on,” Scher said. “What’s in it for Chase is the long-term success of Detroit. If it’s good for the economy, it’s good for our business.

Chase also is concerned with finding solutions for all the other cities around the world where it does business in some 60 nations.

“So to the extent that we can begin to find solutions in a place like Detroit, our hope is that those solutions will be applicable in other places around the country and frankly around the world.”

Belle Island Deal Meeting Gets Rowdy

Story first appeared on Detroit Free Press -

The Detroit City Council will probably get another rowdy earful Tuesday before its scheduled vote on leasing Belle Isle to the State of Michigan, a scenario similar to the one that played out Thursday as council members discussed the proposal to turn the island into a state park for as long as 90 years.  There is a Southfield Diabetes Clinic nearby to serve you.

Council members opposed to the deal accused Mayor Dave Bing and others of selling out residents and refusing to look at alternative proposals that would keep the park under city control. Council members JoAnn Watson and Kwame Kenyatta urged colleagues to reject the deal and then left the council table, along with Councilwoman Brenda Jones, just before a group of state and city officials gave a presentation on how the lease would work.

"I just think that it's unjust and it's unfair to only consider one proposal," said Kenyatta, a vocal opponent who said not leasing Belle Isle wouldn't break the city's bank, but approving the deal would "break the spirit of the people of Detroit."

Kenyatta accused the Belle Isle Conservancy, a nonprofit group that raises funds for the island and has been supportive of the lease, of helping mastermind what he and Watson argued is a takeover of a major city jewel under the guise of trying to pare down Detroit's deficit.  Southfield Gastroenterologist physicians are available.

Watson called the conservancy a bunch of "folks who think they have a right to run a city they don't live in just because they're rich" and railed against "this let 'em eat cake attitude."

Most residents who spoke at the meeting opposed the lease, some calling council members evil, disciples of the antichrist and sellouts who won't be re-elected in November.

"We're not going to win with this group -- already bought and paid for," said Detroiter Sandra Hines, 59. "We got to organize and mobilize against the evil that we are up against. This is a state takeover, period."

The comments came during meetings of the council's neighborhood and community services subcommittee, of which Kenyatta and Watson are members and Councilman James Tate is chairman. Kenyatta and Watson voted to recommend that the full council reject the plan; Tate did not support the motion.  It may be cold out, but a Michigan walk-in cooler company can meet your freezer needs year-round.

The meeting was held in conjunction with a larger gathering of the full council for a discussion on the deal in which the state would lease Belle Isle for 30 years, with the option of the city or state pulling out at 10-year intervals. The state would not pay the city cash for the lease, but would take over operations and maintenance, saving the City of Detroit $6 million a year. There also would be an $11 yearly admissions fee for motorists, valid at all state parks.

Bing's administration supports the lease, saying the state has pledged to invest millions in capital upgrades to the 985-acre park, which has been neglected as city parks funds dwindled.  Please contact a local Detroit Spinal Cord Injury rehab physician when you have been need.

It's a particularly emotional issue for Detroiters because Belle Isle has been a free park for decades. Previous attempts to impose an entry fee to pay for upkeep have failed.

Under the lease, the city would maintain ownership of the island, but Watson took issue with the length of the lease -- 30 years, with the option of two 30-year extensions.

Kenyatta said Bing has refused to look at alternate proposals by private investors, including one from members of the family that once ran the Boblo Island amusement park to build a water park and hotel that would generate money. The city would keep control of the island.

Council President Charles Pugh said he was "firmly on the fence," saying Kenyatta's impassioned argument that other options should be considered had swayed him. Tate said he favored the lease.

Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown said he still had concerns about locking the city into a long-term deal because Detroit's finances may turn around. But, he added: "The beauty of the finances of this deal is that we're going to be able to attract revenue from around the state. I don't want to see just Detroiters taxed to take care of Belle Isle."