This region has been talking about the need to renovate and expand the Cobo Hall Convention Center for about 15 years. When Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano called me, Assistant Deputy CEO Matt Schenk and Assistant CEO Turkia Mullin into his office in November of 2005, we did not know what it would entail. The County Executive indicated that he wanted us to review all of the prior work and find a solution to the Cobo Hall expansion issue.
That meeting set us on a journey down a public-private partnership path leading to the establishment this year of a Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority. With the passage of a second set of Cobo Hall Expansion bills this year and the Detroit City Council's July decision to allow the regional authority to move forward, we are finally on our way to a new day for Cobo hall.
The new regional board has started meeting and has identified some initial small projects to improve the 2010 North American International Auto Show. RFPs are underway to hire the first wave of consultants to make the full Cobo Hall expansion plan a reality, including the hiring a financial advisor, bond underwriters, bond counsel and general legal counsel. Last week, the Authority even hired temporary staff including a CEO, CFO, a Construction Manager, and a Press Secretary.
The County Executive put together a great team to work on this project identifying the unique skill sets necessary to get the job done. However, the unique part about this project was not actually solving the dilemma of how to pay for Cobo expansion and renovation without raising taxes. That particular problem was solved with the assistance of our private sector partners from Walbridge and Hines within the first 9 months. The problem was not even getting broad based private sector support for the need for Cobo expansion. Economist David Sowerby's economic impact study provided the justification for that with its conclusion that Cobo Hall supports 15,000 jobs and generates almost $600 million in annual economic impact.
The final hurdle to overcome was a political battle of wills. Put simply, County Executive Ficano would not allow the endless questions, political posturing, lack of proper timing, or public grandstanding to block sound public policy and needed economic development. In the end, simply being right and diligent helped our region move forward.
Azzam Elder is Deputy CEO at Wayne County
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