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We were honored to serve as bond counsel to Wayne County in connection with its deal to fund a $533 million criminal justice complex in partnership with the Michigan Finance Authority. The deal has now been named the Midwest Region Deal of the Year in The Bond Buyer, and is a finalist in the national 17th Annual Deal of the Year awards.
The County approved the criminal justice complex project—which consisted of both real estate and financing components—in June, after more than five years of work that included abandoning the plans to build the long-needed complex at its original site, opting for a new site on East Warren Avenue in Detroit. The real estate component of the deal ultimately involved a land swap and a complex agreement between the County and Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures.
The financing itself was a complex transaction involving novel uses of state revenue sharing and careful coordination with the Michigan Finance Authority, an agency that serves as a conduit for bond issues that use state revenue sharing as security.
The Bond Buyer noted that the transaction marked a milestone for the previously distressed government, paving the way for another high-profile display of Detroit's revival, and the County's role in that that revival.
The winner of The Bond Buyer's national Deal of the Year will be announced at a Dec. 6 ceremony in New York.
