The City of Allen Park is in the southerly portion of the Detroit Metropolitan Area — approximately in the center of Wayne County. The City is bordered by the City of Southgate to the south, the City of Lincoln Park to the east, the City of Melvindale to the north and northeast, the City of Dearborn to the northwest, the City of Dearborn Heights to the north, and the City of Taylor to the west. Allen Park is approximately 7.05 square miles in area. The latest census (2010) figures set the population of the City of Allen Park at 28,210.
The intersection of the Detroit Industrial Freeway, I-94, and the Southfield Freeway, M-39, provide a major access point within Allen Park’s City limits. The City has excellent access to several major transportation arteries and I-75, as well as Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport.
Allen Park is home of the National Football League’s Detroit Lions Headquarters and Training Facility, and home to the Uniroyal Giant Tire, the largest non-production tire scale model ever built, and one of the world’s largest roadside attractions. The Uniroyal Giant Tire was created by the Uniroyal Tire Company for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, where it functioned as a Ferris wheel. Since 1966 it has been on display in Allen Park alongside I-94.
Hollywood 48101 – Movie Studio Project Leads to Financial Disaster
In 2009, the city sold bonds and purchased 104 acres for $25.5 million, which was approximately $10.8 million more than it was valued. The plan was to create Unity Studios, a $146 million full-service film and media production facility development that was going to create thousands of jobs and put Allen Park on the movie-making map.
With pending changes to the Michigan Film Incentive tax credits, the developer bailed out of the movie studio project in late 2010 and left the city on the financial hook for the annual debt service of $2.6 million – which resulted in the city administrator resigning in February 2011, followed by the mayor in May 2011.
The financial fallout from the failed movie studio project and the city’s failure to pay $2.6 million to the Pension Fund caused Governor Snyder to install an Emergency Financial Manager in October 2012.
In early 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the bond sale, which lead to fraud charges against the City of Allen Park, the former mayor, and the former city administrator. This was the first time that the SEC had charged a municipal official under a federal statute that provides for “control person” liability. The SEC investigation found that the offering documents provided to investors contained false and misleading statements about the scope and viability of the movie studio project, as well as the city’s overall financial condition and its ability to service the bond debt. The former mayor was required to pay a $10,000.00 penalty.
In 2014, under the direction of the Emergency Manager, the 104-acre property was sold on a land contract for $12 million. At that time, the city’s General Fund balance was in a $694,185.00 deficit.
The Emergency Financial Manager left the city in September 2014 and handed limited control back to the mayor and City Council, although an oversight board, the Receivership Transitional Advisory Board (RTAB), had final approval on nearly all of the city’s functions. In June 2016, the RTAB voted to recommend to the State of Michigan Treasurer and Governor Snyder that significant restoration of local control be given back to the City of Allen Park. This change allowed the City to operate more efficiently.
On January 31, 2017, Governor Snyder declared that the financial emergency in Allen Park was over and returned the full control of the City back to the Mayor and City Council.
Rise Like a Phoenix from the Ashes
Following the release by the RTAB, the City of Allen Park is still trying to regain a solid financial footing. The mayor and City Council are once again able to have their selections for the administrative staff. Working together on the notion to make Allen Park better than it was, a great deal of success has occurred within the city over the last three and a half years.
The city has been able to increase the amount of the General Fund balance to a percentage that is in line with the recommendations of auditing standards. Additionally, the city has made all the required contributions into the Pension and Retiree Healthcare Systems, including an additional $500,000.00 annual payment toward Other Post-Employment Benefit liabilities.
In June 2016, the City was able to close on the tendering of 62 percent ($16,750,000.00) of the outstanding bonds related to the former movie studio project. The refinancing lowered the interest rates from 7-7.25% to 4.5-5% – saving $1.1 million annually. In 2019, the remaining bonds are callable, and the city plans to pay off the $9 million. By doing so, the city will avoid paying over $10 million in interest over the next 20 years.
The mayor, City Council, and administration have been working hard to regain the trust of Allen Park residents. A positive sign that this is happening occurred with the passage of a Street Improvement Millage in November 2015. The millage generates approximately $1.4 million for the reconstruction of neighborhood streets. Utilizing the millage funding, Act 51 funding, and a contribution from the General Fund, the city has been able to complete nearly $9 million in street reconstruction and repairs in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Additionally, the city applied for and received a $900,000.00 Surface Urban Transportation Grant for a road that serves as the continuation of an exit ramp from I-94.
Infrastructure improvements have also included installing two and a half miles of replacement water mains, rebuilding sewer pump stations, addressing long overdue work at the sanitary sewer basin, and completing rehabilitation work on over two miles of the sanitary sewer system.
Due to the financial emergency, Allen Park has been a recipient of the State of Michigan’s Financially Distressed Cities, Villages, and Townships grant program. In 2016, the city received funding to replace the fire station’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. For 2017, and again for 2018, funding was awarded for the conversion of streetlights throughout the city from mercury vapor to LEDs.
Development projects have returned with the construction of a $200 million Wind Tunnel and Battery Lab by Ford Motor Company, as well as two hotels and some smaller retail stores.
The Allen Park Police Department has helped with the city’s success through their Cop on a Block program. This program began as an effort to interact with residents in an informal way. Officers select a block to target and then meet the residents right there in the street in front of their homes. The locations of the meetings are posted through social media and residents of surrounding blocks are encouraged to attend. This program has been phenomenally successful as it allows citizens access to the officers without having to come to a city facility for meetings. Some of the meetings have had over 100 people in attendance. The Police Department has also found success through their Facebook page. The page has established an informal and casual relationship with the citizens and allows for direct communication with them. It has served as a conduit for everything from posting upcoming events, to allowing the Police Department to solve crimes through posts showing suspects pictures or vehicles.
Probably the most visible sign that the City is making positive strides moving forward involved the building of a new City Hall and Police Department, which opened to the public on May 14, 2018. For over 40 years, the city and Police Department operated out of an old church that was supposed to be a “temporary” location. This building leaked with every sprinkle, to the point that the Police Department Detective Bureau had tarps draped over their desk areas and hoses that would drain the water into garbage cans. For the last three years, the City Hall and Police Department were located in rented space that was part of the failed movie studio project.
The administration and the Council Municipal Complex Committee worked hard to find a suitable location near our Downtown area, which had been our goal for many years. The site selected was a former medical office suite in a retail center. The location is next to the District Court and near the Community Center and Ice Arena. Just across the street are the Fire Department and the Department of Public Services. In essence, a municipal complex campus has been created, making it more convenient for anyone that needs to do business with the City of Allen Park or the District Court.
Through careful planning and design, the new City Hall and Police Department facilities were built without the need to ask the residents of Allen Park for any additional funding. Funding for the project was obtained from three sources; selling a portion of the old City Hall property, utilizing unspent funds from a 2010 bond, and the city’s General Fund balance.
While the City has made great strides, there is still plenty of work to do.