The news media have covered all the “grants” to Detroit and metro Detroit pet projects or pork barrel projects in the 2024 Michigan State Budget. If you know the monied interests and political relationships between Detroit and Lansing there isn’t much that comes as a surprise. The media often highlight 15 clearly Detroit projects, but overall there were 36 Detroit grants or notable line items totaling over $213 million. Almost half of that amount is from the literacy lawsuit settlement with students from Detroit Public Schools for $94.4 million (Gary B. vs, Whitmer).
Most of the grants (n=20) are $1.5 million or less. A handful are between $3 million, like those supporting the Detroit GOAL Line, Detroit Parent Network, and Global Detroit to $5 million for projects like the Fisher Building redevelopment as well as the same amount for the Fisher Body Plant No. 21. The Greektown streetscape and an unclear “Henry Ford Health Center” take the top dollar amount at $20 million. Other projects that were missed by the media include 3 grants to Motor City Blight Busters, Grandmont Rosedale Mixed Use Development, and the North Rosedale Community House.
Just as notable are the requests that were not granted:
- Grand Prix $2M
- Detroit Symphony Orchestra $2M
- Global Epicenter of Mobility (Detroit Regional Partnership) $5M
- North End Housing and Business Preservation Project $1M
DETROITography 
Pingback: Detroit By The Numbers: July Roundup | DETROITography