Contractors At Little Caesars Arena Fined For Lack Of Detroit Workers
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - The city of Detroit has levied an estimated half-million dollars in fines on contractors working on the new Red Wings arena because the companies haven't hired enough Detroit residents.
The deal for the new Little Caesars Arena at Woodward and I-75 calls for 51-percent of the 750 workers to be from Detroit. But according to The Detroit News, only about 40-percent of the workers at the site are from Detroit.
Olympia Development referred comment to Douglass Diggs, of Heritage Realty Services LLC. Diggs says Detroit and developers are working together on the issue, noting that a lack of skilled-trade workers who live in Detroit has been an ongoing issue for years.
[Insider's Look At The New Little Caesars Arena: Get Your First Glimpse [PHOTOS]]
The 51 percent goal was part of an agreement to allow $250 million in taxpayer-backed bonds to help fund construction of the arena.
The money from the fines will go into a workforce training fund. A consultant working with Olympia Development says the fines were anticipated and that's why the fund was set up.
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