Judge sides with Detroit in dispute over ex-prison property

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP (AP) — A judge has ruled in favor of Detroit in a dispute over ownership of a portion of a former Plymouth Township prison site that’s worth millions of dollars.

The Detroit Free Press reports Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo Jr. ruled the city improperly lost the property to tax foreclosure and the 190-acre parcel, part of the former Detroit House of Corrections, should revert back to Detroit.

The site in Wayne County’s Plymouth Township had been used as farmland for the prison, which closed in 1986.

Charles Raimi, Detroit’s deputy corporation counsel, says the property has been assessed at about $8 million and options are open for future use.

Plymouth Township is appealing. The Wayne County treasurer also was among the defendants. His office says the ruling will be reviewed.