Meeting set Friday at Wayne Law to talk about hockey arena project

The committee tasked with being a conduit between the community and developers of the new Detroit Red Wings hockey arena will have its first public meeting Friday, Nov. 21, at Wayne State University Law School. The meeting will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the law school, 471 W. Palmer St. On-street metered parking is available nearby on Cass Avenue. Parking also will be available for $7 (credit or debit cards only) in Structure No. 1 across West Palmer Street from the law school. Ground was broken just north of downtown in September for the $450 million structure, which is planned to be the key development in a huge entertainment district by Illitch Holdings and Olympia Development. The city transferred land to the Downtown Development Authority for the arena construction, and, at the same time, the City Council created a 16-member Neighborhood Advisory Committee to keep the community informed about the project and to discuss major concerns, as well, and share those with the developers. "Wayne State is in the district impacted by the construction, and we want as many people as possible from the community to attend," said Assistant (Clinical) Professor Eric Williams, who is a member of the committee and director of Wayne Law's Program for Entrepreneurship and Business Law. Fourteen of the committee's members were elected by the impacted community, and two, including Williams, were appointed by the City Council. Those attending Friday's meeting can meet the committee members, hear about the group's role and progress, review its first report, view renderings of Olympia Development's plans and discuss any concerns they may have about the project. To learn more, email the committee at nacdetroit@gmail.com. Published: Wed, Nov 19, 2014