Another Situation Of MSU, Land Banks & A Lack Of Understanding In The Prohibition Of Personal Inurement Of Office

Brianna Scott and the face of one who is devoid
of any ethical understanding of the concept of
public corruption.

Have you ever seen a facial expression devoid of any ethical understanding to prohibition of inurement in public office?

No, you say?

Well then, meet Brianna Scott.

I wonder what Bill Forsyth is doing.

Did you know Muskegon County has a land bank authority?

No, you say?

Well, now you know.

https://www.co.muskegon.mi.us/1059/Land-Bank-Fast-Track-Authority

And as everyone knows, with a land bank must come economic development.

But why is the concept of ethics so difficult to understand?

MSU trustees partner to buy, rehab downtown Muskegon building

Two Michigan State University board members have partnered to buy a dilapidated downtown Muskegon office building and redevelop it into a mixed-use property with commercial and residential spaces.

Brianna Scott and Joel Ferguson were awarded the bid Tuesday night by the city commission to redo the former Ameribank building at the corner of Clay Avenue and First Street. Terms of the deal are still to be worked out, Jake Eckholm, director of economic development for the city of Muskegon told the Free Press.

News of the partnership drew immediate reaction from those who believe Scott was the key in the killing of independent investigation of MSU's actions around Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics and MSU doctor imprisoned after he abused hundreds of girls over 25 years under the guise of treatment.

Rachael Denhollander, the first Nassar victim to go public about her abuse and one of three survivors to call out Scott for her role, said the deal should be examined.

"I find it reprehensible that Brianna Scott had time to accuse me of benefiting financially from the independent investigation all the while she was engaging" in this business deal, Denhollander told the Free Press. "It's time for the leadership at MSU to say, 'No more.' The issue isn't with the survivors, it's with the politicians and leadership. To campaign on (reform) and then to sell out survivors is reprehensible."

The building is currently a shell, stripped down basically to the metal frame. The city spent about $500,000 to buy the property and get rid of asbestos and do a partial demolition.

Joel Ferguson

Ferguson, with his Ferguson Development, is a prominent developer in the Lansing and Detroit area, including a partnership with Magic Johnson to develop a portion of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit. He was originally elected to MSU's board in 1986 and is known for his tight ties to MSU athletics.

Scott is a Muskegon-based attorney who was elected to the board in November 2018 and took her seat in January. In her board bio, it says Scott has practiced real estate law.

Her spokeswoman, Debra Brown Hendrickson, said Scott has been looking at projects n the downtown for years, but hasn't been able to close any deals. She said there was no way the deal was Scott being bought off by Ferguson, who also opposed the independent inquiry into MSU's handling of the Nassar case.

"She is going to vote on the MSU board with what she believes in her heart is the right vote for the university," Hendrickson said, adding that "you cannot tell her (Scott)" how to act if she doesn't want to go that way.

"I can't imagine Joel Ferguson would be able to."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is "always concerned about the appearance of impropriety or bias" and her office is "still in the process of determing how or if this relates to our ongoing investigation of MSU," Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney told the Free Press.

More: Nassar survivors: MSU president must act after 'complete betrayal' from board members

More: Attorney: MSU's $4.5 million fine an 'absolute punch in the face' to Nassar survivors

Scott's mom worked in building
Scott is active in the Muskegon community and her office is less than a half mile from the building she and Ferguson are buying.

Scott has long had an interest in what would happen to the building, where her mom worked as a department manager in the bank once housed there, Eckholm told the Free Press.

According to a report in MLive, Scott said that personal interest is driving her involvement.

“It’s going to be a sense of pride if we can take something that other people have looked at and two other developers previously walked away from,” she told Mlive. “It’s a pretty historic building and I want to do something great with it.”

“I think this will be something that could incentivize people to come back,” she said. “The city of Muskegon is putting its money where its mouth is. Especially when they see that their communities are going to help them establish the businesses they are dreaming of establishing.”

The 54,122-square-foot building was constructed in 1923. The city thought it has a deal with a local developer to rehab it, and would have sold it to him for $150,000. But that deal fell through.

Afterward, the city sent out a request for proposals in an effort to get regional developers interested. About five  were interested and two finalists were chosen.

One wanted to build senior housing, but city staff recommended Scott and Ferguson's company.

Housing proposal key
"This proposal calls for a market rate housing development at the existing site with two development scenarios pending the opportunity to conduct a construction analysis and other due diligence," Eckholm wrote in a memo included in the City Council agenda packet.

"The two scenarios have the same vision for the development, and simply differ as to whether or not the existing structure will be rehabbed and incorporated into the project or demolished and removed to make way for new construction. The concept vision calls for a commercial first floor that will activate the block with an aesthetic and accessible street wall, and the development proposal contains two letters of intent for these commercial spaces. One LOI is for a bar/restaurant development that would be owned and operated by the Potent Potables Project, a conglomerate of Lansing area restauranteurs, and the other is for an event space. This development does not commit to a specific number of units, rather calls for a market study to determine number, size, and amenities of units to accommodate the downtown housing."

Getting market rate housing into downtown was key to Muskegon, which Eckholm said was seeing more growth.

"Their rendering was more complete, their financials and project team composition was more in depth and detailed, and crucially, they approached the project with the appropriate amount of due diligence built in," Eckholm said in his recommendation. "This is a build-out concept that has already proven difficult for two other developers, and their request for the ability to conduct construction analysis and market study reflects a strong background in commercial housing development. They also featured a more robust commercial portion of their mixed-use proposal, which will better serve to 'activate' the corridor as highlighted in the City’s RFP."

The city also wanted to diversify its ownership base, Eckholm told the Free Press and wrote in his memo.

"880 First LLC, the project specific company that will own and develop this project is a completely minority-owned business, and is 50% woman-owned. By selecting this developer, we afford an opportunity for a local developer that will help move us toward a goal of increasing diversity of ownership in the community."

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