Wayne County has five offers to buy the Wayne County jail property. Construction on the project in downtown Detroit has halted due to increased costs.
The project has cost the county $120 million dollars since construction began in 2011.
Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano says the county has two options: it can sell the property and move the jail, or it can find investors to help fund the rest of the project.
"The site has become attractive for downtown in terms of what's possible that there might be private investors that would look at that particular site," he said.
He says the company the county contracted with to build the jail increased costs without the county's knowledge. He says he hopes the solution won't be on the backs of county taxpayers.
"[There is] a proposal that will let us finish it close to the budget, or it's going to be sold because of its value that has dramatically gone up," he said. "We could build a new facility perhaps even with a new courthouse."
According to the Detroit News, bidders include Todd Fenton, GCL Companies, Triple Properties Detroit, Rose Auction Group and Rock Ventures, an affiliate of Quicken Loans.
-Sarah Kerson, Michigan Radio News
