LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Additional taxpayer-funded incentives for Detroit’s Renaissance Center should be a no-go, according to Americans for Prosperity-Michigan (AFP-MI).

The conservative advocacy group is urging Michigan lawmakers to carefully scrutinize proposals that would earmark addition redevelopment for $1.6 billion overhaul of the RenCen. AFP-MI Director Tim Golding issued a warning, saying costly economic development strategies rarely deliver promised results.

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“Michigan taxpayers have heard these promises before,” Golding said. “For years, state leaders have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into so-called transformational projects, only to see little evidence that these subsidies have delivered meaningful economic opportunity for the people who need it most.”

The redevelopment of the riverfront complex is spearheaded by General Motors and Bedrock. GM is moving its headquarters from the RenCen to the new Hudson’s Detroit development downtown. Both GM and Bedrock said the breakdown of the development would be $1 billion from Bedrock, $250 million from GM, and $250 million from taxpayers incentives, like Michigan’s Transformational Brownfield Program.

The project has also received a $75 million commitment from Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority, but that funding is tied to approval of the brownstone disbursements.

Meanwhile, Golding challenged what Michigan residents are getting in return for their money. “The question isn’t whether Detroit should continue to grow and thrive, it absolutely should,” he said. “The question is whether taxpayer-funded subsidies are the best way to achieve that goal.”