![]() ![]() In the area around Ambassador Bridge, critics say the Morouns permanently damaged once-strong neighborhoods. The Bel-Air announcement served as a reminder: Before Mike Ilitch became Detroit’s boogeyman billionaire dujour by acquiring entire neighborhoods, emptying them out, and demolishing buildings as part of a cynical plan to enrich his family, Matty Moroun did the same on an even larger scale. “We’ve got to watch them like a hawk for when they’ll strike next.” ‘A ghost neighborhood’ “We feel like they’re snakes in the tall grass waiting to strike again,” says Deb Sumner, a Hubbard Farm resident and member of Bridgewatch Detroit. Meanwhile, the family still can’t escape lingering animosity and suspicion from residents. Those who battled the Morouns for decades say Crown continues taking property in the area using ethically questionable tactics. Still, some in Southwest Detroit, where the family conducts much of its business, say Matthew Moroun may be a better negotiator, but the results aren’t any better for residents. Though he noted that may partially be a result of the Morouns securing a permit for a second Ambassador Bridge span. “It seems to me that they’re taking a more conciliatory approach in dealing with the community,” says John Mogk, an urban issues scholar at Wayne State University. On the one hand, it seems evident that the dramatic legal fights with local, state, and federal governments-like that which landed the elder Moroun in jail for a night-are a thing of the past. Demolishing a movie theater may not endear the Morouns to the city’s residents, and that raises questions about whether the family is living up to its promise to be a good corporate neighbor. Their plans are unclear, but some speculate the plaza will come down. Late last year, their real estate arm, Crown Enterprises, purchased the Bel-Air Shopping Plaza, which holds the city’s only functioning mainstream movie theater. Most prominently, the family sold Michigan Central Station to Ford Motor Company for $90 million. Since those proclamations, the Morouns have remained in the news. My father’s friends? They’re all gone, practically,” Matthew Moroun said at the time. “I’m trying to build a bridge, so I need friends. He preferred open dialogue to unilateral decision-making, and sought to “change the narrative” by becoming a better corporate neighbor that partnered with the community instead of punishing it. The younger Moroun told the Detroit Free Press his approach to business differed from his father’s. Just over two years ago, billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun announced that he would hand the reins of his international trucking and real estate empire to his son, Matthew Moroun. ![]()
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