Mustang Museum sites proposed

Detroit officials to tour 3 locations with selection panel

BY DENNIS NIEMIEC, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

February 17, 1998 -- Detroit is revving its engines in the race to land a $30-million Mustang Museum.

On Thursday city officials are scheduled to tour three proposed museum sites with members of the facility's site selection committee.

The sites -- each about 30 to 40 acres -- are near the new stadium for the Tigers, in an area bordered by Woodward and Cass, and near the State Fairgrounds, sources familiar with the selection said Monday.The exact locations were not disclosed.

The selected site would include a 100,000-square-foot museum, restaurants, an amphitheater and parade grounds for rallies.

Detroit is vying with Dearborn -- the birthplace of the Ford Mustang -- and Atlanta, Indianapolis and Orlando, Fla., to house a tribute to the American auto icon. The Dearborn site has not been submitted.

A Livonia site adjacent to Ladbroke Detroit Race Course, at Middlebelt and Schoolcraft roads, has been eliminated from consideration, John Coletti, vice president of the museum's board of directors, said Monday. The city's bid was rejected because it was submitted after the deadline for expressing interest in the project.

The board will announce its choice in April.

Funded mostly by corporate and private donations, the museum will include more than 100 cars, interactive exhibits and memorabilia. It is expected to open in late 2000, just after the Mustang's 35th anniversary.

Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer has embraced the museum, Coletti said. "Last June the mayor said there's only one city for this museum and he's backing up what he said."

Archer appointed a task force to study possible sites. On Wednesday night he is scheduled to unveil three sites for the 11-member museum committee during a private reception at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Detroit officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

Coletti, manager of special vehicle engineering with Ford Motor Co. in Allen Park, said the finalists believe the museum will attract about 300,000 visitors annually.

It will generate about $20 million a year in economic benefits, Coletti said, including jobs and new business for motels, restaurants and shops.

Coletti said the museum likely would not attract casino visitors. But casinos will revive the development of the area, which appeals to the museum planners, he said.

In 1995 a nationwide group of car enthusiasts created Mustang Museum Inc., a nonprofit organization that will develop the project. Twenty-five cities were considered for the project.

The Mustang, and the museum board, have strong local ties.

The Mustang is built at a Dearborn assembly plant. Two of the board members -- Coletti and Austin Craig of the J. Walter Thompson agency -- live in the area. A Lawrence Technological University student, Keith Phillips, submitted the best museum design, according to a survey of Mustang enthusiasts.

The board also has 11 honorary members from the state, including Edsel Ford, president of Ford Credit; Ross Roberts, Ford vice president, and Heinz Prechter, chairman of ASC Inc. In January 1997, Roberts made an unspecified cash contribution on Ford's behalf to fuel the effort.