am —datir, X002 DEVI LLE • Heated Memory Seats • Lumbar Support • Loaded Final Lap? State Fair racetrack questionable as Nederlander pulls back countersuit against opponents. ALAN ABRAMS Special to the Jewish News Stk. #0157 x1500 Down GM Employee Non.GM Employee $ 5 4 3 82 Mon. & Thurs. till 9 pm Tues., Wed., Fri. till 6 pm $ 5, 9 Per month + tax* Per month + tax* $2638.82 due at signing 36 months, 12k per year. $2694 due at signing 36 months, 12k per year. THE POWER OF & THE FUSION OF DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 7100 Orchard Lake Road iat 14 1/2 Mile) • West Bloomfield 148.851.7200 On base DeVille only. Plus all applicable taxes, title. plate with approved credit through MAC. Photos may not represent actual vehicles. All at the INTERACTIVE. CHALLENGING. AUTHORITATIVE. ACCREDITED. COMPREHENSIVE. ACCESSIBLE. ACADEMICALLY, RIGOROUS. • fea 2/2 2001 32 It's The Jewish Learning Institute. Finally. Adult Jewish Study the Way It Was Meant To Be. JEWISH LEARNING INSTITUTE Right Here in West Bloomfield February 2001 Sponsored by: MJI & The Shul 248.788.7131 JEWISH LEARNING NSTITUTE countersuit filed by a devel- opment group headed by entertainment entrepreneur Joseph Nederlander of Bloomfield Hills against Detroit and three Oakland County cities has been withdrawn. Wayne County Circuit Judge Gershwin Drain signed an order Jan. 19 allowing State Fair Development Group LLC to drop a countersuit against the cities of Detroit, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge and Ferndale and various communi- ty groups. Eugene Driker, a partner in the Detroit law firm of Barris, Sott, Denn Driker PLLC, represented the cities and the community groups, including Machpelei. Cemetery Association. The $40-million countersuit was filed Sept. 21, a month after neigh- borhood opposition forced Nederlander to drop his proposal to move the Grand Prix car-racing event to the Michigan State Fair Grounds in Detroit. At the time his suit was filed, Nederlander's attorney, J. Leonard Hyman, of Hyman Lippitt PC in Birmingham, told the Jewish News the counter-complaint was filed in response to a lawsuit that Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and the cities surrounding the proposed develop- ment filed earlier to block the project. Greg Bowens, press secretary to Mayor Archer, told the Jewish News nn Jan. 24: "We have not dropped our lawsuit. We are pursuing it and expect to win." Does Nederlander's withdrawal of the countersuit mean a settlement could be near? He raised "the issue of settlement with the plaintiffs a couple of weeks ago," said Driker. "He indicated he might want to develop something other than a racetrack on the site." Specific plans have not yet come, Driker added. It remains unclear whether Nederlander plans to continue with his original development plans or scale them back proportionately. Neither Nederlander nor Hyman could be reached by telephone for comment. An appeals court on Jan. 24 denied Nederlander's motion for immediate appeal of Judge Drain's Oct. 10 ruling that any development of the fair- grounds must comply with Detroit's zoning ordinances and building codes. The speedway, at Woodward Avenue south of Eight Mile Road, was to be part of a proposed $200 million entertainment complex that was to include six off-Broadway-style theaters, three hotels, restaurants, an amphitheater, a children's theater, a refurbished coliseum and exhibit hall, and an equestrian center. Nederlander had planned to support the complex by moving the Grand Prix race from Detroit's Belle Isle. But after the original lawsuit was filed last June 28 charging the project violated zoning laws, the Grand Prix cancelled its contract with Nederlander. The fairgrounds are zoned for general busi- ness use. Those living in the area surrounding the fairgrounds feared the proposed racetrack would give rise to excessive engine noise, traffic jams and result in plummeting property values. Last December, State Fair Development was released by the state of Michigan from its agreement to start building the track March 31 because it said it was unable to get the required permits and approvals from the city. A motion filed by the state seeking summary judgment will be heard by Judge Drain on Feb. 23. The motion, which has been postponed several times, would remove the state as a defendant from the suit filed by the city. The Nederlander family operates Detroit's Fisher and Masonic theaters as well as theatrical venues in New York. Four years ago, a similar groundswell of protests kept William Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons, from building a track at the fairgrounds. His Palace Sports and Entertainment, which operates the Palace of Auburn Hills, announced plans in 1996 for a $40 million track at the fairgrounds, but shelved them the following year in the face of vocal opposition from Archer and the fair- grounds' neighbors. ❑