Request for Proposals

24350 Southfield Road, Southfield Michigan

The City of Southfield Michigan, a municipal corporation, has prepared the enclosed
Request for Proposals, with the purpose of seeking interest in the purchase and acqui-
sition, or lease, of the real property situated at 24350 Southfield Road, currently known
as "Southfield Centre for the Arts." The City of Southfield will also consider a proposal for
a "public-private" or "public-public" joint use and/or operation of the property which
would result in an overall benefit to the community. Such joint use and/or operation"part-
nership" may involve a transfer of the ownership of the property to the private or public
"partner" or, alternatively, ownership of the property may remain with the City.

The property consists of an area of 9.91 acres on Southfield Road, between Mt.
Vernon and Ten Mile Road in the City of Southfield. The building currently situated on the
property, the "Southfield Centre for the Arts," consists of approximately 44,344 total gross
feet. The building consists of three basic sections: the approximate 850 seat auditori-
um/(former sanctuary) (approximately 15,000 square feet), social hall (approximately
16,000 square feet) and classroom/administrative offices (approximately 13,000 square
feet).

There is an approximate 2,080 square foot basement area in the social hall section
and an approximate 1,000 square foot basement area in the auditorium/former sanctu-
ary section. This area houses the basic mechanical equipment for the building. It is not
considered usable space except for storage.

The property is zoned R-3, single family residential.

A bid deposit (the "Deposit") in the amount of Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars
($75,000.00), must accompany all proposals submitted. The Deposit must be in the form
of a certified or cashier's check made payable to the "City of Southfield." With respect to
an outright purchase of the property, the minimum bid for the property has been estab-
lished by the City of Southfield at Three Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars
($3,150,000.00) which may be in the form of cash, real property exchange, or a combi-
nation thereof. (If real property is proposed to be exchanged as part of the consideration,
the property must be situated within the City of Southfield.) Bids for the purchase of the
property submitted in an amount less than the established minimum bid will not be con-
sidered.

The City will accept proposals until Monday, July 22,•002 at 3:00 pm, Local Time._
For further questions or a copy of the specifications, please contact the Purchasing
Department at 248-354-9172.

0000625610

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from page 35

Middle East, is none too enthusiastic
about Palestinian democracy, either.
The late Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin wasn't interested in it. He
wanted a strong Palestinian leader
who would crack down on the
extremists without having to worry,
as Rabin did, about criticism from
human-rights groups, the media and
opposition politicians. He was reluc-
tantly convinced that Arafat was the
only one who could do that,
although he was mistaken in believ-
ing Arafat was ready to deliver and
make peace with Israel.
In return for Palestinians giving
the Jewish state the security it
sought, Israel was prepared to meet
nearly all their demands.
Many in Israel who insist
Palestinian democracy is a prerequi-
site to statehood and a peace agree-
ment are also opposed to the Oslo
Accords. Their intentions are not as
altruistic as they wish to appear. Too
often, they are really looking for an
excuse to avoid any deal with Arafat
that could lead to a Palestinian state.

Hamas rejects the very idea of Israel's
existence.

Failure Of Arafat

For Arafat, like so many failed politi-
cians, the worst wounds have been
self-inflicted.
He has always been ready to talk
the talk — usually out of both sides
of his mouth — but his unwillingness
to walk the walk toward peace has
put him on a dead-end trip to histo-
ry's trash heap.
He has rendered the Israeli dove an
endangered species, overseen the
destruction of the Palestinian infra-
structure and made himself as wel- •
come in Washington as a skunk at a
picnic.
His persistent refusal to hang up
his military uniform and gun is sym-
bolic of his inability to make the
transition from terrorist to statesman
and nation builder.
Even his own United Nations' rep-
resentative, Nasser al-Kidwa, speaking
June 30 on NBC's Meet the Press sug-
gested Arafat is not the one to lead
the Palestinian state once it is estab-
Making Peace With Dictators lished.
Arguments about not being able to
Arafat's last and best defender in
make peace — only temporary truces
the Bush administration has finally
— with dictators fade under scruti-
given .up on him. Secretary of State
ny; they are no more ready to tear up Colin Powell has consistently crawled
the treaties with Jordan and Egypt
out on limbs for Arafat — persuading
than Washington is to jettison Saudi
Bush to ignore calls from Vice
Arabia and Egypt, two thoroughly
President Dick Cheney and Defense
undemocratic allies.
Secretary Don Rumsfeld to write him
There is an axiom in the Moslem
off — only to have them sawed off by
world that the road to democracy
the Palestinian leader.
often leads through the mosques, and
Powell made a pilgrimage to
that proves to be a dead end.
Ramallah during one of Arafat's
Algeria held democratic elections
house arrests this spring to say he and
in 1992 until it looked like the
Bush would press Israeli Prime
Islamic Salvation Front was about to
Minister Ariel Sharon to release him
win, so the generals running the gov-
if Arafat would assert his full authori-
ernment cancelled the vote and
ty to halt the violence and reform the
decided to govern by decree. That
Palestinian Authority.
led to a decade of terror and blood-
Powell delivered on his commit-
shed.
ment, but Arafat failed to "seize any
In many Arab countries, the
of these opportunities to bring the
Islamists tend to be the best organ-
violence under control," Powell said.
ized and disciplined, and best able to
"What we saw instead were more
turn out their people on voting day.
bombings ... (with links to) the sen-
Writes Danny Rubenstein, Arab
ior levels of the Palestinian
affairs correspondent for the Israeli
Authority."
newspaper Haaretz: The alternative
The clincher was documentary evi-
to Arafat's crooked clique could be a
dence from Israel showing Arafat had
group that is "morally upright, young paid off a terror group only days after
and talented," but it will be a "far
it took credit for the deadly June 19
more extremist and religious elite."
suicide bombing in Jerusalem.
Its name is Hamas.
Now, Powell says he won't even
And if the Islamists win in next
take Arafat's phone calls much less
year's Palestinian elections, it's hard
meet with him. And still the
to see how the "democratic" exercise
Palestinian leader doesn't get the mes-
will advance the cause of peace, since
sage.

❑

7/ 5
2002

36

(248) 668-1000

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