Detroit developer bids on 6,300 foreclosed properties in auction

By Serena Maria Daniels DETROIT (Reuters) - A Detroit real estate developer whose group won a bundle of more than 6,300 properties in a county tax foreclosure auction said on Wednesday he intended to help get low-income residents into fixed up homes and turn vacant lots into community developments. Herb Strather, whose group bid nearly $3.2 million for the properties in the Wayne County auction, said he also would work with the city's Land Bank Authority to demolish properties in some of Detroit's hardest hit neighborhoods. "We do not need outsiders to tell us how to redevelop our community," said Strather, who played a role in the development of the Detroit casino industry. Strather on Tuesday, representing Texas investment group Eco Solutions, won a bid for a "blight bundle" - 6,365 properties that were lumped together spanning parts of Detroit and Wayne County in the auction. Wayne County Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski said 3,000 of the properties are questionable, but likely have salvage value, 2,000 are vacant lots and 1,000 must be razed. The sale is the largest for the auction, which has been criticized for attracting speculators that do not end up redeveloping. Detroit is home to about 70,000 abandoned or blighted properties. Strather was required to put down 10 percent of the bid by the end of business on Wednesday. He executed a wire transfer that if settled on Thursday would meet the deadline, the county treasurer's office said. He has 14 days to pay the balance. Wayne County Treasurer Ray Wojtowicz said on Tuesday in a statement he hoped the packaging of the properties would assist Detroit's effort to battle blight. After it pays the balance, Strather's group would have six months to demolish blighted properties or reach an agreement with the county for redevelopment. Strather did not offer any specifics, but said he intends to broker deals with the city and state to get a redevelopment plan in place by the deadline. He said he planned to reach out to non-profits, many of which have turned empty lots into urban gardens and other community uses, to take over ownership of the properties, either through financing or donations. Strather's firm helped turn a former housing project into a 47-acre community of town homes and condos in a neighborhood near downtown Detroit. (Reporting by Serena Maria Daniels; Editing by David Bailey and Sandra Maler)