Motor City Transit: Paying for the Joe Louis Greenway

A new public-private partnership is forming to raise money for the Joe Louis Greenway's construction and future operation.

Why it matters: Of the $200 million needed to finish the 27.5-mile recreational pathway, $150 million has already been earmarked or obtained.

• The partnership will help raise the rest.

By the numbers: New documents show the greenway's funding needs, including:

• $6.5 million: Annual costs to operate and maintain the completed greenway.
• At least $100 million: Size of an endowment that will collect money for the greenway and surrounding public green spaces.
• The city would contribute up to $6 million annually to the endowment.

State of play: The partnership, if approved by City Council, involves three entities — the city and two nonprofits: the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership.  The latter is a new nonprofit chaired by Mayor Mike Duggan’s former chief of staff Alexis Wiley.

What we're watching: How will the partnership — headed by two nonprofits not subject to the Freedom of Information Act — affect the project's transparency?

• Greenway costs are already rising.