"It's already a great city. We just need it to look great,"Bettis says about the site, which is about two miles east ofdowntown along the river. The property includes about 2,000 feet ofriver frontage.

The development is in the area being upgraded as part of a planby the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to create a green belt alongmore than three miles of the Detroit River. The greenbelt will beincorporated into the plan for the project to be developed byBetters/Bettis LLC.

Estimates range from $300 million to $500 million for theproject. The property includes 43 acres and is bordered on one sideby the MacArthur Bridge, which connects the main land to BelleIsle. Betters/Bettis may spend up to a year performingenvironmental and other studies on the project then hopes to haveup to 2,000 townhomes and apartments, and perhaps a hotel, built by2011.