Whitmer signs off on $85M tax subsidy for Detroit's QLine

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday that will give $5 million of taxpayer money a year over the next 17 years to subsidize Detroit's QLine street car.

The $85 million spending plan would extend through 2039 a $5 million annual appropriation lawmakers put toward the Woodward Avenue street car first in the fall of 2020.

The bills also adjust rules governing the convention authority that manages Huntington Place, the former Cobo Center, to allow for future expansions "to accommodate more convention business and development in the area," Whitmer's office said.

The House and Senate approved the spending authorizations for the 3.3-mile track and Detroit convention center during a Dec. 7-8 overnight session, allowing rides to remain free indefinitely. The subsidy would come from hotel and liquor taxes.

The bills, sponsored by Traverse City Republican Sen. Wayne Schmidt, are among the last to be signed by the Democratic governor in 2022.

"These bills will help us build on our economic momentum," Whitmer said in a statement about the legislation.

The annual subsidy would make up more than half of the QLine's $9.9 million in operating costs in fiscal year 2022. Three other businesses and foundations are helping to underwrite the cost of the system, which had an average daily ridership of 2,463 people in September, October and November.

The QLine, which opened to riders in 2017, initially relied on private funding and rider fees, but the Legislature stepped in in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the line and cut off rider revenue.

Dan Gilbert's Rocket Mortgage, which helps to offset costs for the QLine alongside Penske Corp. Chairman Roger Penske and Troy-based Kresge Foundation, lobbied the Legislature for the additional funding.

The legislation signed Thursday by Whitmer also would allow the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, which oversees Huntington Place, to enter into public-private agreements, eliminate the authority's $279 million spending cap, authorize another $299 million in bonding and redefine convention facility to include plazas, green space, roads and bicycle paths.

Staff Writers Sarah Rahal and Chad Livengood contributed.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com