The city of Detroit is getting some perhaps unlikely help from a Japanese car company with an American arm based in California – soon to be Texas.
Toyota announced today it would commit $1 million to the Detroit Institute of Arts in support of the city of Detroit, which is currently in bankruptcy.
“Detroit and the surrounding areas are vitally important to the automotive community. They deserve our support,” Toyota’s president of engineering and manufacturing Simon Nagata said in the news release. “Together we can find solutions to help Detroit become the healthy and vibrant community that reflects the spirit of its people.
The Detroit Institute of Arts’ “grand bargain” initiative is supposed to raise $100 million to help support city pensions and fund community programs while the city emerges from bankruptcy. It will also help transfer ownership of the institute’s arts assets from the city to a private nonprofit group.
The city of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on July 18, 2013, the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
By Zac Estrada
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