Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Detroit’s ethics board will decide next month whether former Planning Director Antoine Bryant violated the City Charter by independently approving contracts.

The board is also raising new concerns about Bryant’s new job with a prominent architectural firm.

Bryant was tapped to co-lead Detroit business operations for Gensler, the world’s largest architectural design firm and advisers to General Motors’ and Bedrock’s plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center.

Bryant left the city after three years and started his new job on Dec. 16, the same day that the Detroit Board of Ethics met to discuss the status of a probe into his conduct.

A hearing is set for Jan. 15. Bryant, who declined to comment, and a representative in the Detroit Law Department will have an opportunity to present their case to the Board of Ethics.

The board will provide evidence its investigators gathered, then decide whether a violation occurred and what the penalty will be.

The ethics investigation into Bryant’s actions was launched this summer after reporting from BridgeDetroit and Outlier Media showed Bryant unilaterally approved a $215,000 contract with a New York-based nonprofit to install murals on downtown buildings ahead of the NFL Draft. 

Bryant is also being investigated by the ethics board for extending a sale agreement with the Detroit Parade Company for riverfront real estate without the City Council’s authorization.

The Board of Ethics asked the Detroit Law Department on Monday for an opinion on whether former employees can be punished for ethics violations. Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said the board can ban former employees from doing business with the city.

“The Board of Ethics has no jurisdiction over former employees but that does not mean the Board lacks consequence,” Mallett said in an email.

“If a former employee were to ignore the law the Board of Ethics would certainly inform the administration and or the (Office of Inspector General) that the contractor and the former employee had violated the City of Detroit City Code, and thus is not allowed to do business with the City of Detroit for one year. The employee might also face debarment.”

Mallett said Bryant is “keenly aware” of the city’s ethics law and was provided an attorney who argues he behaved ethically.

Mallett said Bryant “took full responsibility for his mistake” in approving the mural contract and executed the Brodhead Armory contract under the direct advice of the Law Department. 

The eight-member ethics board is a scrappy independent entity with offices tucked deep into the Butzel Family Center. Meetings often fly under the public’s radar and the board has struggled with vacancies and attendance in previous years.

On Monday, the Board of Ethics raised more concerns about Bryant’s hiring at Gensler, citing a Detroit Free Press report on possible conflicts of interest.

Board of Ethics Executive Director Christal Phillips said there will be further discussion on whether to expand the investigation. Phillips pointed to ethics rules in the City Charter that ban former city employees from certain activities within a year of leaving for a new job.

“I think there should be further discussion on that, but we’re going to see,” Phillips said. “What is he working on now that he’s at Gensler? That’s up to the board if it decides next year to initiate an investigation into that particular issue after we’re done with the hearing.” 

The City Charter prevents former public servants from joining a company that did business with Detroit. 

It also prevents former employees from lobbying the city or being paid to work on matters they were directly concerned with while employed by Detroit.

Mallett said Bryant “violated no laws or ethical rules in starting his new job this week.” Mallett confirmed that Gensler wasn’t contracted to do business with the city during Bryant’s tenure.

However, the firm is involved in several high-profile projects that evolved while Bryant led planning efforts in Detroit. 

A press release touts Bryant’s “keen knowledge” of Gensler clients. Bryant will co-lead Gensler’s Detroit business operations.

Former employees can’t work on projects they “personally participated, actively considered or acquired knowledge” about while working for the city.

A representative for Gensler did not immediately respond to an email asking how Bryant will avoid conflicts of interest, given his wide knowledge of city planning efforts and development projects.

Bryant, a Brooklyn native, came to Detroit after two decades of urban planning experience in Houston, Texas. City records show the pay range for Planning Director this year is $105,433 to $172,903. A city spokesperson did not immediately confirm Bryant’s salary. 

Phillips said Bryant could have asked the Board of Ethics whether his hiring would violate city laws before taking the position. Phillips said city employees have requested advisory opinions in the past to avoid possible conflicts.

Gensler provided hotel design work for the District Detroit development. Bryant oversaw the Planning Department’s facilitation of a community benefits negotiation for the project.

Bryant attended a November meeting Olympia Development of Michigan and the Related Companies held to share details about two planned hotels breaking ground in 2025. 

Gensler did design work for The Brooke on Bagley, a housing project in Southwest Detroit that opened in June with support from the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund. Gensler also helped design Merit Park, a youth recreation facility and community space starting construction in 2025.

Gensler provided conceptual renderings to Bedrock for a mixed-useproject at Cadillac Square including a theater, housing, virtual reality venue, grocery store, offices and parking. Bedrock is expected to break ground on the project in 2025.

Other recent projects include The Book Depository, retail space for Detroit Is The New Black, Detroit Prep Academy, and an ongoing housing project on the edge of downtown and Eastern Market.

Gensler was awarded a $322,200 contract to redevelop the Rosa Parks/Clairmount neighborhood in 2016 – long before Bryant joined the city. Gensler consulted Bryant’s predecessor Maurice Cox in creating a neighborhood framework plan and meeting with residents.

In 2017, Gensler created land studies for a company that was looking at development opportunities along Detroit’s east riverfront. Gensler created a community center proposal with the Chandler Park Conservancy in 2019, which later turned into a fieldhouse funded with federal pandemic relief.

Alexa Bush was hired to replace Bryant starting Jan. 6, 2025. Bush was a program officer with The Kresge Foundation after previously working in the Planning Department for six years.

She played a critical role in “rebuilding” the department post-bankruptcy, according to Mayor Mike Duggan.

The City Council is working to increase funding for the city’s oversight agencies, which also include the Office of Auditor General, Office of Inspector General and Ombudsman.

The ethics board has a budget of $557,960. For comparison, the Planning Department has a $5.5 million budget. Phillips said the ethics board is seeking roughly $1.4 million to build a training system for city employees and inspectors.

A proportional funding ordinance introduced last year would require the City Council to create a funding formula for each agency by Feb. 10, 2025. Leaders of the oversight agencies have advocated for the proposal.

Phillips said she’s looking to reform the city’s ethics ordinance in the next few years to hire independent legal counsel. The Law Department currently assigns counsel to the Board of Ethics. Phillips said the board has had five attorneys assigned to it in the last three years.

That means the Law Department is advising the board as well as city employees who face ethics probes.

“We’re making the best of it,” Phillips said.