Detroit will begin to assess the value of its assets, including parking meters, real estate, and a portion of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) collection, in what the city called a “necessary part” of its restructuring efforts, Reuters reported yesterday. The city said yesterday that it has hired famed auction house Christie’s to appraise the city-owned portion of the DIA’s 60,000-piece collection as well as to advise Detroit officials on how to realize value for the art without selling it. Detroit is also hiring outside experts to gauge the value of assets including parking garages, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Coleman A. Young International Airport. “It doesn’t mean that we have any particular plans to sell any particular assets in any sort of fashion,” Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said. “We have an obligation to perform our duties as a debtor in bankruptcy to make sure we account for all the assets of the city,” he added. Orr wants to finish the assessment by mid-October, in time for the next big step in the bankruptcy process, the October 23 court hearing on whether Detroit is eligible to enter chapter 9.
