Peruvian bets big with acquisition of iconic Detroit eyesore

[DETROIT] It was late Friday afternoon before the Labor Day weekend when Fernando Palazuelo reached the head of the line at the tax collection window of the treasurer's office in Wayne County, Michigan.

He had travelled almost 6,000km from Lima, Peru to make a simple request. "I am interested in buying the Packard plant," he said. "And I want to speak to the man in charge."

A few minutes later, he was ushered in to see Raymond Wojtowicz, the 84-year-old county treasurer responsible for tens of thousands of foreclosed properties in the bankrupt city of Detroit. And with that, Mr Palazuelo, a developer of broken-down buildings from Europe to South America, was on his way to buying the biggest, most iconic eyesore in this city - the abandoned Packard Motor Car plant.