BRACING FOR IMPACT Ford development in Marshall creates opportunity — and uncertainty

For some in Marshall, the $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery factory planned by Ford Motor Co. is seen as a business boon. But for others, it is a threat.

Work is ramping up on the automaker’s lithium iron phosphate battery plant with Chinese giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., which promises to create 2,500 jobs in Calhoun County and secure Michigan a spot in the automotive future, according to ocials.

Workers with Detroit-based general contractor Walbridge Group were seen recently shuttling to and from a large barn at the center of the 2,000-acre megasite that appears to be serving as a command center for the gargantuan construction project at hand. e uncertainties of the plant’s impact on the environment, noise and tra c are one thing, said Kelley, who lives three-quarters of a mile away from the future factory. What it could do to his small ing company, however, keeps him up at night.

While the long-term economic impact of the project remains to be seen, it has longtime Marshall resident Michael Kelley, 56, wondering what sort of future his small business has in the quiet town.

“It’s bittersweet with an emphasis on bitter,” said Kelley, who has lived in Marshall and owned Cornerstone Roo ng & Siding for the past 30 years.

But after some time working with his wife Katy Knoer on the Give anks Bakery and his own rm, Paladin Partners, he is now leading the EMDC, working on things like new a ordable housing with development partners as well as a new food distribution center that was backed by $12 million in state funding last year.

Knoer brings some development repower to EMDC, which is a nonpro t entity operating under the umbrella of the Eastern Market Partnership, led by Dan Carmody.

He’s worked on projects like e Boulevard apartment complex and the renovations to the Fisher Building with e Platform as well as South eld-based Redico LLC, which brought him to metro Detroit a decade ago. Before that, he spent time in Chicago and Atlanta with Hines Interests LP and London with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

He and e Platform parted ways in October 2019.

Knoer said he is working to “protect the authenticity of the district.”

“I’m excited to be part of the team and continue the work that has started,” Knoer said. “ ere is a lot to do now in the execution phase to really get to the point where these ey kept the AERES name and the listings they wanted to retain and formed AERES Real Estate in December.

In an industry typically dominated by men, three women just started their own commercial real estate rm.

Angela omas, Erica Dunlap and Megan Zurvalec teamed up to form AERES Real Estate after years of working for two of the best-known rms in the business, Southeld-based brokerage house Signature Associates Inc. ( omas and Dunlap) and Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based Bedrock LLC (Zurvalec).

At Signature, omas and Dunlap were also branded the AERES team — the “A” for Angela, the rst “E” for Erica and “RES” for “real estate services” — and were active in deals in Birmingham, Detroit and elsewhere.

(Full disclosure: omas and Dunlap have the leasing listing for the Brewery Park o ce complex in Detroit’s Eastern Market area. e complex is owned by the Crain family and is where Crain Communications Inc., parent company of Crain’s Detroit Business, is headquartered.)

Zurvalec was previosuly operations manager for Bedrock.

In a statement, omas and Dunlap said:

“Our clients work with us because of who we are and how we operate. We wanted full autonomy to focus on the real estate projects that interest us, big and small. We are not dollar driven. We are relationship driven. e commission model in a traditional brokerage doesn’t make sense for our lifestyle anymore. We could pay for the resources needed and net more at the end of the year. Additionally, we wanted to focus on who we are as a team, an experienced all-women team that provides phenomenal customer service. We want our brand to shine, and we feel we can build upon this now.” ey continued:

“We are negotiating time and money for our clients, meanwhile, those are also our two biggest assets, and we want to allocate them di erently. With our time, we want to work on projects we are passionate about. With our money, rather than traditional brokerage splits where we share with the house, we want to choose how we spend those dollars and strategically appropriate the money earned towards new and exciting marketing ideas for the properties and clients we represent.” e three professionals join what Jennifer omas (no relation to Angela omas) says is a growing number of women starting their own commercial real estate rms.

Among those, according to the AERES website: e 150 West Je erson high-rise for South eld-based Redico LLC; the Gri n in Royal Oak, on behalf of West Bloom eld Township-based Singh Development Co.; and the 4219 Woodward Ave. building in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood.

Jennifer omas, who is president of the board for the Detroit chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, says there has been an increased membership in the organization from women who have stepped out on their own and started their own companies.

“We do have a lot more than you would think who are doing their own thing. I know people who are dabbling with doing the same,” said Jennifer omas, who is director of land development for Shelby Township-based Lombardo Homes.

And women developers like Sonya Mays, Susan Harvey, Sauda Shakoor Ahmad-Green, Kathy Makino-Leipsitz and many others have been working on projects of their own both in the city and the suburbs.

Alis Manoogian, who is assistant vice president of investment sales at South eld-based Farbman Group, has been selected as the rst female president of the Michigan chapter of Certi ed Commercial Investment Member, or CCIM, a commercial real estate and investment trade group.

“We are really excited to see more women entering that kind of space o on their own and making a big splash in the industry,” said Manoogian, who said some of her goals for CCIM Michigan include increasing female mentorship opportunities and training and professional development opportunities for women. Historically, CCIM has had about 200 members.

“From early on when I rst joined the industry, looking around my ofce or at networking events, I was seeing mostly men in leadership, but there has been a clear push for more women in leadership,” Manoogian said. “We are making small steps, small advancements, and that’s what’s going to get us to reach our goal.”

Manoogian, assistant vice president of investment sales, Farbman Group

Just a few examples I can recall from recent memory: ere is much to be done — of course, not just to advance women in CRE, but also people of color and the LGBTQ community.

Connaé Pisani started National Real Estate Management Group in 2018, which does property management, brokerage, construction and investment management services. Lynette Boyle and Krystol Rappuhn started Beanstalk Real Estate Solutions, which works in property management and brokerage. Kyle Erin Darcy started Uncommon Space, a brokerage she started after working with Bedrock on major retail deals downtown. Monique Becker and Elyse Wolf started Mona Lisa Living, developing properties and doing some contracting and management.

Jill Ferrari and Shannon Morgan formed Renovare Development LLC.

CREW says about 36 percent of the industry is women; that hasn’t changed much in the last 15 years. e commercial real estate industry is often seen as a “good old boys club,” Jennifer omas said, using a term other women have used to describe the industry.

“While people think we are breaking barriers and that is going away, unfortunately in some areas, the good old boys club is still there and it’s very hard to break through.”

Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

“From a business perspective, I can tell you we are in a lot of fear that a lot of the labor force is going to be robbed for general labor to accommodate this megasite,” Kelley said. “ e funds and the resources of this are unlimited compared to what small businesses have.” ey will need thousands of construction workers to build the factory. Walbridge was also hired by Ford to build its $5.6 billion plant in Tennessee, and the construction giant said last year that project would require 11,000 direct construction jobs and several thousand more related personnel.

Site prep, led by Walbridge, is progressing as crews race to meet Ford’s 2026 production goal. Subcontractors, including Warren-based Iafrate Construction, are posting open job positions from supervisors and machine operators to general laborers.

Walbridge deferred an inquiry about the Marshall plant to Ford. e Dearborn-based automaker did not return requests for comment.

“ ey’re going to vacuum every decent, legitimate employee,” said Kelley, who employs 10 people. “We’re going to be the rst ones that get sucked dry.” e pay scale at Cornerstone Roofing is $22-$35 per hour. Kelley said he is doubtful he can out-pay the competition and is looking at other ways to convince employees to stay put.

Kelley had already been dealing with other companies poaching his employees. He said his labor costs have increased 40 percent in the past three years as the skilled trades labor shortage in Michigan is laid bare by large-scale projects forthcoming or in progress around the state.

“We’ve had conversations about this,” he said. “I try to reiterate that I am going to be here long-term.”

Andrew Scibbe, owner of Pastrami Joe’s in Marshall, said sta ng has stabilized since he bought the restaurant last year, but nding workers remains a struggle.

“It’s tough to get people to apply in food service because that’s just an industry, similar to manufacturing, (in which) especially the younger generation is looking for other work,” Scibbe said.

During a recent lunch rush at the popular diner, lines formed to the door, and Scibbe recognized the potential. He hopes the Ford plant brings in new job candidates and customers alike, helping fuel his expansion plan for the restaurant.

“It’s iconic, and I’d like to expand it,” he said.

Employer impact

e injection of new manufacturing jobs also threatens to worsen the general shortage of labor in that sector.

Denso Corp., which employs around 2,700 people in the Battle Creek area and counts Ford among its customers, has a unique perspective of the uncertainty and opportunity represented by the new battery plant. On one hand, a new automaker plant is likely to lure away employees. On the other, a supplier’s success is dependent on the success of its customer — and a new plant could mean new business.

“While the new facility will likely push us to compete harder for talent, we’re always looking for ways to enhance the employee experience, give our teammates paths for growth and to support the next generation of manufacturing professionals,” Denso spokesman Andrew Rickerman said in an email. “We’re hopeful the facility’s proximity will give us even more opportunity to continue to support Ford’s transition to cleaner and safer mobility.” e county’s labor force had been growing steadily since 2017 but has not recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2021, the county had a labor force of 63,622 — down 2,585 from 2019, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Battle Creek-based Kellogg Co. did not return requests for comment. Flex-N-Gate, another major employer in the region, declined to comment.

Susan Corbin, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, said her department is working with local workforce agencies, which have identi ed competition for labor as a signi cant concern for employers.

“ ere’s a recognition that that could happen and that we all have a responsibility to support not only Ford … but we also have an obligation to the employers who are already in the region,” Corbin said.

Calhoun County’s unemployment rate of 4.5 percent is nominally higher than the state’s overall rate of 4.3 percent, but like other parts of the state and across the country, the region is struggling to bring residents back into the labor market.

Corbin said she is working to bring residents back to work and nd new pools of labor, as well as help existing employers with recruitment and retention. e department and local workforce agencies are aiming to tap into under-represented labor pools such as immigrants, veterans, justice-involved residents and those in the disabled community.

Jobs at the new Ford plant would pay an average yearly wage of $45,136, according to a breakdown obtained by Crain’s. ree-quarters of the jobs would pay $41,600. e median household income in Calhoun County was $53,286 in 2021, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

Skeptics argue that won’t be enough to convince workers and company, but he’s skeptical and ocials aren’t sure either.

“I think we’ll just have to see how that plays out,” Corbin said.

Anderson’s main gripe about the Ford plant is the massive state subsidy propping it up. Michigan o cials have dedicated roughly $1.6 billion of incentives and site prep funds for the plant.

“ e plan here is to pay lower wage workers to make fewer parts in the state of Michigan and to subsidize the heck out of it,” he said. “How does that make sense?”

Automotive future

Zooming out, the plant means a lot more to Michigan’s economy than plant jobs and temporary construction work, proponents say. O cials have argued that the state has only a brief window to capitalize on the ood of investment during a oncein-a-century industry transformation.

“ is helps anchor the other investments in the state,” said Kristin Dziczek, automotive policy adviser with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Detroit Branch. “If the supply chain is local or regional, then you get jobs in supply chains.” and has most of the 2,000-acre megasite under option, said Jim Durian, CEO of the agency.

Additionally, there are about 150 acres ready or near ready for development at the nearby Brooks Industrial Park.

“We’ve got everything from housing developers to industrial developers looking to identify sites,” Durian said. “I think that when you land a big deal like this, it builds more momentum for opportunities.” e most recent comparison is General Motors Co. Michigan ocials drew heavy criticism a year ago for giving the automaker $824 million in incentives to lure $7 billion in EV investments near Lansing and in Orion Township, but it has spurred major investments by local suppliers. families to uproot from elsewhere in Michigan or out of the state and move to Marshall.

Durian said conversations have started with automotive suppliers, but no deals have been cemented. “We just know that the supplier usually follows a large project like this,” he said.

“You’re not going to be able to get middle-class families to move for that,” said Patrick Anderson, CEO of East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group. “ ere’s the rub. I think Ford, if they pay enough wages, will be able to get people to move to Marshall.”

If that were to happen, the region would require signi cantly more housing stock to accommodate a rush of workers, Corbin said. at would create opportunity for folks like Kelley, who owns the roo ng

Manufacturing jobs have a signicantly higher economic multiplier than other types of positions because of all the inputs needed at manufacturing jobs, Dziczek said. And higher-wage engineering jobs often follow manufacturing jobs.

Ford’s planned plant has an employment multiplier of 3.38, meaning that for every direct job from Ford, the state’s economy will add 3.38 indirect jobs.

Economic developers are already at work readying sites for Ford’s suppliers in Marshall. While the battery plant will take up 950 acres, the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance has closed on 1,100 acres

Lear Corp. announced and $80 million battery parts plant in Independence Township to support GM after opening a new seating plant in Detroit that supplies GM’s Factory Zero in Hamtramck. Magna International announced $500 million of investment in the state, including at plants supplying the Detroit-based automaker.

GM itself is eyeing the former Palace of Auburn Hills site for a potential 1.1 million-square-foot “supplier park” that could include R&D jobs, Crain’s reported.

“ e tie between manufacturing and engineering is very tight, especially for new products and new technologies,” Dziczek said. “ ey tend to invest in those locations closer to the neighboring hubs.”

Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl