Crain's Detroit Business, March 27, 2023, issue

THE PATH TO OPPORTUNITY

Building prosperity requires well-paid jobs, homeownership, accessible education, security and good neighborhoods; here’s how more people could gain access | STORIES BEGIN ON PAGE 7

Ford subsidies add up

At $690,000 per job, cost tallies up to much more than other deals

BY DAVID EGGERT

LANSING — Michigan notched a win with Ford Motor Co.’s decision to build a $3.5 billion, 2,500-job electric vehicle battery factory in Marshall. But the deal will not come cheaply.

e state will provide signi cantly more money for the project than for other major business expansions announced since the creation of a new fund to lure companies 15 months ago.

e cost is expected to total $1.7 billion, or about $693,000 a job, or $1 billion and $384,000 per job if only cash, but not a special tax break, is factored in.

$1.7 billion in total subsidies.

$1.0 billion excluding site preparation.

e spending will be far more than what is being disbursed for other top projects bene ting from the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund or, in some cases, a direct appropriation enacted into law by the Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. e account was formed in late 2021 after Dearborn-based Ford chose to locate EV assembly and battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.

“I believe that we paid a premium for Ford to tell a good story, which is: ‘We created this fund because we lost Ford, and now we’ve attracted Ford.’

See FORD on Page 18

Bally bankruptcy: Challenges, opportunity for Tigers

With Opening Day Thursday, questions remain

BY JAY DAVIS

e Detroit Tigers open their season on the road on ursday against the Tampa Bay Rays, and there’s one question that’s top of mind for most fans: “Where will I be able to watch?”

Chapter 11 bankruptcy lings earlier this month by Diamond

Sports Group LLC and Bally Sports have put the TV future of games for 14 MLB teams, including the Tigers, in question.

Right now, the plan is business as usual for Bally Sports Detroit, but the bankruptcy has already meant some missed payments for rights fees. At least one team has said it

would end its local deal if not paid, and MLB is reportedly making backup plans to broadcast games if Diamond’s bankruptcy interrupts them.

e Tigers in 2021 signed a new deal with Bally Sports Detroit that began in the 2022 season. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Tigers o cials did not respond to requests for additional information or comment on their plans.

at new deal included streaming rights, meaning the team is due to earn a portion of revenue brought in through Bally Sports Plus, priced at $19.99 a month. Regional sports networks, or RSNs, like Bally typically earn close to 90 percent of their revenue from customer subscriptions through cable providers or standalone streaming services like Bally Sports Plus.

Locally, Bally Sports Detroit is available through cable providers and most streaming services. Currently, the plan remains to air all Tigers games on Bally Sports. Bally Sports Plus remains an option, but its $19.99 a month price point is on the high end for sports streaming options.

See BALLY SPORTS on Page 18

Krystal Larsosa helps her daughter, Klir, 7, with homework while her other daughter, Kady Robinson-Larsosa, works on homework at their home in west Detroit.

NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT NEED TO KNOW

 FORD TO LOSE $3B ON EVS THIS YEAR

THE NEWS: Ford Motor Co. expects its electric vehicle business to lose $3 billion this year, even as it forecasts increased pro ts on its internal combustion and commercial vehicle operations. e automaker projected that losses from its EV unit, called Model e, will increase nearly 50 percent in 2023 from $2.1 billion last year as it continues to invest in boosting production and developing next-generation products on a dedicated EV platform. Ford said it expects earnings before interest and taxes of about $7 billion this year for Ford Blue, its internal combustion business unit, and about $6 billion for Ford Pro, its commercial unit.

WHY IT MATTERS: is marks the rst time Ford has publicly broken out results for the three units, created as part of a companywide reorganization in 2022, as it changes its nancial reporting method. e new way of reporting no longer details how the company performed in di erent regions of the world, such as North America, Europe and China.

 DATES SET FOR 2024 NFL DRAFT IN DETROIT

THE NEWS: e 2024 NFL Draft will take place April 25-27 in the area around Campus Martius Park and

Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, Visit Detroit announced ursday.

WHY IT MATTERS: is is a huge opportunity for the city to put on a show. More than 300,000 fans attended the 2022 draft in Las Vegas. at’s up from the 160,000 who attended the 2021 draft in Cleveland. Both of those numbers are down from the last pre-pandemic draft, held in 2019 in Nashville. at draft set an attendance record, with 600,000 people attending the three-day event.

 JOE LOUIS GREENWAY PARTNERSHIP NAMES LEADER

THE NEWS: e Joe Louis Greenway Partnership has named Bedrock executive Leona Medley as its new executive director. Medley succeeds Laura Trudeau, retired managing director of the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit program, who served as its interim executive director of the new conservancy after its founding last year and helped to stand it up. In the new role, Medley will lead e orts to ensure e ective maintenance, com-

munity engagement and programs and capital improvements for the greenway, in conjunction with the city of Detroit.

WHY IT MATTERS: She joins the partnership from Bedrock Detroit, where she has held several community engagement roles since 2017, most recently serving as director of strategic community partnerships. Prior to that, she ran retail operations for e Home Depot.

 EVANS DECLARES EMERGENCY AT JUVENILE JAIL

THE NEWS: Wayne County Executive Warren Evans used his State of the County speech Tuesday to announce a public health emergency as a result of ongoing issues at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility. Evans and county Health O cer Abdul ElSayed signed the order earlier that day, and said they are urging the state to call the situation at the juvenile facility an emergency as well, after a 12-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted there two weeks ago.

WHY IT MATTERS: El-Sayed said the facility is housing more youth than it has the sta to handle, including 65 whose cases have been adjudicated and who should be transferred to the state for treatment. e average stay at the facility, he said, has risen to 127 days, from 21 days, since 2021.

CRAIN’S AWARDS

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Does your company provide employee bene ts that improve physical and mental well-being, such as parental leave, senior care, on-site massage therapy, pet insurance or exible work hours? Does it spend big on happy hours, o ce snacks or company retreats? How about education: Do your employees have a clear path to leadership or receive tuition reimbursement? You just might be one of the Best Places to Work in Southeast Michigan.

See our eligibility requirements and register your company today at BestPlacestoWorkMI.com. e deadline is April 7. Crain’s Best Places to Work award is a research-driven award program open to organizations that have been operating for a least one year and have facilities in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Ingham, Livingston, Lapeer, Genesee, St. Clair, Monroe, Lenawee and Jackson counties.

The deadline is April 7 to submit an entry into the Crain’s Best Places to Work awards program.

130-year-old house for sale in Birmingham ‘an exception’ where new construction dominates

It’s not much of an overstatement to say that the neighborhoods around downtown Birmingham have been teardown central in recent years.

But there are exceptions.

Case in point: A nearly 130-year-old Victorian house just outside the a uent Oakland County city’s central business district, has been newly placed on the market and is chock full of modern amenities. e house on Pierce Street about four blocks south of the shopping and dining options on Maple Road, is listed for sale at just less than $2.2 million.

While some of the restoration work, including an expansion of the home in the early 1990s, was done by a previous owner, current owners David and Jen McNulty

BLAC focuses on economics, community

Nonpro t matches young entrepreneurs with jobs, housing

DARLENE A. WHITE

A community development project is breathing new life into abandoned homes and neighborhoods in Detroit while supporting young, Black would-be entrepreneurs.

e Black Legacy Advancement Coalition or BLAC is a nonpro t that is working to identify, connect and redistribute existing capital within the Black community to promote the advancement of Black people. e organization works in a variety of sectors, including economic empowerment, criminal justice reform, education, faith, legal reform, race relations and many more.

One e ort it has underway is the Ground Up Project, which focuses on real estate.

“We work to revitalize properties in African American neighborhoods, while spurring on new business development in our communities,” Dexter R. Sullivan, president of BLAC, said.

e nonpro t, which has been around since 2020, has had its rst success with the purchase of a home in the LaSalle Gardens neighborhood near Henry Ford Hospital. Soon it will expand with more real estate purchases.

say they’ve completed work on every bathroom, bedroom, the kitchen and other parts of the house.

“Every room was basically touched by us,” Jen McNulty said.

Property records show the couple — now empty nesters and looking to downsize from the nearly 4,600-square-foot home built in 1895 — paid $1.425 million for the house in 2013.

Beyond the upkeep of the home — which still includes original woodwork for ooring, banisters and other features, as well as an attic-turned-lounge space where the McNultys said there are “no kids allowed” — Jen McNulty pointed to another appealing feature: In the decade the family has lived there they’ve never lost power or had a ood.

See VICTORIAN on Page 16

Deal with Meijer gives energy to former Atwater Brewery owner’s new Fül Beverage

Mark Rieth, the former owner of Detroit-based Atwater Brewery, believes his new Fül Beverage business is positioned to grow globally — starting in the Midwest with the help of Meijer Inc.

Rieth struck a deal with the Walker-based supermarket chain to stock Fül beverages (pronounced “fuel”) in 130 Meijer locations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. e drinks can be seen on Meijer shelves now.

“Meijer is a great partner, having chosen our products to be on its shelves,”

Rieth told Crain’s.

“ e move is part of our Midwest expansion into other retailers as we push for national exposure. One thing Meijer does well as a Michigan-based company is they’re always willing to listen to local vendors and suppliers.”

Meijer o cials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Rieth bought Atwater in 2005, sold it to a Molson Coors division in January 2020 and o cially left Atwater in December 2021. He launched Detroit-based Fül Beverage last summer as a nonalcoholic beverage company focused on hydration drinks, including NA craft brews and all-natural alternative energy and recovery drinks. Including the Meijer deal, Fül is in 700-900 stores, according to Rieth.

e coalition reported $100,916 in revenue and $59,115 in expenses for scal 2022 ended Sept. 30, according to unaudited nancials it provided to Crain's. It ended the year with just over $93,000 in net assets.

In 2022, BLAC purchased the single-family residence for $250,000. In a joint e ort between Sullivan and Brian Cole, the owner of Aza Homes, the house was renovated completely. e partnership empowered BLAC’s leadership to co-design the space with Nadiene Johnson, a community partner. Weeks later, Johnson contributed to the 2,942-square-foot renovation project by selecting the furniture layout and securing donations from local businesses.

See BLAC on Page 17

That this house near downtown Birmingham built in 1895 has survived the city’s yearslong trend of tearing down and rebuilding makes it an exception. | JAMES COOKE

FOOD & DRINK

Jen and David McNulty bought the 1895 Victorian-style house on Pierce Street in Birmingham in 2013.,

NICK MANES

JAY DAVIS

Detroit-based Fül Beverage is being sold in 130 Meijer stores in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. FÜL BEVERAGE

Rieth

Sun Communities sues insurer after child dies at campground

It’s been close to two years since Emma Davidson died.

e 3-year-old had been playing one early April evening in 2021 at a Cape May, N.J., RV campground when she stepped on an unsecured underground septic tank lid and dropped 10 feet or so into the sewage- lled pit, ultimately succumbing to her injuries after she was removed — perhaps as much as ve minutes after falling in, according to local reports from the time.

Now the property’s owner, Southeld-based Sun Communities Inc. (NYSE: SUI), the massive REIT run by Gary Shi man, is suing one of its insurers, Navigators Insurance Co., saying the Stamford, Conn.-based company failed to contribute to a mediated monetary settlement with the toddler’s family after they sued Sun.

e complaint against Navigators led in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan this month says Navigators “failed and refused to meaningfully participate in the (mediation) proceeding, failed and refused to give meaningful consideration to (Sun’s) settlement proposals, and ultimately refused to contribute any amount to the settlement reached at the mediation...”

It goes on to say that “ ... Sun faced exposure substantially in excess of the settlement amount if the matter went to trial, at which jurors would have been presented with, among other evidence, graphic photos and video evidence depicting the manner of (Davidson’s) death and the extreme mental anguish and su ering of the plainti s in the aftermath of the event, as well as evidence of (Davidson’s) conscious pain and su ering.”

Because Navigators didn’t monetarily contribute to the settlement,

Sun used its own money to pay what the insurer would not, according to the complaint. Sun says in its lawsuit that Navigators did not tell it that the claims were not covered or were subject to policy exclusion.

e total amount of the settlement with the Davidson family is not known.

But Kenneth Neuman of Birmingham-based Altior Law, who reviewed a copy of the complaint, concluded the settlement was at least $11 million. at’s because in the lawsuit, Sun says it has at least three di erent layers of coverage: One for up to $1 mil-

lion; another for $1,000,001 to $11 million; and the Navigators policy of up to $15 million, which would cover damages from $11,000,001 to $26 million.

Whether Sun has additional coverage beyond $26 million is not known.

Neuman — who has worked on insurance-related cases for policy holders as well as those with claims against insured parties like accounting and law rms — said Navigators will likely dispute in federal court that Sun’s exposure was “substantially in excess of the settlement amount” and likely wanted to take its chances with a jury trial.

“ ey are really good at collecting on premiums and really bad at paying out on claims. at’s their business model,” said Neuman, referring to insurance companies. “What I’m reading from this complaint is they (Sun) went into mediation and, given the facts of this loss, this 3-year-old child dying this horrible death, they gured their exposure was way above $11 million, and they wanted this third line of

coverage (Navigators) to step in, and they wouldn’t. So it looks like Sun wrote the check for the delta.”

Sun’s attorneys with the South eld o ce of Taft (formerly Ja e) declined comment. An email was also sent to Sun’s investor relations email account. Clunet Lewis, an independent director for the Sun Communities board, called Davidson’s death a horrible accident and a tragedy; and said he hadn’t heard about the lawsuit against Navigators and didn’t have any additional details, but would give my inquiry to the appropriate people at Sun. An email was sent to a spokesperson for Navigators, which is a division of e Hartford.

A representative from the Cape May County Prosecutor’s O ce on Tuesday said Davidson’s death was “strictly an accident” and there were no criminal charges led.

e Davidson family sued Sun Communities and others in the summer 2021, New Jersey Advance Media reported at the time.

e media group also reported sep-

arately that at Sun’s Cape May campground, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection found “multiple violations, including ‘numerous’ unsecured lids that weren’t bolted or screwed down and others that were cracked, according to the DEP notice of violation.” It wasn’t just at Cape May where there were issues, according to local reports. A man suffered minor injuries when he fell into an underground septic system at another Sun-owned property in nearby Dennis Township.

In a statement two years ago to NJ Advance Media, an unidenti ed outside public relations rm for Sun said:

“Because the safety of our guests is our highest priority, we have a longstanding and rigorous program of safety inspections and maintenance at all of our properties. As a result, serious accidents at any of our locations are extremely rare.”

e statement continued: “Immediately after the tragic accident in Cape May, we re-inspected all septic tanks to ensure that covers are secured with screws or bolts, installed additional safety fencing and applied redundant inserts to further block access. We have also engaged an independent engineering rm to perform an additional assessment of our facilities in New Jersey, and a third party expert is conducting follow up inspections.”

Sun has a sprawling real estate portfolio that consists of everything from marinas to RV campgrounds and manufactured housing.

Its RV community portfolio consists of 182 properties with some 58,000 sites, with about 30,000 of them in North America, according to an investor presentation from earlier this month. In addition, it also has 298 manufactured housing communities with about 100,000 sites and 134 marinas with 48,000 wet slips and dry storage spaces.

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

Ann Arbor riverfront development names builders for condominiums

Two metro Detroit-based residential development companies are teaming up to build the housing component of a proposed mixed-use development in Ann Arbor near a new 7-acre riverfront public park.

Hunter Pasteur Homes of Farmington Hills and South eld-based e Forbes Co. have been tapped up to develop more than 90 condominium units at the proposed Broadway Park West in Ann Arbor’s Lower Town community along the Huron River and north of the city’s downtown, according to a Tuesday news release.

e residential component, which is expected to break ground early next year, accompanies a broader mixed-use project that started in January. e overall development consists of 14 acres of former DTE Energy Co. property around Broadway and Depot streets near the train tracks. It has been in the works since well before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020 and is ultimately envisioned to include condominiums, hotel and commercial space.

Detroit-based development company e Roxbury Group is master developer for the project and enlisted Hunter Pasteur and Forbes, according to the release.

“We are really thrilled to have a team of the caliber of Hunter Pasteur and Forbes leading the residential

aspects of this project,” Roxbury Principal David Di Rita said in the release. “ eir expertise, attention to detail and deep market knowledge will ensure that the residences at Broadway Park are second to none in the city, and a welcome addition to the Lower Town community.”

e planned condos will be one-, two- and three-bedroom units, including penthouses and townhomes, with unit sizes ranging from 780 to 2,700 square feet. e residences will be built in four buildings along a newly created River Street, which will front along the public park, the centerpiece of the development, the release stated.

A proposed development cost and planned sales prices for the condo units were not made available.

e overall site has already secured a Brown eld Tax Increment Financing plan that was approved by the Washtenaw County Browneld Authority and city of Ann Arbor, aimed at helping the overall development cover the cost of remediation, geotechnical work and parking.

“ e setting for this project, along this beautiful stretch of the Huron River creates a rare opportunity to create a truly remarkable residential experience in Ann Arbor,” Seth Herkowitz, partner at Hunter Pasteur, said in the release. “ e park and the close proximity to everything Ann

Arbor has to o er will make this a one-of-a-kind opportunity for home buyers in the region. ere simply won’t be anything else that can match it.”

Amenities for residents of the condos include co-working space, a large tness center, covered parking with ample electric vehicle charging stations, and food and beverage establishments, according to the release.

“We really are trying to create a unique buying opportunity in the for-sale condo market,” Brett Yuhasz, vice president of construction for Hunter Pasteur Homes, said in the release. “We wanted to make sure the living spaces share in the exceptionality and desirability that the overall Broadway Park West development will o er.”

e Roxbury Group will also be responsible for development of the hotel and retail amenities, which will be announced at a later date.

— Crain’s Senior Reporter Kirk Pinho contributed to this report.

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

The Sun Communities Inc.-owned campground in Cape May, N.J. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

“THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT COLLECTING ON PREMIUMS AND REALLY BAD AT PAYING OUT ON CLAIMS. THAT’S THEIR BUSINESS MODEL.”

—

Kenneth Neuman, Altior Law, referring to insurance companies

The planned condos at Broadway Park West in Ann Arbor will be one-, two- and three-bedroom units, including penthouses and townhomes, over four buildings.

Michigan deserves accountability for Medicaid

Now that the end of the federal public health emergency over COVID-19 is in sight, states are set to resume checking eligibility for those receiving Medicaid. But Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have announced plans to delay the verication process in Michigan.

EDITORIAL

Let’s move forward on District Detroit project

On the District Detroit, it’s time to move forward and stop dwelling on the past.

e Detroit City Council last week delayed a vote on approvals for $616.3 million in incentives under the state’s little-used “transformational brown eld” program for the $1.53 billion, 10-project proposal from the Ilitch family and New York developer Stephen Ross.

Taking a close look at the deal is the right thing to do, and the council is doing appropriate due diligence and making sure Detroit residents have every opportunity to be heard.

But now it’s time to move forward. is deal is an opportunity to kickstart a district that has been slow to develop and o ers appropriate safeguards for taxpayers. It brings a major-league developer in Ross into Detroit in a big way. It promises to add a large chunk of the residential and commercial development that were part of the original District Detroit vision.

Major projects of this type are never easy to nance, and developers are unanimous in saying that making the money part of the equation work in Detroit requires public support of some kind. e market still doesn’t support from-scratch development under normal market conditions. And a word about those incentives. e transformational brown eld incentives aren’t taking away any tax money that currently exists from other public uses. ey are only capturing future taxes that will be generated if the projects happen, and they very well might not without some form of public support.

Calling the Ilitches and Ross billionaires doesn’t change the fact that nobody, in any city, develops projects of this scope entirely out of their own pockets.

Detroit has come far in improving the perception that it’s a city unfriendly to business.

e city’s skyline is once again set to be changed with new skyscraper construction for the rst time in 30 years. Keeping that momentum going is imperative as downtown’s recovery from the pandemic is still ongoing.

If you’re skeptical of any promise the Ilitch organization makes, this deal is a way to prod those promises forward. e subsidies don’t happen if the projects don’t happen.

e District Detroit does not look like the vision pitched in 2014. At the same time, the Woodward corridor that centers the area looks dramatically di erent than it did 10 years ago. Much of that development has been done by the Ilitches.

e fruits of the city’s other big bet using the “transformational brown eld” incentive for mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert’s big downtown projects are starting to become real. We saw last week that the Book Tower redevelopment is almost ready to open. A new tower under construction on the Hudson’s site is starting to assert itself into the city’s skyline.

City Council and the community bene ts committee have rightly scrutinized the Ilitch-Ross deal and listened to voices of residents both supporting and objecting to the subsidies. It’s perfectly justi ed to take a skeptical eye to the plan.

e fact is, though, the Ilitch-Ross proposal is much more solid than the gauzy vision pitched when the District Detroit was unveiled. It has the additional repower that Ross’ organization brings. It’s time to move forward.

Unless they move quickly to ensure people receiving Medicaid are eligible for it, Michigan will be working to protect the pro ts of Medicaid insurance companies at the expense of the truly needy.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, states engaged in routine reviews of Medicaid bene ciaries’ eligibility. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Congress passed legislation that traded increased federal funding to states for the continued enrollment of everyone on Medicaid — even if enrollees became ineligible.

While states can stop paying insurers for those no longer eligible for Medicaid as of April 1, Michigan has announced it will delay doing so until at least July 1. Insurers get paid a predetermined amount each month for every insurance card they have issued.

e delay in processing Medicaid redeterminations means Medicaid insurers will continue to pocket taxpayer dollars for each ineligible Medicaid enrollee they have on the books. Instead of an accelerated time frame to recheck eligibility — given the three-year lapse — the state will take more than a year to check eligibility for the rest of those on Medicaid. Prior documents said they would take up to a full 14 months.

Any delay in rechecking Medicaid eligibility means more money for insurers and fewer resources for the truly needy. Michigan taxpayers will have to foot the bill as extra federal dollars are phased out.

ese impacts could be signi cant given Medicaid’s enrollment boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, over 20 million individuals enrolled in the program, with Michigan seeing over 700,000 additional sign-ups. Without Medicaid redetermina-

tion procedures actively in place, the number of individuals enrolled in Medicaid who no longer qualify for the program grew, too. Research by the Foundation for Government Accountability found that in 17 other states, approximately 90 percent of those who enrolled during the pandemic were no longer eligible by January 2022.

e result was that Medicaid resources owed for nearly three years to managed care insurers to cover individuals who do not even qualify for the program. In many cases where individuals have moved or secured employer-sponsored coverage, these nonquali ed individuals haven’t even used the Medicaid services for which the insurers are being paid. ankfully, Congress passed legislation that sunsets the increased federal funding and allows states to restart Medicaid redeterminations, but Michigan appears to be taking a very slow approach.

Michigan o cials must quickly review enrollees based upon which categories are most likely to be deemed ineligible — likely those groups that grew most during the pandemic or have no claims for service. Removing these noneligible individuals from Medicaid quickly is critical to supporting the most vulnerable of Michigan residents.

Michigan o cials must also use all available and credible data sources to help determine if individuals no longer qualify for reasons like moving, enrolling in private coverage, or passing away. An appeals process must work quickly, and state o cials should continue to update the public about the status of the redetermination process. If Michigan outsources any of this work to third-party organizations, those groups must have no nancial interest in keeping noneligible individuals on Medicaid.

Restarting Medicaid redeterminations will help right-size Medicaid, so it does not divert money away from education or public safety. It will also help restore con dence in the program. Most other social services programs, like food stamps and child care assistance, restarted eligibility checks in the summer of 2020 — Medicaid has been the outlier. ose who qualify for Medicaid will retain coverage, and their care is covered if they are mistakenly removed. Closing the cases of those who no longer qualify will stop blank checks from being sent to insurance companies for ineligible enrollees. Washington, D.C., may have started this problem, but now it’s up to Michigan policymakers to x it, and fast.

DANIEL SAAD/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

DETROIT HAS COME FAR IN IMPROVING THE PERCEPTION THAT IT’S A CITY UNFRIENDLY TO BUSINESS.

Josh Archambault is a visiting health care fellow at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

JOSH ARCHAMBAULT

EXPANDING THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

Attracting and retaining residents: E orts across the city seek to improve quality of life and workforce development to keep neighborhoods stable. PAGE 11

Getting to the next step: Entrepreneurs looking to grow say they need help making it to the ‘second stage.’ PAGE 13

PATH TO OPPORTUNITY

Building prosperity requires well-paid jobs, accessible education, homeownership, security and good neighborhoods; here’s how more people could gain access | BY SHERRI WELCH

Detroit natives Jasahn Larsosa and his wife, Krystal, have the means to move to a more a uent neighborhood in the city or suburbs, but they are choosing to raise their three daughters near the west Detroit neighborhood where they grew up.

Living in the city is about giving their children the same sense of community they had, Jasahn Larsosa said, and is a positive connection to Black people that is counter to negative media portrayals.

It’s also about doing their part to help stabilize the neighborhood and secure wealth for their children through the purchase of a home, he said.

“If we can attract more people who have a middle income,” he said, “then it commands a di erent level of respect and expectation for the neighborhood.”

ough they are close to their neighbors and have led the creation of a block club that works jointly on neighborhood improvements and

each year celebrates the Fourth of July, among other activities, living there isn’t without challenges.

e neighborhood is battling dumping. Going camping and other activities with neighbors can be a challenge for those with resource constraints. And there’s a need to be on constant guard against the “three strays”: stray dogs, stray cars and stray bullets, Larsosa, 43, said.

“People are less likely to disrespect the neighborhood, and it protects the investments of those who live here,” he said about remaining

Household income for Black

families in Detroit

Less than $25,000 $25,000-$50,000 $50,000-$100,000 More than $100,000

in and growing the neighborhood. While the Larsosas are choosing to stay in Detroit, others are not.

e Black middle class is the largest population segment to leave the city year after year as income levels increase, said Anika Goss, president and CEO of nonpro t Detroit Future City.

“What we’re seeing is if you have the resources to move out... the opportunity to buy a home or to move your child into a di erent school district ... then people are choosing to do that outside of Detroit,” she said.

“( ey) are wanting all of the amenities that they’re seeing in the suburbs and other places. And if they’re not nding them here in Detroit ... they’re moving to the suburbs.”

ink tank Detroit Future City has been focused on the issue for the past four to ve years and convening others to discuss ways to head o that population loss.

12.9%

The growth in Black households earning between $50,000 and $100,000 from 2010 to 2021. For the same time period, white households grew 67% and Hispanic households grew 56.1%.

Krystal Larsosa helps her daughter, Klir, 7, with homework while her other daughter, Kady Robinson-Larsosa, works on homework at their home in west Detroit. | NIC ANTAYA FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

“WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS IF YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MOVE OUT ... THEN PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO DO THAT OUTSIDE OF DETROIT.”

—Anika Goss, president and CEO, Detroit Future City

EXPANDING THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS OPPORTUNITY

From Page 7

Public and private groups are working to abate the issues preventing more of the city’s majority Black population from moving into the middle class; and then, crucially, hoping to dissuade them from moving out of Detroit once they have the resources to do so.

But only time will tell if those efforts will change the trajectory in the city.

Shaping the region

Addressing the barriers to moving more of the city’s majority-Black population into the middle class and then keeping them in Detroit will help residents, the city and the region overall, leaders said.

In the city, it will help stabilize neighborhoods, enable recirculation of dollars in those neighborhoods, improve educational attainment and stabilize the tax base, said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

It will also position the region to attract more employers and more middle-class jobs, while providing a healthy, urban core, Goss said.

“It is imperative that the region prioritizes increasing the Black middle class,” she said.

“ e limitations to accessing homeownership, capital to start a business and a career that contributes to growing industries are holding back the entire region from accelerating to its full potential.”

If the loss of Black middle-class families in Detroit can be stemmed, it would be the rst city in the United States to have a majority minority population that actually changed the entire economy of the region by leading with this demographic, Goss said.

Detroit’s Black middle class has been in decline for the past decade, decreasing by more than 10,000 people since 2010. At that point, the Black middle class made up 28 percent of the city’s Black households. It dropped to 26 percent in 2019 and 25 percent of households in 2021.

DFC de nes the middle class as those with an income between 80 percent and 200 percent of the national median household income, and upper middle class as those with a household income between 200 percent and 300 percent of the nation’s median household income. For 2021, middle class income levels were between $55,774 and $139,434, and the upper middle class earned $139,435–$209,151.

Detroit’s Black middle class should be increasing, but it hasn’t, Goss said: “ ere are discriminatory barriers that keep people from moving into the middle class.”

Detroit Future City has laid out the issue in recent years with the 2019 report, “Growing Detroit’s African-American Middle Class” and the March 2022 report, “Buying In,” which found that in 2020, African American applicants in Detroit were denied loans at twice the rate of white applicants, based on federal home mortgage lending data. Huntington Bank, Bank of America Corp. and Plymouth credit union Community Financial have since rolled out new loan programs for Black and other minority borrowers to help them obtain mortgages, which are one way to build generational wealth.

Most recently, DFC teamed up

VOICES OF DETROITERS

Kalisha Davis grew up in Northwest Detroit before leaving after high school to attend Central Michigan University. She earned her degree in 1998 and headed to Minneapolis, then Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York and Silicon Valley. In 2015, she came back to Detroit to become a Detroit Revitalization Fellow at Wayne State University and, after two years, was paired with the Detroit Historical Society, where she served as one of the creators of the Detroit ’67 Project.

e opportunity the fellowship o ered to con-

Middle-class

by race

nect, build relationships and be reintroduced to the city as a working professional was all very appealing, Davis said.

She currently works for the California-based Kapor Center from Detroit as the project director for the equitable computer science curriculum initiative. And she bought her rst home, a colonial about 10 minutes from where she grew up, last fall.

“Even in all the various places I lived, it (was) always ... in the back of my mind to come home,” Davis said.

“ at’s something that my parents always instilled in me: to have pride in the community and to have a desire to give back to the community because I gained so much growing up here through a variety of experiences.”

Davis said another reason she came back to the city and why she stays is because there are so many people doing good work here.

“I’m here in Detroit because this is where I choose to be,” she said. “I love this community. I don’t have any reason to leave.”

more pro table enterprises. rough its Detroit at Work workforce programs, the city is helping to build a bridge to get those who are unemployed or underemployed into jobs and, ultimately, on a path to the middle class.

“We have been very intentional about saying that we are here to support Black and Brown Detroiters in their economic mobility pursuits and that includes those who are disabled. at includes the justice-involved community, veterans and then, of course, the cultural community that have typically been underrepresented as well,” said Dana Williams, chief strategy o cer for the city’s Detroit At Work workforce e orts.

may have a few skills but want to create new opportunities for themselves and to grow through a new middle-wage or management position or study area, she said.

“Maybe that’s getting them connected to a four-year college program, or a community college program utilizing the other resources that are here like Michigan Reconnect so that they can earn that wage, as well, and get truly a path to a longterm career,” Williams said.

with the Brookings Metro program of the Brookings Institution to research and release “Growth Occupations: Opportunities for more equitable participation in Detroit’s Growing Economy.”

Public and private groups are making moves aligned with many of the recommendations DFC has made, based on focus groups it did in 2018 with 100 people who are part of the Black middle class and left Detroit.

e issues they raised are as relevant today as they were ve years ago, based on Crain’s interviews with

four Detroit households.

Increasing worker wages

People need to earn more money to move into the middle class, Goss said.

Among other recommendations, DFC is calling for more jobs that put the city’s Black residents on a path to a middle-class income, increased support systems to encourage post-secondary certi cate and/or degree attainment and e orts to help Black entrepreneurs scale the businesses they’ve started into bigger and

e city is operating with an “A,B,C model” in its workforce development e orts, Williams said. “A” is getting Detroit residents into a job.

“ ere are some folks we know who need to go to work tomorrow, just to be able to get some immediate income. And so we’re connecting them with those opportunities,” she said.

For those who want to move into a better job, the city o ers career coaches to connect them with over 50 training programs for high-demand, high-growth industries.

And then there are the people who

e mayor has also been focused on attracting large employers like FCA-Stellantis (which is employing roughly 4,000, most of them Detroiters) and GM Factory Zero, the carmaker’s rst, fully dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant, among other companies. Many of the positions at the plants would be considered middle-class jobs, said John Roach, media relations director for the city.

Raising education access

Post-secondary education is important to position residents for a middle-income job. But only 14 percent of Detroiters have an associate degree or higher, Goss said.

e Detroit Regional Chamber has provided the Detroit Promise scholarship for the past decade to Detroit

‘I’m here in Detroit because this is where I choose to be’

EXPANDING THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

students to cover the costs of tuition for trade programs and certi cates, and associate and bachelor’s degrees at 26 Michigan colleges. e program is aimed at helping the region achieve a 60 percent post-secondary attainment goal and to cut the racial equity gap in half by 2030.

Currently, more than 2,000 students are enrolled in Detroit Promise, with 500 new students enrolling in the program last fall, down from about 700 each of the two years prior, said Gregory Handel, vice president, education and talent for the Detroit Regional Chamber.

e drop has been entirely driven by enrollment declines at the community college level as students have opted for work instead of school, as wages for entry-level work went up, he said. Four-year university enrollment, however, has grown to about 400 students from 230 a year before the pandemic.

It was funded for its rst seven years by the Michigan Excellence in Education Foundation, a partnership of business, foundation/nonpro t and government, with some additional funding from the Detroit chamber’s endowments. Over the last few years, funding responsibility has largely shifted to the Detroit Promise Zone Authority, which captures a portion of state assessed property taxes for education. But the foundation continues to fundraise for additional student programs, Handel said.

More recently, Wayne State Uni-

Less 80 70 60 50 40 30 0

than high school graduate High school graduate* Some college/associate degree Bachelor’s degree or higher

The growth in Black households with a bachelor’s degree or higher from 11% in 2010 to 16% in 2021.

For the same time period, white households grew from 17% to 35% and Hispanic households grew from 5% to 10%.

$55,726

The median income in 2021 for a Detroit resident with a graduate degree or higher compared to $48,877 for a bachelor’s degree, $31,425 for some college or associate degree and $26,724 for a high school graduate.

NOTE: DATA NOT COLLECTED IN 2020. *OR EQUIVALENT. MAY EQUAL MORE THAN 100% DUE TO ROUNDING SOURCE: DETROIT FUTURE CITY ‘10 ‘21 ‘11‘12‘13‘14‘15‘16‘17‘18‘19

versity announced the WSU Guarantee to provide free tuition for Michigan students who attend the Detroit-based university. Both programs provide “last dollar” support to eliminate tuition costs for eligible students by rounding out

state and federal assistance.

ose types of programs are needed to increase access to post-secondary credentials and higher-paying jobs. But so, too, is the need to eliminate systemic racism preventing people of color from moving into

well-paying jobs once they’ve attained post-secondary credentials, Goss said.

Black and Latino/Hispanic workers are employed in well-paying, fast-growing occupations at lower rates than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the Growth Occupations report DFC released last month with Brookings.

Attracting companies

In its quest to bring new employers and more jobs to Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Regional Partnership has honed in on three growth sectors that could tap into the region’s talent base, President and CEO Maureen Krauss said: mobility, smart manufacturing, and corporate and professional services like banking and information technology.

Over the last year, DRP has attracted 33 companies to its 11-county footprint in Southeast Michigan, all in one of those three sectors, Krauss said. Nine of them are in Wayne County. Collectively, they’ve created roughly 5,000 jobs and over $2.4 billion in new investment.

“We have the right talent, supply chain and support for those companies to succeed here,” Krauss said.

“I think that bodes well for the future of the Black middle class in Detroit.”

e region has strong engineering and smart manufacturing talent and

See OPPORTUNITY on Page 10

4 ways to build the middle class

Through focus groups in 2018, Detroit Future City heard from about 100 people who had moved out of Detroit to the suburbs on what could have kept them in the city and might help build the Black middle class:

 Workforce development and job attraction e orts to move people into middle-class earning brackets and provide more of those jobs in the city. Programs such as Detroit at Work and Motor City Contractor Fund aim to train workers in companies and industries to expand their skills.

 Eliminating ongoing disparities in mortgage originations for Black applicants to help ensure opportunities to create generational wealth through home ownership.

 Safe and desirable neighborhoods that are walkable, with public spaces (gardens, parks, etc.), quality schools, su cient grocery stores and other retail.  The Thriving Neighborhoods Fund, for example, provides funding for programming within such spaces as parks.

Working to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. JoyceFdn.org

Education level for Black families in Detroit

EXPANDING THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

OPPORTUNITY

From Page 9

people who are experienced with working in a manufacturing environment.

Some manufacturing workers may need to upgrade their skills to work with new software or machines, Krauss said, “but if you have to train someone on a new piece of equipment, you’d rather have someone who’s worked in a factory before.”

Diversity of talent is also important for companies, and Detroit is authentically diverse. at’s a big advantage for the city and region, Krauss said.

It brought data analytics company Majorel to Detroit.

Majorel was looking for a diverse and skilled workforce, people who were comfortable working on the computer, databases and websites.

ey found what they needed in Detroit, with 60-70 percent of their hires from the city, Krauss said.

“It’s a global company, and they have a really good career path for people who work for them … to get to that middle class.”

Encouraging startups, entrepreneurs

Support for Black entrepreneurs would also help move more of the city’s residents into the middle class, DFC’s Goss said.

“In other cities, entrepreneurship is a direct pathway to wealth. (But) not here in Detroit,” she said.

Black and Brown business owners are not receiving the access to capital, and they’re not growing, she said.

“I’m not just talking about startup capital; I’m talking about investment in existing businesses ... . ere are more of those smaller startups than there are anything else in Detroit.”

Detroit at Work has teamed up with Wayne County Community College to o er an entrepreneurship training academy, a two-week program providing aspiring entrepreneurs a basic primer so they can decide if they want to move forward in starting their own business, Williams said.

e city has also provided entrepreneurs with support since 2015 through Motor City Match. To date, it has provided $11.4 million in grants to 1,696 businesses.

Another program, Detroit Means Business, was developed during the height of COVID to help struggling small businesses stay a oat during the lockdowns, to reopen and, now, to thrive, Johnson said.

“What we do know is that entrepreneurship leads to wealth generation,” he said.

Beyond city-led and other e orts, the New Economy Initiative, a foundation-funded economic development e ort housed at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, is working to increase access to support for early entrepreneurs and to create a system for second-stage entrepreneurs looking to scale, said President and CEO Wafa Dinaro.

Boosting safety e orts

Economic mobility is one part of growing the city’s Black middle class. Keeping Black middle-class families in the city by ensuring it’s a place they want to live is the other.

“Safety is at the core of everything,” DEGC CEO Johnson said.

In his State of the City address in

Native Detroiters Marzina and Steven Clarke moved away for college and jobs before coming back to the region in 2005-06 and to Detroit in 2012.

ey purchased their rst home in the city last fall after renting for a decade.

e couple had looked for a home in other cities, said Marzina Clarke, an assistant teacher at Planting the Seed Montessori in Detroit, who lived in Ann Arbor and overseas before coming back.

“But Detroit is and always will be home. I want that for my kids,” she said. “I want them to feel like they belong somewhere.”

“So many times, people growing up in Detroit, as soon as they start doing well for themselves, they move away,” said Steven Clarke, who works remotely as an account manager for IBM, managing the JPMorgan Chase & Co. data centers.

“I wanted my dollars to go back into the city where I grew up to help make a di erence.”

e couple sent their two young daughters to a free Montessori school in Madison Heights because there wasn’t one at the time in Detroit.

ey shifted to an online charter school for the past few years during COVID.

e girls, now 13 and 10, will return to in-person schooling this fall. eir parents plan to send them to a charter school in the neighborhood.

“I wanted to see what schools are by us … so we looked in our neighborhood,” Marzina Clarke said. “Lo and behold, here’s this charter school and they’re doing good things.”

After growing up in Detroit, Steven Clarke had reservations about the schools. ere were a lot of disadvantages at the time, like used textbooks and fewer resources than suburban schools. “As a parent, you want to give your kids better opportunities than (you) had growing up,” he said.

“ e charter schools have completely blown me away.”

e city, as a whole, has come a very long way

in cleaning up blight, attracting nice restaurants, the Avenue of Fashion, ice skating and shops downtown, he said.

“And there are lots of parks where we live — nice, clean, well-maintained parks we can take our kids to,” Marzina Clarke said.

Still, she is bothered by litter and trash. And they encourage their kids to play in the backyard, not the front, for safety reasons, her husband said.

“ e more people who come back to the city, the neighborhoods will look better because people are investing in their homes, xing them up, taking pride in their homes,” Steven Clarke said. “Now people are going to take pride in their neighborhood.

“If you’re skeptical about Detroit and you give it a try and start to live here, it’s just going to be a trickle e ect. You attend these schools, you x up your home. e more people who do that, that’s what turns the city around.”

early March, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced plans to invest $10 million over the next two years in e orts to reduce neighborhood crime. e program will give neighborhood groups up to $700,000 a

year to create and fund programs to reduce violence. If the programs are successful, they could be extended.

It builds on earlier e orts like Detroit Cease re, a collaboration between local neighborhoods and local

police to prevent gang violence.

Families want walkable neighborhoods, diverse housing options, quality schools, good grocery stores and safe parks and other community gathering spaces. ey want they

want to be able to let their kids walk, run and play without any problems, said Goss, who lives in the Villages on Detroit’s east side.

at’s a big lift, given that many of the suburban amenities they want

‘I wanted my dollars to go back into the city where I grew up’

Marzina Clarke, left; Sydney Clarke, 10; Lauren Clarke, 13, and Steven Clarke moved into their own Detroit home last fall. NIC ANTAYA FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

VOICES OF DETROITERS

Steve Henry, a single father of four, plans to leave the city with his two youngest later this year to pursue job opportunities he can’t nd in Detroit. He left his native city just long enough to earn a bachelor’s degree in family and youth studies at Central Michigan University. After coming back home, he went on to earn his master’s in social justice at Marygrove College.

Henry, 40, currently works as a contracted community ambassador manager to United Way for Southeastern Michigan for the digital connectivity e ort Connect 313. On the side, he’s helping people who now have digital access connect to their doctors’ o ces so they can manage their health.

are missing in Detroit’s neighborhoods, she said.

“People don’t want to be locked into neighborhoods that aren’t improving, where everyone is poor and the neighborhood looks really bad,” she said.

“ e neighborhoods that don’t look like that ... you can’t a ord them unless you’re really well, well above what we think of as the middle class.”

e higher cost of city taxes also means a $60,000 annual salary doesn’t go as far toward purchasing a higher quality of life in Detroit versus Eastpointe or South eld, Goss said.

e city administration and others such as the Kresge Foundation and Live6 Alliance, in northwest Detroit, and Rocket Community Fund and the Gilbert Family Foundation more broadly are working to, among other things, improve neighborhoods.

Early education plays important role

Good schools are also part of the picture.

With the Black middle class in mind, Detroit Public Schools Community District has been making investments for the past ve years in its specialty, application schools (focused on areas like foreign languages, aviation, science and medicine, and ne and performing arts) and examination schools, which require prospective students to take an exam to be considered for admission and provide rigorous collegeand career-prep education, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in an emailed statement.

It has earmarked funding to rebuild Cody and Pershing high schools, opened two Montessori programs, he said, and restored Martin Luther King Jr. High as an examination high school, where students must take an exam to be considered for admission and then receive rigorous college and career preparation, among other programs.

e district’s partnership in the cradle-to-career educational programs on the former Marygrove College campus is also attracting Black middle-class families back to traditional public education, as is the Detroit School of the Arts, Vitti said.

“Lastly, we believe that our expansion of Pre-K with certi ed

As a single father, he’s had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet in Detroit.

“I love Detroit; there’s a lot of great things here ... but now I’m at the point where I can use my skills and abilities to get paid more elsewhere,” he said.

Henry is exploring jobs in the health equity space in Dallas, Orlando and Atlanta. Detroit has similar opportunities, he said. But there’s an opportunity to earn more in other states.

Detroit has come a long way in the digital equity space in the last few years, Henry said. Other states don’t have what we have, he said: “I have the tools and ability to bring them up to what they need.”

teachers will also attract middle-class families to DPSCD where families can avoid tuition at private schools and still receive a high-quality early learning experience.

“We know that the expansion of all of these programs has led DPSCD’s Detroit market share of school-aged children to increase versus the decline of city charter schools since the pandemic.”

Putting it all together

It’s been a real community e ort to address the issues Detroit Future City has raised, said Laura Grannemann, executive director of the Rock Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation. Community development organizations, nonpro ts, the Kresge Foundation, JPMorgan Chase and many others have been working, in consultation with Detroit Future City, to address the issues that have been raised as critical to growing the city’s Black middle class.

“It certainly has to be the work of the community. It can’t just be one organization,” she said.

For their part, in March 2021, the Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation announced a 10-year, $500 million philanthropic investment to build economic opportunity in Detroit neighborhoods, with a focus on stabilizing the housing of low-income Detroit families at risk of displacement, then following up with targeted investments focused on public life and economic mobility.

e two funders are doing that by providing funding to prevent tenant evictions and tax foreclosures and providing wealth-building opportunities through homeownership and assistance for home repair investments to ensure people want to stay in their homes, she said.

in the city, Grannemann said.

“And then, of course, one thing that unfortunately too often gets overlooked is creating those strong social bonds and connections to the neighborhoods through things like public space opportunities and connection to arts and culture,” she said.

e $500,000 riving Neighborhoods Fund is providing support for about 20 grassroots organizations across the city that are activating public spaces and bringing programming to their neighborhoods. In some cases, it is an investment in something like markets in public spaces around the city.

“We’ve also invested in parks around the city,” like Curtis Jones Park, in collaboration with Northwest Goldberg Cares, Grannemann said.

“ ere is a fantastic and thriving neighborhood, but they just did not have a space where they could go to be super active to have kids ... play basketball and go ice skating and interact with local entrepreneurs.”

Now, they do.

e city of Detroit has a long history of Black homeownership and of diverse communities that are led by Black leaders, Grannemann said.

“Unfortunately, we started to see that slip away just a little bit with the announcement a couple of years ago, where it was going from a majority homeowner (city) to a majority renter city.”

Partnerships put focus on improving neighborhoods

Detroit’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, launched in 2016 by the city and Invest Detroit with support from corporate donors, has been focused on stabilizing 11 neighborhoods in the city, improving the quality of life and increasing economic opportunity in them to attract new residents and increase resident satisfaction.

ough the Strategic Neighborhood Fund e orts started seven years ago, it’s still early in terms of impact, given that many of the projects are just now under construction, Invest Detroit’s COO Carrie Lewand-Monroe said. Invest Detroit is deploying the Strategic Neighborhood Fund investments.

Still, she said, the neighborhoods are already showing encouraging growth based on census data. Population has increased in six out of 11 neighborhoods and residential vacancies have dropped in nine; incomes have gone up in all but one and poverty rates have gone down in all 11.

“It’s not just about equity; it’s about creating wealth for Detroiters, as well,” Lewand-Monroe said. “ e people who are being paid to do this work are Detroiters. In turn, we’re hoping that is going to support that Black middle class.”

perceptions of safety than people living in other neighborhoods. ose same three neighborhoods have seen more people moving in, more businesses opening, property values increasing and neighborhood attractiveness rising than other neighborhoods in the city, the UM report said. And, it noted residents in the three neighborhoods were no more likely than other Detroit residents to express fears over being displaced due to rising housing costs.

Additional public-private investment is also focused on creating affordable housing in the 11 neighborhoods and other parts of the city through the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund (formerly A ordable Housing Leverage Fund), a partnership between Detroit LISC, the city of Detroit Housing & Revitalization Department and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. e fund is deploying $250 million into the preservation of 10,000 units of existing a ordable housing and the development of 2,000 units of new a ordable housing.

It is nancing a ordable multi-family rental housing for the most part but also considering forsale and single-family projects.

Goss, president and CEO of Detroit Future City

ey are also creating entrepreneurship opportunities for Detroiters and are focused on workforce development through e orts like the Motor City Contractor Fund, which is supporting local BIPOC contractors to expand their businesses at a time when there is an unprecedented level of contractor opportunities

“ rough the e orts of a lot of people, ourselves included, we’ve been able to see that trend turn back, but it’s so important for Detroit — really, the beacon of the Black middle class and, honestly, the founder of the Black middle class in many ways — we need to ensure that we keep that level of focus on inclusion and equity and opportunity to, again, not just live here, but really thrive here.”

Contact: swelch@crain.com;  (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

As part of its Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, the University of Michigan in 2019 did a baseline survey of residents of the rst three communities that saw investment to gauge their perceptions of neighborhood conditions, economic opportunity, local priorities and overall quality of life. Residents of Southwest/Vernor, Livernois/McNichols and Islandview/Villages neighborhoods were signi cantly more likely to report greater overall neighborhood satisfaction and improvements to neighborhood quality of life than other Detroiters, according to the UM report.

ey were also more likely to be satis ed with housing conditions and the availability of neighborhood parks and stores, and had stronger

Together, the two initiatives, which raised funds jointly, account for $422 million in private and public support and are expected to leverage more than $1 billion in investment in Detroit neighborhoods, according to Invest Detroit.

e initiatives are being deployed at the same time to guard against gentri cation, Lewand-Monroe said.

“We are creating a ordable housing through SNF but also market-rate housing,” she said. “At the same time, we’re preserving existing, affordable housing so that no one is displaced.

“ e approach of investing in neighborhoods while speci cally deploying dollars to prevent displacement is somewhat unprecedented in this work and something other cities want to learn from.”

Contact: swelch@crain.com

(313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

‘I can use my skills and abilities to get paid more elsewhere’

“IN OTHER CITIES, ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS A DIRECT PATHWAY TO WEALTH. (BUT) NOT HERE IN DETROIT. ... I’M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT STARTUP CAPITAL; I’M TALKING ABOUT INVESTMENT IN EXISTING BUSINESSES.”

—Anika

SHERRI WELCH

The Strategic Neighborhood Fund is investing in such areas as a ordable housing and green spaces, e orts that a University of Michigan survey in 2019 identi ed as key to attracting and retaining residents. | LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

EXPANDING THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS

COMMENTARY

Talent, workforce drive companies’ attraction to region

As our team travels to domestic and international markets meeting with company executives to showcase why they should expand in our 11-county region, the rst word they hear is talent. It’s the dealmaker — or dealbreaker — in many cases.

e Detroit Regional Partnership’s role in creating a more robust economy with an expanded, inclusive middle class is to help bring companies here to invest and create as many quality jobs as possible for all skill levels. To do this well, it’s absolutely critical to also provide robust talent solutions that help employers meet their talent needs.

As the conversation with prospective companies evolves into deeper discussions and site visits, our rst job is to tout the business climate and talent strengths of the region to help close the deal. at’s the “sell” and it’s critical to landing projects.

e second part of the job is helping companies navigate the market once they are here. at’s where the Detroit Regional Partnership’s talent concierge strategy kicks in and focuses on driving inclusive economic growth. By gaining an understanding of the company’s talent needs and strategies, we can serve as a designated agent and their single point of contact to guide them through the vast network of workforce development agencies that serve this region.

In working with prospective companies navigating talent, we’ve learned several things:

 There’s no substitute for authentic diversity in business attraction.

Where some regions scramble to

COMMENTARY

showcase themselves as “diverse,” the Detroit region doesn’t have to fake it. We have diverse and culturally rich communities that provide a highly talented workforce that authentically looks like the world.

 Diversity is a selling point we need to market more.

Companies recognize the inherent advantages of diversity: increased innovation, a better understanding of markets, and improved talent retention. Our region o ers a broad range of skill sets that apply across industries and diverse lifestyles for talent to enjoy — urban, suburban, and rural, all in relatively close proximity. We need to market every aspect of our diversity more aggressively — it’s a di erentiator for the Detroit region.

 Community colleges are a “secret” weapon we need to invest in.

Our nine regional community colleges are educating approximately 86,000 students annually while working to develop curriculum and training programs to meet rapidly changing employer needs. is network of schools does not exist everywhere, and site selectors tell us we should do more to highlight it.

Our state also needs to continue to invest in community colleges to maintain our edge. e secret’s out and other regions that lack our community college ecosystem are working to replicate it.

 Talent concierge services must follow the sales pitch.

No company looking to locate in our region has the time to completely engage the breadth of talent here on their own. We have 11 counties, 340+

municipalities, and a talented workforce of 2.6 million people — but trying to navigate the ecosystem is time-consuming.

To truly bene t from our diversity, we must provide a curated path through our workforce development landscape for businesses new to the region to build an inclusive workforce — and the more success we have, the more opportunity we can create for our residents of all backgrounds.

 Our regional role is to bring jobs

Homeownership key to building wealth

Much of Michigan’s growth and metro Detroit’s revitalization over the past decade can be attributed to the investments of Michiganders who are committed to growing our shared economy.

At Bank of America, we invest in businesses and in people. But it’s not an either-or proposition — growing our businesses or supporting our communities — it’s both. It’s about the “power of and.”

Both in Michigan and across the U.S., our focus is on responsible growth. We understand that our business can only be as successful as the people and communities we serve. is fundamental relationship with our clients is why responsible, sustainable growth and economic mobility initiatives — including efforts to improve health and wellness, small business growth and increasing homeownership — are critical to our long-term success.

Further, we invest in metro Detroit and communities across the state because helping solve big challenges in

the state and meeting the expectations of our shareholders is how we demonstrate the “power of and.”

One of the key pillars of responsible growth is to grow with a customer focus, which is especially important in Detroit, and other communities where economic mobility is uneven. Without good health, people can’t work. Without quality jobs, economies become stagnant. Without small business success, communities falter, and without affordable housing, economic disparities continue to grow.

One way Bank of America invests in Michigan is by supporting homeownership, which can help local individuals and families to build generational wealth.

Since 2019, for example, our $15 billion Community Homeownership Commitment has helped make home ownership more a ordable and sustainable through low-rate mortgages and nonrepayable grants to help with down payment and closing costs. To date, our program has provided more

than $10 billion in lending and $390 million in grants nationwide, helping nearly 40,000 people to become homeowners. In the city of Detroit, more than 80 families have received nearly $8 million in a ordable mortgages and over $600,000 in nonrepayable grants, while in Wayne County, nearly 225 individuals and families have received over $25 million in a ordable mortgages and $1.5 million in grants.

Complementing that e ort, the bank launched the Community Affordable Loan Solution in ve U.S. cities, including Detroit, in August 2022. e program helps quali ed rst-time homebuyers in communities that have historically faced challenges in accessing traditional credit. e product features exible credit guidelines like on-time rent and utility payments and includes $10,000 in down payment assistance in Wayne County as well as lender paid nonrecurring closing costs. In fact, the bank’s rst homebuyer through this program was in metro Detroit.

In a separate e ort, we continue to collaborate with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation in supporting

for all skill levels.

Success at the Detroit Regional Partnership requires us to understand our role as a business development organization in our regional ecosystem. ere are many great organizations working on all sides of economic and community development.

e Detroit Regional Partnership’s job is to market the assets of the region to attract as many quality jobs as possible for all skill levels. If those jobs are created here, then we dedi-

cate sta to help new companies access untapped and historically excluded talent through our network of partners. Our goal is to create opportunities and career pathways today, but also bring innovators here that will create the jobs of tomorrow. By increasing our focus on curated talent concierge services and increased marketing e orts built around our rich diversity — we can help create a more prosperous region with increased opportunities for all, now and in the future.

small businesses. And we in 2022, awarded more than $3.6 million in community “giving” grants to 64 Metro Detroit area nonpro ts through the Bank of America Charitable Foundation Detroit Market.

As we look forward in 2023, we see ample opportunity to have an even greater impact. In May, I’ll chair the 2023 Mackinac Policy Conference, welcoming Michigan’s key leaders and key national gures to discuss critical issues facing our state.

e “Power of &” is the theme for this year’s conference, and we look forward to having important and

sometimes di cult discussions about continued investment in business and communities while navigating through uncertainty in the economy.

As we prepare to come together at Mackinac to nd creative solutions, Bank of America is prepared to continue these conversations beyond the island. We invite the business community to join us in measuring our progress as we address our priorities in Michigan such as employment, affordable housing and equity, ensuring they bene t Michigan’s businesses and communities equally.

Sarah Gregory is director of talent solutions at the Detroit Regional Partnership.

Matthew B. Elliott is president of Bank of America Michigan.

GETTY IMAGES

Entrepreneurs ready to grow need ‘second stage’ help

With concerted e ort in recent years, the region has built an ecosystem of early-stage support for Black entrepreneurs.

But there are hurdles.

“ ere is money out there. It is getting Black entrepreneurs access to that money that has been the challenge,” said Wafa Dinaro, executive director of the New Economy Initiative, a foundation-led economic development initiative that’s honed in on small business growth for much of its 16-year history.

ere’s also a gap in next-level support for Black and other under-served entrepreneurs looking to scale up the small businesses they have started.

“We lled the early-stage needs and now it’s looking at how do we support those businesses that are ready to grow and expand,” she said. “... ere’s a lack of providers that have this expertise.”

Black entrepreneurs in the region have been historically excluded from traditional nancial institutions and organizations, Ken Harris, president and CEO of the National Business League, said in an emailed statement.

“All funding programs and initiatives that work directly with Black-led business organizations are nding that there is not enough money in the marketplace to help the more than 62,000 Black-owned businesses (2019 Census) throughout the region,” he said.

“Because non-Black-led nancial institutions, systems and structures have failed for decades to connect with Black-owned businesses, Black entrepreneurs have just given up entirely.”

Black-owned businesses in the region need all the resources and technical assistance support they can get, he said.

“Intentional development of Black business is the biggest need currently, where most non-Black-led business organizations and philanthropic initiatives have failed to accomplish or produce results for an overwhelming need in the Black community.”

Historically, there has been lack of capital, Dinaro said. But more money is coming to community development institutions and other nonpro t lenders in recent years. And more support is on the way.

In August, the state announced $72 million in initial funding through the U.S. Department of Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative. e funding is part of $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act money. It is supporting loans and equity investments for early-stage, technology-based businesses in Michigan as part of the Small Business Venture Capital Program, the state said. As part of that, support is going for loans of $250,000 or less for small businesses, with a focus on businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals or businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

“Right now the ecosystem does a really good job of providing the resources for early-stage, startups and existing businesses that are small and need that one-on-one support,” Dinaro said.

“We see the gap as making sure these businesses know this funding is coming, connecting them and making

sure they have all of their ducks in a row ... to be able to access these funds.”

NEI is in the middle of an evaluation to assess what is and isn’t working to get more people ready for nancial help and applying for it, she said.

It has created community events and websites and hired “trusted connectors” to help entrepreneurs in neighborhoods get resources that include education, training, mentorship programs and funding.

“A lot of business owners are so busy trying to run day-to-day operations, they may just not be interested in taking an hour to talk to a coach or may think the way they are running things is just ne,” she said.

“It’s getting them to trust the trusted connector and connecting to the resources that are available. ... It’s been very di cult to get the resources that are available into the hands of those who need it.”

Mistrust is a big part of the reason they are not accessing available support, said Dwan Dandridge, founder and CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, a nonpro t providing zero-interest loans to Black entrepreneurs in Detroit with donations and funding from NEI and other foundations.

“ ere is still a huge trust issue as it relates to Black entrepreneurs and funding sources. Often times, some of the Black entrepreneurs will not even apply for funding, even if they know it’s available, because of the horror stories,” he said.

“When we talk about there being systemic issues and barriers that have historically prevented Black entrepreneurs from gaining access to resources, it’s real, lived experience. When they hear about funding, many of them are still reluctant to apply.”

When they don’t get funding, they walk away wondering if it was because they weren’t quali ed or “because the deck is still stacked ... because I’m Black,” Dandridge said.

If the funding is targeted toward Black entrepreneurs, it should just say so, he said, as opposed to saying it’s for BIPOC or minority entrepreneurs.

“Everyone else might hear Black when you say that, but for Black entrepreneurs, we’re coming to right the

wrongs of the past,” he said.

“We don’t trust that funding is really set up for us. If you want to build trust and get more of us to apply and to use the other support that’s out there ... we have to be able to say this funding is set up for Black entrepreneurs in Detroit. at will help create the trust that’s missing in this space.”

Black Leaders Detroit is seeing a rush of applicants, he said. Just under 500 Black entrepreneurs applied for loans of up to $20,000 last year. Of those, 42 received one.

“ ere were de nitely some businesses that were not ready for funding just yet,” Dandridge said.

Entrepreneurs who’ve gone through technical assistance training and applied have noted that what is set up to help may end up hurting them when they are considered high risk and o ered loans at higher interest rates than traditional loans, he said. “If we’re charging those who are most vulnerable higher interest, but communicating it in a way that we’re doing a favor for them…the system just has aws that need to be repaired.”

As businesses grow, a new need has been identi ed.

“Now it’s time to look a little long term and look at how do we help these businesses grow and scale and continue to thrive,” Dinaro said.

Once a business has gured out how to run the day-to-day business and expand, “We don’t have the resource providers to be able to connect them with the Targets or the Meijers to be able to get their products into a mass distribution,” Dinaro said.

“ ere’s a lack of providers that have this expertise.”

Skinphorea Facial Bar & Acne Clinic is at that point, founder and CEO Jessie Hayes-Stallings said.

She started the company in 2014 with an online blog and medical treatment facials at her home. Two years later, she opened a location in Royal Oak and, in 2021, a agship site in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood with an investment of $800,000.

e company, which has a sta of 25 and plans additional hires, also became a franchiser in 2021 and is

ond-stage support for local entrepreneurs could also require recruiting organizations from other states, Dinaro said.

“Five years ago, we needed to focus on startups because there were not been-ups,” said Carolyn Cassin, president and CEO of Michigan Women Forward.

You could have counted African American-women-owned companies that needed advice to grow on one hand ve years ago, she said. At least half of the 355 companies Michigan Women Forward has invested in are now looking to grow.

“Right now we’re doing the rudimentary, rst-stage support,” making sure they’re producing nancials, have solid cash ow and a business plan for the next two to three years.

For second-stage, “we try, but we don’t have a comprehensive program put together.”

ere’s a gap in capital available to those companies, Cassin said. “We’re trying to get them ready for bank funding because that’s where the exible, long-term capital comes from… 15-year loans that are larger.”

talking with potential franchisees in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, she said. And it’s opening another company-owned location in Dallas.

Last year, Skinphorea’s revenue hit $1.5 million.

As a startup, Hayes-Stallings said she went through the Ernst & Young, Michigan Women and Goldman Sachs programs. She subsequently got nancial support to help expand to Corktown and to become a franchiser from Rocket Mortgage Detroit Demo Day, the city’s Motor City Match program and nonpro t Invest Detroit, she said, and additional mentoring from Goldman Sachs.

“I received a lot of assistance with startup, but I feel so alone as a business owner trying to scale in Michigan ... there’s no one who can help me to take it to the next level.”

Financial assistance for scaling the company and o setting revenue shortfalls at the Detroit site tied to product shortages would de nitely help, Hayes-Stallings, 40, said. But the main thing she needs at this point is guidance in best practices for operating at a larger scale in areas like staing and human resources, supplies, and shortages and logistics.

“I am working on creating an advisory board for Skinphorea ... to help me with that. But it would be great if there was some type of assistance or training from someone that is experienced with this type of growth that could help and guide Skinphorea so we aren’t making mistakes (we) shouldn’t make.”

NEI is planning now to push second-stage funding / support for under-served, Black entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs of color, Dinaro said. It’s looking to bring more second-stage support online in 2024.

e new state funding coming this year could help fund some advanced planning, she said. NEI is talking with two small business support organizations, Michigan Women Forward and TechTown Detroit, about expanding second-stage services.

Building a strong ecosystem of sec-

e second thing is getting them the skill set and the infrastructure to grow, including things like marketing, robust technology, human resources and nancial expertise.

“ e secret to building second-stage companies is to be on the ground and to make sure you know what they need and what they are weak in. No one calls you up and says, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here.’”

TechTown is providing a level of strategy and technical assistance and coaching for entrepreneurs ready to scale their companies as part of a suite of services it provides to small and tech-based businesses, said Dawn Batts, director of growth capital.

It’s also providing limited funding for small businesses seeking to grow with support from the Gilbert Family Foundation, she said.

Still, “We do see a need for more support… nancial support as well as some mentoring… we really need some more connection to corporate partners and things like that, as well,” she said.

TechTown is preparing to pilot a new, 12-week program to help established, revenue-generating service companies grow. “Scale Studio” will identify ways those companies can use technology to generate additional reliable, recurring revenue and create more jobs in Detroit, Batts said.

“Positioning these companies for growth will not only include integration of technology but also may require additional coaching and infusion of capital,” she said.

Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

Skinphorea Facial Bar & Acne Clinic estheticians provide skin care treatments. | SKINPHOREA FACIAL BAR & ACNE CLINIC

“WE FILLED THE EARLY-STAGE NEEDS AND NOW IT’S LOOKING AT HOW DO WE SUPPORT THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE READY TO GROW AND EXPAND. ... THERE’S A LACK OF PROVIDERS THAT HAVE THIS EXPERTISE.”

—Wafa Dinaro, executive directior, New Economy Initiative

Attorney Geo rey Fieger recovering from stroke, rm says

One-time candidate for governor had an elective heart procedure, undergoing

BY KURT NAGL

Attorney and one-time candidate for Michigan governor Geo rey Fieger su ered a stroke earlier this month, his law rm and family said in statements Wednesday.

A statement from Fieger’s wife, Kee-

nie, distributed to the media said that on March 1 Fieger “had an elective and standard procedure to deal with a minor heart arrhythmia. Following the procedure, it was determined that Geo rey had su ered a stroke.”

Fieger, 72, is “awake, resting comfortably, and actively engaging in re-

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainsdetroit.com/people-on-the-move

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Hilco Performance Solutions

Hilco Performance Solutions (HPS), a management advisory rm, has named Frederic Vanlinthout Automotive Industry Practice Leader. An operating company of Hilco Global, HPS helps clients simplify and streamline business processes and improve operational ef ciencies. Mr. Vanlinthout has over 20 years of experience in corporate nance, strategy, and business development in the automotive, nancial services, and oil, gas and chemicals industries, including 18 years at Ford Motor Company.

HEALTHCARE / PROVIDER PsyGenics Inc.

Marleen Miazga is the Director of Quality and Compliance at PsyGenics, Inc. She is responsible for ensuring members receive quality care consistent with their behavioral health needs. Marleen leads all accreditation activities, champions the safety committee and ensures clinic compliance with all applicable local, state and federal laws. Marleen has over 18 years of experience in Behavioral Health with 10 years’ experience in Quality, Compliance and Accreditation.

habilitation,” Fieger Law Vice President and Managing Partner James Harrington said in the statement.

A spokesperson declined to give further details on Fieger’s condition.

“For those of us who know Geoffrey, he’d love to be back to work yesterday,” Keenie Fieger said. “Geo rey

Advertising Section

rehabilitation

MSU Health Care

Michael S. Weiner, DO, MSM, MSIST, joined MSU Health Care as its Chief Medical Of cer. He led the transformation for the electronic health records platform of the U.S. Department of Defense Veteran Affairs; created the rst NATO Joint Trauma Registry and was responsible for the health and wellness of hundreds of employees for global companies.

Kathleen Fox also joined MSU Health Care as its Human Resources Director. Fox has over 25 years of progressive experience in human resource management. Fox will focus on prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); preparing for HR digitization; and closing skills gaps. Fox previously served as the vice president of Human Resources for Midwest Vision Partners.

Friedman Real Estate

Betsy Allen joined Friedman Real Estate as General Counsel and Managing Director of Legal Services. Allen will be responsible for the rm’s in-house legal team and provide advice and counsel to the company’s principals, department heads and internal stakeholders regarding the acquisition, disposition, nancing, and development of commercial real estate.

Brian Whisenhunt joined Friedman Real Estate as Managing Director of Commercial Property Management Services. Whisenhunt will oversee the management and administration of Friedman’s 18 million SF portfolio of of ce, industrial, and retail properties. Whisenhunt will have oversight responsibility for all property operations, including administration of all client and tenant relations.

has built a world class team at Fieger Law, and they are continuing the hard work, dedication and legal solutions Fieger clients expect and deserve while he’s away. All clients and potential clients should rest assured their cases are in good hands.”

raised pro le into a Democratic nomination for the governor’s o ce in 1998. He lost to Republican John Engler.

More recently, the attorney led a pair of $100 million lawsuits against

“GEOFFREY HAS BUILT A WORLD CLASS TEAM AT FIEGER LAW, AND THEY ARE CONTINUING THE HARD WORK, DEDICATION AND LEGAL SOLUTIONS FIEGER CLIENTS EXPECT AND DESERVE WHILE HE’S AWAY.”

For listing opportunities, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to CRAINSDETROIT.COM/PEOPLEMOVES

Fieger rst rose to prominence in the 1990s representing assisted-suicide crusader and Oakland County resident Dr. Jack Kevorkian in his criminal trials. South eld-based Fieger Law is one of the best-known plainti ’s law rms in the region, and Fieger parlayed his

—Keenie

Fieger, Geo rey Fieger’s wife

Oxford High School o cials following a fatal school shooting there in 2021. Fieger Law has a total of 64 employees — 18 attorneys and 46 sta .

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Attorney Geo rey Fieger rose to prominence after defending assisted-suicide crusader Jack Kevorkian in the 1990s. | CARLOS OSORIO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

MICHIGAN WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESSES CRAIN'S LIST |

Ranked by 2022 revenue

1 ILITCH COMPANIES 1 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit48201 313-471-6600; ilitchcompanies.com

2 DAKKOTA INTEGRATED SYSTEMSLLC 123 Brighton Lake Road Suite 202, Brighton48116 (517) 694-6500; dakkota.com

3 ARISTEO CONSTRUCTION 12811 Farmington Road, Livonia48150 734-427-9111; aristeo.com

6

OILCORP. 16055 W. 12 Mile Road, South eld48076 248-557-1600; vescooil.com

7

TRUCK SALESINC. 3550 Wyoming Ave., Dearborn48120

Aristeo Barton, president; Anne

and entertainment industries. Companies include Little Caesars Pizza, Olympia Entertainment, Detroit Red Wings, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Ilitch Holdings Inc., Champion Foods, Olympia Development and Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program

provider, including air, ocean and domestic transportation, customs brokerage services and export crating, foreign to foreign moves, PO management, project shipping 12

WORLDWIDE DETROIT 6800 S. Cypress, Romulus48174 734-641-2100; sekologistics.com/detroit

24 MCNAUGHTON & GUNNINC. 960 Woodland Drive, PO Box 10, Saline48176-0010 734-429-5411; bookprinters.com

25 PERFORMANCE DRIVEN WORKFORCE

22226 Garrison, Dearborn48124 313-203-3435; pdworkforce.com

ng

manufacturing for short to medium print runs for web, sheetfed and digital printing.

|Thislistofwoman-ownedbusinessesisanapproximatecompilationofthelargestsuchbusinessesheadquarteredinMichigan.Percentageofthecompanythatiswomanownedmaynot besolelyheldbytheleadingshareholder.Numberoffull-timeemployeesmayincludefull-timeequivalents.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.Crain'sestimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesandbenchmarks,news reportsandawiderangeofothersources.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.EHIMInc.whichwasNo.7onlastyear'slistdeclinedtoparticipate.NA=notavailable.NOTES: e. Crain'sestimate. 1. MarianIlitchis thechairpersonofthecompanyafterthedeathofhusband,MichaelIlitch,onFeb.10,2017.ExcludesrevenuefromDetroitTigers. 2. From Forbes.Netofstadiumrevenueusedfordebtpayments. 3. FormerlyDevonFacilityManagementLLC. 4. LR Management fee of revenue collected.

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data

VICTORIAN

While far from the only old home in Birmingham, the McNulty house increasingly looks like an outlier around the city’s downtown area, where new and modern construction structures increasingly make up the smaller lots.

Data provided by the city of Birmingham shows that since 2017, there have been 344 single-family house demolitions in the city and 424 new housing structures built.

Dan Gutfreund, a senior global real estate adviser with Signature Sotheby’s International Realty in Birmingham who is listing the McNulty home, said the increasing amount of new builds hitting the market does create some challenges.

“It’s hard to compete with new construction when a home is 100 (or more) years old,” Gutfreund told Crain’s. “Because it limits you to the demographic of people that have high appreciation for the design integrity of the home.”

e Victorian house on Pierce Street is “an exception” in an area like Birmingham where most of the homes being demolished to make way for new construction are ranch homes from the 1950s and 1960s, said James Danley, another Birmingham-area Realtor with Keller Williams Domain.

It’s largely simple economics that are driving those demolitions, according to Danley. In many cases the amount an owner will spend in upgrades to renovate a home will exceed what it can cost to simply build new.

“You can spend a lot of money doing a renovation and it will not be as good of a product as new construction,” Danley said.

Homeowner David McNulty, a vice president at South eld-based auto supplier Lear Corp., estimated the family has put around $500,000 into the Victorian-style house. But shooting for a return on that investment is not really how he views the situation.

“I think we took the approach that we didn’t buy the house as an investment,” he said. “We bought this as a place to bring up a family. But the changes that we’ve made … I think we didn’t do it to try to necessarily get it back. We did it so that we could be comfortable living here.”

Contact: nmanes@crain.com;

(313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

BEVERAGE

From Page 3

e beverages are distributed to grocery and convenience stores through Philadelphia-based Stockertown Beverage. Rieth is in talks with distributors in other states as he eyes national expansion.

Fül’s beverages are produced in Cincinnati by Impact Brews. Rieth plans to move production to Michigan, but not until 2024 at the earliest.

e CEO declined to disclose sales and revenue gures so far and said projections haven’t been nalized to include the Meijer placement.

Rieth has partners in the Fül venture but declined to disclose their names or how much he has invested in the company.

“I’m really excited about what that investment will look like — brick and mortar, additional head count — in a couple of years,” Rieth said. “ e expansion enables us to get after hiring more local people and I’m excited about that.”

Fül, which has ve employees, is

expanding into college towns by adding brand ambassadors to the company’s workforce as he goes after the 18- to 24-year-old demographic group.

The Fül line of beverages includes two non-alcoholic beers. Fül’s lineup also includes two pre-workout beverages and two post-workout drinks The beverages are distributed to grocery and convenience stores through Philadelphia-based Stockertown Beverage. | FÜL

Fül’s lineup includes six drinks: two pre-workout beverages, two post-workout drinks and two nonalcoholic beers. Rieth understands he’s entered into a crowded market, but is

con dent Fül o ers something different than energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster.

“It’s all about the alchemy, having a better lifestyle,” Rieth said. “I love the avor pro le. Each drink comes with zero sugar. We use monk fruit and a little stevia. (Fül) is truly all natural. e drinks even have a unique attribute called Wellmune that’s scienti cally proven to boost your immune system. Most consumers look at the ingredients on the cans now. I feel like that’s one of the things that set us apart, along with us bringing a craft segment to the energy drink world.”

e energy drink world is a large one.

e global energy drink market in 2021 was valued at more than $86 billion, according to Grand View Research. at market is expected to grow by more than 8.3 percent each year through 2030.

“It’s a very, very competitive space,” Rieth told Crain’s. “But we know we have something that sets us apart from the others.”

Rieth said he’s in talks on sponsor-

ships with some local professional sports teams that he declined to name, but said it’s a natural t with Fül o ering pre- and post-workout drinks.

e Meijer placement, while still in its infancy, is a big deal for Fül but it’s just one piece of the puzzle, Rieth said.

“We want to go international with the brand. at’s the goal,” he said. “We feel the name with the umlaut over the “U” travels. We’re having talks about potentially getting in the (United Kingdom), into India with the cricket teams. We’ll always be based in Detroit, but we want to bring Fül everywhere.

“We don’t want to grow too fast. e worst thing you can do as a company is grow too fast. We have a strategic plan in place to grow locally rst then branch out. We feel very strongly about the product we have, the recipes we’ve developed, marketing behind it. We’re excited about its potential.”

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

The master bedroom of the Victorian house for sale on Pierce Street in Birmingham. | NEV MUFTARI

The attic den of the Victorian home for sale in Birmingham | NEV MUFTARI

A new home under construction in Birmingham | NICK MANES/CRAIN’S DETROIT

BLAC

From Page 3

“Shortly after renovation, on July 31, 2022, the property was dedicated in memory of the late Ishmail Ali, on what would have been his 33rd birthday,” Sullivan said. “He continues to be a source of inspiration for the community work done, speci cally pertaining to adolescent Black males.”

e house, currently known as e Ali Legacy House, was built as a supportive living space for young Black male entrepreneurs and as a proofof-concept for the nonpro t’s plans of large-scale community reinvestment to “renovate homes and renovate lives” in Detroit’s historic Black neighborhoods. e residents get subsidized housing while being paired up with partner businesses for training and apprenticeships, Sullivan said.

“We connect our young adult participants with employer partners in the community, securing them competitive employment opportunities in the city of Detroit,” Sullivan told Crain’s Detroit Business. “We also provide individualized coaching to all participants during their time with the program.”

e 110-year-old house had extensive updates to bring it up to date, and all new amenities were added.

e house now has a cozy, modern appearance. e space’s garden and landscaping will also be completely rebuilt during the course of the summer. When it comes to occupancy the house permits three renters to share the residence.

Ti any Johnson, BLAC chief of sta and the director of programming, is in charge of making sure members receive the help they need to succeed in the program.

“BLAC has felt like an answered prayer,” Johnson said. “After constantly witnessing and experiencing the impact of anti-Black racism in America, I felt helpless and was searching for a space to create systemic change, build meaningful connections and do work that will live on beyond my lifetime. e BLAC Coalition has provided me with the opportunity to do that and more.”

e Ground Up Project e ort raised over $160,000 in grassroots funding to provide Detroiters a ordable housing options, Sullivan said. e house is currently open and recruiting tenants to be a part of the Ground Up Project’s spring cohort. Residents pay subsidized rent that covers their lodging and utilities. e

Ilitch Sports, Entertainment CEO to exit company

BY KURT NAGL

Ilitch Sports and Entertainment President and CEO Chris McGowan is leaving the organization after a little more than a year in the job.

McGowan’s departure from the sports and entertainment arm of Detroit-based Ilitch Holdings Inc. was announced Friday in tandem with the promotion of another executive.

Ryan Gustafson, who was hired as senior vice president of business operations strategy early last year, was elevated to executive vice president and COO of the organization and will assume McGowan’s responsibility of overseeing business operations.

“I’m con dent the leadership of Ryan Gustafson and our executive team will continue providing a world class sports and entertainment experience for our fans and guests,” Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, said in a news release. “I thank Chris McGowan for his hard work and leadership. He is leaving IS+E in a great position and set up for continued future success.”

e company did not provide a reason for the departure of McGowan, who started in January 2022.

e moves will be nalized after a transition period of several weeks,

the company said.

“I have made the di cult decision to step down as President/CEO of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment,” McGowan said in the release. “I wish the organization continued success in the future and I have full con dence that Ryan Gustafson will be an outstanding leader.”

Prior to coming to Detroit, Gustafson was a consultant at Elevate Sports Ventures and Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and he was also team president of the Seattle Dragons of the XFL, where he led all business operations.

“ is is an incredible opportunity to lead the talented colleagues throughout IS+E including a world class senior leadership group that will continue with the mission of amazing, inspiring and uniting our fans through the power of sports and entertainment,” Gustafson said.

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

upstairs loft with private en-suite bathroom rents for $850 per month.

e downstairs bedrooms with access to a shared bath rent for $550.

e age requirement for the program is 18 to 25 and tenants must be willing to work.

More to come

Sullivan has big plans and is looking at Detroit as the pilot for what he hopes will be a 10-city e ort of rehabbing homes, boosting businesses and providing housing and jobs to residents.

Sullivan says that his organization intends to buy more Detroit real estate this year.

“Our next projects are to purchase an additional residence in the neighborhood identi ed for women, and then to build a commercial real estate business incubator, containing two businesses that employ Detroiters, with youth and young adults working as apprentices,” he said.

at multi-million-dollar state-ofthe-art commercial space will be built on Linwood Avenue and be named the Black Legacy Advancement Center, centered at the heart of Detroit’s Fifth District neighborhoods.

e center will provide four apartments to resident apprentices who can work at the planned rst- oor barbershop and food/catering service. One adult sta member will live in the residential space of the facility, serving as residential adviser to the apprentices living on site. Rent will be subsidized and participants will be required to save 40 per-

cent of their monthly earnings for two years.

During that time, the participants will be trained in business management and planning, basic engineering, leadership development and life skill building.

Lots surrounding the center will later be turned into a garden and more apartment units, according to Sullivan’s plan.

Sullivan said the essence of the investment is to revive some of that Black entrepreneurial spirit once embodied by the old Linwood neighborhood.

“My grandparents and their siblings lived and operated businesses on Linwood Avenue from the ’50s to the ’70s,” he said. “We want to bring a part of that bustling business thoroughfare back to the neighborhood.”

Torey Barclay Lewis, a current Ground Up apprentice, says that it is important for youth to be part of programs like this.

“ e team is always very supportive and goes out of their way to lead us in the right direction,” Lewis said. “Living in the Legacy House has been an opportunity to develop my nancial literacy and build character. It is important that youth and young adults like myself have this type of exposure to help unlock the greatness that is in us.”

e ultimate plan for BLAC’s Ground Up Project is to expand to Jackson, Miss.; Birmingham, Ala.; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Durham, N.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Baltimore and Atlanta.

For more on the Ground Up Project, visittheblac.co.

The Ali Legacy House in the LaSalle Gardens neighborhood of Detroit is the rst real estate purchase of BLAC. The 110-year-old house has been completely renovated and now serves as a place where young Black men can live while apprenticing in jobs and learning to run their own businesses.

McGowan Gustafson

The Black Legacy Advancement Coalition has many focuses in the city of Detroit, including health. In this photo, young Black men and women cheer as the Black Legacy Advancement Coalition hosts the “Health is Wealth” holistic expo at Eastern Market in 2022. | BLAC

BALLY SPORTS

Local TV is a bigger piece of the pie for baseball teams and MLB than for some other sports.

Local media rights through the RSNs account for 23 percent of MLB revenue, according to Sportico research. at’s nearly double the 12 percent and 13 percent local media rights bring in for the NHL and NBA, and nearly 12 times as much as the 2 percent local TV rights generate for the NFL.

at local TV money is vital for the MLB, as national revenue from partnerships with Fox, TBS and ESPN account for 26 percent of the league’s revenue. e NFL (64 percent of its revenue in 2021) and NBA (40 percent of its revenue in the 2021-22 season) earn much more from national broadcast partnerships. e biggest piece of the MLB’s revenue pie, of which the league in 2022 brought in a record $10.9 billion, comes from ticket and suite sales. at number was 31 percent last year.

About 11 percent of MLB revenue comes from team sponsorships, while the remaining 10 percent comes from concessions and parking.

Something will happen soon. Diamond faces an April 30 deadline to pay rights fees to 13 of the 14 MLB teams with which it has deals under the Bally Sports umbrella. Not honoring those payments would be considered breach of contract, which would allow the teams to be released from contracts with Diamond.

Some payments that were due have already not been made and could provide a guide to what’s next.

Diamond Sports last month missed a $140 million debt payment

FORD

From Page 1

But the issue is at what cost? at’s $1.7 billion of bene ts they received, totaling $725,000 a job, which is way out of whack with what we paid” for other agreements, said House Minority Leader Matt Hall, a Republican from Kalamazoo County’s Richland Township and a critic of the deal.

Legislators and Whitmer recently enacted a law setting aside $630 million for the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance to prepare the megasite for Ford’s factory. An additional $120 million is expected to be sought in the future.

State o cials defend the Ford project subsidies, pointing to especially tough competition from other states as the federal government provides incentives for domestic battery production. ey say Michigan is playing catch-up to o er build-ready sites. ey also say the Marshall site will create spin-o jobs and is big enough to host other businesses, not just Ford.

Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Quentin Messer Jr. said $525 million of the $750 million in site-readiness spending “would need to be done for this site to be competitive for any project, whether it was going to Ford or company A, B, C, Y or Z. It’s important to note that other states and provinces have been doing this and deliver to companies, especially companies in the mobility space, semiconductor and clean energy, sites — lock, stock and barrel,

to bondholders. Diamond Sports also reportedly this month defaulted on a $31 million payment to the Arizona Diamondbacks and a payment to the San Diego Padres.

Diamond Sports upon missing the payments gets a 30-day grace period to make its partners whole. e grace period with the Diamondbacks expired March 16.

e Texas Rangers have said they would terminate their rights deal with Diamond Sports if Bally goes bankrupt. e Rangers annually receive $111 million in rights fees from Diamond. e team is slated to receive a quarterly sum this month.

It’s unclear when the Tigers are due to receive a rights payment or how much, but those payments usually come near the beginning of the season.

Diamond Sports CEO David Preschlack, who was hired in December, said in a news release following the March 14 Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection ling that it would be business as usual, with the regional sports networks broadcasting games as normal. Diamond Sports planned to seek court support to continue operating as usual during the bankruptcy proceedings, it said in the statement.

A March 17 Bloomberg report, though, found that Diamond Sports Group had not said whether it will televise games for the 14 MLB teams with which it has contracts, MLB attorney James Bromley told the judge overseeing Diamond’s bankruptcy case. rough its Bally Sports brand, Diamond is obligated to broadcast an average of 150 games for each of those teams, Bromley said during a court hearing held via video March 16.

Following the Diamond Sports bankruptcy ling, the MLB said in a statement that the league itself is prepared to produce and distribute games to fans in those 14 markets,

$242,000 per new job.

 $715 million for China-based Gotion Inc. to build a $2.4 billion factory near Big Rapids and create at least 2,350 jobs. e deal includes a $125 million Critical Industry Program grant to Gotion — one of the world’s biggest battery manufacturers — a Renaissance Zone break worth $540 million over 30 years and a $50 million SSRP grant to support the purchase of land and infrastructure improvements. at is around $304,000 per job.

 $222 million for Novi-based startup

Our Next Energy Inc. to open a $1.6 billion plant at an existing facility in Van Buren Township and create 2,112 jobs. e agreement includes a $200 million Critical Industry Program grant to ONE and a tax exemption valued at $21.7 million. at is about $105,000 per job.

most likely through streaming service MLB.TV, if Diamond or any other RSN is unable to broadcast the games as part of its agreement with the teams.

MLB has faced challenges growing the game, especially among younger viewers. Any loss of major video outlets could make those challenges more di cult. Baseball needs as many eyes on its product as it can get.

A 2022 survey found that 44 percent of “avid” MLB fans were at least 45 years old, versus 17 percent for people 18-34. Common complaints: Games are too long, as is the 162 games regular season. Unwritten rules take some of the fun and personality out of the game, some say.

Disruption from the bankruptcy, however, could also present an opportunity.

Disengaging from the Bally RSNs could provide MLB a springboard to the end of antiquated blackout rules that keep games from being streamed locally through the league’s own MLB.TV platform. e Tigers this season have no nationally televised games scheduled, and six between streaming services ESPN+ and Peacock.

Blackout restrictions are in place to protect local TV partners so fans will watch that broadcast (Bally Sports in this case) instead of streaming the game. Lifting blackout rules would make Tigers games scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+ and Peacock available in Detroit and the metro area. Lifting the blackout restrictions would also give fans access through MLB.TV. ose blackout rules are a consistent complaint among the biggest fans.

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

development o cials have said ve businesses will spend at least $187 million and add up to 145 jobs. at is $414,000 per job.

 $27 million to upgrade wastewater treatment infrastructure near Hemlock Semiconductor, a move o cials have said will help the company spend up to $375 million and add up to 170 jobs. at is $159,000 per job.

Sen. omas Albert, a Lowell Republican, said the $1.7 billion price tag for Ford’s expansion is too much. Many workers, he said, will make $20 an hour, or $41,600 a year.

water, wastewater, you name it — as part of the package.”

e aid to buy and prep land, expand roads and upgrade water infrastructure is substantial. It is 11 times what is being spent to upgrade the site of an EV battery plant in Lansing that is considered more pad-ready partly because it is adjacent to a General Motors Co. assembly factory.

Here is what the state has committed toward di erent business expansions since early 2022:

 $1.7 billion for the Ford project.

at includes a $210 million Critical Industry Program grant to Ford, a Renaissance Zone tax exemption worth $772 million over 15 years, $630 million for MDOT and the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance,

and $120 million for other site prep work.

 $824 million for Detroit-based GM to spend up to $4 billion converting its Orion assembly plant to build full-size EV pickups and for Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of GM and LG Energy Solution, to construct the $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion battery plant in Lansing. e agreement includes a $600 million Critical Industry Program grant to GM, a Renewable Energy Renaissance Zone exemption worth $158 million over 18 years and $66 million from the Strategic Site Readiness Program for electric, water and sewer upgrades. e projects will add between 3,200 and 4,000 jobs and retain 1,000 jobs. at comes to roughly $206,000 to

 $200 million for Billerud U.S. Production Holding LLC, a subsidiary of a Swedish company, to spend $1 billion and transform its Escanaba plant to make a more technologically advanced paper product known as paperboard or cartonboard, retaining at least 1,240 jobs in the Upper Peninsula. at is $161,000 per retained job.

 $135 million for Ford to add 3,260 jobs and spend $2 billion across 10 facilities. at deal includes a nearly $101 million Critical Industry Program grant and a $34 million State Essential Services Assessment exemption. at is $41,000 per job.

 $60 million for Muskegon County to help redirect wastewater, increase capacity and bolster growth in the local food and dairy industry. e agreement includes Strategic Site Readiness Program funds. Economic

“I for one would like to see the math showing how Michigan taxpayers would ever receive a positive return on investment with this scale of commitment,” he said. “Over the next 20 years, the investment is expected to return less in the state’s personal income and sales tax revenue than the state’s overall investment. is simply does not make good economic sense.”

But House Speaker Joe Tate, a Detroit Democrat, said such an analysis does not tell the “whole story.” Michigan must continue to secure auto investment amid the industry’s electri cation, he said

“You see the spin-o of other jobs. You see the co-location of the supply chain around the areas where there is this manufacturing,” Tate said. “When you look at the technology that’s going to be manufactured here, this is only the start of those opportunities. I think it’s going to be de nitely a value add not only for what’s being built there but also the supply chain that’s going to go along with it.”

Contact: david.eggert@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @DavidEggert00

House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit (left), and House Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township (second from right), in the House of Representatives in Lansing. They disagree over a $1.7 billion incentives package for Ford Motor Co.’s new electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall. | DALE G. YOUNG/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

What options do fans have if Bally’s Sports Detroit isn’t able to broadcast Tigers games at some point? |JAY DAVIS/ CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Detroit COO Brad Dick got bitten by the public service bug

Brad Dick, the city of Detroit’s chief operating o cer, has a lot of plans for his new role. There are alleys to be cleaned, trees to plant, trash to pick up, parks to complete, equipment to update and an airport plan in the works. He wants to relaunch the Improve Detroit app. And then there’s the Grand Prix this year on Detroit’s city streets, not to mention the NFL Draft in 2024 that he’s already prepping for.

Dick, who was previously the city’s group executive for services and infrastructure, rose in the ranks since he joined city government in 2006. Here, he talks about some of his most noticeable programs, what kept him from leaving city service and how his dairy farm background served him well.

BY | ARIELLE KASS

 You were recently promoted to chief operating o cer. What does it mean for you to have been tapped for the role?

I’ve always been a believer of public service … I was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years and I think the public service bug bit me — well, I had malaria, too, so more than one bug bit me. But the bug bit me then. And I went into private sector work for Ford Motor Co. and a couple other companies, too, and then I was eager to come back to public service. I guess just the chance to do things and to leave lasting impacts, it means a lot to me.

 And you were in Tanzania in the Peace Corps. What was that experience like?

So I grew up on a dairy farm in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, and after college … (I) went to the recruiter armed with my big degree in advertising and marketing thinking I can go save the world … Go in there and they said, “Well, you have no skills that we need.” “Oh.” And they were like, “Well, tell us about yourself.” I said, “Well, I grew up on a dairy farm.” They go, “You grew up on a dairy farm?” And the recruiter nearly jumped out of her chair and she goes, “That’s a scarce skill in the Peace Corps.” I just got o the farm, I don’t want to go back. They were able to take my experiences … with my business degree and I ended up teaching at a technical school in Tanzania and I taught dairy farm management.

 Talk to me more about the importance of the city’s da odil and mural programs and the Joe Louis Greenway.

We talked about ways we could make Detroit look better and what would be

RUMBLINGS

its signature … We’re going to start planting along the Joe Louis Greenway and ring the Joe Louis Greenway in da odils. So come spring over the years, we’ve got the yellow brick road wrapping around Detroit for a few weeks a year. … It’s funny because the mayor was talking, he goes, “I just can’t believe the dang old da odils, everybody just loves those things.” He goes, “People stop and talk to me about it all the time.” And I told him, we were laughing, I said, “People literally email us and call us come spring about how happy they are.”

 And what’s the e ect of the mural program been?

Last year, we unveiled the mural at Kercheval and Van Dyke. The crowd of people were just thrilled and happy and one guy was standing next to us, he was so funny, he says, “It’s so beautiful. I feel like I live in Grosse Pointe now.”

… I kind of laughed. … Everybody was there looking at that mural and just happy.

 You’re also a senior adviser to the city’s LGBT resource group. Why is that important to you?

I don’t think everybody was as fortunate as I was to be raised in a loving family.

… So I think it’s important that the

resource group is there for employees to come to and to speak with. … I had one older gentleman stop me in the hallway last week, he goes, “Oh, you’re the COO aren’t you?” I said, “yeah.” He goes, “And you’re also with the LGBT group?” He was kind of whispering. … And he said, “I think it’s great. I wish I was as brave as you were.” I think it’s important to be who you are and be out and be proud of who you are. … I just think it means being a good leader, just being supportive and being a leader, by setting a good example.

 What you do outside of work?

I’m kind of boring. My partner and I, we’re actually getting married this summer. I think it’s about time. I asked the mayor if he would marry us and he said, “Hell yeah.” … I’m looking more forward to the honeymoon. We’re going to go to Italy.

 You said previously that you thought about leaving the city in 2013 and decided to stay. What about government work has been rewarding for you?

It’s the ability to actually do something. In the private sector, you might negotiate a contract for something, you don’t see anything about that contract. Here, you get to design and build parks. And everywhere I go, I get to see the fruits of my labor. …. I think that’s the biggest thing, you actually get to see something you’ve done.

Tigers fans can listen to 22 games in Spanish this season

THE DETROIT TIGERS will broadcast nearly two dozen baseball games in Spanish on the radio this season. The MLB team, in partnership with broadcasting company Audacy, will air its first Spanish language broadcasts March 30-April 2 for the season-opening road series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Twenty-two games will air on 1270 AM, on the Audacy app and through the MLB app with an audio subscription. They will also be available as a second audio program or SAP option on Bally Sports Detroit telecasts. All 162 games will be broadcast in English on 97.1 FM.

The new broadcast option comes as Tiger star and future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera of Vene-

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zuela enters his final MLB season.

Tigers Bilingual Media Relations Coordinator Carlos Guillén, not to be confused with the infielder who played eight years with Detroit, will serve as the play-by-play commentator for each game. Former Tiger Barbaro Garbey, a member of the 1984 World Series-winning team, will provide color analysis during home games at Comerica Park. Journalist Mari Montes will join the booth for road games.

One of the key dates on the slate is Aug. 5 — the 18th annual ¡Fiesta Tigres! game. The home game, also against Tampa Bay, recognizes and celebrates the impact of Latin American players on baseball. Garbey, who played for the Tigers in 1984 and 1985, was honored during the 2022 game.

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Detroit Tigers Spanish language games will be called by Carlos Guillén (right), the team’s bilingual media relations coordinator. Journalist Mari Montes (left) will join the booth for road games.

Brad Dick is chief operating o cer of the city of Detroit

“I GUESS JUST THE CHANCE TO DO THINGS AND TO LEAVE LASTING IMPACTS, IT MEANS A LOT TO ME.”

—Brad Dick, COO, Detroit

MOVE YOUR BUS!

KEYS TO PRODUCTIVITY, MOTIVATION AND SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE!

Ron Clark Innovative Speaker, Educator and Best-Selling Author The Ron Clark Academy

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

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