Crain's Detroit Business, May 22, 2023, issue

Grand Prix revs up downtown return

Free access means race won’t be moneymaker

BY JAY DAVIS

For the rst time in 32 years, the roar of race cars will be heard throughout the streets of downtown Detroit.

But the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix sponsored by Lear won’t be much of a moneymaker as it departs from Belle Isle, where it has been held on and o since 1991. What it will be is accessible.

e race on the city’s island park attracted 25,000-30,000 people a day, while major portions of this year’s event will be available at no cost, event chair and Penske Corp. President Bud Denker told Crain’s. at should boost the attendance gures, including standing room space on ve temporary bridges being put up along the circuit. But it’s

Young workers look outside state

Stagnant population provokes big concerns

BY MARK SANCHEZ

A stagnant and aging population threatens Michigan’s long-term prosperity, particularly as younger, well-educated residents leave and cause the state to fall further behind in the decades ahead, according to a new report.

e Citizens Research Council of

Michigan and Ann Arbor-based Altarum on Tuesday issued a pair of research reports outlining the need to reverse the state’s steady ve-decade slide to return to the kind of prosperity that Michigan enjoyed for generations.

e reports warn that “Michigan

See POPULATION on Page 21

Sluggish growth

Michigan’s population is projected to grow slowly in the decades ahead and begin shrinking starting after 2046, according to projections.

INSIDE

Moving Grand Prix off Belle Isle ‘best thing,’ but hard to gauge economic impact for downtown.

Pages 22

Pontiac’s recreational marijuana push upended

Ballot e ort halts long-in-works rollout

BY DUSTIN WALSH

Recreational marijuana has been upended, again, in Pontiac. e city’s recreational marijuana industry was set to begin in July with the opening of its license application process. But a group backed by some of the city’s medical marijuana license holders, who

are likely to be shut out of the recreational licensing, has halted that process with a ballot referendum.

Sensible Cannabis Reform for Pontiac submitted two petitions earlier this month with the necessary signatures to put a measure on that ballot that voters could vote to repeal the city’s current recreational marijuana ordinance and repeal its related zoning ordinance.

See PONTIAC on Page 20

CORKTOWN GROWTH Condos take shape in Detroit neighborhood.

Crews construct one of the grandstands for the Detroit Grand Prix along Franklin Street downtown on April 19. LAURÉN ABDEL-RAZZAQ/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

See GRAND PRIX on Page 22 An IndyCar blasts by on the Belle Isle track at the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix. | DETROIT GRAND PRIX

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN RESEARCH SEMINAR IN QUANTITATIVE ECONOMICS

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

 BILL TO PROHIBIT ABORTION DISCRIMINATION SIGNED

THE NEWS: A law enacted Wednesday will ban Michigan employers from discriminating against women who have an abortion and, opponents contend, force them to cover the procedure if they o er health insurance.

 UM BOARD OKS PURCHASE OF RON WEISER PROPERTIES

THE NEWS: e University of Michigan board of regents has authorized the purchase of dozens of properties owned or controlled by one of its regents, along with a handful of nearby properties, for up to $75 million. e board late ursday gave the university the go-ahead to buy up to 49 sites with apartment buildings and houses that have been converted into apartments from regent Ron Weiser, founder of property management rm McKinley Inc., who has been assembling them for the university and is selling them at cost. He recused himself from the vote.

WHY IT MATTERS: UM plans in the coming years to construct a second phase of new university housing on the properties, which are in the area bounded by South Division Street, South Fifth Avenue, East Madison and Hill Street and adjacent to 6.54 acres of land the university acquired for $24 million from the now-shuttered Fingerle Lumber in 2018.

e measure’s backers say the intent is not to require coverage but to target discrimination such as ring or retaliating against employees.

WHY IT MATTERS: e law, if it is interpreted to mandate coverage, will not a ect self-insured employers that pay directly for medical care and are regulated by the federal government, not the state government. Self-funded insurance is typically used by larger employers. About two-thirds of covered workers nationally were in a self-funded plan in 2022, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 DTE FOUNDATION NAMES NEW LEADER

THE NEWS: Lynette Dowler, president of the DTE Energy Foundation and vice president of public a airs for DTE, is retiring after a 40-year career with the company. Dowler has led the foundation since 2018, overseeing several business units and functions including safety, nuclear supply chain management and the River Rouge and Trenton Channel power

plants. Rodney Cole, previously vice president of the foundation and director of community engagement for DTE Energy, will succeed Dowler as president of DTE Energy Foundation and DTE corporate citizenship.

WHY IT MATTERS: e DTE Energy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DTE, supports arts and culture, community transformation, economic progress, education and employment, and environment and human needs in communities where DTE does business. Last year, the foundation provided more than $15 million in grant support to over 300 nonpro ts.

 SAM ZELL, BILLIONAIRE UM DONOR, DIES AT 81

THE NEWS: Billionaire businessman and major University of Michigan donor Sam Zell died ursday at age 81, according to his company, Equity Group Investments. Zell died due to complications from a recent illness.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Longtime Detroit Institute of Arts chair to depart

 After a $158 museum expansion, two successful operating millage campaigns and the spin-o of the Detroit Institute of Arts from the city of Detroit, Chairman Eugene Gargaro Jr. is ready for a break.

Gargaro, who’s chaired the DIA for the past 20 years, will step down once his successor is named. e museum’s governance and nominating committee, chaired by director Bonnie Larson, will lead the search for the next chair, the DIA said.

During his tenure at the DIA, Gargaro led the institution through signi cant change,

BUTTON TEXT

WHY IT MATTERS: Sam Zell and his wife, Helen, have been strong supporters of their alma mater, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, over the years. Under their leadership, the Zell Family Foundation has provided nancial support to UM of more than $150 million, according to a university posting.

 FORMER CHUNG’S BUILDING SOLD TO DEVELOPER

BUTTON TEXT

THE NEWS: A Harper Woods-based developer has purchased the building that used to house the storied Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine restaurant in Midtown. American Community Developers closed on the sale Wednesday for an undisclosed price

starting with the renovation and expansion of the museum and reinstallation of its galleries with a new, visitor-centric (rather than art historian focus) before its reopening in 2007, something that captured the attention of museums around the world.

In the years following, Gargaro helped the DIA weather the Great Recession of 2008-09 and helped it secure approval for a 10-year operating millage in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties in 2012 and renewal of the millage in 2020, putting the museum among few nationally supported by a millage.

and intends to put one or more food and beverage operations into the former restaurant location.

WHY IT MATTERS: It is a remnant of Detroit’s Chinatown, originally located, near Michigan Avenue and ird, but the enclave was demolished to make way for the John C. Lodge Freeway/M-10.

Gargaro

Weiser

TAKING CHARGE

First binational ‘EV corridor’ stretches from Kalamazoo to Quebec

BY KURT NAGL

e rst binational electric vehicle corridor has been established between Kalamazoo and Quebec City, Quebec, with EV chargers located every 50 miles along the 872mile stretch, o cials said Tuesday. e initiative continues EV collaboration between the two countries and supports the U.S. objective of 50% of all new vehicle sales being electric by 2030 and Canada’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

U.S. Transportation Secretary

FOOD & DRINK

Pete Buttigieg joined Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for the announcement at Detroit Wayne County Port Authority on Detroit’s riverfront.

“It’s already in place. You cannot go more than 50 miles along this corridor without nding a charging station as of right now,” Alghabra told Crain’s after the media event.

“It took a while to get there. I can tell you that we’re not stopping here. We want to elongate this corridor into the United States further and

into Canada further.

e corridor will feature DC (direct current) fast chargers every 50 miles, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. e infrastructure is being federally funded by the U.S. and Canadian governments.

It is unclear how many DC chargers have already been installed or how much money has been invested. Crain’s inquired with USDOT and the governor’s o ce for more information.

See EV CORRIDOR on Page 20

National Coney Island takes a chance on new Hani sandwich-focused restaurant in Royal

Oak

BY JAY DAVIS

e popularity of a nearly 40-yearold menu item has led National Coney Island to try out a new restaurant concept.

Pop’s Hani Shop opened last month at 32538 Woodward Ave. in Royal Oak with the Hani sandwich — warm grilled pita bread with breaded chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and special mayonnaise — as the focus of the menu.

e Hani has quite a following. It was rst made in 1985 by a National Coney Island cook named Hani for sta members at the Mack Avenue location. Since its introduction, the Hani has become National Coney Island’s best-selling sandwich, according to Tom Giftos, president of National Coney Island and Pop’s Hani Shop.

Pop’s o ers ve versions of the Hani, including a black cherry BBQ, bacon avocado ranch and the parm — comprising mozzarella, fresh basil and creamy garlic parmesan sauce with marinara on the side.

e Pop’s Hani menu also includes gyros, salads, soups and burgers. Hot dogs, including the traditional Coney dog, are also available.

Pop’s Hani operates under the umbrella of Roseville-based National Coney Island, founded in 1965. National Coney Island has 20 locations in Southeast Michigan.

Giftos, son of National Coney Island founder James Giftos, told Crain’s that the idea for a Hani-focused restaurant has been in the works for some time.

Whitmer, Legislature hash out a budget

Here are the key areas where they

di er

BY DAVID EGGERT

LANSING — Legislators have responded to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal with blueprints of their own, setting the stage for negotiations on how to spend around $80 billion next scal year.

e process could be wrapped up in June. While majority Democrats are in control, they have di erent ideas. Republicans have leverage to shape the nal spending bills, too.

A look at where things stand and key issues to be resolved before the Democratic governor can sign her fth budget:

Revenue consensus

First things rst: Legislative scal agencies and the Whitmer administration met Friday to revise revenue estimates for the general and school aid funds, and the dollar gures are shrinking. Whitmer and the Senate proposed similar spending levels for 2023-24, $79.4 billion and $79.5 billion respectively. e House came in higher, at $80.2 billion. But projections Friday showed Michigan state government will take in $2.7 billion less over two years than was forecast months ago, primarily due to newly approved tax cuts. It is unclear how spending targets will change in response to the changing revenue picture.

Sticking points

Democrats are not on the same page on various issues, including:

Scholarships: Whitmer proposed a nearly 70% funding increase for Michigan Reconnect, which provides tuition-free community college classes for adults age 25 and older. at includes $28 million to expand eligibility to those age 21 and up and $10.2 million to cover cost increases. e Senate agreed. e House included no additional funding beyond the current $55 million.

Economic growth: Several Whitmer-proposed initiatives within the state Department of Labor and Economic Growth are in limbo.

 Business attraction incentives: Whitmer proposed $500 million more for the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund. e tool has been used to land electric vehicle battery plants and other manufacturing operations.

e amount is similar to what will automatically go to SOAR instead of the general fund under a law that was enacted in March. e Senate agreed. e House did not, causing confusion given the new law makes such a transfer automatic for three years.

Building up the electric vehicle charging network is key to boosting EV sales and long-range use. | EVGO

Whitmer

“IT’S ALREADY IN PLACE. YOU CANNOT GO MORE THAN 50 MILES ALONG THIS CORRIDOR WITHOUT FINDING A CHARGING STATION AS OF RIGHT NOW.”

—Omar Alghabra, Canadian Minister of Transport

Lawmaker wants ‘bird-friendly building standards’ in Detroit

As I have noted in this space before, birds colliding with buildings is a major problem. It’s been estimated that millions are killed each day — perhaps a billion a year.

Now one Detroit City Council member is hoping to address that with new rules that developers may squawk about.

Angela Whit eld Calloway has asked the Legislative Policy Division to come up with a new ordinance “requiring bird-friendly building standards for all new construction and major renovation projects.”

Whit eld Calloway’s request says “a thoughtful approach to design can mitigate bird deaths without signicant cost.” Among the suggestions: Patterned glass requirements.

Detroit would not be the rst city to adopt rules along these lines, according to the American Bird Conservancy, based in Virginia. Several cities in California have rules aimed at reducing bird collisions with buildings, as does New York City, the conservancy says. Chicago has passed such rules, as well.

Christine Sheppard, director of the Glass Collisions Program for the American Bird Conservancy, said San Francisco was the rst to enact such rules in 2011 and others started following suit, including some states and counties.

Whit eld Calloway said the process is in the early stages and she has not spoken with other city council members yet. She says it’s not just the patterned glass that could be helpful. Turning o building lights during peak migration times could help alleviate some of the problem too.

“Buildings do not have to be bird killers,” she said.

Members of Whit eld Calloway’s sta said this wouldn’t necessarily

apply to all windows; just ones determined to be in high-impact areas on high-rise buildings.

However, privately (and sometimes publicly), developers contend that Detroit’s rules and regulations are already onerous and drive up the cost of construction in a city where rents haven’t kept up with the cost to build, crimping pro t margins and threatening project viability.

Richard Hosey, a Detroit developer who has worked on projects in Capitol Park and is in the development process for a massive overhaul of the Fisher Body No. 21 plant, said he was open to hearing more details.

“ e idea of being friendly to the environment doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but it’s working through the logistics and nding out what the costs are,” he said, noting that particularly with historic rehabilitation projects, windows are “a huge deal”

of glass and architects have started building these solid glass curtain walls and these are absolutely deadly” to birds, Sheppard said.

Building lights disorient birds because they use the stars and moon for navigation during their migrations. In turn, the Detroit Audubon Society says, they end up circling buildings repeatedly, dying of exhaustion or a collision.

Patterned glass has patterns visible to birds built in, breaking up re ections so, as a University of Michigan bird expert told me two years ago, “the window doesn’t look just like the cloudy sky or vegetation around it.”

“It gives them a moment of pause and they will slow down or change direction,” Ben Winger, associate professor and assistant curator in the Museum of Zoology at UM in Ann Arbor, told me in March 2021.

Whit eld Calloway’s request says: “Bird-friendly design and building practices also go hand-in-hand with energy e ciency, as façades with more than 30% glass usually increase costs and CO2 emissions from heating and cooling. By requiring these designs, Detroit can become a leader in promoting environmentally friendly building practices, demonstrating the city’s commitment to the conservation of migratory birds and the natural world and honor its designation as the 29th Urban Bird Treaty City in the USA.”

for both state and federal o cials signing o .

“ ere may be logistics to work through to gure out what’s the best process,” he said. “I’m not against investigating it. If there is a solution that works, let’s investigate that solution.”

Sheppard said there are inexpensive ways to stave o bird-building collisions, including external insect screens.

“It’s only in the last 50 years that glass manufacturers have been able to manufacture these gigantic panes

It’s di cult to determine precisely how many birds are killed in collisions with Detroit buildings every year, but a researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology told me two years ago that a study he did ranks us 13th in the spring and 15th in the fall out of 125 cities “for exposing nocturnally migrating birds to light pollution, one of the primary factors involved in collisions at night and also in attracting birds to urban areas where they collide the following morning.”

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

An aerial view of downtown Detroit’s o ce buildings. | LARRY PEPLIN/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

“THE IDEA OF BEING FRIENDLY TO THE ENVIRONMENT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE A BAD IDEA, BUT IT’S WORKING THROUGH THE LOGISTICS

Gilbert eyes Apple to ll 3 vacant Woodward storefronts

BY KIRK PINHO

Bedrock is attempting to lure an Apple store to Woodward Avenue — and may be close to landing it.

Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based real estate company is trying to put the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant into the three recently vacated retail spaces immediately north of the Shinola Hotel, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Bedrock has for more than a decade oated the idea of an Apple store — a kind of shopping Holy Grail — in the central business district and has considered several locations over the years, including the ground oor of 1001 Woodward, Chase Tower (which Gilbert referenced publicly a dozen years ago this month in a TV interview) and in the long-stalled Monroe Blocks development.

Messages were sent to Bedrock and Apple — which has stores in Somerset Collection in Troy, Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor and e Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township — seeking comment.

If the store happens, it would sit in at least roughly 5,800 square feet that was previously occupied by Le Labo (1,000 square feet), Détroit is the New Black (2,300 square feet) and Madewell (2,500 square feet), all of which left the Shinola Hotel block starting in February 2022. e space is currently adorned with a window cling across the three storefronts saying “Stay tuned, Detroit ... it’ll be worth it!” It’s not known

BUDGET

From Page 3

It appears the House wanted to send a message against “corporate welfare, but the move is more bark than bite.

 Insulin factory: Whitmer proposed $150 million for state economic development o cials to partner on the development of low-cost insulin and to attract and establish a Michigan-based plant to make it. Neither the House nor Senate supported it.

 Regional grants: Whitmer proposed $200 million in Michigan Regional Empowerment Program competitive grants to “implement transformative regional economic development projects” — a ordable housing, broadband, manufacturing, education and workforce development. e House backed $100 million. e Senate did not fund it.

 College success: Whitmer proposed $25 million in grants for higher education institutions to adopt best practices to improve student retention and completion rates. e House did not fund it. e Senate authorized $10 million.

 Outdoor recreation businesses: Whitmer proposed $10 million support outdoor recreation businesses, including outdoor retailers, supply companies and service providers. e House and Senate did not include it.

 Talent: Whitmer proposed $20 million for employer-led collaboratives to target talent shortages. e House and Senate did not include it.

Transportation: Whitmer proposed $200 million to replace approximately 30 more state and local

whether additional space is part of the proposal.

A marketing brochure for Gilbert’s Ally Detroit Center o ce tower downtown by Farmington Hillsbased Friedman Real Estate features a map of downtown with tenants identi ed. In the space where Le Labo, Détroit is the New Black and Madewell were located, it says

“lease out” and “con dential.”

Benji Rosenzweig, a retail expert who is vice president in the Royal Oak o ce of brokerage house Colliers International Inc., said the term “lease out” generally means that major terms between a landlord and prospective tenant have been agreed to and that attorneys are hammering out a few small details. e term typically

means that both parties anticipate a lease to be signed imminently. Nothing has yet been inked, however.

An Apple store in Detroit — much like the long-rumored Target, which is expected at the corner of Woodward and Mack avenues — has been in the works for many years and would represent a serious retail win

jail projects or do other “transformational” projects.

e House stuck with legislator-chosen grants but, in a change, disclosed its proposed earmarks earlier in the process. Bene ciaries would include the Detroit Grand Prix; the Max M. and Marjory Fisher Music Center, home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; the North American International Auto Show; and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. e House also allocated $35 million in infrastructure grants, including $20 mil-

for the city.

ey draw foot tra c from miles away and generally boost sales at nearby businesses.

But there are headwinds.

Apple tends to put stores in high foot tra c areas and Detroit’s daytime population has been dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic as many o ce users continue to have a hybrid work policy where employees can work from home or the company o ce. In addition, the size of the space proposed to the tech giant is smaller than its typical locations.

Apple no longer discloses the average store size (as of 2012, it was 8,400 square feet) although it recently opened a 20,000-square-foot store in Mumbai and others have clocked in at 10,000 to 15,000 square feet.

e company’s rst retail store opened 22 years ago last week.

In addition to the closures of Madewell, Détroit is the New Black and Le Labo, downtown has seen the Under Armour Brand House shutter, as well as the John Varvatos Enterprises Inc. store close as a result of bankruptcy. at was replaced by golf clothing retailer Greyson Clothiers.

However, Gucci has since opened a store on Library Street and singer and business mogul Rihanna is opening a storefront for her Savage X Fenty lingerie brand just north of where Bedrock is proposing to put the Apple store.

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

lion for Monroe Street in Greektown.

Republicans

For the budget to take e ect on Oct. 1, it needs immediate e ect — procedural support from 20 Democrats and at least six Senate Republicans. So the GOP has clout to get its priorities in the nal legislation. ose include extra spending on infrastructure and debt payments.

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

bridges and $160 million in grants to support capital investments in rail, marine, intercity and local transit.

e House included $60 million for local bus operations and a $100 “placeholder” for the bridge program. e Senate supported $150 million for the bridge program and $100 million for rail, marine, intercity and local transit.

Belle Isle State Park: Whitmer proposed $43 million to upgrade facilities, remove hazardous materials, implement safety measures and do maintenance. e House included $21.5 million. e Senate supported $35 million, but it is uncertain how much would go to Belle Isle because a portion would designated for a new state park in Flint and splash pads in state parks along Lake Michigan.

Earmarks

When Republicans controlled the

Legislature last year, lawmakers included an unprecedented $1 billion in earmarks for speci c projects and programs that were made public late at night and approved within hours. e process has come under scrutiny for a lack of transparency and “pork” for developers and the politically connected.

Democrats are at odds over how to proceed.

In the Senate, they voted to create the Michigan Partnership Initiative.

e Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity would disburse $500 million in grants to applicants — cities, township and villages — that could partner with other government agencies, consortiums, authorities, community associations or nonpro ts. e Senate set aside an additional $100 million for infrastructure grants that the department would award to renovate municipal buildings and city halls, fund county

Dan Gilbert’s real estate company is attempting to ll three vacant Woodward Avenue storefronts with a new Apple retail store. KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, and House Appropriations Committee Chair Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township, converse during a March session. They will be involved in negotiating the next state budget. DALE G. YOUNG/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

EDITORIAL

Investing in people, places key for future

We’re coming into that time of year when it’s easy to be seduced by the state of Michigan.

Anyone who has set eyes on the Straits of Mackinac will know what we mean. Or visited Sleeping Bear sand dunes. Or taken in a Lake Michigan sunset.

From Pine Knob to Comerica Park, it’s tough to beat warm-weather Michigan.

And so it came like an unwelcome splash of cold water in the face when a pair of reports landed last week that painted a dire picture of our great state’s future.

e portrait was truly bleak. We’re on a path to get poorer, sicker and, well — how do we put this politely? — less educated.

Why? Because of the population of our state is atlining, according to the studies, the rst two in a series of ve, by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and Ann Arbor-based Altarum, a nonpro t that focuses on health.

e research found that Michigan is growing, barely, but not nearly at the rate as the rest of the nation. And certainly not as fast as states in the South and West.

You may wonder why this matters. In a world where it seems the population is bursting, isn’t it great that we’re controlling our growth? Doesn’t that mean more room and resources for the rest of us?

If only it were that simple. A stagnating population means slower economic growth, which leads to all sorts of negative outcomes, notably pertaining to health, education and

earnings potential. And it means diminished political power — Michigan went from 19 congressional seats in 1970 to 13 following the 2020 Census.

Natural growth, or more births than deaths, has slowed and will be negative by 2040. Meanwhile, domestic migration — people moving in or out of the state — has been and will continue to be negative.

Yes, international immigration has shown positive in- ows but not at a rate that would make up for the losses in the other two categories.

e problem is well-articulated. e solution is not as clear.

While rich in natural resources and beauty, we are a state whose prosperity over the past 100 years was forged by heavy industry, mostly in service of the automobile. ere was a time when Detroit was the vanguard of innovation, the Silicon Valley of its day. It’s almost as though, to conjure another California phenomenon, Detroit was an enormous gold-rush town — and its bust has been slowly playing out over the past 50 years.

e question is how do we reinvent and position ourselves for the future? e highwage jobs of today and tomorrow are knowledge-based, and gaining those requires investment in quality education.

Younger workers today seek a strong sense of place, meaning vibrant cities that are walkable and full of activity. We have work to do to invest in our people and places to make our state more attractive to outside investors, and our own youth.

Yes, we can take them on a breathtaking dune hike. But when they get home, they’re going to need a quality education and a good-paying job to keep them here.

Don’t threaten Michigan’s revitalization success

here are rumblings these days in Lansing, and if you listen close enough, you might pick up the faint echoes of the early 1990s. Back then, cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated commercial and industrial properties in neighborhoods throughout Michigan were at a standstill. Responsible parties who were willing to clean up contamination didn’t know “how clean is clean,” and few wanted to buy and reuse contaminated properties because existing environmental law made it too risky and uncertain. At that time, a buyer could be held liable for the cleanup simply because they acquired the property. is fact alone was enough to render many urban and commercial/ industrial properties unaddressed and o limits. is prompted a coalition of Michigan Urban Core Mayors to demand changes to encourage cleanup and reuse of these properties.

In response to this mounting crisis, in 1995, the Legislature created Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, which provided cleanup standards grounded in risk-based protections for human health and the environment and legal protections to buyers of contaminated property if they assumed due care obligations. In addition, Part 201’s causation-based liability standard and other provisions impose liability on anyone who is responsible for an activity that causes contamination — a true “Polluters Pay” law.

It is undisputed that Michigan’s brown eld cleanup and redevelopment program, deeply rooted in Part 201, has resulted in tens of billions of dollars in new investment, an expanded local tax base, and tens of thousands of jobs at brown eld sites in Michigan, while keeping the liable party on the hook for the costs of cleanup. Part 201’s due care obligations for new, non-liable owners created an additional

Tsource of funding to protect human health and the environment. And risk-based cleanup standards based on land use created more certainty and accelerated cleanup activities across the state.

Some will argue passionately that no amount of pollution is acceptable and that we have no way of really knowing the long-range implications of contamination in our air, land, and water. We respect those arguments and those who make them. But we also recognize that unless we achieve a zero-waste society, human activities will cause impacts on the environment. Today, because of Part 201, an innocent buyer has legal protections that reduce the risks of investing in community redevelopment. Do we want to undermine that objective when it is so important to urban revitalization? Would we seriously consider rewinding to a time when we unfairly held innocent buyers responsible for a problem they didn’t cause?

To us, the key was, and is, risk management, both from environmental and economic perspectives. We are not suggesting that economic concerns are more important than public health and the environment, and we are acutely aware that some communities may endure disparate environmental impacts. is is not an either/or scenario.

Urban revitalization also leverages prior public and private investments in underutilized infrastructure, maximizing the utility of those assets and avoiding signi cant additional costs for duplicate infrastructure in greenelds while protecting green space.

It seems to us there’s a fundamental disconnect at play having to do with who ultimately bears the responsibility for cleanup costs if the responsible party cannot be found, is bankrupt, or has dissolved. Michigan’s brown eld program is recognized across the country as one of the foremost urban revitalization successes. If it has not done enough in the eyes of some, do not undermine it — nd new ways to make it better.

We encourage careful thinking — going backward from Part 201 will not solve the orphan site funding problem but would cause havoc and seriously undermine concerted bipartisan e orts to rebuild Michigan’s underserved urban areas. We learned — and the Urban Core Mayors and their constituents experienced — that strict environmental liability su ocated property sales and urban reuse.

Why try today what history taught us decades ago does not work?

e views and opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily re ect the views or positions of RACER Trust.

A STAGNATING POPULATION MEANS SLOWER ECONOMIC GROWTH.

Bruce Rasher is the Redevelopment Manager for RACER Trust.

Grant Trigger is the Michigan Cleanup Manager for RACER Trust.

BRUCE RASHER AND GRANT TRIGGER

Demolition at the former McLouth Steel site in Trenton. | LARRY PEPLIN/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

UWM faces NLRB hearing over worker contracts complaint

Lender accused of overly broad, unlawful rules

United Wholesale Mortgage LLC is facing allegations of violating workers’ rights by imposing “unlawful” employment contracts, according to lings with the National Labor Relations Board.

Former employee Christopher Dennis accuses the Pontiac-based mortgage lender of maintaining employment agreements with “overly broad or otherwise unlawful rules and de nitions” and “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in” the National Labor Relations Act.

Dennis, through his attorney Matthew Clark of Detroit-based Gregory, Moore, Brooks & Clark PC, led the charges last June.

After Clark led the charges, Region 7 of the NLRB investigated and issued a complaint against UWM, the attorney said in an email to Crain’s. A hearing on the case is scheduled for July 25 in front of an NLRB administrative law judge.

“Both Region 7 and Christopher (through me) have the ability to

jointly present the case at the NLRB trial,” Clark said in the email.

e attorney was unavailable for a phone interview. “UWM does not comment on legal matters that are currently pending,” company spokeswoman Nicole Roberts said in an email.

Dennis is a former UWM underwriter who also led a separate discrimination complaint against the company because it refused to allow him to work from home to accommodate his condition of su ering migraines, according to a report from the National Mortgage News, which rst reported the labor complaint Wednesday.

UWM is seeking to settle the NLRB case before the July hearing, the report said.

e mortgage lender has a history of workplace complaints. It was targeted with at least 189 employee safety complaints to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Developments in the NLRB case also come on the heels of a scathing report by Bloomberg last month that referenced complaints of racial disparities and sexual harassment at the company.

to be overly broad or unlawful, including clauses related to the return of company property and information; media inquiries; social media; nondisparagement and arbitration.

BUTTON TEXT

e arbitration clause states that by signing the agreement, the employee “acknowledges that he or she is giving up the right to a trial in the court of law as to any discrimination or other statutory claims.”

tors, o cers, owners, or employees, with or through any written or oral statement or image (including, but not limited to, any statements made via websites, blogs, postings to the internet, or emails and whether or not they are made anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym).”

e NLRB did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

In response to the complaint submitted to the board, UWM denied the merit of the charges, according to a copy of the letter led on behalf of the company through DeAndre’ Harris, attorney with Grand Rapid-based Warner Norcross + Judd.

“UWM admits that its employment agreement contained the above-referenced provisions at all material times, but denies that the provisions are overbroad or otherwise unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act,” the response said.

Harris could not be immediately reached for comment.

e NLRB complaint cites some employee contract sections it claims

e nondisparagement clause states: “Employee will not (nor will Employee cause or cooperate with others to) publicly criticize, ridicule, disparage or defame the Company or its products, services, policies, direc-

UWM, like its crosstown rival Rocket Mortgage, has strugglednancially in recent months, especially compared to the pandemic boom times for the mortgage industry. UWM reported a loss of $138.6 million in the rst quarter after an overall volume decline of 42.5% from a year ago.

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

a higher education professional who has crafted innovative solutions to educational problems during the last five years.

The National Labor Relations Board complaint against United Wholesale Mortgage cites some employee contract sections it claims to be overly broad or unlawful. | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

SURFING A WAVE OF INVESTMENT

Corktown booms with new condos and apartments as Ford campus takes shape

BY NICK MANES

As Ford Motor Co. makes its behemoth presence felt in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, the Corktown area west of downtown has seen an explosion of new residential product.

e historic neighborhood’s status as one of Detroit’s hottest areas could reasonably be said to date back to Detroit Tigers star Ty Cobb hitting home runs into the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull a century ago. at site is now home to a mixed-use development called e Corner, which includes apartments, retail and, of course, a baseball eld.

But the growth of Corktown seems to be on steroids these days, and much of it is happening right in the shadow of Ford’s massive investment in Michigan Central Station and some adjacent properties. at includes a $6 million makeover of Roosevelt Park into a public plaza in front of the former train station, which had previously been largely unkempt green space.

And while the renovation of the train station stands as perhaps the most visible rehab project underway in the neighborhood known for its smaller single-family homes largely dating back more than a century, more in- ll condo and apartment projects are dotting Corktown’s blocks. Also, more large-scale projects along Michigan Avenue, such as the $93 million, seven-story housing and retail development dubbed the Michigan and Church Street project are nearing completion.

Since Ford’s announcement nearly ve years ago that it was buying the long-vacant train station for an innovation campus, there has been approaching $500 million in private investment in various projects in the Corktown area, according to an estimate by city of Detroit o cials.

Residential developments like The Coachman in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood are nding new buyers as Ford prepares to re-open the nearby Michigan Central Station.

Scott Moore (left) and Misha Strauss Moore recently bought a one-bedroom unit in The Coachman in Corktown. “It’s almost like on every corner it feels like an exciting place to be,” she said. | MISHA STRAUSS MOORE See CORKTOWN on Page 10

do too

From

Additionally, city and state investments in infrastructure in the area total about $27.5 million.

at’s all in addition to the roughly $950 million that Ford has invested in its projects in the neighborhood.

Real estate experts in the area are quick to note that the development boom happening in Corktown is occurring before the Dearborn automaker has even begun to fully occupy the buildings in which it has invested.

“We still haven’t seen the full of impact of Ford hit yet,” said James Tumey, a real estate agent with O’Connor Real Estate, a residential and commercial brokerage rm with its o ces on Michigan Avenue in Corktown, and which has worked on several of the condo projects in the area. “It’s exciting to surf the wave and build more projects. I don’t know if Corktown will be ready for it.”

A ‘walkable neighborhood’

As the development boom continues, Corktown is attracting new entrants for a variety of reasons.

Among the neighborhood amenities touted by residents in interviews with Crain’s are the increasing number of bars, restaurants and co ee shops, as well as proximity to downtown and the riverfront, particularly with a new greenway connecting Corktown to the banks of the Detroit River.

It was the sense of being able to walk to all those places that stood out to Ti any Ebert-James and her husband Trevor James, who is the gener-

al manager and head coach of the Detroit City FC soccer club.

e couple were initially looking at buying in Brush Park, but it was the added amenities in Corktown that ultimately sold them on the neighborhood, said Ebert-James, who works as director of player well-being for the soccer club.

Two years ago, the couple purchased an updated brownstone condo on Leverette Street that was initially built in 1895. Moving to Corktown turned into a “happy accident,” she said.

“We liked the walkability of Brush Park,” Ebert-James said. “Corktown has the walkability but with restaurants and co ee shops, and not all the (Detroit) neighborhoods have

that. It’s a fantastic neighborhood feel and the walkability is great.”

Other, newer residents are also making their way to the neighborhood and calling some of the newer condos home.

at’s the case for Claire Phillips and Misha Strauss Moore, each of whom have bought condos at e Coachman on Bagley Street in recent months.

e roughly $7 million new-build development just south of Michigan Avenue consists of 22 condo units being built over two phases and developed by Altia Bagley LLC, an a liate of Altia Capital in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Seven out of the initial 11 units to be built have sold thus far, according

to Tumey, who is marketing and selling the project.

With units starting in the high $200,000 price range and reaching to more than $600,000 for a penthouse that’s on the market, a goal with the project was to “hit multiple price points,” Tumey said.

Phillips said she “fell in love” with the condo project upon touring it, and the broader area.

“Corktown is everything I want and need,” she said, noting that the work to connect the area to the river played the biggest role in her decision to move to the area.

Strauss Moore and her husband Scott Moore recently bought a one-bedroom unit to use as a second home in addition to their main house in Chelsea, as a means to cut down her commute to work in health care administration in various western metro Detroit suburbs.

“It’s almost like on every corner it feels like an exciting place to be,” she said, noting she’s in the process of meeting neighbors. “ e neighborhood part was important for my husband and I. ( e neighborhood) feels charming.”

Will it continue?

Detroit’s condo market overall has been sluggish in recent years with increased interest rates and buyer fears of a recession leading to a slowdown in sales, as Crain’s has previously reported.

Neighborhoods such as Brush Park and Midtown have seen ample condo development, but sales velocity has been slow, according to Matt O’Laughlin, a Detroit-based Realtor with Max Broock Realtors.

For condos, “Corktown is probably the strongest neighborhood on the buy side,” O’Laughlin said.

e Realtor said that he’s seen home prices in general escalate signi cantly in the years since Ford’s announcement, in some cases doubling.

Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. also acknowledged that dynamic during an interview with Crain’s in 2018, and noted it as one reason why the Dearborn-based automaker sought to keep its plans under wraps for as long as possible.

So, will the boom continue and Corktown rapidly transform into one of the city’s most elite neighborhoods?

On the latter note, there are some elements of the area that will likely keep housing prices at least somewhat in check. Namely, fairly small lots, which means the area “can only go so crazy with pricing,” O’Laughlin said.

Realtors familiar with the Corktown area are also quick to note that the development boom is unlikely to remain con ned to the speci c geography of the neighborhood.

Rather, and particularly as Ford’s presence becomes more tangible, Tumey said it’s inevitable that more development pushes north over I-75 into the neighborhood often called North Corktown.

O’Laughlin agreed with that assessment.

“It still feels a little desolate there block-by-block,” he said of the North Corktown area, which still has many vacant lots. “But it should start to ll in.”

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

Homebuyers aren’t nding much to choose from this spring

BY NICK MANES

e red lights appear to be ashing when it comes to housing inventory in metro Detroit — and throughout the country for that matter.

e normal frantic spring buying season in Michigan is somewhat muted thus far, as demand for homes remains high, but houses on the market are hard to come by, according to two recent reports, released separately by Troy brokerage Re/Max of Southeast Michigan and Farmington Hills-based Realcomp.

While both reports cover somewhat di erent geographies and therefore have slightly di erent numbers, they tell a similar story: Home sales declined by between 12% and 25% from March to April while the median sales price ticked up.

Meanwhile, there’s well under two months of housing inventory. A “balanced” market would have six months of homes available for sale.

While the numbers spell out a bleak scenario, Realtors — ever the optimistic bunch — do nd bright spots.

“We are seeing fairly stable home prices this spring which is bene cial to buyers,” Jeanette Schneider, president of Re/Max locally, said in a statement. “Many buyers are looking past interest rates and focused on nding a home that meets their needs and what they can a ord. For those considering selling, demand for properties remains high and most sellers can anticipate to sell

their home relatively quickly.”

So why so few homes available for sale?

For starters, some two-thirds of Americans have primary mortgages at interest rates below 4%, locking them in “golden handcu s,” according to a report this month in the Wall Street Journal, citing data from mortgage data company Black

Knight.

Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that nationwide, residential construction has remained largely at for the last ve years.

So what’s the outlook for an in ux of new inventory for eager buyers?

To Realtor Frank Locricchio, there are some possibilities on the hori-

zon. Some of that could come in the form of foreclosures, according to Locricchio, broker and owner with Realty Executives Home Towne, a Southeast Michigan residential brokerage with o ces in Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne counties.

Foreclosure activity in the U.S. has been muted since 2010 at the tailend of the Great Recession when some 2.23% of all homes fell into foreclosure, according to data from ATTOM Data Solutions.

Foreclosures, however, more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 with 0.23% of homes falling into foreclosure.

Additionally, Locricchio acknowledged that while some homeowners may be reluctant to sell due to their current low mortgage rate, some will still need or desire to do so.

“I think the sellers that are coming out now maybe get scared that (home) values aren’t going to stay as high as they are,” he said. “So they want to capitalize on getting the best they can for their property.

e Realtor added that he does not believe values are likely to come down much, but there’s a perception that the present o ers an opportunity to unlock top dollar.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, slammed the latest interest rate hike as “unnecessary” and said it’s likely to only continue the dearth of available housing.

“We have to stop the bleeding before improvement takes place,” Yun

said in a news release this week. “We need to get more inventory, and the long-term solution is more home building.”

Buyers or sellers market?

From a national perspective, sellers are again firmly in the driver’s seat, according to a Zillow report this week.

“Buyers are back on the hunt for houses in what is typically the hottest time of year, thanks to a normal seasonal surge in demand around the end of the school year and some help from slightly lower mortgage rates,” stated Jeff Tucker, senior economist at the Seattle-based residential brokerage and data firm. “Unfortunately, many potential sellers have ghosted the market this spring, concentrating buyer demand on the few listings that do come to market and fueling price growth, especially for more affordable and well-presented houses.”

But in Southeast Michigan, things remain more balanced at the moment, according to Schneider, the Re/Max executive.

“Despite a drop in home sales from March, home prices went up and that is due to a lack of homes for sale,” Schneider said in release. “Additional inventory would be helpful, but current conditions offer opportunities for both buyers and sellers.”

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

A house for sale on LaSalle Boulevard in Detroit earlier this spring. | NICK MANES/CRAIN’S DETROIT

Behavioral Health leaders are executives, allied health workers, physicians, social workers and other professionals who provide high-quality, whole-person care by collaborating with governments, health care agencies and other nonpro ts. ey work with integrated care teams to provide services to people with issues related to mental health, substance use and developmental disabilities. And they advocate within industry groups and local and state government and support their communities through volunteerism.

Brian Ahmedani, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Health Policy & Health

Services Research, Director of Research, Behavioral Health Services, Senior Scientist

Henry Ford Health

Dr. Brian Ahmedani is an expert in suicide prevention whose ndings have changed how the nation conducts suicide risk screenings. He oversees Henry Ford’s Center for Health Policy and Health Research Services and leads its Behavioral Health Department.

He manages more than 150 professionals, mentors medical students and oversees the grant writing team responsible for garnering over $100 million in currently funded research projects.

“ rough his research, which spans global populations, he is bringing hope to those a ected by suicide,” said Catherine Frank, M.D., chair of Henry Ford Health’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Services. His biggest career win has been his work with the Zero Suicide model and other prevention programs that have signi cantly reduced suicide attempts and deaths.

In addition, Ahmedani serves as co-director of MI Mind, a collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where he studies and addresses suicide prevention practices around the state. He’s also chair of the state’s suicide prevention commission.

Freddie Burton Jr.

Chief Judge

Wayne County Probate Court

In 2021, Judge Freddie Burton Jr. created the Behavioral Health Unit at Wayne County Probate Court, the rst of its kind in Michigan. He established the unit to help individuals struggling with legal and mental health challenges receive treatment and support, which, in turn, minimizes their encounters with law enforcement and reduces hospital visits. He also created accountability measures to keep recipients on track.

is follows his 2018 launch, with a fellow judge, of the Wayne County Jail Mental Health Initiative to “divert” felons from jail and into treatment.

“I applaud the tireless e orts made by Chief Judge Burton to understand and connect community mental health and jail systems so they can work together on nding solutions to improve a person’s quality of life,” said Eric Doeh, president and CEO of Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.

Burton is chair of the Flinn Foundation, which strives to improve the quality, scope, and delivery of mental health services in the state. He is also a lifetime NAACP member and a longtime Urban League member.

Colleen Allen, Ph.D. President

and CEO

Autism Alliance of Michigan

“(Dr.) Colleen Allen has led us from the humble beginnings of getting insurance coverage for individuals with autism to launching the MiNavigator program, helping thousands of families ( nd) a path forward, and even starting a hiring company to employ those on the spectrum,” said MotorCity Casino Hotel President Bruce Dall.

MiNavigator provides professional consultation and access to resources for families. Allen was also key to creating Upbound at Work, which supports companies and job seekers with autism.

She manages a $5.6 million operating budget and 39 employees. rough advocacy and education, her team provides support and opportunities to individuals with autism and their families.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Allen to the Michigan Autism Council and Protect Michigan Commission. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan appointed her to serve on the city’s Workforce Development Board.

Additionally, Allen sits on the Incompass Michigan, Detroit Public Television and Roeper School boards.

Brad Casemore CEO

Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health

Under Brad Casemore’s leadership, Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health dramatically increased Medicaid enrollee customer satisfaction and employee engagement scores and became the rst community mental health entity of its kind to achieve Managed Behavioral Healthcare Organization Accreditation status from the National Committee on Quality Assurance.

Casemore oversees a $335 million budget and 65 team members who serve over 205,000 members. He is a member of Michigan’s Mental Health Diversion Council and holds a leadership role on the Michigan Opioid Advisory Commission. In 2022, Casemore was a panelist for the House Democrats’ Mental Health Listening Tour.

“In addition to administering one of Michigan’s highest achieving behavioral health entities, Brad has been a tireless leader in shaping public policy for all community mental health organizations across Michigan, as well as the development of regional and statewide performance improvement initiatives,” said Varnum LLP Partner Sarah Wixson.

Faten Bazzi Director of Behavioral Health

Arab American and Chaldean Council

Under Faten Bazzi’s leadership, the Arab American and Chaldean Council achieved the highest score in 30 years from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. She also secured a two-year federal grant to help pregnant Afghan refugees access health care and provide psychoeducational workshops and emotional wellness services.

A licensed psychologist, Bazzi manages her own casework along with more than 60 clinical and support professionals in four locations. ACC provides case management, outreach services, behavioral and health care clinics, and home-based services.

“Faten is responsible for one of the most proli c Behavioral Health programs in the state. She has developed a reputation for excellence, compassion, and quality, and despite shortages of licensed clinicians, has built a 60-person team,” said ACC President and CEO Haifa Fakhouri.

Gregory Dalack, M.D. Chair of the Department of Psychiatry Michigan Medicine

Dr. Gregory Dalack has a long and distinguished career researching and treating chronic and persistent mental illnesses. He has studied the relationship between nicotine addiction, smoking cessation interventions and schizophrenia and is a leading expert in the metabolic e ects of second-generation anti-psychotic medications.

Dalack is responsible for a $59 million budget, 140 psychiatrists and psychologists and more than 1,000 clinicians, researchers, educators and support sta .

Under his leadership and in partnership with others, Michigan Medicine established collaborative care behavioral health programs within adult primary care clinics and is implementing them in its pediatric and obstetric practices. Dalack is also advocating for collaborative care practices throughout the state.

Dalack is a past president of the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry and former treasurer of the American Psychiatric Association.

Zachariah Booker CEO and Co-Founder

Mentavi

Zachariah Booker rebranded ADHD Online to Mentavi with nancial support from multiple funding partners. During the transition, he assembled a new leadership group and led the e ort to increase the company’s patient base to more than 140,000 from 60,000 in less than two years.

At the same time, he prepared his team for the end of the COVID Public Health Emergency, developing numerous contingency plans to ensure organizational stability. He also lessened wait time for patients seeking diagnosis and treatment from seven months to less than three days.

“What Zach has accomplished through Mentavi is inspiring. Not only has he built one of the fastest growing companies in Michigan, but he has also improved the lives of countless people struggling with behavioral health challenges,” said Diana Callaghan, managing director of Endeavor Great Lakes. Booker manages over $40 million in revenue and 50 corporate team members and serves as the primary management contact for more than 125 doctors nationally.

Charletta Dennis, M.D. Medical Director Priority Health

roughout her career, Dr. Charletta Dennis has treated patients needing inpatient and outpatient treatment, residential care and hospitalization. Her behavioral health expertise includes schizophrenia, substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

“Dr. Dennis is a tremendous asset to her team, our organization and our members. She leads by example and fosters an environment of care and compassion in her daily work,” said James Forshee, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical o cer at Priority Health.

Dennis supports all departments as the only sta psychiatrist for $7 billion Priority Health. e health plan has 1.3 million members. She is responsible for initial casework to ensure members receive appropriate care and conducts peer reviews to determine the type of mental health services that patients need.

Because of Dennis’ e orts, Priority Health increased the number of enrolled behavioral health providers by 72% in less than a year. She was key to Priority partnering with MDLive to provide behavioral health-related telehealth services to members.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees featured in this Notable Leaders in Behavioral Health report were nominated by their peers, companies or family members. Crain’s Detroit Business editors selected nominated honorees based on their career accomplishments, track record of success in their eld and contributions to their industry and community, as outlined in the detailed eligibility forms. Special Projects Editor Leslie D. Green, lgreen@crain.com, managed this Notables Leaders in Behavioral Health report, and Mike Scott wrote the honoree pro les based on the nomination forms. Crain’s Detroit Business is accepting Notable Leaders in Energy nominations until June 2, 2023. For questions about how to nominate someone for this or a future Notable award program, visit our Nomination Page or email notablesdetroit@crain.com.

Eric

Doeh

President and CEO

Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network

Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network has added numerous services and nearly doubled in size under Eric Doeh’s leadership.

DWIHN, which provides behavioral health, substance use and disability-related services, is building a crisis care center in Detroit’s New Center and a regional behavioral health campus in South eld. A third crisis care center is planned for Downriver.

Doeh oversees 470 employees and 370 providers, serving about 75,000 Wayne County residents. He established a plan to subsidize health care coverage for DWIHN employees, saving sta from a 30% increase in health care costs. He also led the initiative to provide retention payments to sta and providers and disburse an additional $4.7 million to providers as part of an overtime plan.

Doeh belongs to Michigan’s Mental Health Diversion Council and Crisis Intervention Team Stakeholder Committee.

“Eric is a great leader and partner in the work to expand mental and behavioral health services, especially to underserved populations,” said Boji Group CEO Ron Boji.

Mark Eastburg, Ph.D. President and CEO Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services has more than 1,500 employees serving 50,000 people and generates more than $170 million in patient revenue.

In 2022, Dr. Mark Eastburg was instrumental in forming the Collaborative for Behavioral Health and the Pediatric Behavioral Health Center of Excellence with Corewell Health. e initiatives seek to improve access, lower costs and alleviate barriers to getting care.

He established the Pine Rest/MSU Psychiatry Residency & Fellowships program, created a Psychiatric Urgent Care Center and increased telehealth visits from 100 to over 6,000 over the last three years.

Eastburg serves on the Michigan Hospital Association board and the Participating Hospital Agreement advisory committee.

Marla Gresham

Chief Nurse for Mental Health Detroit Veterans Administration Medical Center

Marla Gresham manages 105 employees and is a highly regarded advocate for the behavioral health industry and clinicians. She helped design and open the V.A. Medical Center’s 50-bed residential treatment program, which helps integrate veterans dealing with mental health, substance use, homelessness and other issues into the community. She also mentors nurses and prepares them for positions in leadership.

“Marla is a beacon of light for veterans seeking behavioral health services. Her passion for nursing and behavioral health, combined with over 30 years of experience, makes her a force to be reckoned with,” said Bridget Leonard, CEO of Bridget Leonard Enterprises LLC.

Gresham is a member of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. She also co-owns Gresham Logistics, which provides free business services to small business owners.

Lenora Hardy-Foster President and CEO Judson Center

Since joining Judson Center in 2016, Lenora Hardy-Foster has doubled the agency’s operating budget to $30 million and expanded its reach to ve Michigan counties.

e organization now has more than 400 employees and serves roughly 12,000 children, adults and families annually.

She also expanded Judson Center’s services by adding support for autism, foster care, adoption and residents with disabilities. Her successes include securing $700,000 in grants for the organization’s Family Health Clinic in Warren, developing a partnership with MedNetOne for clinician and nursing sta support and being designated a Michigan Certi ed Community Behavioral Health Clinic, along it to receive funding to expand opioid use disorder and school-based programming.

“Simply put, Lenora is amazing. She is tireless. She is dynamic,” said Kevin Johns, a Clayton & McKervey PC shareholder.

In addition, Hardy-Foster serves on several boards, including the Michigan Federation for Children and Families, Incompass Michigan, JARC and University of Detroit Mercy College of Business Administration.

Felicity Harper, M.D. Professor of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Associate Center Director of Population Sciences, Karmanos Cancer Institute

As a clinician-researcher, Dr. Felicity Harper collaborates with patient advocacy groups and other organizations to develop and implement evidence-based interventions. She led the Cancer Intervention Strategic Research Initiative to “reduce cancer health disparities in medically underserved populations (rural, urban homeless, and African American community).”

Harper, who leads a team of investigators and researchers, has garnered more than $6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

“Dr. Harper devotes herself, her research program and her clinical practice to improving the lives of patients with cancer,” said Lauren Hamel, associate professor, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute.

Gloria Harrington

Chief Department Administrator — Department of Psychiatry University of

Michigan Health

Gloria Harrington is responsible for a $70 million budget, more than 370 faculty and sta and more than 150 research-related grants each year.

“From leading the nancial recovery plan to supporting department mission strategic goals and the devotion to faculty and sta professional development, Gloria remains a leadership inspiration while displaying thoughtfulness, courage, humility and professionalism,” said Michigan Medicine Administrative Manager Kenneth Ester Jr.

Harrington led the psychiatric emergency department through nancial recovery without layo s and negotiated 24/7 department sta ng to align with other essential hospital services. And she obtained funding to create a professional development program for employees and worked with the Eisenberg Family Depression Center to create a biobank that studies genetic variants tied to mental illness.

She also supports the Michigan Child and Collaborative Care program that o ers psychiatric support to providers.

David Harris, M.D. Medical Director New Oakland Family Centers

Dr. David Harris directly manages 17 psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners and guides New Oakland Family Centers’ role in providing more than 8,000 individual points of care. Last year, he personally provided care for 1,300 patients, many of them at-risk and underserved youth with unique needs.

Harris volunteers his time with community mental health organizations and certi ed community behavioral health clinics around the state. He is a highly sought-after speaker on behavioral health expansion e orts for community groups and professional organizations.

“Whether speaking to a U.S. senator or a troubled youth who needs his care, (Dr. Harris) brings the same quality of respect, concern, and approachability. We are so very fortunate to have him as a leader of our organization,” said New Oakland Family Centers President and CEO Kevin Sendi.

Erik Hutchison Director of Care Management, Co-Chair of Behavioral Health CCP Corewell Health

Erik Hutchison leads 80 people. He secured funding for the behavioral health clinical care program and developed an expedited care model for behavioral health patients at all Corewell Health East emergency departments. e model increased e ciency and productivity, reduced the need for psychiatric consults and the time patients spent in the Farmington Hills emergency center, and sped up the con rmation of patient treatment. Further, he secured a $200,000 Flinn Foundation grant to bridge the gap in outpatient psychotherapy care and adjusted the sta ng model to ensure his department was fully sta ed. Hutchison also provides pro-bono clinical services through his outpatient psychotherapy clinic and free haircuts for low-income neighbors.

Subodh Jain, M.D.

Division Chief of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine

Corewell Health

Dr. Subodh Jain is responsible for 70 psychiatrists, advanced practitioners, psychologists, psychotherapists, addiction medicine physicians, and 50 additional team members employed at Corewell Health’s psychiatry and behavioral medicine divisions at Corewell Health and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. He also manages behavioral health programming at 11 hospitals and 120 outpatient sites. By building strategic relationships, Jain raised millions of dollars in funding for a state-of-the-art medical and psychiatric unit at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and a pediatrics behavioral health center of excellence in partnership with Pine Rest.

In addition, he is an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University and chair of the state’s Psychiatry Beds Workgroup.

“His extensive publication and presentation history con rm that the medical community looks to Dr. Jain as a leader in the eld of child and adolescent psychiatry,” said Network 180 Executive Director William Ward.

COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY

Congratulations to Wayne State University Dean and Professor Sheryl Kubiak, named a 2023 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leader in Behavioral Health

For nearly 85 years, the Wayne State University School of Social Work has dedicated its mission to taking care of Detroit and the world. Dean and Professor Sheryl Kubiak has taken that mission and turned it into action. Her entire career has been committed to promoting fairness, justice, advocacy and activism through collaboration and education. In short, Dean Kubiak has dedicated her life’s work to helping communities — like our beloved Detroit — become their healthiest selves.

Wayne State University students are fortunate to learn from this strong leader in social change. Congratulations, Dean Kubiak.

School of Social Work

Sojourner Jones Hospital Liaison

Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network

“Sojourner (Jones) has improved coordination between law enforcement, probate court and individuals we serve,” said Eric Doeh, president and CEO of Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.

“She consistently goes above and beyond to take them through every step of the process with compassion.”

Jones helps o cers responding to individuals dealing with behavioral health emergencies implement de-escalation techniques. She also supports crisis intervention teams and emergency room sta working with individuals needing inpatient care. She has processed more than 1,700 assisted outpatient treatment orders and works with more than 30 behavioral health organizations to ensure people get appropriate care.

Further, she collaborates with Wayne County Probate Court’s Behavioral Health Unit to secure follow-up care for more than 1,500 individuals needing inpatient psychiatric hospital services and ongoing treatment.

VARNUM CONGRATULATES Brad Casemore

Congratulations, Brad, on this well-deserved recognition for all that you have done for behavioral health in Michigan!

Brad Casemore

Chief Executive O cer

Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health

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Ti eny Jones

North Market Regional Director and Primary Care and Administrative Director of Behavioral Health Services

Henry Ford Health

Ti eny Jones manages a $50 million patient revenue portfolio for behavioral health at Henry Ford Health and $55 million for primary care and more than 250 team members.

“Ti eny successfully and e ciently leads multiple teams while also providing her team members with knowledge and support to ensure that the highest standards of care are provided to our most in-need populations,” said Amanda May, manager of Behavioral Health Integration and training director of MI Mind at Henry Ford Health.

Jones and her team grew virtual care and telehealth services by 20% to more than 130,000 virtual visits annually. ey were also instrumental in creating and implementing a collaborative care model that integrated virtual behavioral health into primary care, pediatric and women’s health clinics throughout the state.

In addition, Jones is a mentor for Henry Ford Health’s Women Improvement Network Mentoring program. She also volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters, serves as a youth track and eld coach for Embrace Sportz and is a member volunteer for the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Sheryl Kubiak, Ph.D.

Dean of the School of Social Work Wayne State University

Dr. Sheryl Kubiak established the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at Wayne State University to provide mental health care to Michigan residents and prevent their incarceration.

Kubiak oversees 40 team members who enhance crisis response, divert youth and adults from detention, facilitate medication assisted treatment for people entering jail with opioid use disorder and create a toolkit that improves assisted outpatient treatment in 34 counties.

As a Wayne State dean, Kubiak manages 80 faculty, 30 sta , 14 Board of Visitors members, a 30-member community coalition, a $7 million budget and $25 million in grant funding. In this role, Kubiak has forged countless partnerships to expand workforce opportunities for people with behavioral challenges.

“Sheryl has championed some of the greatest sustaining progress in Michigan, crossing rigid boundaries between systems. She actively engages people and leaders with living/lived experience to analyze problems, brainstorm solutions and lead change,” said Michigan Health Endowment Fund Senior Fellow Lynda Zeller.

Kubiak also advises Michigan’s Mental Health Diversion Council and is a state Judicial Council member.

Elizabeth Koschmann, Ph.D.

Founder and Executive Director TRAILS

Dr. Elizabeth Koschmann founded TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) at the University of Michigan a decade ago and grew it into a $19 million organization funded by the state, National Institute of Mental Health grants and philanthropic support. TRAILS gives schools training and resources to deliver “evidence-based, culturally responsible mental health services” to students.

Koschmann leads seven divisions and 70 people in 18 states. In the last two years, her organization trained 8,000 school professionals, who then provided about 200,000 students with mental health care.

Koschmann is a member of the Governor’s Return to Learn Advisory Council and Student Recovery Advisory Council of Michigan and serves on the Schottenstein Program for Resilience board.

Julia Kyle

Director of Behavioral Health Strategy & Planning

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Julia Kyle’s responsibilities include network innovation and program expansion for BCBSM’s more than 5 million members. Her recent accomplishments include adding more than 2,400 therapists to the network through a virtual provider partner, implementing an integrated care program for more than 213 primary care practices in the rst year and expanding community-based crisis services statewide.

“Julia’s passion for addressing the mental health epidemic was exempli ed after the recent (Michigan State University mass shooting) crisis. She diligently worked to mobilize Blue Cross to meet the grieving communities’ needs,” said Amy McKenzie, M.D., BCBSM vice president of Clinical Partnerships and associate chief medical o cer.

Kyle is a member of the Canton Community Foundation and the National Association of Social Workers Michigan, allowing her to advocate for residents and colleagues within the behavioral health space.

Matt LaCasse, D.O.

Lead psychiatrist, Children’s Hospital of Michigan

Dana Lasenby Executive Director and CEO Oakland Community Health Network

Jed Magen, D.O. Chair of the Department of Psychiatry Michigan State University

Nasuh Malas, M.D.

Kelly Mays

Community and Sta Training Manager, Hegira Health Inc.

Director of the Adolescent

Addiction Recovery Center, University Pediatricians

One of the big wins of Dr. Matt LaCasse’s career is working with the Children’s Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and University Pediatricians to build the Adolescent Addiction Recovery Center.

Under LaCasse’s leadership, Troy-based AARC provides therapy-focused care for youth younger than 18 dealing with substance use disorder, regardless of their ability to pay. LaCasse is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Society of Addiction Medicine and an American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Substance Use committee member.

A highly sought-after industry expert, LaCasse is regularly invited to speak at industry and community events and educate state and national residents about the impact of substance use disorder in youth.

Under Dana Lasenby’s leadership, OCHN delivers mental health services to more than 27,000 Oakland County residents, many with intellectual and developmental disabilities, serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders. She manages about 240 people and a more than $400 million budget.

Lasenby’s accomplishments include launching a Youth and Family Care Connection program in January to support the mental health needs of children and youth and connect families to the resources they need.

As a member of the State of Michigan’s Autism Council, she advocates for pre-paid inpatient health plans and community mental health service programs.

“She is committed to ensuring that public behavioral health resources are used wisely, operating with transparency, integrity and honor,” said Kevin Fischer, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Michigan.

Tammy McCrory

Founder and CEO McCrory Center

Tammy McCrory is a member of the Michigan Psychological Association Master’s Committee, the Detroit Optimist Club and member and past vice president of the Metro Detroit Association of Black Psychologists.

McCrory Center, which she founded as Social Care Administrators in 2012, provides a variety of services, including clinical case coordination, comprehensive behavioral health services and autism treatment. As a part of the state’s Black Leadership Advisory Council Health Committee, she has advocated for reforms to mental health licensure exams that reduce disparities in access to care.

McCrory previously worked as a health information and technology release specialist at Sinai Grace Hospital and interim director of maternal and infant health at the Detroit Health Department. A regularly published author, McCrory was named as one of Oakland County’s 2023 class of 40 Under 40.

Carmen McIntyre León, M.D. Chief Medical O cer Michigan Department

of Corrections

Dr. Carmen McIntyre León received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2020 “for going the extra mile” and advocating for care and research that bene t mentally ill individuals. She leads more than 300 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, nurses, and mental health professionals. Her work includes developing strategies to improve the well-being of the 32,000 inmates under their charge.

McIntyre León’s recent big wins include establishing birth doulas to guide women prisoners through pregnancy and childbirth. She also launched MDOC’s Medications for Addictions program to reduce deaths due to substance use disorders.

“I admire the determination and knowledge that Dr. McIntyre has in good and sound public policy,” said Robert Kosowski, executive director for the Michigan Psychiatric Society.

McIntyre León serves on the boards of Crisis to Connection Imperative for Our Black Boys, the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Physician Diversity Council.

As head of MSU’s psychiatry department, Dr. Jed Magen oversees work at two medical schools, National Institute of Health grants and 58 faculty members, sta and psychiatry residents.

Magen’s team provided mental health rst aid to survivors of the mass shooting on MSU’s campus earlier this year. And a faculty member under his direction received a $15 million state grant to implement a program that prevents violence in Michigan schools.

“His exceptional leadership was apparent in the aftermath of an attack at MSU when Psychiatry faculty and residents quickly scheduled town halls, manned listening sessions and established psychological rst aid clinics for the university community,” said Norman Beauchamp, M.D., MSU executive vice president for Health Sciences.

Magen is a member of the executive committee of the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry and a member of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners board.

Director of Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Service Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics Associate Professor, and Physician Co-Lead for the Michigan Medicine Workplace Violence Prevention Lead Team, University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

“Dr. (Nasuh)

Malas is a thought leader in the eld of behavioral health and a champion for pediatric patients needing accessible behavioral health care,” said Luanne omas Ewald, COO of the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital.

Malas operates in numerous capacities. He directs care to children receiving inpatient psychiatric care, consults medical units and the emergency department, oversees service delivery, quality and operations for children’s psychiatric hospital service, and oversees faculty, fellows, nurses and other sta . His achievements include expanding services to provide around-the-clock consultations and being primary investigator for the Children’s Hospital Suicide Zero Suicide Initiative. e initiative is a partnership with Cardinal Health, the Children’s Hospital Association and other national peer institutions to treat and educate children and their parents about suicide prevention.

Malas is a member of the Governor’s Commission on School Mental Health and Safety.

Kelly Mays helps manage more than 400 team members and training projects, such as Hegira stakeholder engagement courses on suicide prevention and restorative health writing. She also collaborates with public initiatives, such as the Michigan Community Sexual Violence Prevention advisory committee, that identify and address health inequities.

A licensed therapist, Mays was named Hegira Health’s 2021 employee of the year for her many achievements, including contributing to a 25% increased presence on social and traditional media.

Mays is a widely regarded voice in Michigan on suicide prevention. By leading more than 200 workshops for 4,000-plus professionals, she has increased HHI’s suicide prevention programming resources by nearly 30 percent.

She is also a member of the Michigan Suicide Prevention Community Technical Assistance program and Westland Youth Assistance Program.

Black Family Development, Inc. salutes

President and CEO

Brent L. Wirth

Mary Morreale, M.D. Chief of Psychiatry

Barbara

Ann Karmanos Cancer

“Dr. (Mary) Morreale provides excellent, compassionate care for our patients on their cancer journey, especially those who need or want additional support and guidance in dealing with their illness, family issues, depression and more,” said Michael Stellini, M.D., Supportive Oncology Multidisciplinary Team leader at Karmanos. “She meets the patients where they are and remains available for support throughout

As a key member of the supportive care multidisciplinary team, Morreale developed “robust” outpatient and inpatient consultation services. She is developing Schwartz Center Rounds to encourage health care providers to share their thoughts and feelings about patient cases.

Morreale is deputy editor of Academic Psychiatry and is a clinical liaison for medical students participating in Street Medicine, a Wayne State University outreach program.

Debora

HONORING THOSE WHO HELP OTHERS

Paula Nelson was instrumental in the funding, licensing and opening of most of Sacred Heart’s 11 sites. Sacred Heart provides detoxi cation, women’s specialty, medication-assisted therapy and numerous other inpatient and outpatient services. Under her direction, the nonpro t o ers FDA-approved opioid treatment medications to inmates in three county jails.

“She is a strong advocate for the behavioral health of consumers and families, strategic planner and usually prevails over time. She is persistent and works hard to nd community consensus,” said Haveman Group President James Haveman.

Nelson is a member of the Mental Health Corporations of America Association, Greater Flint Coalition Behavioral Health Task Force, Detroit-Wayne County Association of Substance Abuse Treatment Providers and the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan’s Provider Alliance.

Anthony Muller Vice President of Substance Use Disorder Services

Samaritas

Anthony Muller leads behavioral health strategy for Samaritas, a foster care and adoption agency with family preservation programs, such as its substance use disorder services. Since 2020, he expanded the nonpro t’s SUD program to ve new counties with two more in the works.

Under Muller’s leadership, his team of 40 improved process e ciencies and lessened the time it takes to screen and provide medication-assisted treatment to the more than 1,800 people they served last year. He manages a $3.6 million budget.

Muller is a member of the West Michigan Counseling Association board and is a regular guest speaker at substance use-related conferences.

Darlene Owens

Vice President of Treatment Programs

Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries

“(Darlene Owens) has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in the behavioral health eld. Her unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and promoting mental health awareness has made a signicant impact in the lives of countless individuals,” said DRMM President and CEO Chad Audi, M.D.

Audi credits Owens’ leadership and “invaluable guidance” to DRMM’s ability to provide recovery housing, re-entry and substance use treatment.

Owens, who manages 65 employees and a $10 million budget, implemented regular evidence-based training to help sta deal with complex client needs and integrated substance use disorder and co-occurring disorder care with primary care providers. She also established the nonpro t’s East Residential Alternative to Prison program that provides clients in the tri-county area with comprehensive treatment plans that include employment readiness and skills training along with medical care.

Moreover, Owens advocates for voting rights and volunteers at the Salvation Army. She is also a member of the National Notary Association and Wayne County’s ird Circuit Adult Drug Treatment Court team.

Paula Nelson President and CEO Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center Inc.

Tracy Payton-Lester Program Director

Ele’s Place, Greater Flint and Genesee County

Ele’s Place provides peer support for children and teens dealing with grief and its e ects on school performance, substance use and suicide.

In addition to managing her own caseload, Tracy Payton-Lester manages 10 sta members in Genesee County. She launched and continues to oversee school-based programming at Beecher middle and high schools.

“Tracy has been the heart of the Flint branch of Ele’s Place since its opening eight years ago,” said Ele’s Place Inc. COO Kate Powers. “Her tireless dedication to the mental health of the youth of Flint is unmatched, and we are grateful to have her on the team.”

Payton-Lester is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Vicky Politowski Director of Integrated Healthcare Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network

Vicky Politowski administers the Pay for Performance Incentives for Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans and Medicaid Health Plans. Since joining DWIHN in 2021, she has built joint initiatives with Medicaid Health Plans to improve the quality of care the nonpro t’s members receive.

DWIHN provides substance use, disability services and behavioral health care to 75,000 members in Wayne County. She also worked with a vendor to create a mobile app that will allow members to access their medical records and appointments and view their medications. e app also provides the Healthcare E ectiveness Data and Information Set, a tool to improve access to quality care.

Politowski helped the nonpro t get funding to place peer health coaches in integrated care settings. She also leads preadmission screening and annual review to address the relationship nursing facilities have with individuals who are seriously mentally ill or have an intellectual/developmental disability as part of a federal mandate.

Danis Russell CEO

Genesee Health System

Danis Russell manages over 500 employees and a $151 million budget. His recent big wins include leading the construction of a 70,000-squarefoot Center for Children’s Integrated Services and advocating for a 10-year Mental Health Millage in 2021. e regional millage supports behavioral health treatment, law enforcement and rst responder crisis-intervention training, mental health support for courts and corrections facilities and a mental health-focused urgent care.

e Genesee Community Health Center opened three locations under his direction and has a bus that brings COVID testing, education and vaccines to neighborhoods.

Russell serves on the Greater Flint Health Coalition Board, Genesee Retirement Commission Board and the Voices for Children boards.

“Dan is respected by his peers, community leaders and the Genesee Health System Board of Directors. More importantly, he is respected by the employees of GHS who voted the organization the best place to work,” said Kathryn Boles, Genesee Health System board chair.

Selena Schmidt

Vice President, Behavioral Health and Community Health

Ascension Michigan

“Selena (Schmidt) is a tireless advocate and talented leader for Ascension Michigan, representing what our mission is all about — care for the poor and vulnerable,” said Ascension Medical Group Michigan COO Tom Klein. Schmidt is a board-certi ed holistic nurse and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She manages Ascension’s behavioral health, substance use, and community health education and wellness programs at Ascension’s acute care hospitals, outpatient clinics, telehealth service, and substance use hospital and residential treatment facility. She also administers Ascension’s community health school-based clinics, care for victims of human tra cking and domestic violence and interfaith partnerships. Most recently, Schmidt’s team launched We Care to provide mental health care to people with pandemic-related trauma at work.

Schmidt is on the Macomb County Community Mental Health, Disability Rights Michigan and Michigan Hospital Association Behavioral Health Council boards.

Edward Steinberger

Director of the Detroit Career Center

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit

Edward Steinberger creates and executes behavioral health services focused on helping people with developmental and intellectual disabilities succeed in the workplace. With a $2.3 million budget, he manages 19 people responsible for supporting 240 people. He identi es and lls services gaps. e career center was in the red in 2021 after COVID-related revenue losses, but Steinberger redesigned the career center and added a digital learning platform. In 2022, the center had a budget surplus and a curriculum to help participants gain independence.

Steinberger is active in the community and works with Michigan State University’s Employment Equity Learning and Action Collaborative, Detroit’s Workforce-Board Disability committee, Michigan’s behavioral health and wellness collaborative, the Advocacy Committee for Homeless Action Network of Detroit and others.

Dr. Mark Eastburg

CEO

Black Family Development Inc.

“Kenyatta (Stephens) leads with compassion for helping people. Her medical training in nursing naturally makes her driven for solutions to foster well-being. She is always thinking of ways to expand services to increase access to quality health care to underserved communities, such as through our mobile services,” said BFDI Executive Vice President Nicole McKinney.

Since becoming CEO three years ago, Stephens has expanded services and partnerships that help juveniles avoid felony convictions and receive at-home mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

Thank you for your leadership and the drive to improve access

COMPASSIONATE, IMPACTFUL, DEDICATED LEADERS

Karmanos Cancer Institute congratulates Felicity Harper, Ph.D., and Mary Morreale, M.D., for being recognized among Crain’s 2023 Notable Leaders in Behavioral Health.

We’re honored to have Dr. Harper and Dr. Morreale among our exceptional team of cancer experts. Your commitment to supporting patients and your research contributions have transformed countless individuals’ lives and helped shape the future of behavioral health.

Susan Styf President and CEO CARE of Southeastern Michigan

Susan Styf has had several big wins at CARE in recent years.

Stephens leads 109 employees and manages an $18 million budget to serve more than 20,000 people in Wayne County. Her team launched mobile outreach services in 2022 and received safety net funding through a partnership with United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Stephens served on the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice from 2008 to 2019. In 2019, she was appointed to the state’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation board of directors.

Heidi Warrington

Chief Nursing O cer Common Ground

Heidi Warrington is responsible for existing and new clinical programs, more than 100 employees and a $12 million budget at Common Ground, a crisis services agency that serves about 165,000 people a year. She implemented the nonpro t’s electronic health record platforms and retail fee-forservices billing operation and enhanced patient care services in its Oakland Assessment & Crisis Intervention team and Sober Support Unit and Crisis residential unit. She also leads the virtual behavioral health urgent care program.

Warrington was inducted into Sigma eta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing in 2021. She participates in several boards and committees, including e Art Experience.

Warrington has held state and county leadership positions for the Republican Party and was a volunteer district representative for the late state Rep. Andrea Schroeder.

“Susan led CARE through the COVID pandemic and ensured that critical recovery and treatment services were available during very di cult times,” said CARE board chair Debbie Smith. Under Styf’s direction, the nonpro t’s 125 employees grew peer recovery services, implemented 16 programs and increased revenue to $4.8 million. CARE also enhanced its Critical Incident Stress Debrie ng team, which supports rst responders after traumatic events and links them to counseling and treatment as necessary. CARE supports 100,000 area residents annually.

Styf is often invited to events and conferences to share best practices in supporting mental health needs of rst responders.

Brent Wirth

President and CEO

Easterseals MORC

Easterseals has grown from a $30 million organization serving 4,000 state residents to a $144 million organization serving 21,000 individuals under Brent Wirth’s leadership. He grew the donor base to more than 8,400.

Easterseals Michigan became a certi ed community behavioral health clinic in 2018 and received a $15 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2020. Wirth also led the merger of Easterseals Michigan and Macomb Oakland Regional Center Inc. and increased sta 50% to 900 employees.

“Brent is a strategic visionary who expanded the scope and behavioral services o ered by Easterseals MORC. We are fortunate to have a thoughtful leader in this region who continually nds innovative ways to partner with schools, health systems, community mental health and the state to ensure people have access to these important services,” said Health Alliance Plan CIO Annette Marcath, chair of the Easterseals MORC board.

Felicity Harper, Ph.D. Associate Center Director, Population Sciences

Mary Morreale, M.D. Chief of Psychiatry

Kenyatta Stephens

RESIDENTIAL BROKERS CRAIN'S LIST |

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Ranked by 2022 gross sales ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

|ThislistofthelargestresidentialbrokersisanapproximatecompilationofsuchcompaniesinWayne,Oakland,Macomb,WashtenawandLivingstoncounties.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthe mostcomprehensiveavailable.CompanieswithheadquarterselsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmainDetroit-areao ce.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.NA=notavailable.NOTES:

EV CORRIDOR

From Page 3

DC chargers are the gold standard for juicing up EVs, taking 20 minutes to an hour to ll a battery up. Level 1 and Level 2 chargers take 4-10 hours to charge an EV.

“...We are creating a new generation of good-paying manufacturing jobs, making it possible for drivers everywhere to reap the bene ts and savings of these vehicles while helping us ght climate change,” Buttigieg said in prepared remarks.

e Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, enacted in 2021, called for $7.5 billion to fund a network of 500,000 public EV chargers across the nation by 2030. Michigan is in line to receive $110 million of that funding over ve years to build out its EV charging infrastructure.

“ ere’s nothing more Pure Michigan than accidentally driving into Canada, and now that journey will be electric on either side of the border,” Whitmer said in her remarks. “I am

proud that we are working together to build up electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Michigan joined Wisconsin and Indiana to establish a 1,100-mile EV tour around Lake Michigan. It is also working to install 30 public chargers at state parks, with plans to nish 15 by the end

of the year. A pair of Level 2 chargers has so far been installed, at Bay City State Park and Holland State Park, with a DC fast charger coming soon to Belle Isle, according to the state.

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

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit crainsdetroit.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Exchange Capital Management, Inc.

Exchange Capital Management, Inc, a Registered Investment Advisor based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is pleased to announce that Joseph S. Crowley, CFP® has been admitted as a new equity partner, acknowledging his signi cant ongoing contributions to the rm. As a Senior Lead Investment Advisor, Crowley serves as the primary nancial planner and behavioral coach for over 100 client relationships and helps lead the rm’s nancial planning team.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Hilco Performance Solutions

Hilco Performance Solutions (HPS), a management advisory rm that consists of operational and nancial experts in the areas of Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Sales & Customer Experience, Organizational Design, and M&A has named Associate Director Susan Stanley to the new position of Continuous Improvement and Lean Manufacturing Practice Leader. An operating company of Hilco Global, HPS helps clients simplify and streamline business processes and improve operational ef ciencies.

J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Armen Garry has joined J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Detroit as a Vice President and Banker. Armen partners closely with business owners, C-suite executives, founders and members of the tech community who seek seasoned guidance across their complex nancial pictures. He draws from his commercial lending background to guide them in making strategic wealth management decisions to help grow and protect their legacies. Armen joins the rm from Bank of America.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Comcast

Sonya Callahan has been promoted to vice president of Comcast Business in the Heartland Region, which includes Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. In this role, she manages a team of more than 200 employees and is responsible for leading commercial sales, marketing, operations, and new construction and market development across all three states. Callahan has 22 years of experience in the industry. She has held numerous leadership positions in business sales, operations and engineering.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

VERITÀ® Telecommunications VERITÀ®

Telecommunications is happy to announce Ken Sundwall as the Vice President of Wireless Operations and Jason E. Palmer as the Vice President of Design & Engineering. Ken’s experience in large scale wireless construction allows us to expand our team’s capabilities to meet evolving customer demand. Jason’s experience will augment the company’s engineering and permit services across wireless and wireline divisions. These additions to our team will reinforce our ability to offer white glove service for telecom deployments in public right-of-way, private property, and large-scale venues. VERITÀ strengthens itself as a true force in the industry providing a complete triple play solution: engineering, construction, and material procurement.

e nancial backers of the petition drive are East Lansing-based Pleasantrees, Royal Oak-based Pontiac Ops Inc., Oak Park-based GreenHouse Farms Pontiac LLC and real estate investor Dennis Jaboro, according to reporting by the Oakland Press. It’s unclear what Jaboro’s link is to the Pontiac market.

Lisa Dawdy, spokesperson for Sensible Cannabis, told Crain’s the group wants the city’s recreational ordinance scrapped and reworked because it e ectively eliminates some of those dispensaries approved for medical sales to be up for consideration for recreational sales.

Dawdy runs her own consulting rm Mitten Cannasulting as well as works full time for Troy-based Jars Cannabis. Dawdy said Jars, which is owned by the owners of controversial short-term auto insurer L.A. Insurance, is not related to the referendum push.

She took over the group this month. e previous head was lobbyist Vincent Brown, who was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. Brown was linked to a scheme operated by former House Speaker Rick Johnson, who accepted bribes for allegedly fast-tracking licenses through the since disbanded Michigan Medical Marihuana Licensing Board.

It’s common belief that medical marijuana will continue to decline in sales as recreational overtakes more of the market.

Medical marijuana sales have plummeted nearly 71 percent to a total of $7.84 million in April from $27 million during the same month last year. Meanwhile, recreational sales have increased nearly 42 percent to $283.2 million in April from $168 million in April 2022.

e entire marijuana licensing regime in Pontiac has been under scrutiny for years. Nearly ve years after Pontiac voters authorized 20 medical marijuana facilities in the city limits, not one has opened. Several lawsuits are playing out over that ordinance.

e recreational ordinance is also gaining detractors. e recreational ordinance, created under a di erent mayor and city council than the medical ordinance, uses a similar structure to the medical ordinance in that it creates three speci c overlay districts where dispensaries may be located, but also includes a fourth district that houses ve medical license holder properties that received at-large licenses outside

the overlays during the medical licensing processes.

Meaning several current medical marijuana license holders aren’t eligible for a recreational license unless they receive authorization on another property, one located in the recreational overlay zones.

Pleasantrees and the other nancial backers of Sensible Cannabis are those license holders. e city, however, believes it has no obligation to the medical license holders.

“We’re not in any way interfering or preventing them from opening a medical dispensary, which is what they were initially approved for,” Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel told Crain’s in a sit-down interview this month. “And the medical marijuana zoning ordinance remains in place. at is not being altered. We are making land use and zoning decisions about where recreational dispensaries should be located. Just because a previous city council made a decision regarding medical dispensaries doesn’t mean that the current city council is obligated to mirror those decisions …”

Sensible Cannabis is meeting Wednesday to discuss whether it can submit new recreational ordinance language for the election ballot in November.

As Greimel understands it, the referendum will force city council to either scrap the current ordinance or allow the referendum to go to voters, who will simply vote whether the city should keep the current ordinance or not.

Greimel said the city would like to see a quick resolution to what he believes is a “fair and reasonable” recreational ordinance, but isn’t spending a lot of time pining about it as marijuana is just a small slice of potential tax revenue for the city.

“ e vast majority of people I’ve spoken with don’t believe the city can sustain 20-plus dispensaries,” Greimel said. “I think it’s fair to say that all of the medical dispensaries are not going to survive as recreational dispensaries. Given that market reality and given the fact that all of those conditionally approved as medical facilities have the opportunity to apply for those same locations for recreational dispensaries, the process and the outcome have been very fair … I don’t think marijuana is the economic salvation for Pontiac. So while we would like to see this brought to a conclusion, while we would love to see some stores open, it’s not a decisive moment for Pontiac.”

Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh

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Sensible Cannabis Reform for Pontiac submitted two petitions earlier this month with the necessary signatures to put a measure on the ballot that voters could vote to repeal the city’s current recreational marijuana ordinance and repeal its related zoning ordinance. | GETTY IMAGES

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (at podium) joined Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra (from left), U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to announce the new electric vehicle corridor that will span Michigan and Canada. KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

POPULATION

is at a crossroads” and for a half-century “has fallen behind other states in population growth, jobs, earnings, health, educational achievement, and the quality of public services at the state and local levels,” driving well-educated younger workers to move and work elsewhere.

“It doesn’t bode well for economic opportunities in the state to want to stay here because there’s opportunities for them to have the job (in another state) that’s going to give them the quality of life that they want,” said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council. “It’s something that we have to get our arms around to return to the prosperities that we had decades ago.”

e reports detail how Michigan’s population growth has lagged the nation since the 1970s and o er what Lupher calls a “wake-up call that we’re trending in the wrong direction.”

Michigan ranks 50th among all states and the District of Columbia with just 1% population growth from 2000 to 2020, ahead of only 51st-ranked West Virginia, which recorded a 1% decline over the two-decade period.

e Citizens Research Council reports cite long-term projections from the University of Michigan Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics that predict the state’s overall population will continue to grow slower than the rest of the nation for years to come and then start to decline in the 2040s if present trends are not reversed.

To reverse the trend, Michigan needs new approaches to retain and attract a younger generation of residents, and it needs to draw more people from other states and other nations to replenish its labor force as older workers retire, Lupher said.

“ e fact that our population isn’t growing at a healthy pace has a relationship on the economy, and so

POP’S HANI

From Page 3

“As the sandwich grew in popularity and became a bigger part of the menu, there began to be some rumblings about opening a restaurant centered around the Hani,” Giftos said. “During COVID, every restaurant brand across the country was trying to gure out ways to downsize its footprint, and suck some labor and complexity out of the equation, while staying relevant.

“ e location on Woodward presented itself. We thought if we were going to try this, we wanted to try it in a place that had a good chance of succeeding and the Woodward location checked all the boxes.”

Pop’s Hani took over a 2,800-squarefoot space that housed Kalamata Greek Grill, which closed in November. e space has seating for 30-35 guests and has a sta of 15 employees, all of whom are new hires. No employees have been moved from any National Coney locations, Giftos said.

About 60% of the new restaurant’s business comes by way of takeout and delivery orders, Giftos told Crain’s.

Opening the Hani-focused restaurant cost about $200,000, signi cantly

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan Inc. reports warn that Michigan “has fallen behind other states in population growth, jobs, earnings, health, educational achievement, and the quality of public services at the state and local levels,” driving well-educated younger workers to move and work elsewhere. |

WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

A tale of two trends

The expansion of Michigan’s retirement age population is projected to far outpace growth trends in the working age population, according to projections from the University of Michigan Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics.

being a manufacturing state,” Lupher said. e state needs to put more emphasis on improving K-12 education to prepare students for careers, funding higher education and improving infrastructure, as other states that have surpassed Michigan have done successfully.

“ ere’s a carry forward: ‘ is is the way we’ve always done it, so this is the way we’ll continue to do it.’ Other states are doing it di erently and we’re getting left behind. Collectively, those states are ahead of Michigan or surpassing Michigan because of our inertia and stagnancy. ey’re investing in themselves. ey’re investing in their people and trying to create a quality place to live and where people want to be.

“In a big way, Michigan’s determination to be a low-tax state has precluded us from making those sort of investments.”

e Citizens Research Council notes that while “clearly tax competitiveness matters … so does providing a quality of place and an investment in people to make young Michigan residents want to stay and to attract young people from other states and other nations.”

Lately, Michigan has been o ering and awarding billions of dollars in tax incentives and assistance to land facilities to produce batteries and electric vehicles as the auto industry electri es. Lupher asserts that investing in education, public health and infrastructure will do more to help the state’s economy in the long term.

COVID-19 pandemic, new businesses accounted for all of the state’s net job growth. e 128,369 jobs that new companies created more than o set the 108,131 jobs that were lost when established businesses either closed or downsized.

“In the big picture, Michigan’s entrepreneurial environment is a strength relative to other Midwest neighbors, but the Midwest generally lags behind the nation as a whole,” according to the Citizens Research Council. “Public policies that encourage and empower entrepreneurial e orts, especially for females and minorities who have traditionally been less likely to create new businesses in Michigan, would help Michigan further improve in this area and ensure that all entrepreneurial talent is being e ectively fostered.”

Regardless of how Michigan proceeds in addressing these pressing issues, Lupher hopes leaders avoid the so-called “Michigan 180,” where strategies change every four or eight years with a change in administrations in Lansing.

“Good ideas already exist in government, philanthropy, the private sector, and communities around the state. However, for far too long, the political divisiveness that has plagued public discourse has either kept these ideas from being implemented or caused e orts to be abandoned as political winds shift,” authors of the research reports wrote in a summary.

does the economy a ect the fact that people aren’t coming here,” he said.

“If we want to grow our economy and we want to attract the top talent from around the nation to be part of our state, we have to be looking at the jobs of the future and opportunities for higher wage and high skill (jobs) to move our economy forward and grow again as a state.”

Low-tax strategy inhibits crucial investments

rough 2030, Michigan’s working age population of 18- to 64-year-olds will decline, then grow slowly by just 0.7% through 2050, all while the population 65 and older grows 30%, ac-

cording to University of Michigan projections.

e demographic shift will “make it more di cult for Michigan employers to nd workers to ll key positions, particularly in areas like health care where an aging population will increase demand for services,” according to the Citizens Research Council.

Michigan’s labor participation rate also ranks in the bottom 10 nationally “and long-term forecasts suggest it will not improve over the coming decades,” the report’s authors wrote. at information “tells us that complacency and relying on the practices of yesteryear isn’t working anymore and we can’t stay relying on

less than what is needed to open a National Coney Island location, Giftos said.

Some expansion of the new brand could be in the plans, Giftos said, but he and other National Coney executives are taking a wait-and-see approach.

“I think we’re going to look at the results here, compare it to things on the National Coney Island front and how the future shapes up,” he said. “We’ll check some metrics and make that call from there.”

Giftos said the new venture comes as challenges remain in the restaurant industry. Some in ationary pressures have leveled o or stabilized, but price increases have led consumers to pick and choose how they spend their money. Giftos said his companies aren’t rushing to raise menu prices, though.

“It’s certainly a challenge. I think it’s a challenge across the whole restaurant industry,” he said. “We try to watch our costs and proceed accordingly. I think consumers are at a point now where they’re watching a lot closer where they spend their money and how much they spend.”

Giftos would not share speci cs, but said National Coney Island samestore year-over-year and month-

“It’s a di erent strategy that lifts the whole economy, not just di erent aspects of it,” he said.

Entrepreneurial bright spot

One strength the Citizens Research Council cites is that Michigan ranks highly compared to other Midwest states in new business formations, which plays “a critical role in supporting the economy.”

As of 2020, rms that had been in business at least 11 years supported nearly seven out of 10 jobs in the state. About 17% of jobs were at companies that had been in business for ve years or less, according to the Citizens Research Council data.

In 2020, the rst year of the

over-month sales have increased in recent years. ose gures haven’t reached pre-pandemic levels, though.

e early returns from Pop’s Hani Shop have Giftos excited about the future.

“We’re seeing a bit of a dynamic shift across the restaurant industry,” Giftos said. “Delivery is a huge thing.

e two reports the Citizens Research Council issued on population and demographic trends and the state’s workforce and talent are the rst of ve papers examining issues the state faces. Reports coming out this summer will look at the health of the state’s population; infrastructure, the environment and climate; and state and local governments.

In issuing the two reports on Michigan’s economic and workforce challenges and its changing demographics, the Citizens Research Council wants to create greater awareness and recognition about the “big picture” issues, Lupher said.

“If we want to return to prosperity, then we have to do something about it,” he said.

ere was a time that I didn’t know how long that would last in the capacity it has. e day we turned on delivery through DoorDash, we had orders owing in and we made no announcement about it. ings are changing.”

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

Lupher

Pop’s Hani, a new restaurant from National Coney Island, is now open at 32538 Woodward Ave. in Royal Oak. | POP’S

Hard to gauge economic impact of Grand Prix for downtown

ARIELLE KASS

Millions of dollars from fans and drivers that ow into metro Detroit from an annual racing event are more likely to be concentrated in the city, backers said, as the course moves downtown from Belle Isle.

e isolated nature of the island park meant that fans and participants in past years’ Detroit Grand Prix races didn’t have any reason to come to or stay in the city center, said Mark Rosentraub, a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan. Rosentraub, who created an economic impact study of the race’s move downtown, said there’s now more incentive to stay near the race, eat in the city and spend money nearby — as opposed to driving to hotels and restaurants far a eld.

“If you do move it, you increase the probabilities that more spending takes place there than in Oakland County,” he said. “ e only reason to have the race is to get spending in the city of Detroit. It’s not in your interest not to have the race downtown.”

Neither Rosentraub nor anyone connected with the Grand Prix would make the study available for review, but an executive summary provided by the Grand Prix said the $64.5 million in total regional spending associated with the race in 2017 was 20% higher than in 2012, when adjusted for in ation. e race was on Belle Isle both years.

e 2021 summary says more than half of attendees were from metro Detroit and that the race’s impact included $22.8 million in net increment, or money that he said would not have otherwise been spent in metro Detroit.

Rosentraub expects the downtown location to result in a 10-20% bump in spending overall, making it a $77.4

GRAND PRIX

From Page 1

unlikely to help ticket sales.

“We could have built more grandstands. is thing isn’t a moneymaker. It never has been,” Denker said. “Our intentions at Penske are di erent. is is our hometown. is race means a lot to the city and the state. Right now, with vacancies downtown and a lot of people working remotely, we need these types of events downtown.”

Denker said accessibility was the major reason for the move o the island, but the event will take a hit.

“ is event is gonna lose millions, but with the help of our sponsors, we’ll put on a great show.”

Getting ready for racing

Much has changed downtown since 1991, including a host of new and reopened buildings, restaurants and other businesses. And there will be even more changes before the June 2-4 race weekend.

“Take a ride around the circuit and it’s amazing what you can see,” Denker told Crain’s. “ e bridges are up. “ e grandstands are up for the most part. We’re on path to being ready for the weekend; everything is going to plan now. We’re transforming the city for this event. It’s going to be big.”

e race will feature 27 IndyCar drivers, according to Michael Montri, president of the Detroit Grand Prix, and is the seventh IndyCar race of the

million event. e summary says Detroit could capture $10.1 million in spending from nonresidents, but Rosentraub said he didn’t have a base for how much of the total was spent in the city limits in 2017.

He said he based the estimated increase on what happened when professional sports teams — like the Detroit Pistons — moved to the city center from the suburbs.

But Stefan Szymanski, also a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan, said such studies tend to be overblown.

“It’s all bullshit,” he said. “ ese are numbers plucked out of the air.”

Limited impact

Szymanski, whose book “City of Champions” includes a chapter on the earlier downtown iteration of the Detroit Grand Prix, said businesses that were “sitting in the middle of the course” had a great day, but others su ered because people who would have otherwise come to the city decided to stay away from downtown.

“As is often the case with these booster events, it didn’t really do anything,” he said. “ ese one-o events tend to have a limited impact because they’re one-o events.”

e e ect on Detroit, he said, is likely the equivalent of adding one more Tigers game to the schedule. He said he suspects the city would be better served by keeping the race on Belle Isle and allowing people who are interested in IndyCar racing to come.

“You’re just going to annoy a lot of people,” he said. “I don’t see the bene t of the relocation.”

Others disagree. Noah Resnick, an associate dean and professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Detroit Mercy, said one

of the bene ts of being in a city is unexpected occurrences that enrich daily life, something the race’s move downtown can provide. When the Grand Prix was on Belle Isle, he said, it could be happening without the rest of the city knowing it was going on.

While he said it can be disruptive and there are legitimate questions about whether the city could better spend its money on other things, Resnick said he was optimistic overall about the race’s impact. In particular, it has the opportunity to bring people into Detroit who might not ordinarily go downtown.

“Something like that would help Detroit more than most other cities,” Resnick said. “ ere is still a persistent stigma outside Southeast Michigan. e general perception of Detroit is still not great.”

e city would bene t, he said, from getting more people to give it a second look.

A national broadcast of the race will “reach audiences who wouldn’t normally be thinking about Detroit,” said Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. Larson said in addition to more spending in the city, he expects moving the race so coverage includes views of Detroit’s riverfront and downtown skyline will help change people’s perspectives. Michael Montri, the president of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, said he expected it to be “a three-hour commercial for the downtown.”

Szymanski said that, too, will have little e ect.

“It doesn’t draw a huge television audience to begin with,” he said. “ at they would fancy going to Detroit is very, very unlikely.”

Successful advertising for the city would be more targeted, he said.

7:55 in the morning is going to be the rst time cars go down the track at speeds in excess of 155 miles an hour.”

With two weeks to race weekend, 10,000 grandstand seats have been built, tickets for Sunday are sold out and only 30% of tickets remain for Saturday. And nearly all of the 70 available suites have been purchased.

is year’s event has more than triple the 23 suites available on Belle Isle, according to Denker. e prices are $75,000 for a 20-person suite and $125,000 for a 50-person suite. Suites and sponsorships, from race sponsors Chevrolet, Cadillac Racing and Lear, account for 80% of the event’s revenue. e remaining 20% comes from concessions and ticket sales.

The bene ts

Larson said the bene ts for the city are broad. ey include “infrastructure improvements that last well beyond the race,” he said, like the repaving of Je erson Avenue over the stretch where the race will take place and other road and sidewalk improvements. Temporary pedestrian bridges could lead to more permanent structures.

e Downtown Detroit Partnership is planning to activate seven public spaces for the event, including with small businesses that Larson said could further help keep dollars in Detroit. He said he’ll have better gures about the true nancial impact of the event after the fact.

Larson also expects people to come earlier and stay later than they had when the race was on Belle Isle. More tickets have already been sold than were sold last year, Montri said; 2022 revenues were exceeded with nearly three weeks to go before the event, and tickets are still on sale.

In 2017, Rosentraub said, there were nearly 60,000 unique viewers, with a three-day total of about 100,000 people attending the event.

Montri said with the economic impact study showing an expected $77 million spend in the region, he expects downtown hotels to get a good piece of that. It will make sense for drivers, crews and visitors to simply walk to the track, he said. He estimated about 100 drivers over four di erent races, plus their teams, would lead to 4,000 room nights over the course of the weekend, most of them in the city.

upgraded materials, like cement in the pit lane, he said. e city, the state and General Motors paid for the roads to be repaved, depending on ownership.

“We try to keep as much as we can local, for sure,” Montri said of the spending.

In announcing the Grand Prix’s move in 2021, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he never understood why the race left. He called the relocation a win-win and said he was excited for what else might happen on the track, including its use for automated vehicles later on.

“You can see what this could do for the Motor City all the way around,” he said. “ is is going to be a great asset not just Grand Prix week, but I think for other events.”

Szymanski aside, others were in agreement that the race and city would bene t from the new location. e question, Resnick said, wasn’t whether the race should happen at all — but where it would do the most good. He added that it probably did more damage to Belle Isle than what was gained from its presence there. For the city, Rosentraub said, it doesn’t matter how much money the

“YOU CAN SEE WHAT THIS COULD DO FOR THE MOTOR CITY ALL THE WAY AROUND.”

—Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan

race brings to Southeast Michigan — it only matters what is spent within Detroit’s city limits. e best strategy, he said, is to make moves to bring as much of that spending to downtown.

e Grand Prix also pays for some police and re service from the city and contributed engineering work for the track, as well as paying for some

lieve that gure is going to be higher than what the UM study concluded.”

Along with the races, four concerts will take place on June 2-3, featuring rapper Big Boi and DJ Steve Aoki. Comerica Free Prix Day is set for June 2, which will o er free seating in two of 10 grandstands on a rst-come, rstserved basis.

History of the Grand Prix

“Detroit can’t function on regional impact,” he said. “ e best thing they could do is move it o the island, no question about it.”

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB

more than 30,000 people a day and we didn’t want more than that because we couldn’t support it.”

Comerica Bank Michigan Market President Steve Davis said the move back downtown shows a commitment to o ering major events to more people.

season, following the Indianapolis 500.

e event will run on a 1.7-mile course over 100 laps and 170 miles.

e circuit will run along Je erson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard Street. at means it will be more accessible and have more public access points than races held previously at Belle Isle.

“I’ve rode the route many times but not at the speed fans are going to witness during the races,” Denker said.

“I’d love to have the drivers come test the track. Usually there’s a test to check if the road is smooth, but we don’t have that ability. ere have been some simulations done. You can see where the bumps are that need to be smoothed out. (June 2) at

Denker, though, said he is unsure of the economic impact the move from Belle Isle will ultimately have. A study conducted by the University of Michigan projects the event to bring at least $75 million to the city, an increase of 50% from the Belle Isle years. But that was conducted before organizers announced half of the race circuit would be accessible for free.

“You can watch along Je erson, go to the entertainment at Hart Plaza. I don’t know what that means in terms of people coming down. With the Super Bowl, you could come down and be a part of the NFL Experience, but you couldn’t go to the game without a ticket. For this race, you can come down for free,” said Denker. “Naturally the Super Bowl is a bigger event, but this is going to be great. I’ve got to be-

e Detroit Grand Prix was introduced in 1982 and for 10 years was run on a 2.5-mile course near the General Motors Renaissance Center. e race moved to Belle Isle from 1992 until 2001 when it was dropped for a stretch until Roger Penske and the Detroit Downtown Partnership resurrected it in 2007 and 2008. It was revived again on Belle Isle in 2012 and has been held there every year since.

Denker said the race had run its course on Belle Isle. e move came after organizers over 13 years invested about $13 million into the park, including roadwork, casino improvements and $6 million given to the Belle Isle Conservancy.

“We had to close portions of the island down for ve or six weeks. It’s a state park. e race is a bit intrusive,” Denker said. “A next generation of racing (on Belle Isle) would have required a lot more investment. at race in my mind was an exclusive race. To come down, you had to get on a bus. You couldn’t access more than half of the race circuit. It had a lot of limitations. You couldn’t have

“With the return to the Downtown streets, the Detroit Grand Prix has furthered its dedication to connect one of Detroit’s signature events to fans and families across Metro Detroit,” Davis said in a statement. “We are honored to once again partner with the Grand Prix to provide free, unique access to Free Prix Day while impacting the youth of our community through STEM-focused engagements.”

at increased accessibility could turn some into new IndyCar fans, Denker said.

“As I went to the mayor and City Council with the vision of coming back downtown, we wanted to make this event open for the citizens of Detroit,” Denker said. “We want to see everybody down here. We want people who have no idea of what a race is to be a part of this. We want the city to be abuzz. NBC will broadcast this event to the world. e whole world will see our beautiful riverfront. ey’ll see cars going 200 miles an hour down Je erson. ere’s only 15 cities in the world that have racing on their city streets. Now we’re one of them. at’s pretty signi cant.”

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

Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Chair Bud Denker told Crain’s the excitement for the event’s return to downtown Detroit is o the charts. JAMES TOCCO

Katerina Bocci on designing bridal gowns and TikTok videos

Longtime fashion designer Katerina Bocci’s reach has expanded further than she ever thought it could. She’s designed thousands of bridal gowns out of her Shelby Township studio and has turned into a social media superstar with 2.4 million TikTok followers. The 49-year-old Albanian immigrant also has appeared on TLC’s “Darcey & Stacey,” a spin-o of the “90 Day Fiancé” reality show about twin sisters looking for love. Bocci designed Stacey Silva’s wedding dress and Darcey Silva’s maid of honor dress, traveling to Florida to style the sisters for their big day. Bocci, a past Crain’s 40 under 40 honoree, in a conversation with Crain’s discussed the TV show, her social media stardom and the state of her design business, Katerina Bocci Bridal. The following conversation has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

BY | JAY DAVIS

 How’s business right now? We’re getting pretty close to wedding season.

I’ll be honest with you, the nature of the business has changed a lot the last ve to six years. We’ve focused on being one-on-one with the customers. We used to sell dresses we had in the stores. Now everything is custom-made. People can create whatever their heart desires. A wedding gown is a gown of a lifetime. Brides prefer to have something unique, di erent, that matches their personality. The client gets to choose everything. As an artist, there was a point where I wasn’t being ful lled. When I’d do trunk shows or sell to stores, people would ask for more customizations. The brides would choose their dress by choice, not by chance. They pick the color, silhouette, fabric, shape, neckline. A bride is a princess.

 It seems you’re pleased with the shift. How has that a ected your revenue?

We’re producing less dresses, but the ticket is much higher because we’re working directly with the customer. Money wise, it’s a little better than before.

 How do you sta for custom work?

I see every client because it’s important for me to give my opinion. Certain parts of the year we have three or four employees. Some parts of the year we have 10.

 You have nearly as many TikTok followers as Gucci. How did you build up that following?

I’ve been showing o a lot of reality: real clients, who we are, how we do things. Sometimes it’s messy. We’re not

always dolled up at work. People love to connect. Every potential client comes in with a di erent personality, di erent wants. We’ve kept it real (on TikTok). I created a concept where brides could have jackets with sleeves, strapless dresses, detachable pieces. I posted the video on TikTok. It went viral and got almost 50 million views.

 Has the growth of your social media presence brought you any customers?

I haven’t kept track. The following has always been a factor when clients come in. We have brides come in from Canada, Chicago, Ohio, Florida, New York City,

California. I think that’s a pretty good con rmation that social media has done its job.

 Did that play a role in landing the show?

I’m Albanian born. Stacey’s husband (Florian) is from Albania. Everybody gets to know the names in this group of successful Albanians in America. We were approached by Florian and introduced to Stacey over FaceTime. She said she was obsessed with my work after seeing some of my dresses in New York. She said her dream was to be dressed in one of my designs.

READ ALL THE CONVERSATIONS AT CRAINSDETROIT.COM/THECONVERSATION

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 What was it like being on the show?

It was nice to see the dynamics of the couple, the excitement they had. Stacey wanted to have a dream wedding. It was fun. Our work was well-received by the producers. We ew to Miami to work with the bride. We met with Stacey online for the rst consultations, showed her sketches and she approved. Having all those cameras on you can make things emotional. You don’t know if she’ll like it. Putting yourself and your work out there for the public to see isn’t easy. Being on social media, I’ve been pretty open, but allowing things to be seen and introduced to the world was emotional. Being a part of the show was beautiful. They invited us to their wedding in Connecticut. We dressed (Stacey) up. Her sister wanted a Katerina Bocci for her maid of honor gown. We had a phenomenal experience working with TLC. It was featured on all their social media and in People magazine.

 Did you watch the show when it aired?

As an immigrant coming to this country, all I had was $500 and a dream. I have to admit the rst investment I made when I came to the U.S. was to buy a sewing machine and an iron. That was 20 years ago. Now to be featured on national TV, and in demand, it made me emotional. I have three daughters. I always let them know that anything they want to reach in life can be had if they work hard, be honest and be good people. The rst thing I thought about watching the show was “how do I look? Did I speak OK?” I’ve only always wanted to create things and leave a good path in life. Two daughters work with me. I want to be able to share what I have and leave it behind for other people to carry on.

Alphonse Lucarelli, champion of Detroit Opera, dies at 83

ALPHONSE “AL” LUCARELLI, a retired managing partner of Ernst & Young L.L.P. who chaired major fundraising campaigns for the Detroit Opera among other civic endeavors, died May 14 at 83.

Lucarelli served on the boards and executive committees of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the St. John Health System (board chair), the College for Creative Studies, United Way of Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals). He was also a co-founder and rst chairman of the Detroit Regional Partnership, a public-private entity formed by the Detroit Regional Chamber to attract international investment and business to southeast-

Al Lucarelli

ern Michigan. Lucarelli led the campaign to raise $12 million from businesses and governments to

fund the rst three years’ operating budgets. Lucarelli may be best known for

his work with the Detroit Opera, joining the Board of Trustees in 1992, and the Board of Directors in 1993. He served on the corporate fundraising and nance committees and would later chair the nominating and governance and development committees.

In response to the 2008 national recession, which was particularly challenging for Detroit, Lucarelli worked alongside his friend and then chairman of the board, Rick Williams, in a campaign to save the opera company from nancial ruin by raising $11 million in cash in just 140 days. In 2022, he again provided leadership for a $7.5 million campaign in support of the initial phase to raise $15 million designed to improve accessibility to the Detroit Opera House.

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Katerina Bocci is a designer of custom wedding dresses.