OUTSIDE THE BOX
As summer kicks into high gear, here’s a selection of metro Detroit’s best picks for dining and drinking outdoors. PAGE 8
Struggling battery startup makes a deal with Foxconn
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Electric vehicle battery startup
Our Next Energy has entered a strategic partnership with Foxconn to keep the nancially struggling startup a oat.
e Novi-based company recently told employees about the partnership with the Taiwan-headquartered manufacturing giant, sources close to the situation told Crain’s. Employees were told the partnership is aimed at accelerating the scaling of the U.S. battery industry and making Our Next Energy and Foxconn major players in it.
e deal involves Foxconn infusing cash and taking an ownership stake in the company, but it is not an acquisition, nor does it represent a change of control for the startup, one of the sources said. Further details of the structure are still being worked out.
An Our Next Energy spokesman
declined to comment on “rumors or speculation” but provided a statement in response to an inquiry about the deal.
See
FOXCONN on Page 16
Parade Co. gets more time to buy Armory
Sherri Welch
Detroit City Council on June 25 gave e Parade Co. another year to raise the funding needed to purchase the historic Brodhead Armory on Detroit’s east riverfront.
e Parade Co., the nonpro t that produces events in Detroit including America’s anksgiving Parade, the Ford Fireworks and the Strategic Sta ng Solutions Turkey Trot, is looking to move its headquarters and oat storage from an industrial district in the city to the riverfront site. It would add tours, educational and event space and an o ce for veterans in a nod to the site’s former use.
e measure for a third extension on time to raise the needed funds — $36 million of the $45 million planned for the project
“We’re waiting on numerous answers, and our goal is to bring this exciting vision to reality.”
Tony Michaels, president and
CEO, The Parade Co.
— passed unanimously but with mixed reactions from council members on their willingness to grant another extension.
e Parade Co. has raised $14.5 million so far, President and CEO Tony Michaels said. at includes a $3.5 million federal earmark championed by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan.
See PARADE on Page 17
Audra Dye on Michigan’s Frank Lloyd Wright connection. PAGE 18
Our Next Energy founder Mujeeb Ijaz tried to quickly scale up the Novi-based electric vehicle battery startup, but those efforts have stalled amid funding challenges. OUR NEXT ENERGY
Rocket Mortgage veteran launches independent brokerage
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A veteran Rocket Mortgage executive has made the switch to wholesale, part of an increasing trend in the home mortgage lending industry.
Michael Saleh, an executive at the Detroit-based mortgage lender for nearly 20 years, recently launched Zoom Home Lending LLC based in Livonia. He launched the company with co-founders Henri Houmani and Issa Al-Sheleh, both of whom previously worked at Rocket and transitioned away to the wholesale channel more than two years ago, according to a news release.
Robert Lee Turfe, previously with General Motors Co., will lead the company’s marketing, HR and DEI e orts.
Saleh, in an interview with Crain’s, said Rocket — where he ultimately became a senior vice president overseeing mortgage bankers working on both purchase and re nance loans — was a great place to work. But the company’s growth to one of the largest lenders in the country, and a publicly traded one at that, meant it felt time for a change.
“When you get so big, it’s hard to feel as though you’re making that much of an impact anymore,” Saleh said of the decision to leave
Rocket. “And I just felt like I wanted to build something special on my own.”
For now, much of the nascent broker’s business is going to United Wholesale Mortgage, the Pontiac-based wholesale company and leading rival to Rocket. UWM has a long-standing addendum in
its contracts with brokers outlawing those that do business with the company from sending loans to Rocket Mortgage.
UWM, Saleh said, created a “transparent process” for making the jump into the wholesale broker space, and the rivalry between the two companies helps
provide consumers with “healthy competition.”
The brokerage and wholesale space, in which independent brokers working on behalf of homebuyers and refinancing clients shop around to different lenders, has been steadily gaining steam in the fragmented
mortgage market. In 2023, broker-originated loans accounted for more than 16% of the overall mortgage market, its highest market share since 2008, per data from Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry trade publication.
As Zoom Home Lending launches, Saleh said the new brokerage has about $65 million in loan volume in its pipeline and is licensed in more than a dozen states, but aims to grow those numbers. e goal is to become a “mega-brokerage,” he said. e company has about two dozen employees at present, but not all are actively closing loans yet, Saleh said. e goal is to add 100 team members in its rst year, with each loan o cer aiming to close 15-20 loans per month. at independent brokerages such as the nascent Zoom Home Lending launched by Saleh and his partners are seeing positive activity at the moment comes as little surprise to Guy Cecala, executive chairman of IMF.
“ e brokers can deliver, and they’ve got good service and they close loans,” Cecala told Crain’s in March. “ e banks can still be a little more bureaucratic and not quite as user-friendly just because they don’t have the same motivation the brokers do.”
Michael Saleh recently launched Zoom Home Lending based in Livonia.
Mobility company to invest $22.8M
in Plymouth plant
German mobility testing company DEKRA plans to invest $22.8 million to set up an automotive testing center in Plymouth, where it plans to create 18 jobs.
DEKRA, which entered Michigan through an acquisition of Weiss Technik in 2023, will o er electromagnetic compatibility testing, electric vehicle battery testing, EV charging testing, cybersecurity and environmental
testing, according to a June 24 news release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s o ce.
Salaries for the new jobs will be more than $100,000 per year plus bene ts, an MEDC spokesperson told Crain’s. e investment, announced during the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., follows Michigan’s e orts to lure more business from Germany. Last year, the MEDC signed a memorandum of understanding with BW-I, a busi-
ness and science marketing agency in Germany, with the purpose of increasing collaboration in mobility and clean energy.
“Our new Automotive Test Center of Excellence in Michigan will be a beacon of advancements in electric mobility, re ecting our dedication to safety, sustainability, and the rich automotive culture of the region,” John Tesoro, president of DEKRA Americas, said in the release.
GM shakes up ad agency roster
General Motors Co. has overhauled its ad agency roster, taking away work from Detroit-based incumbents Commonwealth/McCann and Leo Burnett Detroit, while bringing on a new slate of creative, customer relationship management and content agencies.
Stagwell’s Anomaly and 72andSunny have been added to GM’s creative roster, in addition to independents Mother and Preacher. e shops will be supported by S4-owned Media. Monks, which will “bring a modern approach to real-time, e cient content development,” GM said in a statement to Ad Age.
Additionally, Omnicom Precision Marketing Group will serve as GM’s lead agency for CRM. Multiple shops currently handle CRM, including Interpublic’s MRM. Dentsu’s Carat remains GM’s media agency.
tion” of agencies, suggesting GM can “ ex” assignments as needed.
“ rough our evaluation we selected the very best-in-class agencies in the entire world,” Peck said. “And we’re moving away from a traditional AOR structure to having a roster of agencies that will help meet those needs.”
She characterized the Media. Monks hiring as marking “a signi cant change in the way that we’re doing business.”
GM brand leaders will “hold the strategy,” she said, while the creative agencies will “lead the creative vision — the brand, the look, the tone, the feel, the major campaigns. And then Media. Monks will take those assets and leverage them to reach consumers in a very fast, ecient and proli c way.”
“We have the ability with their technology to be much more customized,” she added. Peck, a longtime GM exec whose roles have included chief
“We
e decision concludes a review that began in January under Global Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing O cer Norm de Greve, a former CVS marketer who started at GM last July.
have the
ability with their technology to be much more customized.”
Molly Peck, GM’s global chief transformation of cer
Chevrolet’s incumbent is Interpublic’s Commonwealth/McCann, which employs about 450 people in its Detroit office, while Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett has handled creative for Buick, GMC and Cadillac. Both holding companies will see their scope reduced but will retain some work.
Anomaly will have lead duties on Chevy, Mother will lead Buick, 72andSunny has Cadillac and Preacher gets GMC, GMs Global Chief Transformation O cer Molly Peck said in an interview. She framed the new structure as a “constella-
marketing o cer for global Buick and GMC, took on the newly created transformation role in April, with duties including agency relationships. As for Omnicom’s hiring for CRM, Peck said the holding company “had the best, most advanced capabilities and strategy.”
“ e most important thing in CRM is that we have a signicant database of customer records,” she said. “And it’s a competitive advantage for us that we will leverage.”
Blue Cross Wegovy decision puts patients at risk: doctors
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — which insures roughly 45% of the state’s population — is undoubtedly putting patients at risk by ending coverage of a popular class of weight loss drugs, according to clinicians.
e Detroit-based insurer announced last month it would end all coverage for GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) obesity drugs, including Wegovy, Saxenda and Zepbound, for all fully insured members starting in January. e company will, however, continue to cover GLP-1 drugs for diabetes management.
It’s complicated arithmetic for the Blues as the costs of GLP-1s
are exorbitant — the company reported a $1.8 billion year-overyear increase in pharmacy costs driven by GLP-1s and other specialty drugs — with no relief in sight.
“Costs were incredibly high and there is only so much we can spend, we have to nd the dollars for other drugs too,” Dr. James Grant, BCBSM’s chief medical ofcer, told Crain’s.
But Wegovy, Zepbound and the lesser-used Saxenda make up only a small portion of the overall pharmacy costs for BCBSM, accounting for about $100 million last year for fewer than 10,000 patients. at means each patient cost the insurer roughly $10,000 annually just for the weight loss drugs.
However, while clinicians acknowledge the high costs, they are concerned with the overall impact on patients.
“Patients are losing access to a class of drugs that have really been the most e ective weight loss treatment, short of bariatric surgery, on the market ever,” said Dr. David Pinelli, internist and assistant chief medical o cer for McLaren Medical Group, which oversees roughly 300 doctors across McLaren Health Care’s network. “Patients losing these drugs is going to increase the risk of a lot of other issues, like high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, depression and others.”
Dustin Walsh
E.J. Schultz, AdAge
Ballooning costs for weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy have prompted some health insurers to start pushing back on covering them.
BLOOMBERG
See GM on Page 17
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DEKRA offers testing, inspection and certi cation services for a range of industries, including automotive. | DEKRA
Luxury JW Marriott hotel coming to former Joe Louis site
AJW Marriott hotel is coming to the former Joe Louis Arena site.
e luxury brand owned by Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. is disclosed in an April memorandum of management agreement between the hotel giant and Atwater & Second Associates LLC, an entity tied to Detroit-based developer e Sterling Group, which is developing the site.
On the same site, the company built the 25-story e Residences at Water Square, a nearly 500-unit luxury apartment tower that opened this past winter.
It's the latest Marriott luxury hotel planned for the downtown area, following news of the Edition hotel that's opening in Dan Gilbert's Hudson's Detroit development north of Campus Martius downtown.
I've reached out to Marriott and Sterling Group for comment on the hotel ag, which will join a host of other Marriott brands in the city including the Element Detroit at the Metropolitan; the AC Hotel on Woodward south of Mack; the Hotel David Whitney, Autograph Collection; the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center; the Westin Book Cadillac; and the Courtyard by Marriott on Jefferson.
e hotel management agreement for the new JW by Marriott is signed by Elie Torgow, CEO of Sterling Group, and Timothy Grisius, global M&A and real estate ofcer for Marriott. e rst management term is for 30 years, followed by two 10-year options, the document says.
Marriott describes its JW hotel ag as one "inspired by principles of mindfulness" featuring "programs and o erings that foster togetherness, allowing guests of all generations to reconnect with each other and experience their
yB Mark Sanchez, Crain’s Grand Rapids Business U of
most meaningful moments together." ere are more than 100
JW Marriott hotels in 35 countries, including one in downtown Grand Rapids, the brand's website says. To bring it to fruition, construction crews have been working on foundations and other site
work for the 25-story, 600-room convention-style hotel dubbed in the agreement as JW Marriott Water Square — a large-scale hotel the region’s tourism industry has been salivating over for years. You can also see workers digging at the former Joe Louis Arena site
near Grand Rapids-area hospital
University of Michigan plans to buy two parcels and o ce buildings adjacent to its Grand Rapidsarea hospital for $45 million that could set the stage for future expansion.
e university’s Board of Regents on June 20 approved an agreement to buy 10.2 acres located adjacent to the University of Michigan HealthWest Hospital in Wyoming and two o ce buildings of 12,077 square feet and 29,763 square feet.
“We are acquiring this strategically located land directly adja-
cent to the University of Michigan Health West Hospital to secure our long-term growth opportunities in e Village development,” university Executive Vice President and CFO Geo rey Chatas wrote in a memo to the board of regents.
A closing date has not yet been determined, and the university will continue to lease space at the buildings, according to the memo.
A university spokesperson was unable to immediately identify the seller.
City of Wyoming property records indicate that parcels are owned by Metro Health Village Retail LLC and Metro O ce
Building LLC, two corporate entities registered with the state in 2006 and 2005, respectively, by developer Gary Granger of Granger Group LLC.
Granger Group developed the Health Village surrounding the 208-bed UM Health-West Hospital that opened in 2007 at Gezon Parkway and Wilson Avenue SW after relocating from Grand Rapids’ southeast side. UM HealthWest back then was known as Metro Health prior to the acquisition by UM Health in 2017.
Closing on the purchase is “subject to the university satisfying itself with the environmental condition
permits have been issued for site, stormwater system and underground work, as well as sewer work and removing unused staircases attached to Huntington Place.
In addition to the JW Marriott and Edition brands, other Marriott luxury brands include the Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, W and others. Several of the Marriott locations in Detroit, including the Autograph Collection and Westin Book Cadillac, fall under Marriott's premium brand line, a notch below the luxury brands. e project, expected to open in 2027, received a 30-year, $130.6 million Renaissance Zone tax break and an $11.6 million Public Act 210 Commercial Rehabilitation Act property tax break over 10 years.
for the extension of Second Avenue south to the Detroit River.
e hotel would have ve podium oors with restaurants, a lobby bar, a pair of ballrooms and 50,000 square feet of meeting rooms. A pedestrian bridge would connect it to Huntington Place. e tourism industry and broader business community have argued for years that the city needs more hotel rooms overall, but in particular such a hotel connected to its convention center.
In the last two months, building
Although the total Renaissance Zone package is $130.6 million, there is a state reimbursement of $48.5 million for local school and library taxes, bringing the net value of the tax break to $82.1 million, a Detroit Economic Growth Corp. executive said earlier this year. e total package between the Renaissance Zone and the PA 210 abatement is valued at $93.7 million.
Renaissance Zones allow for waivers of Detroit's income and utility users tax, city and county property taxes plus state income tax.
e DEGC said earlier this year during the Community Bene ts Ordinance process for the $396.5 million project that the economic bene ts outweigh the value of the incentive package. Economic bene ts are anticipated to be close to $2.6 billion — the vast majority of which would come from spending by Detroit visitors attending conventions and events. e organization also says that without the incentives, the project could not be built. If it is not built, the incentives are not awarded.
Neumann/Smith Architecture is the project architect for both towers. Macomb Township-based Colasanti Construction Services Inc. is the general contractor on both, as well.
of the site and otherwise completing due diligence,” Chatas wrote.
UM has no plans presently for the parcels, which “could be used for future growth,” U-M Health President Dr. David Miller said in a statement to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.
“We are just beginning to assess
how the properties could t into our growth strategies, and any current leases with tenants of the buildings will continue at this point,” Miller said.
Mark Sanchez writes for Crain’s sister publication Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.
University of Michigan Health-West Hospital. UM HEALTH-WEST
Crews dig (foreground) for an extension of Second Avenue south to the Detroit River as others do site work for the $396.5 million Hotel at Water Square project on the former Joe Louis Arena site. To the right is the 25-story The Residences at Water Square. | KIRK PINHO
The former Joe Louis Arena site on the Detroit River, now called Hotel at Water Square, is set to welcome a 25-story, 600 room hotel to downtown Detroit. | NEUMANN/SMITH ARCHITECTURE
A rendering of the proposed convention hotel proposed for the former Joe Louis Arena site. NEUMANN/SMITH ARCHITECHTURE
Kirk Pinho
Michigan Medicine returns to pro ts amid rapid growth
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Michigan Medicine projects a return to pro tability in 2024. e Ann Arbor health system, which includes 11 hospitals statewide and hundreds of clinics, reported a projected $226.5 million operating margin, or a 2.9% margin on revenue, for its scal year that ends on June 30 on revenue of $7.88 billion. at compares to an operating loss of $65.1 million on revenue of $7.25 billion in scal year 2023.
“ e work of our collective teams allows us to provide life changing, patient centered care every day. We are grateful for their dedication,” Marschall Runge, CEO of Michigan Medicine, dean of the U-M Medical School and executive vice president for medical a airs for the University of Michigan, said in a press release.
UM’s Board of Regents also approved the health system’s budget for next scal year, which projects a 1.7% operating margin, or $139.3 million, on revenue of $8.37 billion.
e results show a bigger and more nancially complicated health system. Michigan Medicine, and its University of Michigan Health subsidiary, have engaged in rapid growth in recent years, gobbling up more and more market share in the state.
UM Health is also in the middle of constructing the $920 million D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion on its Ann Arbor campus to alleviate the current capacity constraints. e 690,000-squarefoot, 12-story tower will add 154 new inpatient beds, with 110 additional beds relocated from its legacy hospital, as well as new surgical suites. e Pavilion is expected to open in the fall of 2025.
In August last year, the health system nalized its acquisition of Lansing-based Sparrow Health with six hospitals across mid-Michigan. UM plans to invest $800 million into the Sparrow system over eight years.
It’s also opened new centers in metro Grand Rapids in recent years, including the home of
Grand Valley State University in Allendale in 2022. Most recently, UM Health-West, based in Grand Rapids, signed a three-year affiliation deal with Holland Hospital.
In April, UM announced it would pay $4.42 million for 7.28 acres of the 40-acre former Kmart headquarters in Troy to build another outpatient center.
But is that growth coming at a cost?
Leapfrog, a national patient advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., recently gave the health system a “B” for patient safety using a criterion of 30 metrics in preventable medical errors, acci-
dents, injuries and infections.
Leapfrog said UM Health saw in an increase in central line bloodstream infections and Clostridioides di cile (C. di ) infections, along with above average rates of falls and foreign objects in bodies following surgery to re ect its drop in grade.
UM rebutted that the rankings occurred partially during the COVID-19 pandemic that overwhelmed hospitals.
It was the rst time the system didn’t receive an “A” in the Leapfrog rankings since their creation in 2012.
David Miller, president of UM Health, told the regents June 20
that quality will be maintained and improved under the growing “Block M.”
UM Health will “strengthen its clinical enterprise for both today and tomorrow by continuing to invest in our teams, improving access and experience at our academic medical center, promoting and supporting continued innovation, and advancing clinical integration across our statewide network, with an emphasis on providing the right care in the right place at the right time,” he told the regents. “As we grow, maintaining the highest quality of care across UM Health will always be our top priority.”
Michigan Medicine’s campus in Ann Arbor | MICHIGAN MEDICINE
EDITORIAL
Is Our Next Energy our next cautionary tale?
The road to an automotive future of electric vehicles has had some bumps in Michigan.
e latest is word that battery startup Our Next Energy has created a partnership with Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn — a deal that amounts to a rescue for Our Next Energy. e Novi-based company has struggled to raise money that it needs to bring its plans to make batteries in Michigan to fruition.
e deal, which has yet to fully play out, does involve Foxconn taking a stake of undisclosed size in ONE.
Foxconn’s checkered history in the U.S. doesn’t necessarily inspire con dence in what might come next.
e company, best known for assembling iPhones, prompted a multistate rush to lure a U.S. manufacturing plant that never happened, even after Wisconsin waved billions of dollars at the company to win it.
Foxconn also backed out of a promised investment in EV startup Lordstown Motors, which wound up in bankruptcy. Our Next Energy’s plan is worryingly reminiscent of that situation.
e other megaprojects that Michigan used massive taxpayer subsidies to lure to the state have also had their issues. Chinese manufacturer Gotion’s planned plant near Big Rapids has been a political football and a court battle between the company and local o cials who would like to block the plant.
COMMENTARY
Ford’s plan for an EV battery plant in Marshall was paused during last fall’s UAW strike and has been scaled back as electric vehicle sales haven’t grown as quickly as previously projected.
All of these plans were part of a grand
push to maintain the state’s position in vehicle manufacturing amid the transition to EVs.
e bumps in the road show the perils of government trying to pick winners and losers while trying to encourage the cre-
ation of a new industry ahead of consumer demand. Eventually reality will rear its head, and Our Next Energy’s dire situation is an example of that.
e state and federal government showered hundreds of millions of dollars on a startup with a vision to create an American-owned battery maker. Now, it appears only a lifeline of overseas investment is keeping that startup’s dream a oat.
Michigan and the U.S. have been down this road before. In the early 2000s, millions of dollars were steered toward a different wave of battery startups and green energy companies.
Many of those dreams didn’t materialize, either. ough the situation now isn’t the same, it certainly echoes.
Most notably, battery company A123 (where ONE founder Mujeeb Ijaz was a top executive) received a similar raft of government investment. It later led for bankruptcy and was bought out by a Chinese company, Wanxiang Group. A123 is still around, but it’s hardly the all-American green energy leader that backers originally envisioned.
To be clear, we’re rooting for Michigan and its companies to win in the EV race, which has miles and miles to go.
But the experience of the EV gold rush so far should serve as a cautionary note the next time politicians decide to create an industry that doesn’t really exist yet. e visions always meet up with reality, and the result isn’t always what you hope.
Universities are embracing AI as next research frontier
In a short time, arti cial intelligence is everywhere — predictive analytics in business, autonomous systems in manufacturing plants, generative AI like ChatGPT in classrooms and machine learning in our streaming apps to suggest movies we personally would most like to watch.
AI is a game-changing technology that is estimated to contribute upwards of $16 trillion to the global economy by 2030 — more than the current output of China and India combined.
But AI also poses risks and produces fears about control over data privacy, integrity, fairness and job security. Our research universities — Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University — are using a thoughtful approach to developing technological advances and ethical uses of AI and generative AI that match our institutional values and principles. And we are working with students, faculty and sta across our campuses and people and organizations across Michigan and beyond to learn how to integrate and appropriately use AI and generative AI to augment work, not replace workers.
Our universities comprise Michigan’s
creative and successful.
Dedicated research labs and groups focused on AI have formed across our campuses. Collectively our universities conducted more than $369 million in AIrelated R&D over the past ve years. From engineering to philosophy and biology to linguistics, AI spans academic elds and is often highly interdisciplinary and collaborative.
working with colleagues from UM to make MRIs smarter by using machine learning to improve imaging and reduce errors.
University Research Corridor, one of the nation’s top university innovation clusters. Together we conduct $2.8 billion in research and development, educate more than 152,000 students and employ nearly 71,000 Michiganders each year, with a net annual economic impact of $23.9 billion that reaches every county across the state.
We are dedicated to serving the residents, industry and the economy of Michigan. is includes pushing the boundaries of what AI can do to make our institutions, graduates and industries in our state more competitive, e ective,
In addition to developing new AI technologies, our universities are leveraging AI to bene t humanity and society, from reducing health disparities and mitigating food insecurity, to improving K12 education and the quality of our air and water. AI has been deployed to improve productivity and e ciency in transportation, health care, nance, communications, security and entertainment, among other industries.
For example, Michigan’s Space Grant Consortium at UM funds research projects in areas relevant to the strategic interests of NASA, including in mobility, AI and sustainability, for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at Wayne State, MSU and universities across Michigan.
Additionally, MSU researchers are
And the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization Advanced Computing Technologies Innovation Hub at Wayne State supports applied research and commercialization e orts across a range of advanced computing disciplines, including AI, machine learning, natural language processing and robotic processes, and fast-tracks technologies and innovations from labs at universities and nonpro ts across the state into the market.
AI will impact our lives, our work and our world. We endeavor to lead not only in innovation and technology development, but also in ethics and integrity to ensure AI and generative AI are infused with our best traditions and values.
Hear from top university leaders
You can hear from university presidents Santa Ono, Kevin Guskiewicz and Kimberly Andrews Espy live at Crain’s next Power Breakfast, July 25 at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit. Go to crainsdetroit.com/events to buy tickets.
Kimberly Andrews Espy is president of Wayne State University. Kevin Guskiewicz is president of Michigan State University. Santa Ono is president of the University of Michigan.
Our Next Energy has struck a partnership with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn that could provide it a lifeline. | NIC ANTAYA
EMU president is the latest to announce plan to step down
yB Sherri Welch
Eastern Michigan University
President James Smith has signaled his plan to step down — two years from now.
Smith, 67, said June 20 that he’ll depart at the end of June 2026 with the conclusion of his contract and a 10-year tenure.
“Although it may seem odd to some that I make this statement today, I am acutely aware of the challenges and complex timelines required to nd and install the next Eastern Michigan University president,” Smith told the EMU board of regents. “ at timeline, to be sure, is no less than 18 months in duration — I want those 18 months to be as productive as humanly possible and, thus, I make this declaration today.”
Smith said his future plans have yet to be determined as he considers options including career transition, retirement, lecturing or consulting.
e board of regents will consult with faculty, sta , students and alumni and begin a search process to identify candidates for Smith’s successor in the months ahead, Chairman Chad Newston, who is also CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority, said in prepared remarks during the board meeting.
“Your leadership continues to guide the University in countless positive ways. Your commitment to excellence is unwavering — and I have no doubt that it will continue over the next two years,” he told Smith.
To date, Smith has led e orts including:
◗ Completion of the largest fundraising campaign EMU’s history, surpassing a $100 million goal by raising more than $119 million for student scholarships, faculty support and academic program investments and engaging key donors including GameAbove, Windgate Foundation, Halle Foundation and Jack Roush, chairman of Livonia-based Roush Enterprises Inc.
A $200 million project to renovate and construct apartment-style, student housing
◗ Construction and expansion of Sill Hall to create a home for the GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology
◗ Renovation of Strong Hall to enhance EMU’s STEM curriculum.
◗ Increased support for student physical and emotional well-being through investments in the Rec/IM facility, Community Behavioral Health Clinic, counseling and psychological services and a new campus health center.
Expansion of Swoop’s Food Pantry at EMU to help address food insecurity.
◗ Investments in sustainability to reduce the university’s carbon footprint.
Smith is the second leader of Michigan’s 15 public universities to announce his plans to depart this year. After nearly six years as head of Central Michigan University, President Robert Davies in January said he’ll step down in December for personal and professional reasons.
With their departures, the top leadership of two-thirds of the state’s public universities will have turned over in the last couple of years.
e state’s three largest public research universities have seen recent turnover. Santa Ono joined the University of Michigan in October 2022. Kimberly Andrews Espy took the helm of Wayne State University late last summer, and Kevin Guskiewicz was installed as president of Michigan State University in March.
Outside of those, ve other public universities in the state saw changes in their president or chancellor seats over the past two years,
including Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, Univesity of Michigan-Flint and Ferris State University.
e top leadership transitions at the public univesities are somewhat cyclical and steady, generally, but followed by a “ urry of departures,” the vast majority due to retirements, said Daniel Hurley, president of the Michigan Association of State Universities, in an email.
“ e college presidency is a remarkably challenging leadership position and is becoming increasingly more so. But it also comes with tremendous bene ts,” he said.
Eastern Michigan University board of regents members applaud President James Smith for his accomplishments after he announced his departure in two years during a meeting June 20. | EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
OUTDOOR DINING
Where to eat and drink this summer
In Michigan, the summer season means dining and drinking al fresco. Whether you are looking to be submersed in the outdoors or seeking a craft cocktail or a taste of a blossoming business, there is something for everyone to satisfy your summer dining desires. The following is a list of some new patios this season and other favorites. This list is not meant to be exhaustive — there are too many places to list them all.
DETROIT
Adelina
1040 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Adelina opened in March on the ground oor of One Campus Martius downtown. The Italian and Mediterranean restaurant from celebrity chef Fabio Viviani and Adelina’s culinary team led by Chef Gabriel Botezan and Chef Marco Dalla Fontana has several four-top tables and a six-top table on the patio facing Woodward so you can watch the bustling city life.
Alpino Detroit
1426 Bagley St., Detroit
Alpino has a new 42-seat patio space with string lights, greenery, tables and outdoor seating. Its open-air space aims to enhance its communal atmosphere and partner with the comfort of the restaurant’s regional Alps dishes. The wine-forward menu also has an interesting lineup of cocktails.
Batch Brewing Co.
1400 Porter St., Detroit (Corktown)
Batch Brewing Co. has an expansive covered outdoor seating area with lots of long picnic tables meant for sharing. The beer list is long and interesting and the house menu boasts dishes from tacos to Wild Boar Lasagna. Check out the schedule of free and ticketed live music events for the summer.
The Congregation
9321 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit
The Congregation, located in a former church building built in 1917, has a patio, tables and lawn space for guests to gather. The deck can seat 25 people and the greenspace can hold around 60 people. The Congregation has a summer menu with cocktails, coffee and tea crafted for the season. Food includes sandwiches, salads and shareables.
By | Elizabeth Schanz
Eatóri Market
1215 Griswold St., Detroit
Eatóri Market, a chic Mediterranean bar and restaurant, reopened in March following a two-month pause for renovations. Located in the Malcomson Building at Capitol Park, Eatóri has its own outdoor patio space with 45 seats where customers can enjoy the signature Eatóri salad, mussels and a variety of beverages while enjoying the city views.
El Barzon Restaurante
3710 Junction St., Detroit
The food and drinks menu at this Southwest Detroit restaurant run by James Beard Award-nominated chef and owner Norberto Garita is split between traditional Mexican and traditional Italian plus some modern touches. The large covered patio is a relaxing space on which to enjoy them.
Motor City Wine
1949 Michigan Ave., Detroit (Corktown)
The wine bar regularly hosts live music and DJs and pop-up dinners. The wide range of wines can be purchased by the bottle and shared with friends on the expansive fenced-in patio.
Nuevo Seoul
220 W. Congress St., Detroit
Nuevo Seoul, a Korean-style Mexican restaurant that opened in April, is ready for its rst summer season. The menu boasts a variety of signature cocktails, from a $25 “That Tiki Drink” to a slushy dragonfruit margarita. Food ranges from tacos to ramen. The location has an alleyfacing patio that is connected to the main building with garage-style doors.
Alpino has a 42-seat patio space with string lights, greenery, tables and outdoor seating. | ALPINO
Batch Brewing Co. | BATCH
OAKLAND COUNTY
Prime + Proper
1145 Griswold St., Detroit
The upscale steakhouse in Capitol Park aims to bring “luxury, history and exquisite detail” to its 1912 space and menu. That includes “a smart and sophisticated casual dress code,” even on its patio, which has room for 30 guests.
Side Hustle Lounge
1226 Library St., Detroit
Side Hustle Lounge, an expansion of Mootz Pizzeria and Bar, opened in April in a 4,000square-foot space adjacent to the restaurant. Side Hustle features an outdoor patio with 24 seats. The lounge makes cocktails its “main hustle” to go with its Italian- and Latininspired small plates. The menu is separate from Mootz pizzeria, but all of the food is made in the Mootz kitchen.
Supergeil
2442 Michigan Ave., Detroit (Corktown)
Supergeil aims to bring the culture and environment of Berlin’s Kreuzberg district to Detroit. Its outdoor space features an elevated deck and bar window with patio access. Its breakfast, lunch and dinner menu is in uenced by Eastern Europe and Mediterranean coastal towns of France, Spain and into Northern Africa. The drinks menu includes some seasonally inspired cocktails, some tried-and-true offerings as well as beer and wine.
Bill’s Bloom eld Hills
39556 Woodward Ave., Bloom eld Hills
Bill’s aims for a sophisticated yet comfortable space with a patio that creates an atmosphere of both. The breakfast, lunch, dinner, social hour and dessert menus are inspired by French bistros, Italian trattorias and American social clubs.
Ferndale Project
567 Livernois, Ferndale
Ferndale Project has a large family friendly outdoor space that can hold 130 people. Guests can enjoy a variety of Eastern Market Brewing Co. beers and cafe specialty drinks, along with brunch, lunch and dinner. Positioning itself as an “experimental hub and community brewery,”
Ferndale Project has used its patio space to host events like outdoor yoga and live music entertainment.
Lincoln Yard
2159 E. Lincoln St., Birmingham
Lincoln Yard in Birmingham opened in March, followed by its patio in June. The restaurant is a venture from the Union Joints folks, so it has wood- red pizza and mac and cheese in addition to “cleaner, greener comfort food and rotisserie meat” on the menu. Drinks run the gamut from a passionfruit daiquiri to a Ghia sumac and chili spritz, along with beer and wine. The patio has 60 seats including a lounge area.
Sylvan Table
1819 Inverness, Sylvan Lake
This sustainable farmto-table restaurant makes its home in a 300-year-old barn. It also has a wood-structure outdoor seating area overlooking the venue’s garden and outdoor greenery. The food and drink menus are special and creative, with a full range of cocktails, wine and beer.
Syndicate
140 Vester St., Ferndale
Syndicate, which makes its home in the former Ferndale City Glass Co. space, has a patio reminiscent of an art alley. The locally focused seasonal menu includes a range of options, including vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free alternatives. The drinks menu offers a variety of craft cocktails with house signatures and seasonal options.
Prime + Proper has room for 30 guests on its downtown patio. PRIME + PROPER VIA FACEBOOK
Side Hustle Lounge in Detroit has a patio with 24 seats. | SIDE HUSTLE BY MOOTZ
Supergeil’s outdoor space includes an elevated deck and window with patio access. | SUPERGEIL
Bill’s offers guests a sophisticated yet comfortable outdoor space. BILL’S
The Ferndale Project’s outdoor space is popular with families and small groups. | FERNDALE PROJECT
Sylvan Table has a covered seating area overlooking its garden. | SYLVAN TABLE INSTAGRAM
WAYNE COUNTY MACOMB COUNTY
Bierkeller Tavern & Eatery
20085 Goddard Road, Taylor
Enjoy good food and drink in a fun and friendly atmosphere with a German air. The biergarten and covered patio are great spots to dine on Scotch eggs, chicken paprikash soup and burgers washed down with a German pilsner or cocktail.
Brickhouse
2935 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte
This American restaurant boasts “the best burgers and cold beer” with a lively patio scene.
Bumbo’s
3001 Holbrook Ave., Hamtramck
Bumbo’s Bar has a covered outdoor patio with seating offered rain or shine. The
ANN ARBOR
Bill’s Beer Garden
218 S. Ashley St., Ann Arbor
Bill’s is a favorite community gathering space in downtown Ann Arbor featuring long, shareable tables and benches and offering a long list of beer along with wine and mixed drinks.
HOMES Brewery
2321 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor
Enjoy your choice of 8-14 beers on tap, mostly hoppy and sours, as well as Smooj hard smoothies, locally sourced spirits, wine and cider. Asian-in uenced street food can be enjoyed in a variety of outdoor spaces.
Lowertown Bar & Cafe
1031 Broadway, Ann Arbor
Stop by anytime morning and night for coffee or drinks in a relaxed setting. Cocktails are simple and fresh, beers are chosen to suit all tastes and the coffee roasted by Hyperion Coffee has a comforting
Blake’s
17985 Armada Center Road, Armada
Blake’s Orchard Cider Mill in Armada adapts to all four seasons. Guests can enjoy the orchard’s outdoor space while ordering from the menu of Blake’s Tasting Room and Restaurant, which includes Blake’s own brews, hard ciders and desserts like warm doughnut bread pudding.
Brown Iron Brewhouse
57695 Van Dyke Road, Washington Township
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drinks-only menu features cocktails, spirit-free drinks, wine and beer. The bar allows customers to bring in their own food.
Ford’s Garage
21367 Michigan Ave., Dearborn
The burger and beer joint throws open its garage doors and opens its patio for outdoor dining and drinking this time of year. The menu includes Black Angus and vegetarian burgers and more than 100 beers.
feel. There’s no kitchen, but there are Washtenaw Dairy doughnuts on the weekends as well as visits by food trucks and pop-ups.
Moth re Brewing Co.
713 W. Ellsworth Road, Ann Arbor
The brewery and taproom’s patio includes repits, live music and immersive rotating art installations. Enjoy ights and nonalcoholic drinks, rotating food trucks or bring in your own food.
The restaurant and bar features locally sourced smokehouse cuisine and beer brewed in-house.
Fishbone’s
23722 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores
The seafood, steak and sushi restaurant and bar hosts a variety of live entertainment, with live jazz Thursdays and Saturdays on the patio.
Tap & Barrel Grill
50055 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township
The upscale, casual sports bar’s menu features more than 40 craft beers on tap and a food menu with burgers that include a caprese burger and truf e burger. The patio has tables with umbrellas and others with repits.
Brickhouse has a lively patio scene.
BRICKHOUSE VIA FACEBOOK
Bumbo’s
Blake’s has a variety of outdoor spaces on its property where guests can enjoy cider and doughnuts, lunch and dinner and beverages. | BLAKE’S ORCHARD AND CIDER MILL
Brown Iron Brewhouse in Washington Township is a great spot to gather with friends and family. | BROWN IRON BREWHOUSE VIA FACEBOOK
Lowertown Bar & Cafe in Ann Arbor is open all day and into the night.
Where the best waterfront patios are in metro Detroit
The need to be on or near the water instantly oods over Michiganders when the weather warms up. Luckily, with plenty of lakes, canals and rivers in Southeast Michigan, metro Detroiters don’t have to go far to enjoy a meal or drinks at a waterfront restaurant or bar.
DETROIT
Andiamo Riverfront
400 Renaissance Center, Suite A-403, Detroit
Andiamo offers a riverfront view of the Windsor skyline, boats and people enjoying the riverwalk. Diners can enjoy the restaurant’s signature, madefrom-scratch Italian cuisine and extensive wine list and hand-crafted cocktails.
Coriander Kitchen & Farm
14601 Riverside Blvd., Detroit
Coriander Kitchen & Farm, located in Detroit’s east side canal district in a former marina, features a patio and waterfront view. Coriander’s farm-to-table lunch and dinner menus change to re ect the season and harvest with ingredients sourced from the business’ farm. The menu basics include vegetableforward dishes and a “Great Lakes twist on seaside classics,” including sh and chips, burgers and grilled sh. Coriander’s drink menu uses farm-grown herbs in its cocktails and fresh, bold avors. The Farm Margarita is a favorite drink this time of year, along with small-batch beers and no-alcohol cocktails. Reservations are not accepted for the outdoor canal-side seating area. However, reservations are accepted for the indoor dining room and greenhouse patio for dinner and weekend lunches.
Joe Muer’s Seafood
400 Renaissance Center, Suite 1404, Detroit
The riverfront location offers an expansive view of the water and Windsor skyline. It’s a great spot for celebrations, evening cocktails and dinner. The menu is, of course, focused on sh and seafood with oysters, spicy tuna tartar and smoked salmon ravioli among the modernized classics, along with poultry and meat dishes. The wine list is robust and there is a full bar, too.
Sindbad’s Restaurant and Marina
100 St. Clair, Detroit
Established in 1949, Sindbad’s views, atmosphere and waterfront experience illuminates the magic of a Michigan summer. Sindbad’s has an outdoor patio overlooking the Detroit River and Belle Isle. The restaurant has access to the marina and a dock with free
guest wells for boaters who are dining. The menu offers a variety of seafood and sh dishes, along with sandwiches and main entrees. Homemade soups include clam chowder. Sindbad’s has a full bar, including a menu of ice cream drinks.
Smokey G’s Smokehouse
Robert C Valade Park, 2670 Atwater St., Detroit
Smokey G’s, part of the Robert C. Valade Park on the East Riverfront, has outdoor seating overlooking the Detroit River. It features a menu with smoked meats and comfort food sides with main courses ranging from $14-$19.
Smokey G’s does not have a liquor license.
By | Elizabeth Schanz
WAYNE COUNTY
JP’s Waterfront
13200 Middle Gibraltar Road, Gibraltar
JP’s Waterfront, situated in Humbug Marina in Gibraltar, is a family owned bar and grill with spacious outdoor seating and a large dock-style patio at the Detroit River with an outdoor bar. JP’s menu features “in the sea” options, including Caribbean shrimp skewers, and “on dry land” items like ribeye steaks. The full bar features a variety of beer, wine and cocktails, including the “Man Overboard” and “Ship Wrecked.”
Smugglers Run
1 Saint John St., Wyandotte
Smugglers Run, on the Detroit River, calls itself the largest “indoor-outdoor waterfront party in Southeast Michigan” offering a mix of live music, craft cocktails and captivating atmosphere. It also has a food and drink menu to go with it. The drink menu’s house specialties include “Mermaid Water,” “Smugglers Mai Tai” and “Tropical Painkiller.” Food includes shareable egg rolls and pretzels, tacos, pizza, sh and chips, rice bowls, sandwiches and burgers.
The Waterfront Wyandotte
507 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte
The Waterfront Wyandotte’s location on the Detroit River makes for some amazing views. There is seating for 75 people on the roof of the restaurant and another 100 people on a waterside deck. Additionally, The Waterfront Wyandotte partners with Motor City Marina to offer 20 docks to its patrons with overnight and daily dockage available for boats up to 80 feet. The food menu runs the gamut from shrimp cocktail and summer salad to pizza, pasta, sandwiches and entrees. Enjoy music on the patio on Thursday nights with a cold beverage.
Joe Muer Seafood at the Renaissance Center in Detroit offers riverfront dining. | JOE MUER SEAFOOD VIA FACEBOOK
Coriander Kitchen & Farm CORIANDER KITCHEN & FARM
Smokey G’s Smokehouse is at the Robert C. Valade Park at 2670 Atwater St. in Detroit.
Sindbad’s Restaurant and Marina | SINDBAD’S RESTAURANT AND MARINA
Andiamo offers ne Italian dining and drinks on a riverfront patio at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. | ANDIAMO VIA FACEBOOK
Smugglers Run | SMUGGLERS RUN
OAKLAND COUNTY
4th Tavern Lake House
4710 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford
4th Tavern Lake House brings breakfast-to-dinner options to the lakeside with outdoor seating overlooking Crescent Lake. The menu features steak, seafood, sandwiches and stone-cooked entrees that bring out “American classics” to a lakehouse setting. The tavern also offers a happy hour, 3-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Beach Tiki Bar and Boil
142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake
Located on Walled Lake, The Beach Tiki Bar and Boil brings the tropical vacation feel to the Michigan views. The venue’s enclosed outdoor patios with a bar and restaurant feed the eyes, while the menu features the restaurant’s signature seafood boil, jambalaya and Cajun mac and cheese. The drink menu includes a variety of cocktails and 40 rotating beer handles.
Driftwood Bar and Grill
1103 E. Lake Drive, Novi
Driftwood Bar and Grill has an outdoor patio overlooking Walled Lake for brunch, dinner or drinks. Driftwood’s signature dishes include its baked four-cheese mac and cheese with parmesan, cheddar jack, mozzarella, white American cheese and Panko bread crumbs. Waygu beef and Amish chicken dishes, as well as sandwiches and salads round out the menu.
MACOMB COUNTY
Bumpers Landing
31970 N. River Road, Harrison Township
Fork n’ Pint
4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, Waterford
Fork n’ Pint is a local favorite, with a large outdoor patio across from Cass Lake in Waterford near Dodge State Park #4 and Bayside Marina — a central place to enjoy drinks and a meal after a day of outdoor activity. The pub draws in a crowd for its weekly specials, happy hour and live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays.
It’s a Matter of Taste
2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township
It’s a Matter of Taste has a classy outdoor lakeside deck overlooking Union Lake. The restaurant also has an expansive view of the water from the indoor dining room. The menu leans into the water theme, with lots of seafood and sh appetizers and entrees, along with meat, chicken and salad options. Take advantage of the full bar for a waterside cocktail.
The White Lake Inn
3955 Ormond Road, White Lake
Originally opened as an inn in 1899, The White Lake Inn has become a staple in the community. With a patio overlooking White Lake, for which the surrounding area is named, the White Lake Inn creates a friendly atmosphere through its location, casual dining menu, tiki bar and live entertainment events.
Located on the Clinton River, next to Crews Inn, Bumpers Landing is a waterfront sports bar and grill featuring a patio. The menu features wine deals with a special to get a bucket of ve house wines for $24. Food options include a slew of starters and tacos, along with sandwiches, salads, pizza and more.
Cabana Blue Lakefront Sports Bar & Grill
7317 Dyke Road, Clay Township Cabana Blue Lakefront Sports Bar & Grill opened in October 2021. Owner Joe Henninger transformed the property “into an island waterfront recreational destination” while it previously had “nothing but overgrown invasive species and abandoned commercial equipment.” Now, the Clay Township restaurant and its beachfront patio is an established location for meals and views. The menu’s signature dinners include Mile High Meatloaf, sh and chips and sweet chili sriracha salmon, along with burgers, atbreads and salads. There’s a full bar, too.
Hook in St. Clair Shores
24214 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores Hook serves Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine, including seafood, steaks, sushi and more, plus a full bar. It has a special “Express Lunch and Patio Menu” that includes a lobster roll, pizzas like Hook’s Signature Mushroom Blend, salads and a
dessert list featuring Hook’s Carrot Cake. This menu is available for extended hours on the patio: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Mike’s on the Water
24530 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores
Mike’s takes decks at a lakeside restaurant to a new level — literally. With a rooftop and lower deck, customers can enjoy the views of Lake St. Clair while enjoying Mike’s signature lobster rolls and drinks from its nautical-themed bar.
Octopus’ Beer Garden
152 N. River Road, Mount Clemens
Octopus’ Beer Garden is a family owned restaurant on the Clinton River. It has an extensive porch decorated with lights and a designated space for live music on the waterfront. It can seat 150 people on the barges and docks. The menu includes shareables like fried calamari and saganaki, as well as sandwiches, salads and entrees such as sh dishes and garlic sesame
noodles. Craft cocktails, shots, wine and more round out the drinks menu.
WaterMark Bar and Grille
24420 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores
WaterMark has an extensive outdoor patio on Safe Harbor Jefferson Beach. The restaurant features dishes like the char-grilled octopus and the tomahawk grilled pork chop topped with house-made garlic butter, plus sandwiches, salads, pasta and more. An extensive cocktail menu will keep anyone looking for a cool drink and a good time happy.
Zef’s Dockside Bar & Kitchen
24026 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores
Zef’s has a raised patio to view Lake St. Clair. Its menu includes a variety of seafood and land options, including Zef’s jerk chicken, a peanut butter and bacon jam burger and dockside reuben. The patio opens at 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday-Sunday.
4th Tavern Lake House offers seating overlooking Crescent Lake. | 4TH TAVERN LAKE HOUSE Mike’s on the Water customers can enjoy the views of
Octopus’ Beer Garden on the Clinton River in Mount Clemens | OCTOPUS’ BEER GARDEN VIA FACEBOOK
Detroit’s largest house racks up 23 blight tickets
yB Nick Manes
e California-based owners of Detroit’s largest private residence have racked up nearly two dozen blight violations in the last year, according to a Crain’s analysis of city records.
At more than 30,000 square feet, the Bishop Mansion in Detroit’s historic Palmer Woods neighborhood stands as a giant among a multitude of stately homes in the city, but unlike most of the others, it’s sat largely vacant for years. at’s despite attempts to sell the property for a year through a traditional market approach, as well as a recent auction, the results of which are unknown.
Starting last August, two di erent entities tied to a wealthy California agricultural family began accumulating blight violations from the city, with the citations ranging from failure to keep up the home’s swimming pool to failing to obtain proper permits and lack of grounds maintenance. In total, 104 Investments LLC and Assemi Group Inc. — each based in Fresno, Calif., and sharing common ownership — have accumulated 23 blight violations totaling $6,500 in judgments.
None of the nes have been paid as of this week, said Georgette Johson, a spokesperson for the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, which oversees blight violations. Johnson said that department o cials are expected to meet with the home’s ownership in the next month to discuss payment and a plan going forward for upkeep of the property.
A representative for Assemi Group declined comment.
A Crain’s reporter recently visited the mansion and found an unkempt yard with a yellow note from BSEED dated May 31 taped to a sign indicating a “notice of
concerned about the lack of upkeep at the Bishop Mansion property and who may come to own it should it sell, as well as what a new owner may do, said Michelle Story-Stewart, president of the Palmer Woods Neighborhood Association.
She said the neighborhood association has had limited communication with the home’s California owners or local representatives.
“We really look forward to someone (buying) that property and getting it back to its splendor,” Story-Stewart told Crain’s. “We really hope that it remains residential," she said, adding that uses such as an event space or shortterm rental would not be desired outcomes for the neighborhood.
Story-Stewart acknowledged the challenges with the home and property, given its size and the expenses needed for further renovations and upkeep.
Public records show the owners paid just more than $100,000 in property taxes last year.
Colorful history
e so-called Bishop Mansion has a colorful history.
Built by the Fisher brothers for Bishop Michael Gallagher — who headed the Catholic diocese in Detroit from 1918 until his death in 1937— the 68-room Tudor Revival mansion was designed by the Boston architectural rm of McGinnis and Walsh.
Beyond being used as a home for the former Catholic bishop, the residence was also owned by former Detroit Pistons star John Salley and was used as a church by Great Faith Ministries.
In 2017, a company a liated with the Assemi family in Fresno bought the house from the church for an undisclosed amount. Public records show that in March 2020 the property was forfeited to the Wayne County treasurer for non-payment of 2018 property taxes.
“We really look forward to someone (buying) that property and getting it back to its splendor. We really hope that it remains residential.”
Michelle Story-Stewart, president of the Palmer
Neighborhood Association
correction,” a precursor to another blight violation. Johnson said that notice, for “tall weeds/high grass,” had not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
Palmer Woods is a tony Detroit neighborhood north of Seven Mile Road and west of Woodward Avenue, known for its large, historic mansions. Its neighbors are
o ce, “is an industry leader in land acquisition, land development, home building, farming, medical education, and aviation in Central California,” according to the company’s website. It’s unclear why the family was interested in owning a Detroit mansion.
Much of the family’s wealth appears tied to the strong agricultural sector of California’s Central Valley.
In late 2022, another Assemi-a liated entity, Assemi Group based in Fresno, paid $6,642 to the Wayne County treasurer to redeem the property out of foreclosure.
California records show that both of the Assemi-a liated entities share the same registered agent, John Bezmalinovic, who is general counsel for the Assemi Group, according to his LinkedIn pro le.
In May 2023, the Bishop Mansion owners listed the property for sale for $9 million, a record asking price in the city of Detroit. At the time, the owners had undertaken consider-
able restoration of the 100-plusyear-old house but planned to leave much of the nishes to a new owner. e property sat on the market for a year, undergoing several price cuts.
In May, the Bishop Mansion was pulled from the market and a sealed-bid auction was scheduled to take place last month. Luke Schrader, who managed the auction through his brokerage,
Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co. Inc. based in Columbia City, Ind., declined to comment on the auction, citing the con dentiality of the sealed bid process.
Assemi family tumult
e ongoing saga of the Bishop Mansion appears to be just part of the challenges facing the Assemi family. Assemi Group, the family
In February, the San Joaquin Valley Sun newspaper reported that the Assemi family was exploring a sale of about 52,000 acres of farmland it owns in the area, including an exit from Touchstone Pistachio Co., a major nut processor owned by the family. e combined value of all the assets and entities is reportedly around $2 billion.
Amid the possible sale of assets, an inter-family squabble has also been playing out in the courts, with son Kevin Assemi suing his father, Farid Assemi, and uncles, Farshid Assemi and Darius Assemi, according to a separate report late last year in the Sun. e lawsuit, which court records show as ongoing, reportedly contains 31 civil claims, “including fraud, breach of contract, unfair business practices, wrongful termination, malpractice, breach of duciary duty and unjust enrichment.”
Given the size, scope, expense and apparent family dynamics at play for the Bishop Mansion, the residence’s future remains unclear. Still, Story-Stewart with the neighborhood association remains hopeful that a resolution for the betterment of the neighborhood will play out.
As a possible example, the neighborhood association president pointed to the $4.9 million 2022 purchase of the nearby Fisher Mansion by former Stellantis North America COO Mark Stewart and Antonio Gamez Galaz.
“I think we got pretty lucky with the Fisher Mansion,” StoryStewart said. “We hope something like that could happen again.”
The 30,000-square-foot Bishop Mansion in Detroit’s historic Palmer Woods neighborhood has sat largely vacant for years. | NICK MANES
The Bishop Mansion failed to sell in the open market for a year and the results of a recent auction are unknown.
The California-based owners of the Bishop Mansion in Detroit have accumulated 23 blight violations totaling $6,500 in judgments over the last year.
Woods
New public market to give a boost to small businesses
yB Elizabeth Schanz
A new public market in Detroit’s East Warren corridor will o er local residents a small grocery store with local produce, 12 micro-retail spaces, a farmers market, a community gathering space and o ces for the East Warren Development Corp.
Local leaders and small business owners gathered June 20 to break ground for the East Warren Public Market at 16835 E. Warren Ave. e project will transform a former Pizza Hut restaurant into a resource for local businesses and build a 10,000-square-foot commercial and community space.
e market is part of a $5.5 million project funded by the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, the Gilbert Family Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
e project, led by the nonpro t community group E. Warren Development Corp., aims to promote the success of local businesses and provide a resource for the community.
the community group initiated its rst farmers market at the nearby Flux City Development’s “Ribbon” mixed-use a ordable housing project in East English Village Now, the East Warren Public Market is aimed to be completed in 2025.
“ is market will be a bustling hub of activity where residents will hang out and entrepreneurs will launch their dreams,” said Darnell Adams, vice president of Detroit Community Initiatives for the Gilbert Family Foundation. “And the beauty is that they’re going to do it at a low risk and at an accessible entry point to really test out their products and hopefully get more local produce to the tables here in this neighborhood.”
Once completed, the market will have two kitchens and a large prep space so businesses can expand their production and sell products to a larger market. Roughly 25 vendors will work out of the commercial kitchen, Rashid told Crain’s.
“This campus will offer a resilient space for local businesses to thrive.”
Joe Rashid, executive director, E. Warren Development Corp.
“ is campus will o er a resilient space for local businesses to thrive right here in the heart of our neighborhood,” said Joe Rashid, executive director of E. Warren Development Corp.
Rashid, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, said the development of the market is ve years in the making, starting when
“It’ll allow us to be able to sell our products not just here, but in other restaurants … because there’s a Cottage (Food) Law, a requirement that foodbased businesses produce your product in a commercial kitchen,”
Stacey Davis, the owner of Stacey’s 2day Tea, told Crain’s.
Davis has been a part of the East Warren community for 22 years and said being able to grow her business within the community is “everything.”
Since its inaugural year in 2019, Davis has been part of the East Warren farmers market and food truck market. She said participating in the market helped expand her business and now, with the commercial kitchen, the market is lling another need because there are very few in the community.
“I can’t wait ’til this commercial kitchen is open because, again, it will allow me to scale up. I’ve already been approved to sell at Meijer, but it (the tea) has to be produced in a commercial kitchen,” Davis said.
Crain’s Detroit Business wins 9 awards in national business journalism competition
Crain’s Detroit Business has won nine awards in a national journalism competition among business news outlets.
e awards span reporting, writing, design, digital newsletters and photography.
e recognitions included a gold award for a Crain’s Forum package on the Midwest’s race to lure electric vehicle plants, as well as two gold awards for design work. Crain’s real estate coverage also won awards across multiple categories.
Recognized by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers at its annual awards program June 21 with gold, silver or bronze awards were: ◗ Gold, Best Explanatory Journalism, “Crain’s Forum: States pull out all the stops in race for new EV investments” Kurt Nagl.
◗ Gold, Best Front Page — Newspaper, Karen Freese Zane.
◗ Gold, Best Overall Design. Silver, Best Use of Photography/ Illustrations.
Silver, Best Specialty E-Newsletter, “Crain’s Commercial Real Estate Report.”
◗ Silver, Best Body of Work, Single Writer, Kurt Nagl.
◗ Silver, Best Beat Reporting, Real Estate, Kirk Pinho.
◗ Silver, Best Beat Reporting, Tech and Innovation, Dustin Walsh.
◗ Bronze, Best newspaper — Large tabloids.
Crain’s Detroit Business and other brands owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc., including Crain’s Chicago Business, Crain’s New York Business and Crain’s Cleveland Business, won a total of 27 awards.
e annual contest was judged by faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, one of the nation’s most prestigious journalism schools.
Additionally, the new space will have 12 mico-retail units and 26 units for the year-round farmers market. Vendors are not yet chosen but will be decided within six months of the market’s opening and the market aims to cater the space to the needs of selected vendors, Rashid said.
“So Joe mentioned this earlier, he was able to help over the last several years attract more than $250,000 in revenue to those businesses that participate in the market. at’s a big deal,” Adams said. “And here’s the reality of it: We’re gonna see many, many, many more home-based and micro businesses grow into grocery stores, restaurants and our retail stores.”
Additionally, the new market aims to create wraparound services for businesses, Rashid said, including monthly meetings with participating businesses to check on revenue and o er help withnances, legal assistance, design and more.
“ e goal is to make sure that they’re able to grow and scale, not to stand still, you know, and so, anything we can do to support and bring that to fruition. at’s what we want to do,” Rashid said.
East Warren Public Market will be a hub for local vendors and small business owners to network and sell their products year-round. EAST WARREN DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Joe Rashid, executive director of the East Warren Development Corp., speaks June 20 during the groundbreaking event for the East Warren Public Market project. | ELIZABETH SCHANZ
Crain’s Detroit Business
Detroit homes now the most ‘overvalued’ in U.S.
yB Nick Manes
Metro Detroit home prices kept heating up throughout the spring, and the region now stands as the most “overvalued” in the nation, according to new data.
e monthly S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, which tracks home prices in the nation’s largest metro regions, shows prices in Detroit and surrounding suburbs continue to increase at a rate that exceeds the national average. Meanwhile, recent academic research out of Florida shows Detroit slightly edged out Atlanta as the top market for buyers paying a premium when compared to historic normal pricing.
In the latest Case-Shiller report, released June 25 and showing April home prices, home prices in metro Detroit were up 7.2% from a year earlier and 1.8% higher than the previous month. On a monthover-month basis, home prices in April were 60 basis points higher than in March.
By comparison, home prices nationally in April jumped 6.3% from a year earlier and 1.2% on a month-over-month basis.
“2024 is closely tracking the strong start observed last year, where March and April posted the largest rise seen prior to a slowdown in the summer and fall,” Brian Luke, head of commodities and real & digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said of national home prices in last month’s Case-Shiller report. “Heading into summer, the market is at an all-
FOXCONN
From Page 1
“As part of Our Next Energy’s efforts to build an American battery industry, the company engages with several potential partners on an ongoing basis to build a battery cell factory in Michigan and accelerate the country’s transition to electri cation,” the company said in the statement. “Due to the condential nature of these discussions, ONE does not comment on rumors or speculation about any potential partners.”
Foxconn did not return a request for comment.
A deal with Foxconn represents a path forward for a startup that went from unicorn status and media stardom to teetering on nancial ruin. However, a tie-up with the contract manufacturing behemoth could raise major concerns.
Foxconn’s partnership with and investment in Lordstown Motors, another nancially struggling startup, resulted in a messy legal ght and accusations that Foxconn sought to sabotage the EV manufacturer. Foxconn, which conducts the bulk of its business in China where it faces criticism over working conditions, also has been criticized for failing to follow through on job creation promises.
At the same time, Foxconn has become the world’s largest contract manufacturer through business deals that have been highly successful, such as with Apple, for whom it makes iPhones. EVs and energy storage are now key focus areas for the company.
Our Next Energy, heralded by politicians from former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, was considered one of the most promising
time high, once again testing its resilience against the historically more active time of the year.”
Toward the end of last year, metro Detroit was experiencing the year-over-year fastest rising home prices in the country, but lost that spot in the early part of 2024.
bids to reshore manufacturing and reassert U.S. and Michigan automotive might. Its failure to launch has cast a cloud over ambitions for an independent U.S.bred EV battery manufacturer in an industry dominated by China.
A partnership with Foxconn could keep that ambition alive. Whereas Our Next Energy has the valuable intellectual property and battery development know-how, Foxconn has supply chain and manufacturing expertise.
e strategic partnership would allow Our Next Energy to continue operating independently, with Foxconn’s capital and help to scale manufacturing, according to one of the sources.
Talks began early this year, and the startup landed on Foxconn after vetting a list of potential alternative o ers, the source said. e deal has several phases and is in the early stage. Terms of the partnership are not nalized.
Our Next Energy’s path to building a U.S.-based battery company was derailed at the end of last year
when, amid automakers’ dramatic pullback on EV production, the startup’s Series C fundraising round collapsed. Burning cash with no meaningful revenue stream, the company went into crisis mode, replacing its CEO, slashing headcount and suspending its production line in Van Buren Township.
e startup landed a round of bridge nancing that newly installed CEO Paul Humphries said could last to the end of the year. But the company needs a larger, Series C round for a chance at long-term sustainability. It recently tapped Birch Lake Partners, a merchant bank known for its work with struggling startups, to help nd funding.
While Our Next Energy looks to execute its deal with Foxconn, the startup continues to work toward a Series C, one of the sources said.
e startup’s value lies in its intellectual property. Led by founder Mujeeb Ijaz, who is currently chief tech o cer after vacating the CEO role, the company’s lithium
paying the highest premiums relative to historic norms, according to the May gures from the Beracha and Johnson Housing Market Ranking, conducted by researchers at Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University.
Just one month earlier, Detroit and the broader region stood as the second most in ated market, but it edged out Atlanta in May. Detroit buyers are now paying a premium of nearly 41%, based on the research using the Zillow Home Value Index.
e premium buyers are paying in the region has increased more than six percentage points in the last year.
Ken H. Johnson, a professor at Florida Atlantic University, last month told Crain’s that he expects metro Detroit housing prices to see a correction at some point.
In April, San Diego saw the highest growth rate, with a 10.3% year-over-year gain, followed by New York and Chicago, per the Case-Shiller gures.
While other metro areas are seeing levels of home price growth, metro Detroit now stands as the market in which buyers are
iron phosphate battery technology has shown big potential. Last November, it announced that its dual-chemistry battery achieved 608 miles of range on a single charge in the electric BMW iX.
e startup showed plenty of revenue potential, quoting hundreds of millions of dollars in supply agreements to customers. However, it lacked rm o take agreements and has yet to land a binding supply deal with any major OEM. It has looked to the utility storage business as a quicker avenue to generate revenue.
In many ways, Our Next Energy’s rapid rise and fall mirrored its ill-fated predecessor A123 Systems. Novi-based A123 was a darling innovator of LFP batteries during the George W. Bush/Jennifer Granholm period, luring nearly $400 million in state and federal incentives. But it was ahead of its time, experts say.
Bad timing and bad luck led to its unraveling. After a Fisker battery re problem, A123 led for bankruptcy in 2012 before being bought at auction by Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corp. Since then, LFP technology has been developed in China, which has produced the largest battery makers in the world, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.
“I’m worried about the metro Detroit market because it shouldn’t be going up, especially this rapidly,” Johnson told Crain’s. “Detroit is going up faster now than at any time in the past 30 years in terms of property appreciation values … and price. at’s a little unnerving.”
$1.6 billion and create 2,112 jobs at a plant in Van Buren Township. “While we will not comment on speculation, it is important to note that MEDC incentives are performance-based,” Danielle Emerson, public relations manager for the MEDC, said in an email to Crain’s. “Should any changes occur to a particular agreement, the MEDC will review those changes accordingly.”
Foxconn, one of the world’s largest employers, is no stranger to Michigan. In 2017, under thenGov. Rick Snyder, the state o ered the company an incentives package initially worth $3.7 billion to lure a $10 billion plant with 3,000 employees. e company instead chose Wisconsin, where it failed to deliver on much of its promise.
Foxconn recently outlined a new corporate strategy focused on EVs, digital health and robotics, as well as arti cial intelligence, semiconductors and “next-generation communication technologies,” according to its website.
A deal with Foxconn represents a path forward for a startup that went from unicorn status and media stardom to teetering on nancial ruin.
e chance of that cycle playing out again — a homegrown startup relinquishing control to a foreign company — is likely on the minds of observers, especially in Lansing.
e Michigan Economic Development Corp. approved roughly $200 million of incentives for Our Next Energy, which promised to invest
“Using electric vehicles as an example, Foxconn has a formidable global supply chain, and possesses key component manufacturing capabilities, structural R&D capabilities and system integration services,” the website said. “ is unique set of pro ciencies allow Foxconn to vertically consolidate services, and also provide services on smart platforms.”
Af uent buyers are pushing home prices higher in and around Detroit. | NICK MANES
Commonwealth/McCann is expected to retain some work, including Chevrolet campaigns in several markets outside the U.S. e agency has handled Chevrolet since 2012, when Commonwealth was originally formed in March 2012 as a joint venture between Omnicom’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners and IPG’s McCann to handle Chevrolet. Goodby later split from the venture.
Commonwealth/McCann was behind Chevy’s new tagline, “Together let’s drive,” which debuted late last year, replacing “Find New Roads.” Commonwealth in April was recognized as one of GM’s Suppliers of the Year, a recognition based on performance, innovation and cultural alignment with GM’s values, according to a news release distributed by IPG at the time.
“IPG remains focused on delivering world-class creativity, capabilities and marketing e ectiveness to General Motors and its brands across the many areas of the business that our agencies continue to serve, as well as to working with the partners being added as part of this agency model,” an IPG spokesperson said in a statement to Ad Age.
Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett also had a long history with GM; it began working on Buick and GMC in 2007 and it has done high-pro le work for Cadillac in recent years, including a 2021 Super Bowl ad.
“Publicis as a holding company does work on a signi cant piece of our GM business and in their various shops and agencies, they will continue to be a valued partner for us,” Peck said.
Fresh thinking
But de Greve — whose background includes holding digital marketing roles at Digitas — seemed determined to move outside of GM’s existing agency roster to get some fresh thinking, including from agencies outside of Detroit. Preacher is based in Austin, Texas, while Mother, Anomaly and 72andSunny have o ces on the East and West coasts.
Peck suggested GM’s new creative shops could move some people to Detroit. GM is also bee ng up its hiring of internal marketing sta in the region.
“We sought out the very best agencies possible, no matter where they were located, geo-
graphically speaking,” Peck said. “ at doesn’t mean that we’re moving away from a Detroit-based presence, though.”
GM had conversations with at least 16 creative agencies during the creative review. “ ey are tired of the old traditional agency model,” one agency executive involved in the pitch told Ad Age in April. e consultant on the creative review was SnapPoint, a marketing consultancy run by Tony Weisman, a former Dunkin’ chief marketing o cer and Digitas CEO. MediaLink was involved in the CRM review and was also tasked to consult on GM’s media model.
GM did not do a formal media agency review, opting to stick with Dentsu’s Carat, although it is expected to move some media functions in-house, in addition to other marketing services.
“We’re very happy with Dentsu as our lead media agency,” Peck said.
EV market
e agency shift comes as GM, like all automakers, is trying to navigate a complex marketplace, which includes dealing with a choppy electric vehicle market.
e segment, heralded as the future of automotive, has experienced a rough patch as consumers remain concerned about driving range, with many opting for gas-electric hybrids of late, rather than pure EVs. GM last month scaled back its 2024 EV forecast, saying it would make 50,000 fewer of the vehicles in North America than previously projected.
In April, GM reported a 24% jump in rst-quarter net income and raised its full-year nancial guidance. Its rst-quarter earnings growth was driven by strong demand as well as cost-cutting, with the automaker seeking to cut $2 billion in net xed costs by the end of the year, including through reduced marketing spending, according to Automotive News.
GM in 2023 spent $3.6 billion worldwide on advertising and promotion, down 10% from 2022, according to its annual regulatory ling. e company spent an estimated $2.9 billion on advertising and promotion in the U.S. in 2023, also down about 10% from 2022, according to Ad Age Datacenter estimates. GM was the world’s 24th-largest advertiser in 2022 and No. 11 in the U.S., according to Ad Age Datacenter rankings. (Ad Age has not yet released its 2023 advertiser rankings.)
PARADE
From Page 1
“ is was very important to get this extension. We’re waiting on numerous answers, and our goal is to bring this exciting vision to reality,” Michaels told Crain’s after the vote. “We’re very thankful to City Council and council President Mary She eld along with Mayor Duggan for the support on this project.”
She eld requested quarterly updates in the coming year on progress toward raising the needed funds. Other council members requested a marker about the history of the site and prominent veterans signage
WEGOVY
From Page 3
GLP-1s have proven to be highly e ective at reducing the risk of cardiovascular death — heart attack or stroke — in recent studies. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Wegovy in March for patients at risk of heart disease.
A double-blind trial for the FDA in 2023 revealed Wegovy reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke or death due to other cardiovascular disease by 20%, compared to those on a placebo.
“Blue Cross covers numerous medications that are approved to help prevent and treat cardiovascular disease,” the company said in a statement. “Blue Cross also o ers lifestyle management programs that provide access to oneon-one coaching and nutritional counseling for a holistic weight management approach.”
BCBSM argued that a signicant percentage of patients taking GLP-1s for weight loss aren’t realizing the full bene t because patients weren’t staying on the drugs long enough, citing nationwide claims data.
“ is nding, combined with the excessive prices charged by drug makers, factored into our decision to join the rest of Michigan’s health insurers and exclude these drugs from coverage for our large group fully insured members, as it has been with our small group and individual members,” Blue Cross said in a statement.
Grant said many patients weren’t on the drugs for more
should the project move forward.
Built as a training center and barracks for the state’s military reserves in 1929-30, the Brodhead Armory is east of the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle and Gabriel Richard Park on the Detroit riverfront, about three miles east of downtown Detroit.
e armory building was designed by William Buck Stratton, husband of Pewabic Pottery founder Mary Chase Stratton. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
Leaders of the Brodhead Armory Association, a veterans’ group that has opposed the city’s sale of the site to e Parade Co., spoke out against the extension
than nine months, stymieing their long-term e ectiveness.
“We just don’t know the longterm e ectiveness, long-term side e ects or long-term impacts,” Grant said.
About 15% of GLP-1 users stop taking the drugs after three months and 68% are o them by one year, said Dr. Amy Rothberg, a clinical professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and director of the university health system’s metabolism, endocrinology and diabetes division.
But the reasons are largely unknown, Rothberg said.
“Speculation at three months is because of the side e ects. At one year, it could be a whole host of reasons like drug shortages or their insurers stopped paying or side e ects,” Rothberg said.
About 50% of patients at her clinic are on GLP-1s, including those using them for diabetes treatment.
Rothberg believes GLP1s play an important part in weight loss treatment and management, and some sort of solution must be found for patients to have a ordable access
and the project as a whole, given what they say will be the planned destruction of about 70% of the site.
e historic site has sat vacant for more than 20 years, with at least three earlier RFPs between 2003 and 2014 turning up no buyers, city planning o cials said.
e Parade Co. plans to restore 37,000 square feet of the twopart armory, salvaging as much of the Depression-era frescos on the walls as possible, Michaels told the council. It will rehabilitate the northern (or front) portion of the two-part building, demolish the river-facing portion of the building and construct a 130,300-square-foot addition.
pharmaceutical companies to reduce costs, much like it’s been done with insulin).”
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant and maker of GLP-1s Wegovy and Ozempic, reported a 31% year-over-year increase in sales to $33.71 billion in 2023, with its diabetes and obesity division sales rising 154% to $4.1 billion on the year. Medicare spending on GLP-1s rose to $5.7 billion in 2022. A federal report issued in May presented a dire warning for health care costs amid the rise of GLP-1 use. If half of U.S. adults diagnosed as obese began taking GLP-1s like Wegovy to control their weight, the costs of those drugs would be higher than costs for all other prescription drugs combined. e Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee study projects GLP-1s for weight
“We just don’t know the long-term effectiveness, long-term side effects or long-term impacts.”
Dr. James
“It’s just not sustainable as is,” Rothberg said. “We have to be more selective; we cannot continue to mass prescribe. But prices also have to come down. e insurer isn’t necessarily the bad guy. Even if the prices were half of what they are now, pharma would still make a pro t. It’s on them to reduce prices and on us to enact legislation (that forces
Grant, BCBSM’s chief medical of cer
loss would exceed $166 billion in annual spending from Medicare and Medicaid.
“I’m now in a clinical bind,” Pinelli said. “What am I supposed to tell the patient? I know there is a therapy out there that can treat obesity and heart disease with a signi cant bene t. But I’m stuck in the middle between the patient and the costs. at’s a major problem.”
The proposed new site for The Parade Co. includes a two-part building and a stretch of land down to the Detroit River. ROSSETTI
Detroit architectural historian eager to share Frank Lloyd Wright connection to Michigan
The Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy will bring its annual conference back to Detroit in late September to explore the work of the acclaimed architect who died nearly 70 years ago. Wright’s connections to Detroit and Michigan more broadly run deep, according to Audra Dye, one of the conference organizers and who also works as the architectural historian for the city of Detroit, housed within the city’s planning department. As part of the conference, the roughly 200 attendees will tour Wright homes in the region and hear from speakers on how places like Detroit, at times, served as a laboratory for Wright’s work. Dye spoke with Crain’s on Wright’s legacy in Detroit and how it will be presented at the conference in late September. By |
Detroit is obviously known as a hotbed for Art Deco architecture, as well its general architectural aesthetics and history. But the area isn’t necessarily thought of as a hub for Frank Lloyd Wright’s body of work. Why does the conference view the city and surrounding area as a good place to host this conference?
When (people) think of Frank Lloyd Wright, they think certainly of large (structures). The Guggenheim, Falling Water, stuff like that. And they think of Illinois, specifically Chicago, and Wisconsin. But Michigan is really kind of like ... the third of the Big Three for Wright’s career.
It has the third most (built) structures, and unbuilt, there’s a plethora of those as well. And it also spans his entire career, from the late 19th century. ere are cottages along Lake Michigan, Meyer May (in Grand Rapids) from 1908, and then we move into the 1930s with (homes) in Okemos. And I’m familiar with four cooperative homestead designs for Michigan, two of which were built. And that spanned the 1930s through the 1950s.
And also his involvement with Cranbrook and (Finnish architect Eliel) Saarinen. Albert Kahn and Julius Kahn, whose trussed concrete system was used in the Imperial Hotel in Japan.
Can you explain that?
Julius Kahn is Albert’s youngest brother. It’s fascinating history, and he deserves his due. Nothing to take back from Albert. It was kind of like they both helped each other achieve, but obviously with Albert being the architect and having the named rm. He supported and put Julius through engineering school. (Julius) developed this concrete system, which Albert used in many of the Ford plants and Frank Lloyd Wright used in the Imperial Hotel, which is something a lot of people don’t know.
e Imperial Hotel opened the day of a big earthquake in Tokyo around 1923. Hours later an earthquake hit destroying pretty much all of Tokyo, except for the Imperial Hotel. e engineering system is really the largest reason why it withstood all of that. So Wright really has a deep connection, certainly to Michigan and to Detroit.
Nick Manes
Where else do we see that connection to the area?
In 1909 Henry Ford reached out to Wright to design (his home) Fair Lane and was working with him and came under contract to design some houses for some top Ford executives that were to be built in what is now Boston Edison.
ere is a completed rendering of Wright’s design for Fair Lane. But then Wright left to go to Europe, abandoning all of his clients, Henry Ford included, and so that never got developed ... and it kind of recedes in time.
Wright also spoke at Cranbrook three or four times, and he spoke to the American Institute of Architects in Detroit at least three times. He spoke more than 10 times within the state and in Detroit on architecture and planning and development of cities and the contributions of architects. It’s really a deep connection that Wright has with Detroit.
What does all of this say about why the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is bringing its annual conference back to Detroit?
e conference committee had already decided on coming here and trying to gure out the theme. As with everywhere in the nation, I believe, the interest in Detroit is huge. e eyes of the world are watching everything that’s happening, all the unveilings and certainly Michigan Central. ey were talking about a theme. (One of the organizers suggested) Broadacre City (and) ways to better develop the rural to urban areas and really looking at in a whole environment.
Can you explain Broadacre City?
Wright started this design idea, which expanded out into all facets of life in the 1920s and obviously he was always a naturalist. Seeing the explosive
growth of cities, really starting in Los Angeles when he was doing textile block houses, the demolition or removal of the orchards and development of tract housing, and therefore congestion of people driving into downtown. He was just aghast at that.
As well as people starting to work within companies and losing their autonomy in some ways and the nancial di erences between rich and poor. So he started — in the 1920s and up until his death — Broadacre City. It was never meant to be a literal plan, it was a thought process. However, within his plan was each person would get an acre of land, a broad acre.
e two big tenets, what it distills down to, is the power of the individual and the integration of nature and symbiotic living. If every person was given an acre of land, they could build a house on it, they could add a business and maybe work out of their home to have more time. It’s an interesting exercise, especially post-COVID.
e telephone was around but that was kind of it at that point.
But looking at how technology could be connected in a way to allow people to work from home that have the ability to, to where they’re not stuck in a commute, they have more time to spend with their family and friends.
How will this be talked about and presented at the conference?
e most basic is touring some of the Usonian houses that we have here and the understanding of the small-scale size, the integration of the inside and outside living. at’s a beautiful example of that on a purely individual, residential scale.
Also, ursday and Friday sessions really focus on Detroit and talk a lot about Detroit ... being the Usonian capital. ere will be di erent ways of talking about the historical importance of the city, but then talking about (examples) like Lafayette Park and ending with a panel of city sta talking about things that tie right in. We have urban farming, the forestry initiative, the Joe Louis Greenway. ese are all very concrete ideas that really tie right into Broadacre City, giving easy access to nature and people having the ability to be within that and how they can sustain themselves with urban farming.
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Detroit architectural historian Audra Dye in the atrium of the Guardian Building downtown. NICK MANES
Public universities are driving major developments in Detroit. They’re securing hundreds of millions of dollars to add innovation, housing, improved health care and other developments to the region. We talk to the heads the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University about why and how they are driving economic development and improving quality of life in the region.
Kimberly Andrews Espy PRESIDENT
Wayne State University
Kevin
PRESIDENT Michigan State University
Santa J. Ono
PRESIDENT University of Michigan
M. Guskiewicz
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