Crain's Detroit Business, July 10, 2023

HIDDEN GUARDIAN

Novi contractor protects Detroit buildings from lightning strikes

BY KIRK PINHO

If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you might be hardpressed to nd it.

at can be said about two things, in this case.

First, Guardian Lightning Protec-

tion’s o ce: Small, no signage identifying the business inhabiting it. Two pickup trucks in front, one with the word “lightning” on its side.

It can also be said about the systems the Novi-based subcontractor installs to protect buildings, the data systems inside them and, most impor-

Fieger returns home as his protégé takes reins

BY KURT NAGL

Geo rey Fieger, the larger-thanlife metro Detroit-based attorney who su ered a stroke four months ago, is back at home recovering while a succession plan for the law rm founded 70 years ago moves forward. at update is from James Harrington, Fieger’s right-hand man now charged with leading Fieger Law in his absence.

“It’s kind of a situation where you’re in the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes goes out, and the next person has to step up and do the job,” Harrington said during an interview in his o ce at the Southeld-based rm. “For the time being, right now, I’m the captain of the team trying to move forward Geo rey’s vision …”

tantly, the people who occupy them from the hazards of a lightning strike.

“Unless it’s one of us looking up there, you’re never going to notice” the system, said Ryan Williams, president of Guardian.

You can take your pick of high-prole properties in Detroit and its sub-

urbs, and odds are that Guardian, which has been around for seven decades, has worked on them.

Ranging from Dan Gilbert’s skyscraper under construction on the former J.L. Hudson’s department

Guardian employee Lucas Schulz helps to put down wire for lightning rods on top of the 12th oor of the Block Building. The Novi-based subcontractor installs systems to protect buildings from the hazards of a lightning strike. | QUINN BANKS/ CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Amid market tumult, a new bank sprouts

BY NICK MANES

Barely three months after the collapse of three banks may not seem like the opportune time to open a new lender, but Andy Meisner is doing just that.

June 26 was the rst day that Community Unity Bank in Birmingham could formally do business, having just received the nal blessings from regulators at the

THE CONVERSATION

How Harley-Davidson engineering executive Ashwini Balasubramanian’s career took off.

Page 18

federal and state levels, said Meisner, a veteran politician from Oakland County and the CEO of the new — or “de novo” — bank.

With its base of operations in a 4,500-square-foot space along Woodward Avenue just north of 14 Mile Road in southeast Oakland County, the nascent nancial institution is well-positioned to tap into

VENTURE

Page 3

Veteran Oakland County politician Andy Meisner is the CEO of Community Unity Bank. | NICK MANES/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Detroit Golf Club membership nears capacity with renovation

$9M project made updates to clubhouse

e Detroit Golf Club, which hosted Michigan’s only PGA Tour tournament recently, has reached its largest membership in two decades as it completes the second leg of a $9 million clubhouse renovation.

Business at the private club in northwest Detroit has boomed since it became the site of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which has led to a revenue boost from course rental fees, and more significantly, from new members. e initiation fee has more than doubled since 2020 to $36,000.

“ e tournament really has elevated the status of the Detroit Golf Club,” club President Michael Carr said. “We’re enjoying a growth period that’s gone on for the last three or four years.”

Carr said the club’s membership has swelled to more than 800, of

which about 530 are full stock members, bringing the club to about 90 percent capacity for the rst time since at least 2005, when Carr joined.

DGC is capitalizing on the unprecedented demand that country clubs have enjoyed since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Private clubs around metro Detroit have plowed tens of millions of dollars into renovations over the past handful of years.

DGC’s restorations were completed in May, just in time for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which took over

the grounds through the tournament’s nal round July 2. e $4.3 million second phase of the project included a renovated dining area on the second oor of the clubhouse and new women’s locker room. e initial $4.5 million phase started in 2019 and included a new pro shop, redesigned main dining room, patio overhaul and façade improvements.

e newly renovated spaces in the clubhouse were used by employees of the tournament, which is produced by Chicago-based Intersport with title sponsor Rocket Mortgage,

the Detroit-based company founded by billionaire Dan Gilbert.

The show must go on

e Detroit Golf Club has also been hit with some unexpected damages. In May, vandals dumped weed killer all over the 11th and 12th holes of the North Course, which the pros play for the tournament. It resulted in roughly $60,000 in damages, which was covered by the club’s insurance, Carr said. e course superintendent was con dent the greens would have recovered over time, but given the tournament, the club made the call to resod them.

e club does not know who vandalized the greens or why.

“It was in my opinion just a random act, something you can’t anticipate or plan for,” Carr said. “Haven’t had anything like that since I’ve been a member. It was unfortunate.”

On June 25, a storm uprooted several trees on the course and left it littered with branches. Pictures on social media also showed banners and chairs strewn about on some grandstands. As a result, the course was closed to media June 26. Players were still allowed to use the practice facilities and given clearance for practice rounds.

Tournament spokesman Greg Ball said there was no damage done to any structures on the DGC property,

and there were no disruptions to the tournament as a result.

“Nothing signi cant,” he said. “A lot of cleanup to be done. It’s all hands on deck.”

Learning curve

In the past two years, the initiation cost at DGC has ballooned to $36,000 for a full stock membership. Carr declined to detail other costs associated with being a member. Monthly dues were $615 as of 2020.

Besides the tournament, the strong economy coming out of the pandemic also has contributed to higher membership rates, as has the history of DGC — the only country club in the city proper. It will celebrate its 125th anniversary next year.

“ ere’s tremendous history and legacy there,” Carr said.

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

Correction

 A front page story in the June 26, 2023, issue incorrectly stated the timing of MSY Capital Partners’ loan to former head of the state’s medical marijuana board Rick Johnson and incorrectly identi ed Benjamin Bayram as a former partner in the law rm of Norman Yatooma. He worked with Gregory Yatooma.

PREMIER BUILDING FOR SALE OR LEASE

Carr

The Champions Grill area got a refresh during the Detroit Golf Club’s $9 million renovation project. | QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Gilbert guarantee of funding helps nonpro ts Foundation o ers

three-year pledge

BY ARIELLE KASS

Since Dan and Jennifer Gilbert pledged to spend $500 million in Detroit over 10 years, a pattern of funding has started to emerge. In cases where the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund have placed time limits on their spending, at least seven commitments have been made with three-year guarantees.

Whether it’s eviction defense, home repair or a new wealth accelerator program, the programs will have three years of runway to prove that they’re deserving of more investment.

‘ELEVATED BUT APPROACHABLE’

Pre-leasing begins at Joe Louis Arena site apartment tower

Lease applications for the new apartment tower on the old Joe Louis Arena site are now being accepted.

Called e Residences at Water Square, the 25-story high-rise is slated to have 496 units — primarily studios and one-bedroom units, with a handful of two-bedroom penthouses sprinkled in — as it gets closer to an anticipated February completion, said Danny Samson, chief development o cer

FINANCE

for Detroit-based developer and landlord e Sterling Group.

Samson led members of the media through a hard-hat tour of the under-construction building June 27, highlighting building features such as an anticipated small, 1,000-square-foot market, second- oor gym and swimming pool as well as rooftop amenities like a rooftop patio and sports lounge. ere’s also a concierge, valet, pet washing station and other features.

Rental rates have not yet been determined.

“It really will depend,” Samson said. “We are putting our nishing touches on it based on our pro forma, based on market conditions, but the rates are going to be commensurate to a property of this level. is is a high-level property with a lot of amenities and the rates are going to be commensurate with that, but they are going to be approachable. We like to call it, ‘elevated but approachable.’”

With high ceilings and oor-toceiling glass, Samson said the tower is more akin to buildings con-

structed in Chicago and New York City than anything currently available in and around downtown.

Unit features include Italian cabinetry, stainless steel European appliances, quartz countertops and backsplashes and glass shower enclosures, plus washers and dryers in each unit.

e project has been under construction for about 16 months, with work starting quietly in the winter 2022.

See APARTMENTS on Page 12

Laura Grannemann, the executive director of the Gilberts’ philanthropic arms, said consistent money is the “pinnacle” of what nonpro ts seek. She said the pledges lay out the time period so groups know they won’t have to focus on fundraising, but can instead spend their energy on implementation.

At the same time, she wants to know if programs will work before committing money over a longer time period. And grants need to allow the opportunity to make changes, as well, if the initial idea doesn’t pan out.

“We use a three-year commitment as a proof point,” Grannemann said. “Once we’ve done this, we can show consistency and success or failure.”

One-year grants are common, said Camille Walker Banks, executive director of Local Initiatives Support Corp. Detroit, which is focused on providing housing for low-income individuals.

Arboretum Ventures closes on $268M round, continues health care focus

Among the state’s largest venture capital funds, Arboretum Ventures has closed on an over-subscribed funding round that brings it to more than $1 billion in assets under management.

e 20-year-old Ann Arbor-based venture capital rm, with a focus on the health care sector, in June formally closed on $268 million in fresh investment capital for Arboretum Ventures’ sixth fund. Investors included health systems, payors, pension funds, endowments and family o ces, and 14% of the capital for the fund came from new investors, Arboretum principals told Crain’s.

e sixth fund for Arboretum, which was targeted at $250 million but grew due to investor interest, helps solidify two key theses for the

fund’s general partners, according to Jan Gar nkle, Arboretum founder and managing partner.

e rst was “to really help try and change that equation of the cost structure of health care but still provide great clinical care,” said Gar nkle, who was named one of Crain’s 100 most in uential women in 2021.

Another, according to Managing Partner Dr. Tom Shehab, is to be “unapologetically Midwestern” while maintaining a national investment footprint.

To that end, the Arboretum general partners tout that three-quarters of its investments have been in companies not headquartered on the East or West coasts, “out of the highly ventured areas,” Gar nkle said.

“I think we’ve really proven that there are great entrepreneurs everywhere in this country,” Gar nkle said.

“ ey’re not just in the San Francisco Bay area, in the Boston and New York corridors. ey’re in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and they’re in Peoria, Illinois, and they’re in Nashville and they’re in Boulder and Albuquerque. I mean, these are all the places that we’ve invested in.”

e latest fund for Arboretum is expected to have a runway of ve years and go toward approximately 17 or 18 deals, Gar nkle said. Capital from the sixth fund has already been used to co-lead one deal, an $18.4 investment in Virginia-based life science tools company BrightSpec Inc.

e over-subscribed capital raise for Arboretum comes amid a prolonged slowdown in the overall venture capital and startup sector after several years of breakneck activity.

Danny Samson, chief development o cer for Detroit-based developer and landlord The Sterling Group, on the top oor of the The Residences at Water Square. The 25-story high-rise is slated to have 496 units. |KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

KIRK PINHO

Grannemann

NICK MANES

Dr. Tom Shehab (from left), Jan Gar nkle and Dan Kidle are managing partners of 20-year-old Ann Arbor-based Arboretum Ventures. | LEISA THOMPSON

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Ashley

Capital sets sights on old Comerica properties in Auburn Hills

Recently, I wrote about how one Oakland County developer is looking to capitalize on a shortage of space in Auburn Hills by potentially building new o ce space in Troy. Bloomfield Hills-based Kojaian Management Corp. isn’t the only developer seeing that dearth of available space in the city west of the county seat.

Kirk PINHO

“ e building as it stands out is a really beautiful building and I think it has worked well for Comerica as a single tenant,” Harvey said. “We also have heard that in the market there are some larger tenants that would either like to move to Auburn Hills or stay in Auburn Hills but they need di erent facilities, and the market is really tight there.”

No word yet on who those prospective tenants are — if you know who they are, let me know — but apparently they are big enough to get two major development players licking their chops.

assets in the region, including a building in the Arboretum o ce complex in Farmington Hills and another in Livonia.

“We’ve picked up a few o ce buildings here and there and have done very well with them, so we think this is an opportunity that we’re really well suited for,” Harvey said. We’ll see what happens.

e Plymouth Township o ce of New York City-based Ashley Capital has put a large o ce building owned by Comerica Inc. under contract as the Dallas-based bank looks to consolidate some of its Southeast Michigan operations into Farmington Hills.

Susan Harvey, who leads the local Ashley Capital o ce, said her company sees the same tension between supply and demand and is looking outside its typical acquisition criteria to help meet the need.

Case in point: e 209,600-squarefoot o ce building at 3551 Hamlin Road.

REAL ESTATE

In addition to the Comerica building that would be vacated, Ashley Capital expects to build a roughly 100,000-square-foot R&D building on the surface parking lot. If additional parking is still needed, a deck could be supported on the site, Harvey said.

A sale is still a ways o , with maybe three or four months to go before it nalizes, she said.

An email was sent to a Comerica spokesperson seeking comment.

Although Ashley Capital is primarily an industrial and warehouse space developer, Harvey said the company has bitten o a few o ce

e building Ashley Capital is trying to buy is one of several in the region Comerica is attempting to sell following its announcement last year that it was consolidating some 2,000 employees working in Auburn Hills and Livonia into a new 340,000-square-foot o ce on Corporate Drive near 12 Mile and Halsted roads in Farmington Hills in a Kojaian-owned property.

In addition to 3551 Hamlin, the other two buildings marketed for sale through CBRE Inc. are 3501 Hamlin (31,000 square feet) and 39200 Six Mile Road (382,000 square feet). Another Auburn Hills building, clocking in at 371,000 square feet at 3701 Hamlin, is not on the market for sale.

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

Albert Kahn Building adding self-storage units

BY KIRK PINHO

Some of the commercial space in the historic Albert Kahn Building in Detroit’s New Center area is being turned into a somewhat unique use.

About 25,000 to 30,000 square feet of the building’s rst oor and basement levels are being converted into approximately 250 self-storage units, attempting to capitalize on a shortage of such space in and around downtown Detroit.

Matthew Sosin, one of the building’s owners along with Adam Lutz, said as they tried to determine what types of commercial use t that space, self-storage was a no-brainer.

“I think storage works really well there. e community needs it and wants it,” Sosin said.

e units, which are going to be managed by Farmington Hills-based self-storage rm Pogoda Cos., will

primarily be 10-by-10 or 10-by-5 feet, Sosin said. About 15,000 square feet of rentable commercial space remains on the rst oor, Sosin said.

Conversations about using part of the space as self-storage started perhaps two years ago, said Adam Pogoda, president of Pogoda Cos.

“ ey were like, ‘Hey, do you think this will work,’ and I walked the space with them and I was super excited

about it because it’s not conventional,” Pogoda said, noting that there isn’t much self-storage space in and around downtown. ere’s one self-storage building downtown across from 36th District Court, and U-Haul has a property south of the Fisher Building, Pogoda said.

“I think there’s a ton of demand for it,” Pogoda said. “It’s tough to do because the rents wouldn’t justify building ground-up and it’s not the highest and best use in a lot of other spaces. So this felt like a really exciting opportunity to kind of sneak some storage in ... We’ve got captive tenants in the apartments, there’s not a whole lot of product in this area and a lot of people with small apartments, which is what storage is made for.”

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

The Plymouth Township o ce of Ashley Capital is under contract to purchase this 209,000-square-foot Comerica Inc.-owned o ce building in Auburn Hills. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

The Albert Kahn Building in Detroit. COSTAR GROUP INC.

ce’ brings bene ts when you get back

Walking through the narrow streets of Venice, Italy, with a takeaway pizza in my hand, I was surrounded by tourists.

Yes, my family and I were among the thousands ocking to Europe this summer as part of the pent-up post-pandemic travel demand.

No, we were not among the tourists behaving badly you may have heard about, such as the young man from the UK who carved his and his girlfriend’s initials into the Colosseum. In fact, although it was busy, we didn’t encounter any trouble at all. Even our ights to and from Detroit Metro Airport were on time and without incident.

I didn’t mind sharing the streets and canals of Venice with so many others. It is such an enchanting place, especially for a rsttime visitor, I was too caught up in the sights and sounds of this Old World locale to be bothered by the fact that I was sharing it with so many others.

Shine light on budget earmarks before voting

Late last month, Michigan Democrats unveiled a budget laden with roughly 250 earmarks for pet projects. Just a few hours later — barely enough time to read the brief descriptions of the packed-in pork, if you could nd them — they passed it.

is has been par for the course in Lansing, but with one party in charge and the state’s co ers swollen by federal money and strong tax collections, the $82 billion Christmas tree had seemingly an ornament on it for everyone.

Some Republicans bemoaned the lack of transparency, but enough of them got what they wanted to get their votes.

In a rich bit of irony, Democrats also put in some transparency reforms that will eventually require individual lawmakers who pushed for those earmarks to be named.

e big “however” is that those reforms won’t take e ect until next year, making this budget something of a last hurrah for anonymous pork.

Earmarks include $6 million toward the stalled Lee Plaza renovation in Detroit, $50 million toward a downtown Pontiac plan intended to create new space for Oakland

County government, a $9 million subsidy for the Detroit auto show, and dozens and dozens more projects.

We don’t mean to judge the merit of any individual earmarks. ere are certainly worthy projects in the mix.

But the lack of transparency can’t help but fuel the perception that the budget is a spoils system for those politically well-connected that rewards some and leaves others out in the cold, with little scrutiny or accountability.

at process shrouds even the most well-meaning spending with questions about what backroom deals got it into the budget. Michigan’s taxpayers deserve more than a cursory look at the details.

e solution here isn’t complicated. Making lawmakers put their name next to earmarks is a good start. But also making sure that there is at least a little delay between showing the budget to the public and voting it through gives time for real debate and deliberation, and would certainly curb the most egregious sweetheart deals.

Is a week of public scrutiny ahead of any vote too much to ask? ere are plenty of waiting periods already built into legislative processes. is seems like an obvious one to add.

We’ve seen some signs from the Democrats who now control Lansing that they’d like to improve Michigan’s status as one of the least-transparent governments in the nation. ey’d do well to take this budget process as a lesson.

It was the same with Rome, where we walked inside the Colosseum under perfect blue skies. And the Cinque Terre villages along the Italian Riviera, where rock jumpers plunged into the clear waters of the Ligurian Sea.

Italy had been on our radar since the rst summer of the pandemic when we longed to get away but it was much less practical to do so, let alone the travel restrictions at the time.

While it felt long overdue, the timing of this respite was spot on.

A survey of U.S. workers by the Pew Research Center released this spring found that nearly half do not take all of the paid time o their employer o ers. e top reasons include not feeling they need more time, worrying they might fall behind on the job and feeling badly about co-workers taking on additional work.

As one who has been guilty of leaving PTO

Mickey CIOKAJLO executive

on the table, these Pew survey ndings resonate with me.

ere is plenty of research that shows the bene ts of taking time o from work to relax and recharge. A much-cited Harvard Business Review article from 2016 titled, “ e Data-Driven Case for Vacation,” notes: “Statistically, taking more vacations results in greater success at work as well as lower stress and more happiness at work and home.”

As a journalist, I’ve long believed that vacations involving travel have the added bene t of opening our eyes to new places, experiencing di erent cultures and appreciating other perspectives. Of course, this is true for everyone, but for journalists whose job it is to experience our surroundings and do our best to make sense of it for others, travel plays to those instincts and senses.

Whether it’s two weeks overseas or a weekend Up North, having the opportunity to get away and recharge is important. Personally, I’m ready to get back to work, feeling refreshed and ready to go. at said, another bene t of taking time o is having the space to dream about a future excursion. I’ll admit to doing some poking around online already.

How much is a ight to Buenos Aires?

THAT PROCESS SHROUDS EVEN THE MOST WELLMEANING SPENDING WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT BACKROOM DEALS.

‘Out-of-o

editor

THERE IS PLENTY OF RESEARCH THAT SHOWS THE BENEFITS OF TAKING TIME OFF FROM WORK TO RELAX AND RECHARGE.

Umbrellas line the beach in Monterosso, Italy. | MICKEY CIOKAJLO

Michigan needs a House Republican majority

BY RICK SNYDER AND BILL PARFET

In recent months, it’s become abundantly clear that Michiganders need a change in state government — a new, bipartisan balance of power that will create compromise and craft common-sense policies to give our state a competitive edge and a better economy for the people who live and work here.

at’s why Michigan needs to elect a Republican majority in the House of Representatives in November 2024, and that’s why we’re taking on leading roles to help House Republicans engage with voters and earn their support.

For decades,

we’ve focused our own business and political endeavors on bolstering Michigan’s economic prowess. We also both have a track record of bipartisanship, which is why we’re concerned that our state government is taking a partisan course that will lead our state, our economy, and our education system backwards.

Republican representatives, on the other hand, have a positive message and action plan to o er their communities, a vision in clear contrast with some concerning policies Democrats have proposed or even passed.

A House Republican majority will work to help Michigan compete nationally and globally. Our state needs a healthy, vibrant economy where people want to locate their families and businesses want to grow and create jobs. House Republicans will help develop a more competitive economic climate with fair, reasonable tax and regulatory policies.

at will be a positive change. In March, Democrats abandoned one of the factors that drove Michigan’s economic comeback. For a decade, our landmark right-to-work law guaranteed workers the choice of whether to support a union. e law made Michigan a desirable state for both working families and businesses. e Democrats have now repealed this protection for Michigan workers, and they’re advancing similar policy overhauls that would go even further. A House Republican majority will bring balance to the table, helping rein in these dramatic, ill-advised changes.

Earlier this year, legislative Democrats also tried to block an income tax cut, which was automatically triggered by higher state revenues. e attempt was unsuccessful, and individuals and small businesses will get a larger refund — or owe less — when ling tax returns next spring. However, more tax changes may be coming, and House Republicans will work to

make state taxes fair and a ordable for Michigan taxpayers.

Without a House Republican majority, education in our state will likely decline, which will hurt our state both now and in the future. Good schools attract families to a community, so providing a quality education will make Michigan more competitive while preparing young people to succeed in future opportunities.

is year, Michigan Democrats have already eliminated crucial accountability measures that help ensure students are learning and succeeding. e A-F grading scale that enabled parents to monitor the per-

formance and e ectiveness of their children’s schools is no more. e state has also removed a tool to help early elementary students read prociently. House Republicans will help teachers educate students by fostering accountable schools that help kids get results.

Every Michigander, on both sides of the aisle, wants our state to compete and succeed. We’re currently drifting away from the future we desire and deserve. Next year, let’s elect a House Republican majority so we can restore balance to our state government, help right the ship, and proceed full speed ahead to a better, more successful Michigan.

CRAIN HOMEs has landed in Washington Township...

Rick Snyder served two terms as governor of Michigan, from 2011 to 2019. He is the CEO of SensCy.

Bill Parfet is a longtime business leader and philanthropist from Kalamazoo. He is the chairman and CEO of e Northwood Group.

CRAIN’S MICHIGAN BUSINESS: KALAMAZOO

TAKING SHAPE

BY RACHEL WATSON

An arena 26 years in the making could ease a longtime crunch for event space and positively impact Kalamazoo’s downtown and tourism workforce for decades to come.

Catalyst Development Co. in April spent $4.27 million to acquire several parcels of downtown property from Kalamazoo County. e parcels are mostly empty, save for parking lots.

e land will be for Catalyst’s planned $300 million, 320,000-square-foot Kalamazoo Event Center, which has been in the making since 1997.

Catalyst is part of Greenleaf Companies, which is chaired by William Johnston, husband of Ronda Stryker, who is director of Kalamazoo-based Stryker Corp. (NYSE:

SYK), a $113 billion medical devices and health care technologies business founded by her grandfather. Stryker is also the second-richest person in Michigan, according to Forbes, behind Detroit real estate mogul Dan Gilbert.

e Kalamazoo Event Center, planned to be privately funded from as-yet unnamed sources, is envisioned to be built on two city blocks bounded by North Westnedge Avenue to the west, West Kalamazoo Avenue to the north, North Park Street to the east and Eleanor Street to the south.

It is expected to host more than 230 events, shows, concerts and community sporting events per year and will be the future home of Western Michigan University men’s hockey and men’s and women’s basketball, as well as Kalamazoo Wings hockey.

Kalamazoo City Manager James Ritsema said in a statement to Crain’s that the city is thrilled to see the development coming to fruition after so many years.

“Just as the Arcadia Creek project years ago spurred resident and economic development in the north section of downtown, so, too, will the arena and event center, through drawing residents as well as visitors from far and wide to watch the Broncos and K-Wings in action or catch a concert or exhibit,” he said. “We believe the arena and event center will become a rousing success that will transform downtown Kalamazoo and surrounding neighborhoods — in particular, through the partnerships and initiatives supporting the city’s Northside — and provide a positive social and economic impact for decades to come.”

Southwest Michigan First is the economic development organization that’s helping to coordinate the project with Catalyst. CEO Jonas Peterson said the new event center will help “revitalize” downtown.

“It will give us the ability to host hundreds of events for our region, to shape perceptions ... with visitors as they come to come to our market, and it will help us attract and retain talent by establishing another really attractive community amenity,” he said.

Representatives from Greenleaf and Catalyst did not return calls for comment about the project.

Peterson said that now that the land assembly is complete, the project partners will work to more nely hone the concept design.

Business leaders have wanted an arena in downtown Kalamazoo for years. It might nally happen.

“WE BELIEVE THE ARENA AND EVENT CENTER WILL BECOME A ROUSING SUCCESS THAT WILL TRANSFORM DOWNTOWN KALAMAZOO AND SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS...”

—James Ritsema, Kalamazoo city manager

The proposed arena in downtown Kalamazoo would encompass four city blocks. Cooley Street, shown in this view looking southeast, runs north and south through the center of the site, which is just south of Kalamazoo Avenue.

MICKEY CIOKAJLO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Empowering the local workforce

We’ve invested nearly $100 million in workforce development. Alongside hundreds

other

and community partners, we’re increasing the talent pipeline by helping our neighbors get the skills and experience to build careers that support families and fuel our economy.

Elliott President, Bank of America Detroit

ARENA

From Page 8

Tourism, economic impacts

e new arena — which will be able to seat 8,000 people for sporting events — is expected to generate more than $54 million in annual economic impact regionally from an estimated 236 events bringing in 548,000 visitors, according to a feasibility study conducted in 2021 by Conventions Sports and Leisure International for Discover Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Downtown Partnership and Southwest Michigan First.

In Grand Rapids, the 12,000-seat Van Andel Arena opened in 1996, and it has been widely recognized as playing a key role in making downtown Grand Rapids a destination.

e Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority in 2020 hired Michigan Sport Consulting Group at the University of Michigan to study the arena’s economic impact for the 2019 scal year. e study, published in 2021, found that the CAA’s three facilities, Van Andel, DeVos Place and DeVos Performance Hall, generated more than $82 million in local economic impact and led to the creation of 1,265 full- and part-time jobs. ere has not been another study reported since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Jane Ghosh is president and CEO of Discover Kalamazoo, the destination marketing organization for Kalamazoo County. She said she is “positive and enthusiastic” about the arena project, given its potential to move existing events that don’t currently spur additional visitor spending to downtown, which has nearby restaurants and retailers including La Familia Café and JungleBird that could bene t. She is also looking forward to it bringing in new events that the city currently can’t attract.

“I had somebody at a trade show (last) week, actually, who … is taking appointments with clients who are looking to book events that she otherwise wouldn’t even bother to meet with, because up until now, we haven’t had the right space or facilities,” she said.

Ghosh said the Conventions

Sports and Leisure study found that the new arena wouldn’t impinge on the business of existing meeting and events spaces such as the Kalamazoo Expo Center, which hosts events including the United Kennel Club Dog Show and National Street Rod Association meet-ups that need indoor and outdoor space, which the expo center has.

e new arena, with its emphasis on indoor concerts, family shows, boxing/mixed martial arts, professional wrestling, ice shows and motorsports, would bring in a lot of new business, she said.

e feasibility study identi ed downtown Kalamazoo as the most bene cial location for the event center due to the density of nearby lodging, visitor amenities, attractions, and transportation and parking infrastructure.

Ghosh said she believes downtown Kalamazoo is already a vibrant place, but the two-block area on the west side of downtown where the arena will go is largely underutilized.

e new facility is also expected to add jobs to the tourism industry, Ghosh said.

A 2021 report by the state tourism

bureau, Travel Michigan, said about 9,700 jobs are supported by the tourism economy in Kalamazoo County, representing 8.4 percent of the workforce and generating $352 million in labor income countywide. e CSL study projects the event center could create up to 699 jobs countywide, adding another $22 million in annual personal income. at jobs number does not appear to include any cuts that could occur as the result of the potential closure of Wings Event Center, according to Peterson at Southwest Michigan First.

Joe Borgstrom is a principal at East Lansing-based Place + Main Advisers, a consulting rm with expertise in downtown redevelopment, community and economic development, Main Street and placemaking.

Borgstrom said the economic impact of an arena is dependent on several factors, including programming of the site — how many event nights per year it will have, with 200 as a good baseline number — what “spillover” into the community it will cause before and after events, how easy it is to access transportation to and from the site, and how well it connects to the rest of the downtown business district, including hotels and restaurants.

“People have a tendency to think about the building itself as the big thing, and obviously, it is. ... But to me, it’s going to be, how does it tie to the rest of the community? How

does it ow?”

Borgstrom said Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is an example of a time a major new venue didn’t live up to the promise of spin-o development.

“ at has never really materialized as (the Ilitch family) originally pitched, so even though it’s a successful venue, the leverage opportunity wasn’t maximized in that particular case,” he said. “ ese are two di erent scales, they’re two di erent communities and two di erent developers. ... But it just underlines the importance of the development of the surrounding areas, as well.”

Borgstrom said it’s unlikely the Kalamazoo Event Center will be able to draw huge musical acts like those that would stop at the larger Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, but events like Disney on Ice, circuses, RV shows and hockey are good candidates.

Community bene ts agreement

Greenleaf Companies is the parent company of Greenleaf Hospitality Group. As part of Catalyst’s real estate purchase agreement for the event center, Greenleaf Hospitality agreed to establish a workforce training program for residents of the Northside neighborhood to gain employment in the hospitality, entertainment and sports management sectors. Northside is a low-income neighborhood whose

southern border is just a block north of where the arena will be.

Other community bene ts Catalyst agreed to for the arena project include:

 Donating $6 million to the Northside Association for Community Development to create an endowment that would support residents, the arts, housing, entrepreneurial e orts and more.

 Setting aside 20 percent of the food and beverage vendor space inside the facility for business owners from historically or economically disadvantaged communities in Kalamazoo County.

 Requiring that all contractors who bid on work related to the construction of the arena have a diversity, equity and inclusion plan in place.

 Working with community partners to identify business owners from disadvantaged communities who can participate in the design, development, construction and operation of the event center.

Peterson said the arena project partners have “always envisioned” a commitment to DEI and community impact as being part of the development.

“Many of those (expectations) have been committed to at a high level, and now we have the chance to work through exactly how they will be implemented, so some of those details are yet to be determined, but the commitment is denitely there,” he said.

Peterson said there are “no specific strings attached” to the $6 million gift to NACD.

Impacts on sports arenas

Rob Underwood is general manager of Wings Event Center, owned by Greenleaf Hospitality Group, which is the home of the Kalamazoo Wings hockey team. He said it’s too

early to comment on what will happen to Wings stadium, because plans for the arena are still in the early stages.

But some have speculated that the Wings building, constructed in 1974, could be a prime candidate for demolition and redevelopment as it sits in a highly visible location at the intersection of I-94 and Sprinkle Road.

Dan Bartholomae is athletic director for WMU and a member of the concept design team for the Kalamazoo Event Center. He said the decisions about future use of Western’s facilities and how the new arena ts into that will be part of campus master plan discussions that have not yet begun.

But he said if Western’s men’s hockey team and the basketball teams move to the arena, as is expected, the existing University Arena, built in 1957, likely would stay open because it is also used for nine other athletic programs. Currently, that overcrowding leaves the men’s and women’s basketball teams with just two combined hours of practice time on the courts per day, he said.

“ at building is already over-programmed, and moving a few programs downtown is just going to lighten the load there,” Bartholomae said.

e same goes for Lawson Ice Arena, built in 1974, which has only one sheet of ice that is used for rentals, the community and the skating team, as well as Western’s hockey team.

“What this (new arena) allows us to do is individualize the facility experience for more of our teams, and so it’s one project that has a really positive domino e ect on really almost all of our programs,” Bartholomae said.

Bartholomae added that Western would also like the new arena to be able to host National Collegiate Athletics Association events, which the university’s current facilities can’t accommodate.

“In hockey, we’ve got the oldest facility in the league. In basketball, it’s got to be up there,” he said.

Much of the proposed arena property in downtown Kalamazoo is currently vacant land, as shown in this view looking northwest. MICKEY CIOKAJLO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Shown is an early rendering of how the arena might be laid out, dated March 21. The development team’s next step is to more nely hone the concept design. | TOWERPINKSTER AND ROSSETTI

Borgstrom Ghosh Peterson

Wild res provide data for startup tracking air pollution disparities

Company targets underrepresented communities

ARIELLE KASS AND KATE CARLSON

As unhealthy air quality levels enveloped the state recently, users of entrepreneur Darren Riley’s JustAir app in Grand Rapids and Detroit received alerts about the air pollution around them, along with tips to decrease exposure.

Riley’s e ort a few years ago to raise awareness about localized air pollution in communities of color via his startup, JustAir Solutions Inc., took on greater signi cance recently as Canadian wild re smoke covered Midwest cities.

Longer term, data collected will provide important insights to JustAir’s environmental justice work and advocating for clean air in neighborhoods combating localized air pollution on a daily basis.

Founded in 2021, JustAir Solutions has deployed several air quality monitors throughout the cities of Grand Rapids, Detroit and Waterbury, Conn., compiling air quality data for people to track through JustAir’s website and mobile app. JustAir is also collaborating with community groups in Dearborn and Kalamazoo and with Colorado’s Department of Transportation to identify locations to install monitors and track air quality throughout each community.

Riley, JustAir’s CEO and co-founder, told Crain’s Detroit Business that he started the company after an asthma diagnosis ve years ago. He played basketball regularly and was generally active, he said, so thought poor air quality was likely a culprit.

“I live close to the Ambassador Bridge, and I think that had something to do with it,” the Southwest Detroit resident said.

On top of the diagnosis, the 2020 racial reckoning that began after George Floyd’s death led Riley to look at racial aspects of air pollution. He wanted to start a company that would help people who su er as a result of environmental racism.

MEDIA & MARKETING

“I look at this as being a public service product,” he said. “We have surveillance on the air.”

e business is pro table now with ve employees, though Riley said he’d like to expand to seven or eight by the end of the year as he continues to look for opportunities in other states. JustAir is based in Detroit in New Lab, in the Book Depository building at Ford’s Michigan Central campus in Corktown, and Riley said he’s working on closing another round of funding with Union Heritage Venture Partners, a Black-led business that prioritizes founders who are solving problems for underrepresented communities.

“We want to showcase how to use technology for folks who are overlooked and under-served,” he said. “Bene ts are being made because of JustAir data.”

e company sells air monitors and monitoring for a $2,500-per-monitor annual cost. It can also create dashboards and translate data from other companies’ monitors, which it does for $500 annually, per monitor.

JustAir’s dashboard helps people know what to do when air quality is bad, Riley said.

“Because of the smoke from the wild res, everyone has been feeling air quality e ects (in Michigan), but some people feel these e ects on a granular scale outside of these region-

al events,” Riley said referring to communities that struggle with localized air pollution on an ongoing basis. “We want to make sure everyone has access to that information and has tools they need to reduce exposure.”

‘Very unhealthy’

e Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy declared a statewide air quality alert because of the smoke from wild res in Canada.

Air quality levels in Detroit reached the “hazardous” and unhealthy levels recently while Grand Rapids experienced the “very unhealthy” level at some points, prompting event closures across the state, including a West Michigan Whitecaps game that was postponed because of “insucient air quality.”

Michigan on numerous occasions has been a ected by wild re smoke, though it typically has drifted into the upper atmosphere by the time it reaches the state, said Alec Kownacki, a meteorologist at EGLE.

“Smoke has always been impacting Michigan, but it’s always been way up in the atmosphere — it’s been from way out west usually. But these res (in Canada) are much closer to us now, so the smoke is closer to the ground when it reaches us,” Kownacki said.

Crain’s wins awards in journalism competition

Crain’s Detroit Business won six awards in a national business journalism competition in June, and Crain’s longtime publisher received a lifetime achievement award.

Senior reporter Dustin Walsh was awarded the rst-place gold award for “Best Bylined Commentary” for large business publications by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ Editorial Excellence Awards. Pieces included in the entry included those on Kellogg and Battle Creek, a potash mine north of Big Rapids, and Michigan’s cannabis industry.

Mary Kramer, director of special projects at Crain and former group publisher for Crain’s city brands and editor and publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business, was awarded with the Lewis M. Conn Lifetime Achievement Award.

Crain’s received a silver award for local breaking news for coverage of

the Oakland Hills Country Club re by Arielle Kass, Nick Manes, Kurt Nagl, Kirk Pinho and Laurén Abdel-Razzaq

Associate Creative Director Karen Freese Zane won silver for “Best Front Page” design for “Crude Awakening” and Managing Editor Michael Lee won silver for “Best Editorial” for “MSU mess will make next hire even harder.”

Riley noted that — outside of regional air quality events such as recent wild res that a ect everyone — people of color are more likely to live in communities with poor air quality. ese residents are more likely to be exposed to negative long-term health e ects that come with poor air quality, said Riley, whose work was recently featured on CNN.

“Everyone is feeling this pain right now, but I can point to weeks and days of certain (JustAir) monitor readings where there was poor air quality because of where they were located. But that doesn’t get captured by the state and you won’t know that unless you’re signed up for those neighborhood air quality sensor updates,” Riley said.

JustAir recently installed seven new air quality monitors in Grand Rapids’ 49507 ZIP code, which has the largest population of people of color in the city. e company hosted an air quality workshop alongside C4, Scales Consulting and the NAACP’s Grand Rapids chapter recently in Grand Rapids to educate the community about air quality and how to track the monitors.

e monitors in the 49507 ZIP code were recently installed, but JustAir for about two years has operated other monitors in the Madison Area neighborhood, downtown and along the Cesar E. Chavez corridor, Riley said. e data collected so far show disparities along the Cesar E. Chavez Avenue corridor, likely because of truck tra c, he said.

He said the company got its start with a $30,000 pilot program based in Grand Rapids, then was able to grow with the help of a Chicago accelerator. e subscription nature of the business makes for a pro table business model, he said.

and quasi-governmental entities have paid to deploy the monitors.

Going forward, the idea is to package data for organizations that would nd it useful and pay for it. In Grand Rapids, it’s been subsidized by the city, nonpro ts and corporate donors.

Michigan has more than 40 air quality monitoring locations that EGLE tracks with more than 100 air monitors, according to EGLE’s website. Grand Rapids has three or four monitors and Detroit has five or six, Kownacki said. Detroit is planning to purchase four or five Teledyne API 640x continuous PM10 and PM2.5 continuous analyzers to supplement its current monitors, a city spokesperson said. They will be funded by the city and the Environmental Protection Agency. The exact locations of the monitors are still being determined. Riley said he plans to bid for purchases in the future, if there are opportunities to do so.

He’s worked with groups like the Ecology Center and Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision in the hopes of building products that reect community needs. And while he said JustAir has 15 monitors in Detroit currently, 30 more are being added through a partnership with the Green Door Initiative.

Ultimately, he said, he hopes the company is able to provide data that can lead to policy change. e Cana-

Riley, CEO and co-founder, JustAir

dian wild res might help him do that.

e state and local governments lack the operational bandwidth to operate more air quality monitors to track the issue on such a granular scale, Riley said. at’s where JustAir aims to ll in gaps and bring attention to the tracking issues.

Local groups such as nonpro ts

“It’s unfortunate that everyone’s having this experience, but certain communities are feeling this way too often,” he said. “Now you know what it feels like. ... For over-burdened communities, the burden is even deeper. Hopefully, it raises awareness of what’s happening at a community level.”

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

NOTICE OF AUCTION AND SALE OF RECEIVERSHIP PROPERTY CANNABIS

Gene R. Kohut of Trust Street Advisors, LLC in his capacity as court-appointed receiver (the “Receiver”) of Green Peak Industries, Inc., District Bay, LLC, The District Park, LLC and GPIMD Corp. (collectively, “Skymint”) is conducting an auction for the sale of substantially all assets of Skymint.

Skymint operates a large network of cannabis provisioning centers across Michiganincluding locations in Ann Arbor, Metro Detroit, Bay City, Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Muskegon, Kalamazoo and Portage

e design team of Freese Zane, Beth Jachman and Kayla Byler won bronze for “Best Overall Design” for print, and Crain’s Detroit won bronze for “Best Website.” Altogether, Crain’s city brands in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit won 23 awards during the organization’s ceremony June 26 at its summer convention in Detroit.

Pursuant to an order entered by the Ingham County Circuit Court on June 21, 2023 (the “Approval Order”), an Auction for the sale of Skymint’s assets has been scheduled for August 8, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) Any and all parties desiring to participate in the Auction must make a qualified bid consistent with the procedures established by the Approval Order no later than July 28, 2023 The Approval Order authorizes the Receiver to conduct an Auction, sets forth the bidding procedures for the Receiver to sell Skymint’s assets free and clear of all liens, interests and encumbrances and approves a proposed form of a purchase agreement (the “Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement”). A complete copy of the Approval Order, the Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement, the Bidding Procedures, and all related materials can be obtained by request from the Receiver’s counsel identified below

Those interested in submitting a bid for consideration should contact the Receiver’s counsel, David Dragich or Amanda Vintevoghel-Backer, at The Dragich Law Firm PLLC, (313) 886-4550, skymintauction@gmail.com

JustAir Solutions’ air quality monitors in Grand Rapids. | JUSTAIR SOLUTIONS

“I LOOK AT THIS AS BEING A PUBLIC SERVICE PRODUCT. WE HAVE SURVEILLANCE ON THE AIR.”

—Darren

Crain’s received an award for its coverage of the 2022 re that destroyed the clubhouse at historic Oakland Hills Country Club. | NIC ANTAYA / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 when interest rates were near zero, venture capital was at its peak and startups could command top-dollar valuations.

Those days are largely over.

“There is no denying the obvious: Venture capital has gone through a rough couple of months,” reads the introduction from the latest quarterly Venture Monitor report by Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. “Just when a difficult exit environment seemed like it

APARTMENTS

From Page 3

A Sterling Group a liate acquired the Joe Louis Arena site and the arena’s 3,000-space parking deck as part of a complicated $14.1 million deal struck in October 2019 with the city. Sterling Group sold the parking deck to Grosse Pointe-based Foster Financial Co. on a land contract deal in March 2021, which Crain’s later reported in June 2021 was for $36 million.

Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate will be responsible for managing and leasing the building.

Detroit-based Neumann/Smith Architecture is the architect while Macomb Township-based Colasanti Construction Services Inc. is the general contractor.

e apartment tower is just one phase of construction that may take place at the site, which is where the Detroit Red Wings played for decades before moving to Little Caesars Arena on Woodward Avenue.

e Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority board earlier this year paved the way for a new convention-style hotel to be built connected to Huntington Place on the site, and sources have said that an o ce tower is also under consideration.

“Subsequent phases are coming to this area, but speci cally what they are is really to be determined; we’ll announce those at a future date as they come forth,” Samson said.

Joe Louis Arena was demolished between 2019 and 2020.

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

couldn’t get worse, the sudden failure of Silicon Valley Bank further rattled investors’ confidence. Deal activity dropped in all stages and sectors during the first quarter of 2023, and the fundraising momentum carried from 2021 has evaporated.”

Fundraising by VC firms nationwide has largely fallen off a cliff since the peak in 2021, according to the report. In 2021, 1,336 funds raised $158.5 billion and in 2022 892 funds raised $170.8 billion, the report said. In the first quarter of this year, 99 funds raised a “meager” $11.7 billion.

While acknowledging the tough fundraising climate of the moment, Arboretum’s general part-

ners say they feel strong about their overall position and ability to deploy capital in profitable deals. Many other funds, Shehab pointed out, have had trouble closing their fundraising rounds.

“And so we think we’ve got a position to really look at deals and be really thoughtful with the deals we do,” Shehab said. “But there’s a tremendous amount of deal flow that we’re seeing (and) the market remains very busy. And there are lots of folks out there who need capital. So we actually look at this as a very opportune time to be making new investments.”

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

FUNDING

From Page 3

But the longer funding term gives groups like LISC more exibility to make a budget and know exactly where they’re going. It means a slow start doesn’t end an opportunity to do good, especially if there’s a need to pivot when the rst idea didn’t have the intended results.

LISC received $2 million from the Rocket Community Fund in December for a wealth accelerator program in Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta and Milwaukee. Walker Banks said the threeyear time period is “optimal” for going from concept to provable program.

e rst six months, she said, are spent guring out how to measure success and how to make the program happen. Participants are identi ed, partners are set. By the second year, more people are getting engaged and there are some successes. At the end of year two, she said, there’s knowledge of where the impact is the greatest. And year three can be spent nding and lling in gaps, and determining whether a program works well enough to renew.

Five years of funding would be awesome, she said — but as the world changes, and needs do too, three years seems like a good time period for most programs.

“ ere’s always concerns as a funding source sunsets,” Walker Banks said. “ e more successful programs continue or can be rebranded and presented to another funder. Maybe other needs will be known as a result of this work.”

Investments worth making

Grannemann said both the Rocket Community Fund and the Gilbert Family Foundation want to see outcomes — they want to know that the money is making a di erence. Sometimes, that success will lead to a fullscale program. Other times, it will be the needed proof that there are broader policy changes that need to be made.

“We’re showcasing to ourselves, our partners, that these investments are worth making,” Grannemann said. “We’re not just going to leave our partners high and dry at the end of three years.”

Jason Headen, the vice president of the Detroit market for CHN Housing Partners, said the time frame gives enough room to make changes in a program. It makes space for data gathering and means there is enough of a commitment to establish and grow a team.

“If we had a year of funding, we wouldn’t be as certain,” he said. “It would be harder to hire and retain talent. ey may not take it as seriously. It lets people know this is a serious initiative, that it’s here to stay.”

CHN was funded by the Gilbert Family Foundation in May, a $10 million commitment that created the Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine and forti ed a citywide housing network. Headen said a three-year time frame

for the housing network allows groups to work methodically on improvements.

“When you hear a three-year commitment, it gives a lot of hope,” he said. “It gives some runway and leeway to be able to solve problems.”

Ted Phillips, the executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition, said knowing there are three years worth of funds coming in can help when other funding is slow to arrive.

UCHC is a partner in the $13 million eviction defense fund the Gilbert Family Foundation supported in May 2022, and Phillips said he didn’t know how the organization would be operating today without them.

“Compared to my entire life of oneyear grants, this is like a godsend,” Phillips said. “But for their support, we would be a shadow of ourselves.”

Phillips said the long-term grant helps with sta retention, improves workers’ feelings of security and has allowed for the addition of a development director who can help bring even more money to UCHC. Seeing the Gilbert gift, he said, has made other potential funders feel more secure in their own commitments. And it helps him know that he’s able to maintain a certain level of service.

e recent shift back to in-person eviction hearings, from virtual hearings, has challenged UCHC’s ability to represent tenants as e ectively a year into the grant, Phillips said. But he said there’s enough time and opportunity to continue to gure out what works best as a result of the ongoing support.

Grannemann said most of the grants also come with an evaluation partner who can look at what’s working and what isn’t. A clear, three-year window also allows for conversations about whether there should be adjustments and where there is success.

Making adjustments

And there have been adjustments. Detroit Demo Day, a $1 million small-business pitch day that happened annually for ve years, is no more. Instead, the Gilbert Family Foundation put $10 million over three years into Venture 313, a program that will reach more people more regularly. At the end of year three, Grannemann will determine whether it did a better job of jump starting businesses or if there are more changes that need to be made.

And the Gilberts are interested not just in funding temporary xes, Grannemann said, but in highlighting the existence of systemic issues and offering solutions to them. A door-todoor tax foreclosure outreach, Neighbor to Neighbor, helped lead to legislation that allowed for the payment of back taxes on homes that were at risk of foreclosure, helping to keep people housed long term.

“We’re proving out impact for policy change,” Grannemann said. “ ere’s time to implement, learn and evaluate and iterate, if it’s done successfully.”

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

Dan and Jennifer Gilbert discuss their plans for investment in Detroit neighborhoods during an announcement last year.

The swimming pool under construction at The Residences at Water Square. KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Inside a one-bedroom unit kitchen at the The Residences at Water Square.

| KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Inside a one-bedroom unit bathroom at the The Residences at Water Square. | KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

OEM PARTS SUPPLIERS CRAIN'S LIST |

Ranked by 2022 automotive original-equipment parts sales

engineering and contract manufacturing. Product capabilities which include body, chassis, exterior, seating, powertrain, active driver assistance, electronics, mirrors & lighting, mechatronics and roof systems. Magna also has electronic and software capabilities across many of these areas.

power electronics,

5

adient.com

6

INTERNATIONAL AMERICAINC. 24777 Denso Drive, South eld48033

25

driveshafts, thermal, sealing, e-axles, e-transmissions, motors, inverters, e-thermal, and fuel cell cooling for traditional and alternativeenergy vehicles

technology and powertrain peripherals for internal-combustion engines, solutions for powertrain electri cation, vehicle safety systems, driver-assistance and automated functions, technology for infotainment, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, repairshop concepts and technology and services for the automotive aftermarket

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

|Thislistofautomotivesuppliersisanapproximatecompilation.ForcompaniesbasedinDetroitanddivisionsofU.S.-basedcompaniesinDetroit, gureisforworldwideOEMsales.Fordivisions offoreign-ownedcompanies, gureisforNorthAmericanOEMsales.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.Crain'sestimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesandbenchmarks,newsreportsandawiderangeofothersources. Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.NA=notavailable.NOTES: e. Crain'sestimate.

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

1. AutomotiveNews 2. AutomotiveNewsestimate.

3. AutomotiveNews scalestimate. 4. AfterFaurecia'sacquisitionofacontrolling stakeinHella,thecombinedcompanyisnowknownasForvia.Faurecia'sacquisitionofHellawascompletedinFebruary2022.

5. AutomotiveNews scalyearestimate.

6. HoldingcompanyforPistonAutomotive,IrvinAutomotiveandDetroitThermal Systems.

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

MICHIGAN MANUFACTURERS CRAIN'S LIST |

Ranked by 2022 revenue

(FORMERLY FCA US LLC) 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills48326-2766 248-576-5741;stellantis.com

11 KELLOGG CO. One Kellogg Square, Battle Creek49016-3599 269-961-2000;kelloggcompany.com

12 ADIENT 49200 Halyard

24 MILLERKNOLL INC. (FORMERLY HERMAN MILLER INC.)

855 E. Main Ave., PO Box 302, Zeeland49464 616-654-3000;millerknoll.com

25 PLASTIPAK HOLDINGSINC. 41605 Ann Arbor Road, Plymouth48170 734-455-3600;plastipak.com

Plymouth

of rigid plastic containers and recycled plastic material

|ThislistofmanufacturingcompaniesisanapproximatecompilationofmanufacturerswithheadquartersorsubstantialoperationsinMichigan.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemost comprehensiveavailable.Crain'sestimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesandbenchmarks,newsreportsandawiderangeofothersources.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.Companieswithheadquarters elsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmainMichigano ce.Actualrevenue guresmayvary.NA=notavailable.NOTES: e. Crain'sestimate.

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

1. NorthAmericanrevenue.The2022revenueisbasedonDec.31,2022,euroto dollarsrateof1.0726 2. NorthAmericanrevenue. 3. The2022revenue guresrepresentNAFTAsalesofContinentalAG,basedonaDec.31,2022,eurotodollarsrateof1.0726.

4. The2021revenue guresrepresentNAFTAsalesofContinentalAG, basedonaDec.31,2021,eurotodollarsrateof1.1371.

6. AutomotiveNews

5. AfterFaurecia'sacquisitionofacontrollingstakeinHella,thecombinedcompanyisnowknownasForvia.Faurecia'sacquisitionofHellawascompletedinFebruary2022.

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

the primarily lower middle-market business needs of the area, Meisner said. He also sees ample opportunity as bigger banks tighten their credit standards amid increased economic uncertainty.

e new bank CEO was previously a Democratic state representative from the area. He spent a dozen years as treasurer of Michigan’s second most-populous county and mounted an unsuccessful bid for Oakland County executive. Community Unity Bank has been going through the regulatory process since early 2022, and has raised $28.5 million in capital from 145 primarily local investors, Meisner said.

Meisner said economic and community development initiatives were key parts of his political career and can translate over to his new job leading a small, community bank focused on catering to businesses in the area’s lower middle market, primarily commercial and industrial in nature.

In many ways, the playbook being run by Community Unity Bank is similar to that of the handful of other community banks that have opened in the region in recent years, such as Bloom eld Township-based Mi Bank, which has now exited its de novo phase — generally de ned as the rst few years of a bank’s existence during which regulators limit the types of business a lender can pursue.

To that end, Meisner told Crain’s that Mi Bank, as well as Talmer and Level One banks — both Oakland County-based lenders that grew and were ultimately acquired — stand as models for the type of institution he aims to run.

And there’s no concern of a lack of business, he added.

“One of the reasons that the regulators supported our application is that they perceived a need in this market,” the CEO said. “We anticipate partnering with ... what few community banks remain. But Oakland County has got $84 billion in deposits. We have a very sophisticated economy, one that I learned a lot about as county treasurer and as state representative. And so we think there’s plenty to go around.”

Community Unity Bank’s emergence comes as nancial institutions, regulators, consumers and businesses are working to better understand and acclimate to the current environment in which higher interest rates are likely to be around for the foreseeable future.

e collapse in March of Silicon Valley and Signature banks, and First Republic Bank a few weeks later, are largely seen as isolated incidents as many banks showed stability in the days and weeks that followed.

Community banks around the state stressed that the business models of the failed banks bore little resemblance to their own, as Crain’s has reported.

Still, the data is quite clear: banks have begun to tighten up credit.

Data from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shows that from March 1 to May 1 of this year, total commercial and industrial loans declined

by more than $1 billion. Commercial lending is still well above pre-pandemic times, but also well below the May 2020 peak when interest rates were at historic lows.

Amid the ongoing lending contraction, some banking o cials o er a contrarian take.

“It is the perfect time for a new bank to come onboard,” Mike Tierney, CEO of the Community Bankers Association of Michigan trade group, said of Meisner’s bank opening as many other lenders are looking to pull back.

Beyond just being able to serve clients who might be getting denied for loans at larger banks, Tierney also said the environment is when many bankers might be looking at new opportunities at a new lender.

“I think their timing is excellent,” Tierney said.

Meisner cited multiple reasons why he agreed with Tierney, with the main takeaway being that Community Unity Bank begins with a perfectly clean slate and no major overhead inhibiting its growth potential.

“We love starting now,” Meisner said. “One: We have no low-interest legacy loans, which a lot of other institutions are dealing with. Two: We don’t have any bad legacy technology.”

As Community Unity Bank launches, the lender has 13 employees to

start, many of whom have worked at several other banks in the area, such as Talmer (which after multiple acquisitions is now part of Huntington), Flagstar (now owned by New York Community Bancorp Inc.) and Comerica.

As the new bank ramps up its marketing e orts, Meisner said he expects deposits to grow by around $50 million per year. Given the bank’s de novo period prescribed by regulators, business offerings will be fairly “straight forward,”

Meisner said, and the lender won’t be chasing “exotic” books of business, such as crypto.

e increasingly volatile cannabis business is also one Community Unity Bank seeks to avoid, at least during the initial few years of business, he said.

“I see it as a lot of daily blocking and tackling,” Meisner said of this initial period. “Establishing our core competencies by fully meeting the needs of the small business community. And then as we evolve from our de novo phase after three years, at that point you have an opportunity to re-examine your business plan and see how market need may have evolved.”

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

“WE LOVE STARTING NOW. ONE: WE HAVE NO LOW-INTEREST LEGACY LOANS, WHICH A LOT OF OTHER INSTITUTIONS ARE DEALING WITH. TWO: WE DON’T HAVE ANY BAD LEGACY TECHNOLOGY.”

—Andy Meisner, CEO of Community Unity Bank

store site to the new residential highrise being built on the old Joe Louis Arena site, Guardian has its hands full with splashy new buildings, usually juggling somewhere around 80 projects at any given time.

Little Caesars Arena? Check. Ford Field and Comerica Park? Check. Book Tower and Book Building? Yep. Amazon warehouses? De nitely. Gordie Howe International Bridge? You betcha.

A growing business

It’s not just Detroit where Guardian has left its mark. It has done work in Ohio and Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee on Ford Motor Co.’s Blue Oval project. Guardian has worked in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado as well, said Phil Youtsey, the company’s owner and CEO of more than 30 years.

And as tech and data become even bigger factors, seemingly on a daily basis, for major companies, that bodes well for Guardian, which has grown from what Youtsey called “a two-man show” to somewhere between eight and 10 working out of the Novi o ce.

“It’s a technology-driven industry where as things change, and these computers become more prominent, we become more prominent,” Youtsey said. “It’s that necessary evil to protect that electrical system that runs all this, so you don’t lose that data.”

In all, the company steadily keeps about 80 projects going at one time, growing by 10 or 20, depending on the year.

Robert Minielly, president, CEO and owner of South eld-based contractor Shaw Electrical, said he and

Youtsey go back several decades coming up in the electrical trades together. His company exclusively uses Guardian, he said.

“ ey’re just an easy company to deal with,” Minielly said.

“ eir quality of workmanship is outstanding. We don’t get calls back from (building) owners dealing with warranty issues. In terms of quality, accuracy of their proposals, working with them on projects, showing up when they say they are going to, all of that ... it just works. It’s hard enough to do these projects, meeting some of the deadlines and expectations that

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owners put on, so it makes it much easier when you’re dealing with subcontractors that you can rely on, that you don’t have to babysit.”

How to protect buildings

Here’s how it works, although there can be deviations.

Metal air terminals — the industry term for what might best be described as lightning rods — are installed on a building’s roof or other elevated sections of a building, typically about 20 feet apart. If, in the instance of the Residences at Water Square — the

25-story apartment tower on the Joe Louis Arena site — the building owner doesn’t want air terminals disrupting, say, the planned rooftop patio and lounge, something else can be used as a “strike termination device,” Williams said. (In that building’s case, it’s a railing.)

The air terminals are connected to a grounding system under the building through cable conductors made of copper or aluminum, both highly conductive metals. Whether copper conductors or aluminum conductors are used is contingent on other materials on the project,

Williams said. That’s because, for example, if there is aluminum coping or mechanical units on the rooftop, copper cable conductors would trigger a galvanic reaction, causing the aluminum to erode.

It’s those conductors that give the lightning a path to ow downward to the ground, steering the electrical energy away from sensitive areas of the building like mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural systems.

Many options

ere can be variety in the system, though.

For example, a steel building can utilize its structural steel as a vehicle for sending the lightning from the roof to the ground, safely dissipating it as intended. However, in some cases, the conduit is fed through concrete columns to the ground, followed by copper cable in the conduit, Williams said.

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FastTek Global

e grounding system — a series of buried conductors or metal rods underneath the building — dissipates the lightning’s electrical energy after arriving via the cable conductors, minimizing the risk of damage to a building or its occupants, Williams said.

Wood

Other safeguards include surge protection devices, which divert transient voltage surges away from sensitive equipment and appliances, and bonding — which is connecting various metal parts of a structure to prevent side ashes and other situations that could be hazardous, Williams said.

To be clear, the system can work for both single-family residential homes or commercial buildings, Youtsey said.

For houses in particular, Guardian is usually approached either by those building mansions with things like intricate and expensive home theater and electrical systems, or homeowners looking for solutions after multiple lightning strikes on the same one.

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“ ey get hit over and over by lightning strikes, same place over and over,” Youtsey said. “It’s a common myth that it doesn’t strike the same place twice.”

Williams said that’s not just true for homes large and small.

“ e RenCen, it’s probably been struck hundreds of times since we installed it.”

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

Guardian employees (from left) Michael Schulz, Keith Miles, Kris Szyndlar, Luke Schulz, Greg Fair, Ryan Williams, Bill Gould, Justin Haynes, Adam LaPorte pose on top of the 12th oor of the Block Building while setting up lightning rods. QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

One of the lightning rods that Guardian had on a building that was struck. GUARDIAN

Fieger’s law rm and family have been mum about the proli c trial attorney’s condition since announcing in March that he su ered a stroke following an elective procedure to deal with a heart arrhythmia. But Harrington opened up about the status of the rm in tandem with ling two of the highest-pro le lawsuits taken on since its namesake’s stroke.

e lawsuits — a $100 million claim against ExxonMobil over a deadly shooting in Detroit and a $50 million lawsuit over alleged police brutality in Warren — will serve to show whether the rm packs the same punch without Fieger in the courtroom.

Harrington, 46, who started at the rm 23 years ago, is Fieger’s sole partner. His title is vice president, “with the active duties of president to make all calls needed to advance the rm,” according to Harrington.

“All successful and competent businesses have to have a succession plan,” he said. “In Michigan, it’s an ethical requirement that a law rm have a succession plan.”

He declined to detail the plan other than to say it is moving forward.

As with the fate of the rm itself, which has about 20 lawyers on sta , questions have loomed over the health of Fieger, the 72-year-old whose storied career took o after successfully defending the assistant suicide doctor, Jack Kevorkian, and included an unsuccessful run for Michigan governor.

Fieger returned to his Bloom eld Hills home in May after receiving care for his stroke.

Harrington declined to comment on speci cs about Fieger’s rehabilitation and condition and said Fieger and his family prefer privacy.

“When I started here and as I work through this, Geo Fieger has been a larger-than-life superhero type of gure, and to see him in any condition less than that doesn’t sit right with me,” Harrington said. “So any type of ding to his health doesn’t sit well with me because I want to see him in the courtroom, and I want to see him doing what he does.”

Harrington said Fieger and his wife Keenie have been out to local

restaurants and events in recent weeks, and that Fieger has dropped by the o ce several days over the past couple weeks.

“I can tell you that he’s working very hard in his recovery. Every time I have seen him, he has gotten better to some degree, but I don’t know what maximum medical improvement looks like for him, and I’m not going to comment on that.”

Harrington also declined to discuss Fieger’s current involvement in the law rm’s operations. “ at falls within the purview of his recovery, and I want to give the family a degree of privacy with that,” he said.

While Fieger continues recovery, Harrington is preparing some of his biggest cases yet. He is the lead attorney on a $100 million lawsuit being led against ExxonMobil Corp. over the shooting death of 24-yearold Anthony McNary by a gas station clerk in Detroit in June. e rm led a separate lawsuit against ExxonMobil in May after three customers were injured in a shooting at a di erent ExxonMobil station in Detroit.

Additionally, Harrington will serve as lead attorney on a $50 million lawsuit against the city of Warren and Warren Police Department over o cers’ alleged attack on a

man in their custody.

Even without the threat of Fieger trying the case, Harrington said he is con dent he can deliver a good outcome for his clients. He said the pressure put on him by the absence of his one-time mentor motivates him.

“ e only person who puts the pressure on me is me. How am I going to do more today? How am I going to be better today? It’s that mindset that I’ve had literally my entire life.”

Who is James Harrington?

As with many a successful attorney, Harrington was supposed to be a rock star instead. e Fender Telecaster guitar in the corner of his ofce is his outlet when the legal life gets overwhelming — he plays often. He’s a metal-head, but Band of Gypsys changed his life, he said, plugging in and plucking cleanly through some bars of “Hey Joe.”

Harrington’s analogies also give him away as being a big football guy. He picked up the sport for the rst time in high school and played at Adrian College, where he went from seventh on the depth chart to a starter and captain by his senior year. Academics were never his

strong suit. He nished near the bottom of his class at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. “It didn’t click with me,” he said.

But as a law clerk under Fieger, he became consumed by the job, working late into the night, “trying to gure out how to get good.” He earned the respect of Fieger, who eventually gave him an ownership stake in the rm. (Harrington declined to say exactly what the stake is but said Fieger owns 99% of shares.)

A hard working, heavy metal loving underdog who loves to win — that’s the persona Harrington projects, probably a little more intentionally now than in the past. at’s because Fieger Law was built on a big persona, and right now there is a massive void, said Don Tanner, a local public relations veteran with 35 years of experience in strategic communications and branding.

“In the past, every commercial was typically Geo rey Fieger front and center, his voice, his face, his name and the whole ‘army of one’ theme,” Tanner said. “Now, who’s going to be the bulldog that Geo rey Fieger has always come across in high pro le cases?”

Over the past few weeks, the law rm has rolled out a new advertising campaign seeking to answer that question. e new TV commercials attempt to blend the old Fieger-centric branding with the new reality of the rm. While some of the spots still show Fieger and feature his voice, they now show Harrington out front with the tag line, “All we do is win.”

e rm has increased its ad budget as it looks to reposition its brand, though Harrington declined to provide nancials or say by how much it increased.

Shifting away from Fieger as the gurehead will be challenging, especially when there are not other well-known names at the rm, Tanner said.

“It’s not an easy task for Fieger Law in terms of branding because you have such a high-pro le gure as Geo rey Fieger. He is the brand,” he said.

e rm’s advertising, long produced by South eld-based Sussman Agency, is also a delicate ethical balance. Fieger Law wants to maintain its name recognition without running afoul of professional conduct rules governing attorneys.

“We can’t misrepresent, mislead or be untruthful in any of them,” Harrington said. “Because he’s such a big gure, we can’t be in a situation where somebody would think that if they came here at this exact moment, that he would be the lawyer that would try the case.”

What will help with branding most is winning more cases and clients, and from Harrington’s perspective, the rm is on the right track. He said call volumes have remained steady since Fieger’s stroke, and cases assigned to its attorneys have increased.

In the immediate term, the partnerin-charge is focused on his cases and keeping the law rm a oat. Harrington didn’t say whether the succession plan would involve keeping the rm in the family, but he said he is mentoring the oldest of Fieger’s three children, Julian, a rising senior at Kalamazoo College. While no decisions have been made about law school, Harrington said Julian has been spending his summers learning the craft.

“He is in the o ce a lot,” he said. “He’s a smart kid. I give him work that I give to young associate attorneys.”

As the younger Fieger’s potential legal future sprouts, the elder’s remains uncertain.

“I’m going to maintain optimism that he will be back in a courtroom, but I’m not a physician,” Harrington said.

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

Geo rey Fieger and James Harrington pose for a photo.

Fieger Law partner James Harrington often plays the Fender Telecaster guitar that he keeps in his o ce. | KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Embracing identity catapulted career for Harley-Davidson exec

Ashwini Balasubramanian’s career took o when she stopped trying to t in. As an immigrant from India, Balasubramanian initially thought the best way to succeed in a male-dominated industry was to conform to the culture. Now, the 41-year-old general manager of advanced engineering for Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Motor Co., realizes her strengths are what sets her apart. So in addition to her daily duties of overseeing core engineering and testing for the motorcycle maker, Balasubramanian works to help other women realize the same about themselves in her role as president of Troy-based Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation

 How did you get into the automotive industry?

I was born and raised in India, so I have a very stereotypical immigrant story, I guess. After I got my bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, I moved to the U.S. in 2002 to get my master’s at University of Michigan, but then while I was waiting for classes to start, I ended up nding a full-time job. So, they did my admission to the Dearborn campus, and I went to night school to get my master’s in mechanical engineering while working full time at Bosch braking systems. I did work at Bosch for about two-and-a-half years, and then I got recruited by Toyota to go work in their vehicle evaluation department down in Ann Arbor. So I worked for Toyota for about seven years. And then after about seven years, a colleague of mine that used to do projects with me at Bosch had moved to TRW, which is now ZF, and he had o ered me a role — probably my rst people leadership role. I stayed there for about eight years … In fall of ’21, Harley approached me with this role to join them. It’s been 15 months since I’ve been at Harley.

 What challenges have you faced as a woman in the industry?

Mechanical engineering is not a stream that women pick up in India very often. I think, even as of 2021, according to a Swedish survey in India, only 5% of mechanical engineering students are female. So it’s not a very popular stream for women. So right from college I think I’ve been exposed to a very maledominated environment. I kind of got acclimated very early on. But I was so focused initially on tting in. I remember trying to learn all the di erent sports, all the di erent jargons the guys use, trying to t in and so badly wanting to t in. I sometimes had to remind my colleagues that I was still here. “Hey, you

RUMBLINGS

know, watch what you say, I’m still here, right?” And the response would be, “Oh, Ashwini, come on. You’re a bro. You’re one of us.” And I remember feeling so proud about it. I’ve arrived. I am one of the bros. But I think once I had my rst child, I kind of completely changed my perspective because I realized, you know, I am not one of the bros, at least from a challenge standpoint and all the needs that I have. My challenges are very unique. They’re very di erent, and how I approach everything is very di erent than the guys that I work with. So I think becoming a mother kind of forced me to embrace my diversity and actually forced me to bring my whole self to work.

 What do you mean by that?

I stopped trying to t in, and I think at that point, I started openly talking about the di erent challenges I had. So if I had to go pick up my child at 5 o’clock, and I had to leave work by 4 … We didn’t have all the remote stu . So I started talking about that stu , because none of the guys around me ever had to do that. Either they were single, or they had wives that were stay-at-home moms. So they didn’t ever have to leave work at a certain time. But I started talking about it openly. And that’s when I realized, “Oh my God, it is very di erent. My world is di erent, and I shouldn’t try to t it.”

 How did that impact your work and role in the workplace?

So when I worked at Toyota, we were working on a product (Avalon) at that time. I was a noise and vibration engineer. So, our goal usually is to make the vehicle as quiet as possible. And just having had a child, you know, thinking about the scenario, this was a vehicle that’s targeted at moms, right. So I remember saying, “wait a minute, if we make everything quiet (inside the car), the ability to have a conversation is going to be very hard

BY | KURT NAGL

as well. If I’m driving with my kids in the back, I want to be able to have a clear conversation with them.” And that actually ended up changing the design of the headliner in the vehicle. ... and we actually ended up getting a patent for it. So I guess what I’m trying to say is once I started breaking away from the mold of trying to t in and trying to bring my own unique perspectives, I would say I became a better employee. And also, counterintuitively, my career started taking o .

 How, if at all, has the culture of the industry changed since you started?

I think there’s a lot of positive, no doubt. Like when I started in the workforce, I don’t remember anybody ever talking about diversity, equity and inclusion. ... But I think the big positive change is that the industry is openly talking about this stu now. People are

not hesitating to talk about the unique challenges, not just working moms but in general, whether it’s LGBTQ+ people or it is di erent races. ... I don’t think we are where we should be, but I think we surely are making progress. I think the rst step is to start having the conversation, and I think some organizations are probably farther along than others because they’ve been consciously on this journey even before all of the D&I talk started. But I think there’s a lot of positive momentum, and that’s one of the reasons (we) are working to make sure that (Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation) is positioned in the right way. Our mission really is to help advance and empower every woman in the

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Ashwini Balasubramanian is general manager of advanced engineering at Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

Shinola’s April Fools’ Day spoof is now a real watch

IT STARTED AS AN APRIL FOOLS’ Day social media post: an image of a Runlate wristwatch with the word “LATE” at each hour mark from Shinola, the Detroit-based lifestyle brand.

“We crafted this innovative timepiece with your habitually time-challenged friend in mind — or you (let’s be honest.) Coming soon to Shinola stores never.”

Consumer reaction was swift — and overwhelmingly positive. Responses on Instagram and Facebook included: “Joke’s on you, now everyone wants one, so you’ll need to produce it.”

Shinola agreed. After expediting production — a process that normally takes 18 months — the brand announced the Runlate on social media on ursday, o ering it to

Shinola’s Runlate watch sold out in three hours, according to the brand, which had planned to make 100 of the new watches.

The watch is a spoof of the brand’s best-selling Runwell. Both models cost $595.

members of “ e Foundry,” its most-dedicated shoppers, a day before a planned July 7 wide release.

e Runlate sold out in three hours, according to the brand, which had planned to make 100 of the new watches. A waitlist plan is in the works.

e watch is a spoof of the brand’s best-selling Runwell. Both models cost $595.

“ is was our rst-ever April Fools’ stunt, and we honestly didn’t know how our loyal audience was going to react,” Philip Pirkovic, director of brand and partnerships, said in a statement issued before the launch. “What we thought was a funny idea quickly resulted in audience demand and an unprecedented amount of engagement on social.”

According to Shinola, its April 1 post resulted in three times the reach, four times the likes, 13 times the shares and ve times the comments compared to all of its social posts combined in the rst quarter.

“Within an hour of the post going live we knew we had something, and it far exceeded our expectations,” said Pirkovic.

e watch is the latest example of a brand generating marketing and product ideas by monitoring social media reactions. McDonald’s Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, last year’s limited-edition meal created in partnership with the buzzy streetwear brand, was the result of positive consumer reaction to a 2020 tweet: “One day you ordered a Happy Meal for the last time, and you didn’t even know it.

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