Crain's Detroit Business, August 1, 2022, issue by Crain's Detroit Business

CONVERSATION: Luke Bonner on pitching baseballs, and incentives. PAGE 18

SELFRIDGE FUTURE Backers tout new opportunities for base PAGE 8

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I AUGUST 1, 2022

ELECTION PREVIEW

GOP primary heads to the wire

Dixon becomes establishment favorite, but race is a toss-up BY DAVID EGGERT

LANSING — Within months, steel sales manager-turned-conservative media host Tudor Dixon has transformed from a virtual unknown in Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial primary to the “establishment” favorite to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this fall. The politically powerful DeVos

family backed her in May after it became apparent that half of the GOP field, including two leading contenders, had turned in mass numbers of forged nominating signatures. Right to Life of Michigan followed suit in June, followed by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and, most recently, former Gov. John Engler. That old-guard establishment sees Dixon, 45, of Norton Shores, as the

Where they stand on key economic issues in Michigan. Page 14

party’s best and most electable candidate if she wins Tuesday’s five-person primary of political newcomers — a breast cancer survivor and mother of four who could defeat the Democratic incumbent or keep it See PRIMARY on Page 14

Clockwise from left: Tudor Dixon, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Ryan Kelley and Ralph Rebandt.

Gen Z is riding to rescue on labor shortage Skipping internships and heading right into serious roles BY MINNAH ARSHAD

VIEW

The Oudolf Garden Detroit footprint on Belle Isle as seen from above.

Famed landscape designer to visit Detroit garden he designed for first time | BY SHERRI WELCH Famed landscape designer Piet Oudolf, is coming to Detroit next month to see the Belle Isle garden he designed in person for the first time. The Oudolf Garden Detroit, a 2.6-acre site near the Nancy Brown Peace Memorial Carillon and the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle, sprang to life two years ago with nearly 26,000 plants tucked into the soil. Last year, rain garden plants were added

before the free, public garden opened in August 2021. Oudolf, a Dutch designer who has been likened to famed Belle Isle and Central Park landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, also designed the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park in Chicago and gardens at Battery Park and High Line park in New York City.

NEWSPAPER

See OUDOLF on Page 15

RYANSOUTHEN.COM

GARDEN

In a domino effect of financial turbulence, a more than 2-year-old COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing consumer demand have accelerated a nationwide labor shortage that economists say has been a long time coming. But with a wave of senior workers leaving their posts and settling into retirement, a new crop of talent has stepped up. Young professionals are entering management and director roles at record levels, apprenticeship programs have risen steadily and early career development programs are restoring a depleting labor force. While internship programs dropped dramatically in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and continue to fall behind the growth of overall job openings, younger generations have increasingly been hired to full-time roles. “Because of the labor shortage, employers have adapted their expectations from a candidate dramatically,” said Sinem Buber, lead economist at ZipRecruiter Inc. “College students have better luck finding full-time jobs than internship opportunities.” See GEN Z on Page 16

Oudolf

SHINOLA MOVE

GREEKTOWN

Brand CEO Shannon Washburn set to retire. PAGE 3

How push for casinos fueled Black developers’ careers. PAGE 11

NEED TO KNOW

DEVELOPMENT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT ` BIRMINGHAM JEWELER GETS MAX PRISON SENTENCE THE NEWS: Joseph DuMouchelle, 61, received the maximum recommended sentence of 151 months in federal prison on one count of wire fraud, to which he pleaded guilty in September 2020. The minimum recommended sentence was 121 months. Restitution — losses to the victims — owed is $25.21 million, Judge Mark Goldsmith determined. DuMouchelle has been ordered to forfeit $12 million, which is the amount he benefited. Upon release, DuMouchelle has three years of court supervision. WHY IT MATTERS: DuMouchelle, who owned Joseph DuMouchelle Fine & Estate Jewellers LLC at 251 E. Merrill St. in downtown Birmingham, “defrauded investors by convincing them he was buying and selling rare jewelry for big profits,” said James Tarasca, special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit.

` MICHIGAN HIGH COURT: LAW PROTECTS LGBTQ RESIDENTS THE NEWS: The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday said the state’s anti-discrimination law covers sexual orientation, a victory for LGBTQ residents that protects them in places of public accommodation, employment, housing and education. The

$3.4 million committed this year by the Ally Charitable Foundation to support organizations focused on promoting economic mobility through financial education, workforce development and affordable housing initiatives.

court, in a 5-2 opinion, said the word “sex” in Michigan’s key civil rights law applies to sexual orientation and not just gender. WHY IT MATTERS: This decision overturns a Court of Appeals decision decades earlier that found sexual orientation was not covered by the civil rights law.

` ALLY FOUNDATION GIVES TO GRASSROOTS GROUPS THE NEWS: The Ally Charitable Foundation has awarded $1.5 million in unrestricted operating grants to Black-led, grassroots organizations in its hometown markets of Detroit and Charlotte. About $730,000 will go toward the Detroit nonprofits Caught Up, Detroit Phoenix Center, Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program, Emerging Industries Training Institute, Ground Up (Man to Man Project, Inc.), Journi, Lawn Academy and Michigan College Access Network. WHY IT MATTERS: The grants are part of

` JETBLUE TO BUY SPIRIT AIRLINES FOR $3.8 BILLION THE NEWS: JetBlue Airways Corp. has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines Inc. for $3.8 billion in a deal that would create the nation’s fifth largest airline if approved by U.S. regulators. The combined airline, which will be based in New York and would have a fleet of 458 aircraft. WHY IT MATTERS: Both JetBlue and Spirit operate at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Spirit is the No. 2 airline at Metro, behind Delta Air Line, while JetBlue was seventh-largest in June, according to Wayne County Airport Authority records.

City Council approves $60M tax break for Hudson’s site ` A weekslong stalemate over a $60.3 million tax break for Dan Gilbert’s $1.4 billion J.L. Hudson’s site development downtown has ended with his Bedrock LLC real estate company conceding to more community benefits for Detroit in exchange. The Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved the 10-year abatement for the development at Woodward and East Grand River avenues on a 5-4 vote. Since early June, the issue had been a topic of debate both at the council dais as well as in the general public, where some argued that forgoing tens of millions in city property tax revenue so a billionaire could continue building a massive skyscraper downtown was not the best use of public resources in a city that struggles to provide things like affordable housing and reliable public transportation services. Bedrock and others, however, pointed to the Hudson’s site development’s net positive impact on the city’s bottom line, as well as its necessity to make the project financially viable, even with a slim profit margin of just 1.6 percent. Among the enhanced community benefits Bedrock agreed to in exchange for the 10-year tax abatement: 20 percent of the first-floor retail space for Detroit-based small businesses; a $1 million commitment to those small businesses over the course of the tax break; and a $5 million commitment to projects that meet the criteria for the Neighborhood Improvement Fund. The Hudson’s site tower is in the process of being built. |

Correction ` A photo that appeared on Page 1 and another photo that appeared on Page 9 in the May 23, 2022, issue of Crain’s Detroit Business depicted the wrong new construction home in a before-and-after depiction of a Bloomfield Hills teardown near Long Lake Road, off Telegraph Road.

LAURÉN ABDEL-RAZZAQ / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

2022

COOL

PLACES TO WORK V I RTUA L E V E N T

AUG 18 | 1PM

TOP 100 MICHIGAN EMPLOYERS RANKED Employees have been surveyed, results tallied and winners determined. Now it’s time to reveal who made the list!

crainsdetroit.com/cool-reveal 2 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

TECHNOLOGY

FINANCE

Snyder launches cybersecurity company SensCy to offer services to small businesses BY NICK MANES

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

VENTURE CAPITAL VICTORY Michigan VC investment bounced back hard from 2020 pandemic lows BY NICK MANES

In what was a banner year globally for venture capital, the industry within Michigan had a pretty good year itself in 2021. That’s according to the annual report released Thursday by the Michigan Venture Capital Association, which tracked a total of 161 startup companies in the state receiving north of $1.4 billion in VC investment last year. That’s a substantial uptick from the first pandemic year of 2020, when the Novi-based trade group tracked just 88 startup investment deals, totaling $257 million. Michigan “is leading the ascent of the Great Lakes region amid the national VC landscape,” according

to the 2022 report, which notes that the state was second in the region — but trailing Illinois and the Chicago region — for VC assets under management. “For a year that saw many records being broken nationwide, we were proud to see that Michigan beat both the National and Great Lakes region average for investment volume,” Jeffrey Rinvelt, MVCA chair and a partner at Renaissance Venture Capital in Ann Arbor, said in a statement. “Our report is more than facts and figures; it tells the story of the enormous impact and resiliency of the venture-backed businesses and how Michigan is becoming a leader within the Great Lakes region.” The 2022 report marks the 20th

anniversary of the annual research report, and a key goal was to make the report into something with more of a narrative, highlighting the industry’s growing success in the state and region, said Ara Topouzian, executive director of the MVCA. “We wanted to create the stories we wanted to tell more about the vibrancy of the Michigan startup community,” Topouzian told Crain’s. “And the positive effects that venture (capital) does have.” Additionally, Topouzian said the trade group partnered with industry data firm Pitchbook for much of its data used in the report.

Notable Michigan VC deals in 2021 A total of 161 startup companies in the state received more than $1.4 billion in VC investment last year, including: ` Ann Arbor-based Akadeum Life Sciences Inc. raised $17.5 million in a Series B funding round led by Arboretum Ventures, also out of Ann Arbor. ` Automotive technology company RoboTire Inc., based in Plymouth, closed on a $7.5 million Series A financing round, which included participation from Detroit Venture Partners. ` Detroit-based fintech company Tiicker raised $2 million from Red Cedar Ventures and others. SOURCE: MICHIGAN VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION

See INVESTMENT on Page 17

Rick Snyder, a former two-term Republican governor of Michigan and a self-proclaimed “nerd,” has a new title to add to his resume: co-founder of a startup cybersecurity company. Snyder, who left office in 2019, has been dogged for months by charges related to the Flint water crisis, but he appears to be moving forward and returning to the entrepreneurial life. Snyder Snyder, along with three partners, last week launched SensCy Inc., which aims to offer a “sensible cyber solution” for small businesses, nonprofits and governmental organizations. During an interview Monday, Snyder told Crain’s that the Ann Arbor-based company has been in the planning stages for months, but now seeks to roll out the platform broadly, starting in Michigan. “The big issue when you look at these smaller organizations, they don’t have the resources to really keep track of what’s going on in the cyber world,” Snyder said. “That’s not their top priority. Their top priority is running their business, selling whatever product or service they’re doing. And so that leaves them at much greater risk than large places that have resources sort of dedicated to looking at the area.” Prior to becoming governor of Michigan in 2011, Snyder was an early entrant into Ann Arbor’s venture capital community, an executive at Gateway Computers and a certified public accountant. Snyder’s partners in the company are: `COO Bhushan Kulkarni, a serial entrepreneur with two other current See SNYDER on Page 17

PEOPLE

Shinola CEO retires as sales of non-watch products tick up BY KURT NAGL

Shinola CEO Shannon Washburn has retired after 10 years with the Detroit-based company, where her focus was to reposition it from watchmaker to lifestyle brand. At the helm since November 2019, Washburn and her team worked to accomplish that, along with guiding the business through the most turbulent time in its history, she said in an interview with Crain’s. After furloughing around 100 workers, Shinola is back up to pre-pandemic employment levels, with 450 total workers, including 225 in Detroit. Its watch business is now barely more than half of its to-

Washburn

Cobbina

tal revenue, by design, as executives position the fast-growing leather goods category and accessories to eventually overtake sales of its flagship offering. Meanwhile, after the Shinola Hotel in Detroit “basically doubled” the company’s brand awareness, Washburn said, there are likely to

be more Shinola Hotels to come, as well as other product categories. Washburn, 61, will be watching from afar, though she will remain on the company’s board. “My decision to retire is just a change in my life, and I wanted to be back home to family,” she said. “I’ll be relocating to Sante Fe, N.M., starting the next chapter of my life.” Washburn, a native of Texas, replaced Tom Lewand, a former Detroit Lions president, as CEO of Shinola in 2019. Washburn worked for 14 years at Fossil and began at Shinola in 2012 before working her way up to president in 2018. Fossil was founded by entrepreneur Tom Kartsotis, who launched Shinola watches in 2011. The brands

operate under parent company Bedrock Manufacturing Co. “It has been rewarding to grow up in the business with her and to work alongside her,” Kartsotis said in a statement. “The way she guided our ship through the pandemic will never be forgotten. Sometimes the hardest parts of the business are simply not things that can be managed from spreadsheets. It requires heart. Shannon has heart.” The company will not replace the CEO role, but will instead search for a new brand president, reverting to the leadership structure in place before Washburn became CEO, said Awenate Cobbina, who was hired as Bedrock Manufacturing CEO last December.

Around that time, Washburn said discussions about her retirement started. “Shinola’s been such an incredible part of my life the past 10 years,” she said. “I think we’re positioned for some really strong growth moving forward. I think we’re really positioned to take Shinola even further in the next decade.” Washburn said the company has made strides to diversify its revenue with new accessories, jewelry, bicycles, clocks and paper goods, as well as boost branding through deals such as with Marchon Eyewear, Crate and Barrel and Bedrock Detroit for the hotel downtown. See SHINOLA on Page 17 AUGUST 1, 2022 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

REAL ESTATE INSIDER

Some challenges ahead for buyer of the Townsend Hotel Cat’s out of the bag. But the reported pending sale of the Townsend Hotel in downtown Birmingham to a wellknown Oakland Kirk County businessPINHO man won’t be without its challenges moving forward, assuming the deal finalizes. I’d been hearing for about three weeks that Sheldon Yellen, the CEO of property restoration giant Belfor Holdings Inc., was purchasing the Townsend, long a go-to for professional athletes and celebrities as they swing through Metro Detroit. Chatter about a sale of the hotel in general — with no specific purchaser identified — began as far back as early June. Then last week, reports started surfacing about said purchase, including by Fox 2 Detroit’s Roop Raj on Twitter and Facebook, as well as Downtown Publications, both attributed to anonymous sources. The purchase — which has not been confirmed to me by anyone directly involved in the deal, mind you — is believed to be for north of $60 million. I’ve heard prices as high as $75 million and as low as $54 million. We’ll see what the ultimate cost for the 150-room hotel at 100 Townsend St. lands at, but the most credible number I’ve heard is $65 million. That could change, of course. News reports suggest that all that’s needed is a license transfer, without specifically saying what kind of license. It’s believed that’s a reference to a liquor license, a process that can take somewhere between four and six months — which could ultimately put the deal still in the works in the first quarter next year, depending on a host of factors and the deal structure. There has been no application submitted for the transfer to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. In addition to that long lead time, the hotel faces market challenges as Yellen attempts to buy it. Like other hotels, the Townsend was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic early in the global health crisis as it fell behind on its commercial mortgage-backed securities debt. However, that issue was ultimately resolved and things appear to be on the upswing — by

The Townsend Hotel in downtown Birmingham is reportedly being sold to Sheldon Yellen, CEO of Belfor Holdings Inc. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

A rendering of the apartment tower currently under construction on the former Joe Louis Arena site. This is one phase of a multi-phase project that’s planned on the nine-acre property. | NEUMANN/SMITH ARCHITECTURE

some metrics. According to data from New York City-based Trepp LLC, which tracks CMBS data and maintains financial reports on properties that secure CMBS loans, revenue shot to $18.26 million last year, up from $9.66 million in 2020. However, that still paced well behind 2019, when the hotel pulled in

$23.37 million. Net cash flow was $3.25 million last year, but the hotel lost $70,500 in 2020 and had an NCF of $5.93 million in 2019, so it’s still tracking well behind pre-pandemic levels. In addition, business travel overall is still lagging behind where it was before the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. The American Hotel & Lodging

Association says that by the end of this year, hotel business travel revenue nationwide will be down $20.7 billion, a drop of 23.1 percent from 2019, my colleague Jack Grieve noted recently. In Detroit, hotels are expected to be down 24.2 percent in business travel revenue this year, pulling in about $445.26 million, down from $587.1 million, for a loss of $141.84 million, according to the AHLA. That’s the now. But what about the future? The Townsend has faced competition recently as the new luxury The Daxton Hotel opened up nearby on South Old Woodward Avenue at Brown Street in downtown Birmingham. But we also need to keep in mind that there could be serious additional competition from hotels in Detroit, particularly as the Townsend tries to retain its appeal to professional sports teams. Primarily, one observer noted: Stephen Ross’ planned Equinox hotel — which would be designed to host pro athletes, if it ever gets built — just south of Little Caesars Arena. But also, said another observer, a long on the books but faltering plan for a new luxury hotel in Midtown. “I do believe the Townsend will struggle to attract hotel demand from

downtown once one or two other luxury hotels open up,” said Brandon Leversee, a locally based vice president of HVS, a hospitality analysis company. “However, any new luxury hotel downtown, whether that’s the Equinox or the Thompson, is at least two years out.” Let’s also not forget the luxury Edition hotel that’s expected to be an anchor for Dan Gilbert’s development on the site of the former J.L. Hudson’s department store property, as well. Leversee said he believes the Townsend has spent more than $5 million since 2018 on renovations but more will be needed “to maintain its relevance” in light of competition in the pipeline and among the recently opened hotels. I emailed a spokesperson for Yellen on Tuesday morning seeking comment. Yellen has previously referred me to that spokesperson, who has not responded to multiple emails in the last two weeks. Messages were repeatedly left in the last month with hotel ownership and management seeking comment on the sale. Yellen sold Belfor to private equity in 2019.

JLA apartment tower rendering released An affiliate of Detroit-based Sterling Group has posted a fresh rendering of the under-construction apartment tower on the former Joe Louis Arena site downtown. Previously, we had been used to seeing a somewhat dated conceptual vision for the 25-story building, which is expected to include about 500 apartments overlooking the Detroit River. What’s important to keep in mind about this visual is that this is just one component of what’s planned — a first phase, if you will. Yes, there is a big lawn-looking landscape surrounding the building, but other buildings are envisioned, so it’s not like that grassy expanse will actually be in the development once it’s complete. Among the other components that has been tossed around behind the scenes recently: A large hotel or two, plus a 20-plus-story office tower, I’ve reported in the past. I sent a message to a Sterling Group executive seeking comment. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

REAL ESTATE

St. Louis company buys former Solutia chemical plant site in Trenton BY KIRK PINHO

A St. Louis-based company that previously bought and imploded the former DTE Energy Co. plant in Marysville recently bought the former Solutia Inc. chemical plant downriver with plans to raze and redevelop it as industrial space. Now with a purchase recorded with the city of Trenton in late June for an undisclosed price, Commercial Development Co. anticipates liquidating the Solutia plant’s machinery and equipment through an affiliate, Industrial Asset Recovery Group, before working to bring new industrial uses to the 149-acre site just north of the Detroit River Inter4 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

Eastman Chemical Co., based in Kingsport, Tenn., shuttered the Solutia plan in January 2021, laying off 75 or more workers in the process. This is what it looked like in 2017 when it was operational. | GOOGLE MAPS

national Wildlife Refuge on West Jefferson Avenue. “Our acquisition of this retired chemical plant is the first step to restoring the property to productive use,” Adam Kovacs, vice president at Commercial Development Co., said in a statement Eastman Chemical Co., based in Kingsport, Tenn., shuttered the Solutia plant — which produced polyvinyl butyral resins used in automotive laminated glass, inks and coatings, among other things — in January 2021, laying off 75 or more workers in the process. Eastman paid $4.8 billion for Solutia in 2012. Commercial Development Co.’s website says its portfolio consists of

some 85 million square feet across 300 sites, and that it focuses on “repositioning and redevelopment of underutilized, distressed or environmentally challenged properties” valued at $5 million to $500 million. One of those properties was the DTE site on the St. Clair River known as the "Mighty Marysville," where a boutique hotel, condos, a water park, fine-dining restaurants and marina development had been planned. "We did pursue a mixed-use hotel & restaurant development for the site," Randall Jostes, CEO of Commercial Development Co., told Crain's. "For four-plus years we marketed the city’s vision on a national

basis supported by a land plan and renderings. Unfortunately, no developer could be found.” The site sold following an auction in January to LBW Holdings LLC, an entity that Marysville property records say is based at the Dearborn address of Edward C. Levy Co., which provides a variety of services ranging from construction materials to road building. Randall Fernandez, Marysville’s city manager, said the city has not been informed of any plans the new owner may have for the property. Edward C. Levy Co. did not respond. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

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COMMENTARY

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

How to improve mental health care staffing

GETTY IMAGES

TO THE EDITOR

Welcome to the non-recession recession

hat’s in a recession? The U.S. gross domestic product fell 0.9 percent in the second quarter of the year and the second straight quarter of decline. An economics general rule of thumb is a recession is identified by two successive quarters of economic decline. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the country isn’t in a recession — traditions be damned. Ford Motor Co. certainly seems to agree. The Dearborn automaker reported near record revenue during the second quarter of $40.2 billion, topping forecasts by $3.6 billion. Michigan’s unemployment is low at 4.3 percent and hasn’t budged in three months. Hell, the workforce even grew in June by a tenth of a percent. The U.S. added 2 million jobs this year, while imultaneously THE ARITHMETIC scontracting. FOR SUPPLY AND This is my kind of recession — a DEMAND non-recession reCONTINUES TO cession. Whether this is GIVE VERTIGO TO actually a recession MANUFACTURERS, remains up for debate. The National WHOLESALERS, Bureau of Economic Research’s BusiDISTRIBUTORS, ness Cycle Dating RETAILERS AND Committee determines when a reCUSTOMERS. cession actually starts and ends. They’ve yet to rule. Charles Ballard, an economist at Michigan State University, and Gabe Ehrlich, an economist at University of Michigan, both believe the country and state are not in a recession.

In response to the Crain’s editorial on mental health care (Crain’s, July 25 issue), we applaud the state’s decision to commit $363 million toward the construction of two mental health treatment facilities in the Lower Peninsula. Michigan has needed residential facilities like the new pediatric facility in west Michigan for many years, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the urgency for adults and children alike. Unfortunately, it will take several years for these new facilities to be operational and when they are, staffing those new beds with excellent behavioral health care providers will be a huge challenge. Michigan, like most of the country, is facing a critical shortage of mental health and substance use treatment providers now. The wait times for treatment are excessive in nearly all areas of the state. There are many ways to address these shortages, some relatively quickly. We recently shared creative solutions with state legislators at the National Conference of State Legislatures, including specialized behavioral health training for community health workers, loan repayment programs for behavioral health workers, and other approaches outlined in this toolkit and action guide for recruiting and retaining behavioral health workers in rural America. And the Michigan Depart-

Nancy Baum Health policy director, Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan Deputy director, Behavioral Health Workforce Resource Center at the University of Michigan

Make health insurance tax credits permanent TO THE EDITOR:

Dustin

WALSH

“The U.S. economy has, in fact, had two consecutive quarters, but that’s very misleading now, because they have come after the gangbusters growth of 2021, during which real GDP grew at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years,” Ballard wrote in an email. So if workers are working and consumers have money to spend, what gives? Well, the same old song and dance we’ve been hearing (and I’ve been writing) for two years. The bullwhip. The arithmetic for supply and demand continues to give vertigo to manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and customers. When COVID-19 reached American shores in March 2020, manufacturers rapidly cut production, projecting a rapid economic decline. That happened, but with government stimulus quickly in tow, consumer demand recovered and, in fact, grew rapidly throughout the pandemic. Production has yet to really match demand and the effects are shortages and gluts of products. In the second quarter, GDP dropped by $46.2 billion. But manufactured goods production declined by $89.7 billion. The offset there indicates consumers were consuming even if factories slowed down. But inflation remains a problem, reaching a 41-year high of 9.1 percent in June. See WALSH on Page 15

A looming deadline could exacerbate the next public health crisis: the potential loss of income tax credits that help millions of Americans afford health care. We all gained a newfound appreciation for access to quality, timely medical attention during the last two years of the public health crisis, but we cannot overlook the ongoing health care challenges that many residents still face — the ability to afford insurance, which is vital to accessing quality health care. Ensuring more Michiganders have health coverage starts with keeping insurance costs down for lower-income Americans. That’s why the health care income tax credits expanded by the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA last year were so important. This helped 67,000 Michigan residents gain access to health insurance. Thanks in part to this expansion, more than 300,000 Michiganders are now signed up for marketplace health coverage for 2022. Since last year, we’ve made significant positive progress in connecting more families in communities across the state with the coverage they need. Just like our leaders in Congress, our organizations are committed to serving Michiganders and making our communities stronger and safer for everyone. Premium tax credits serve as a key that unlocks greater access to this care and the healthier future we need. We must protect them before it’s too late. We call on lawmakers to work with urgency to see that ARPA’s health insur-

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited for length or clarity. Send letters to Crain’s Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, or email crainsdetroit@crain.com. Please include your complete name, city from which you are writing and a phone number for fact-checking purposes. 6 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

ment of Health and Human Services recently announced a loan repayment program specifically for behavioral health providers working in underserved areas of the state. The need for behavioral health services in the state is so great that a number of counties — Ottawa, Jackson, Hillsdale, Washtenaw and Genesee — have recently passed millages to expand access to mental health crisis screening, stabilization and prevention services in their regions. Such efforts can reduce burdens on county jails and increase opportunities for justice-involved individuals to get appropriate and timely behavioral health screening and services. Michigan will require these and other sustained efforts — both short-term and long-term — to create an environment where timely and appropriate behavioral health services are available all who need them. Terrisca Des Jardins Executive director, Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University of Michigan

ance tax credits are permanently written into law before they expire at the end of this year. We are proud to join groups like the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Family Physicians in support of Congress taking action to make these tax credits permanent. Please join us in urging your members of Congress to act, to preserve health insurance access for friends and neighbors who otherwise will find themselves unable to afford health care. Dominick Pallone Executive director Michigan Association of Health Plans Laura Appel Executive vice president of government relations and public policy Michigan Health & Hospital Association Julie L. Novak CEO Michigan State Medical Society Phillip Bergquist CEO Michigan Primary Care Association

MORE ON WJR ` Crain’s Executive Editor Kelley Root and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning at 6:15 a.m. Mondays on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

Sound off: Crain’s considers longer opinion pieces from guest writers on issues of interest to business readers. Email ideas to Managing Editor Michael Lee at malee@crain.com.

NONPROFITS

Nonprofit launches to help fund, run 30-mile Joe Louis Greenway BY SHERRI WELCH

The city of Detroit has formed a new nonprofit conservancy to support the 30-mile-long Joe Louis Greenway that will connect residents along its path in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park and Dearborn to the Detroit River. The new Joe Louis Greenway Partnership will assist with fundraising, care of the path, programming and community outreach to ensure the 23 neighborhoods along its span have a voice. “The city came together with multiple parties, and we felt this was the best way to engage with the citizens and create a long term entity that supports the residents of Detroit and surrounding communities with access and use of this wonderful new amenity we’re building,” Bradley Dick, group executive of services and infrastructure for the city, said in an email. The city incorporated the nonprofit with the state in January, listing Meagan Elliott, deputy CFO for development and grants for the city, as the registered agent on the partnership’s incorporation documents before naming local nonprofit attorney Duane Tarnacki, a member at Clark Hill PLC, as registered agent in early July. The conservancy emerged from a shared recognition of the need for it among the city, funders, community leaders and business leaders, said Laura Trudeau, retired managing director of the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit program, who is serving as interim executive director of the new conservancy. Once approved by the Internal Revenue Service, the conservancy’s nonprofit status will enable it to tap more philanthropic support, Trudeau said, since private and corporate foundations typically give to 501(c)3 nonprofits that provide public benefit of some sort, from charitable services to educational programs. Beyond its fundraising role, the conservancy will expand on the basic maintenance of the greenway provided by the city, putting in more gardens along the path, coordinating volunteers and programming and engaging directly with the communities along the greenway “in ways the city may not be staffed to do,” she said. Providing a voice for the 23 neighborhoods along its span and ensuring they have input on programming and ancillary developments that could come in the future like green spaces and affordable housing will be central to its role, the conservancy’s Chair Alexis Wiley said. The Joe Louis Greenway has the potential to be a transformative project that connects people and communities that have historically been very separated and spurs economic development, she said. “We want to help drive that.” The city broke ground on the first phase of the project in September. It expects to complete the greenway in the next four to seven years at an estimated cost of about $240 million, Dick said. It’s designating $60 million in American Rescue Plan

Dick

Trudeau

Wiley

Act dollars to the project and has secured a $40 million earmark in the state’s fiscal 2023 budget.

The partnership has launched a national and local search for a permanent executive director. Detroit-based Apparatus Solutions is leading the search.

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

A rendering of phase 1 of the planned Joe Louis Greenway in Detroit. | SMITHGROUP,/CITY OF DETROIT

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AUGUST 1, 2022 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 7 7/22/22 11:02 AM

From

DEFENSE

Selfridge area Selfridge Airbase National Guard Base

Tre

READY FOR TAKEOFF `BY NICK MANES While the threat of closure has loomed

over Selfridge Air National Guard Base for years, local and federal officials say there’s a host of new and emerging opportunities, indicating a potential bright future for the lakefront military facility in Macomb County. Local boosters tout that while the facility on Lake St. Clair offers a whole host of assets for the numerous military and defense entities based there, Selfridge makes for just one part of a broader ecosystem of aerospace and defense companies and infrastructure in Macomb County. And despite the base being recently passed over to be the home of U.S. Space Command and host a wing of the F-35 fighter jet, officials stress that they are in regular talks about bringing new missions to Selfridge, located in Harrison Township near the intersection of I-94 and M-59.

8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 171st Air Refueling Squadron, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan refuels an A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 107th Fighter Squadron, also from SANGB, during the base’s Air Show Family Day on July 8.

21 Mile Road

Hall Road 94

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DATAWRAPPER | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

“I think the future looks good for Selfridge,” said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, an Oakland County Democrat who chairs the upper chamber’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and sits on the Armed Services Committee. “I’m certainly going to do everything in my power to make sure that Selfridge continues to be a strong and vibrant facility ... and it’s my belief that it’s going to continue for decades to come.”

New opportunities More than 100 years old, the Air National Guard Base employs more than 4,000 people and has an economic impact of about $850 million, according to studies done by the county. That impact, as well as the fact

that the base is located near busy commercial corridors and residential areas, means local officials walk a fine line balancing the needs of the facility and the broader community, said Vicky Rowinski, planning and economic development director for Macomb County. “We want to get to the win-winwin,” Rowinski said. “We don’t want to be in a position where we’re taking land away from an individual developer, but ... what could be the best use where it doesn’t hinder the mission at Selfridge? And then also, does it provide for potential growth for the residential communities?” Local residents, Rowinski said, are proud of their proximity to the facility, saying the jets flying overhead make for “the sound of freedom.” See SELFRIDGE on Page 9

MASTER SGT. DAVID KUJAWA/U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD

Selfridge, Macomb County tout assets in quest for next opportunity

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From Page 8

Still, despite much of what officials stress as the air base lending to the region, it’s been a hard few years for Selfridge. In November 2020, the base lost a bid by the city of Sterling Heights, in partnership with the state of Michigan, Macomb County and the Michigan Air National Guard, to host the U.S. Space Command Headquarters. Then, in June 2021, the U.S. Air Force selected a location in Arkansas over Selfridge for an international F-35 training center, a move that earned scorn from Peters and other members of Michigan’s congressional delegation. Moreover, there’s a “perennial battle on Capitol Hill” over retiring the A-10 attack jets, according to a recent report in Politico. The aging military plane stands as one of the major missions flown out of Selfridge. So that begs the question: What’s next for the Macomb County base? It’s a question that Rowinski said is being asked constantly at the county level. Peters told Crain’s he’s had numerous conversations and received commitments from high-ranking military officials that new missions are in the works for the base. Specifically, Peters said Selfridge is “uniquely positioned, and incredibly well positioned” to get Boeing’s KC46 Pegasus Tanker, an air-to-air refueling plane and the next generation of the KC-135 tanker plane, a core mission currently flown out of the base and which refuels F-16 fighter planes around the country. The KC-46 “will be flying for decades into the future ... and so we’re working to make that a reality” at Selfridge, Peters said. An Air Force spokesperson declined to comment on any specific conversations with lawmakers. Rowinski, the Macomb County economic development official, also said she believes bright times are ahead for the base, noting that fighter jets such as the F-16 have previously flown missions out of Selfridge. The F-35, which Macomb County officials and other stakeholders made a strong case for having at the base in recent years, will likely land there at some point, according to Rowinski. “It’s become a matter of not if, but when, that Selfridge gets on that shortlist for those F-35s.”

Peters

Rowinksi

metall Vehicles LLC announced a $3 million expansion at its Mound Road facility in Sterling Heights that is expected to add 150 jobs. It received a $1.5 million grant from the state. Late last year, defense contractor DCS Corp. completed construction of a $4.3 million facility in Sterling Heights for research and development of technological advancements

in ground vehicle systems for the U.S. Army. The Alexandria, Va.-based company received a $500,000 grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund. Vicki Selva, executive director of the Michigan Defense Center, said the industry is likely primed for further growth in Macomb County and the rest of the state. That’s because large-scale commercial manufacturing trends such as artificial intelligence, electrification and other alternative energies are playing out in the defense world as well. “Those are all interests of the Department of Defense, just as they are in commercial,” Selva said.. “And so that can all come together here.” Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Selfridge by the numbers Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County is an economic driver: Economic impact: $850 million Personnel employed: More than 4,000 Missions flown: Fighting and refueling planes Tenants at the base: More than 40, including U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Customs & Border Protection More than 100 years old, the Air National Guard Base employs more than 4,000 people and has an economic impact of about $850 million, according to studies done by the county. | SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE

Defense contractors in Macomb County: 650 Statewide defense contracts awarded to Macomb County companies: 58 % SOURCES: MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN DEFENSE CENTER AND U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD

UN IQ UE

Trends converge While Selfridge stands as perhaps the most visible example of the military and defense industry in the region, the broader Macomb County area — particularly in Warren and Sterling Heights — has been labeled the “Michigan Defense Corridor” by some in the industry. Beyond Selfridge, the county is also home to the U.S. Army Detroit Arsenal and 10 Army organizations and separate commands, according to the Michigan Defense Center, an industry group tied to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The defense and aerospace sector stands as a multi-billion dollar industry in Macomb County, with more than 650 contractors having a presence there, and 58 percent of defense contracts in the state awarded to companies located within the county. Just last week, German defense industry supplier American Rhein-

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AUGUST 1, 2022 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 9

CRAIN'S LIST | MACOMB COUNTY'S LARGEST EMPLOYERS Ranked by full-time employees July 2022 COMPANY LOCATION PHONE; WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES MACOMB COUNTY JULY 2022

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES MACOMB COUNTY JULY 2021

WORLDWIDE EMPLOYEES JULY 2022

TYPE OF BUSINESS

GENERAL MOTORS CO.

Mary Barra chairman and CEO

23,035 1

20,277

157,000 1

Automobile manufacturer

STELLANTIS (FORMERLY FCA US LLC)

Mark Stewart COO, North America

17,774

13,454

Automobile manufacturer

U.S. GOVERNMENT

6,943 2

6,943

2,093,961 2

Federal government

FORD MOTOR CO.

James Farley Jr. president, CEO & director

3,990 e

Automobile manufacturer

ASCENSION MICHIGAN

Joe Cacchione EVP, clinical and network services, Ascension and interim ministry market executive, Ascension Michigan

2,937

3,145

19,096

Health care system

UTICA COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Robert Monroe superintendent of schools

2,640 3

2,636 3

2,640 3

Public school system

MACOMB COUNTY

Mark Hackel county executive

2,429

2,317

2,429

County government

HENRY FORD HEALTH

Robert Riney president and CEO

2,201

2,097 4

32,754

Health care system

MCLAREN HEALTH CARE

Philip Incarnati president and CEO

1,969

2,740

19,982

Health care system

GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS

Danny Deep president

1,826

1,671

7,271

Defense contractor

CHIPPEWA VALLEY SCHOOLS

Ronald Roberts superintendent

1,680

1,678

1,680

Public school district

STATE OF MICHIGAN

Gretchen Whitmer governor

1,546 5

1,420

State government

WARREN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS

Robert Livernois superintendent of schools

1,403 3

1,346 3

1,403 3

Public school system

ADIENT

Douglas Del Grosso president, CEO and director

1,206

1,140

75,000

Automotive seating supplier

BRIDGEWATER INTERIORS LLC

Ronald Hall Jr. president and CEO

1,175 1

1,135

2,250 1

Automotive seating/interiors

AMAZON.COM INC.

Jeff Bezos executive chair

1,175

Ecommerce, tech and telecom

MACOMB INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Michael DeVault superintendent of schools

1,080 3

1,107 3

1,080 3

Intermediate school district

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

Richard Moreton district manager

1,000 e

640,000 e

Postal service

LIPARI FOODS

26661 Bunert Road, Warren 48089 586-447-3500; liparifoods.com

John Pawlowski president and COO Thom Lipari CEO

950 e

951 e

2,201 1

Wholesale food distribution

FORVIA NORTH AMERICA (FORMERLY FAURECIA NORTH AMERICA) 6

Nik Endrud executive VP North America

850

911

150,000

Automotive supplier

MAGNA INTERNATIONAL OF AMERICA INC.

Swamy Kotagiri CEO

700 e

717

Mobility technology

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

James Sawyer IV Dr. president

653

639

653

Community college

U.S. FARATHANE

Andrew Greenlee president and CEO

494

454

5,731

Plastic injection molder, extruder, thermal compression molder

KELLY SERVICES INC.

Peter Quigley president, CEO and director

331 1

343 e

7,690 1

Staffing, employment, workforce solutions

CMS ENERGY CORP.

Garrick Rochow president, CEO and director

250

9,186

Energy company

300 Renaissance Center, Detroit 48265 313-667-1500; gm.com 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills 48326-2766 248-576-5741; stellantis.com 477 Michigan Ave., Detroit 48226 313-226-4910; usa.gov 1 American Road, Dearborn 48126 313-322-3000; ford.com 28000 Dequindre Road, Warren 48092 866-501-3627; ascension.org/michigan

11303 Greendale, Sterling Heights 48312 586-797-1000; www.uticak12.org 1 S. Main, Eighth Floor, Mt. Clemens 48043 586-469-7001; www.macombgov.org 1 Ford Place, Detroit 48202 800-436-7936; henryford.com One McLaren Parkway, Grand Blanc 48439 810-342-1100; mclaren.org 38500 Mound Road, Sterling Heights 48310 586-825-4000; www.gdls.com

19120 Cass Ave., Clinton Township 48038 586-723-2000; www.chippewavalleyschools.org 3042 W. Grand Blvd., Cadillac Place, Suite 4-400, Detroit 48202 313-456-4400; michigan.gov 31300 Anita, Warren 48093 586-825-2400; www.wcskids.net

49200 Halyard Drive, Plymouth 48170 734-254-5000; adient.com 4617 W. Fort St., Detroit 48209 313-842-3300; bridgewater-interiors.com 150 West Jefferson, Detroit ; amazon.com 44001 Garfield Road, Clinton Township 48038-1100 586-228-3300; www.misd.net 1401 W. Fort St., Detroit 48233-9998 313-226-8678; usps.com

2800 High Meadow Circle, Auburn Hills 48326 248-724-5100; forvia.com 750 Tower Drive, Troy 48098 248-631-1100; magna.com

14500 E. 12 Mile Road, Warren 48088 586-445-7999; www.macomb.edu

2700 High Meadow Circle, Auburn Hills 48326 248-754-7000; usfarathane.com 999 West Big Beaver Road, Troy 48084 248-362-4444; kellyservices.com One Energy Plaza, Jackson 49201 800-477-5050; cmsenergy.com

Researched by Sonya D. Hill: shill@crain.com | This list of Macomb County employers encompasses companies headquartered in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne, Macomb or Livingston counties. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit area office. This is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Number of full-time employees may include full-time equivalents. NA = not available. NOTES: e. Crain's estimate. 1. As of January. 2. As of July 1, 2021. 3. Figures are FTE counts from the Center for Educational Performance and Information. 4. As of January 2021. 5. As of March 19. 6. After Faurecia's acquisition of a controlling stake in Hella, the combined company is now known as Forvia, Faurecia's acquisition of Hella was completed in February.

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data 10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

REAL ESTATE

Chris Jackson says his involvement in the Greektown Casino helped lead directly to his career in real estate development. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS)

MOVE TO ALLOW CASINOS PAID DIVIDENDS

How Greektown casino launched decades of Black-led development in Detroit BY KIRK PINHO

Some large developments in Detroit real estate in recent years can be traced back to the early days of what was then Greektown Casino-Hotel. A handful of the Black investors in what became the glass mosaic tower and its gaming operations parlayed a portion of their earnings from those investments into new apartment, condo and large retail projects that have already been built or are still cropping up in Detroit today. They include the Woodward West development and the Tolan Park Medical Building by Christopher Jackson, who was an original Greektown investor. Marvin Beatty, who to this day works for the casino, has been active in real estate as well, with the Gateway Center retail destination anchored by the city’s first Meijer Inc. supercenter at Eight Mile and Woodward. He also is an investor in the City Modern development in Brush Park by Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC and Farmington Hills-based Hunter Pasteur Homes. In addition, he invested with Sanford Nelson, who owns more than a dozen buildings in the Eastern Market food district east of downtown, and is one of the owners of the remaining 16-acre portion of the former Michigan state fairgrounds site. That small list doesn’t include any investments some of the original partners in the casino have that haven’t

been publicly identified. “It’s given me an opportunity to really look into other business types,” said Beatty, who is vice president of community relations for Archer what, effective May 1, became Hollywood Casino at Greektown. Jackson, who is wrapping up the Woodward West apartment project with Detroit-based The Platform LLC, said his involvement with Greektown allowed him to become a 50 percent owner of an ATM business that ultimately had machines not just there, but the other two Detroit casinos as well. “My whole getting into real estate development was born indirectly out of the ATM business, which was born out of Greektown Casino,” he said. Not everyone fared as well. Some of the local investors, who were not managing partners like Jackson and Beatty, lost on their investments. They took a haircut when the majority owner sought to reorganize debts and filed for bankruptcy during the Great Recession. “Bankruptcy threw a pretty considerable monkey wrench in what was ahead for some of those later investors,” Beatty said.

The road to casinos

The push for casinos in Detroit goes back to the Coleman A. Young administration, but its final successful chapter began around the time that Windsor was opening one of its own directly across the river in Canada. “At the time, Windsor had opened up their temporary casino and that was a big part of why we felt we needed gaming in Detroit,” Jackson said. “All the jobs, casino jobs, construction jobs, were going to be there in Canada but over 80 percent of the customer base was coming out of Southeast Michigan. Why should Detroit lose out on some of the benefits? As for the social ills that might come with gambling, “we were going to have those anyway,” Jackson said. Originally, Greektown was owned 50 percent by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians through Kewadin Greektown Casino LLC and 50 percent by a local group of investors, through Monroe Partners LLC. That half of local ownership was primarily controlled by Jim and Viola Papas and Ted and Maria Gatzaros, but other smaller investors included Jackson; Beatty; Arthur Blackwell, who was also a managing partner and eventually became the former Highland Park emergency manager sentenced to two years of probation for mismanaging funds; the Rev. Robert

Smith, who was pastor of New Bethel Church; Hills Howard, M.D.; Victoria and John Loomis; Anthony Harris, M.D.; A. Gregory Eaton, who was a Lansing lobbyist; and David Akins. That ownership structure would later shift, in part playing a role in Greektown going bankrupt, some involved said. The formation of the casino — and the effort to get casinos in Detroit — was a long battle, said Jackson, who as part of former Detroit City Council member Gil Hill’s staff was tasked with shepherding through the effort. It was a tough job. In fact, the Washington Post reported in 1993, Detroit voters on four prior occasions had said ‘no’ on casino gaming ballot questions in the city. First, the state constitution did not allow for gaming on land that wasn’t part of an Indian reservation. However, Jackson said, federal law allowed for tribes to have off-reservation gaming, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Interior as well as the state. So in an effort to sidestep that statewide ban, the Papas-Gatzaros group donated a chunk of historically connected land in the Greektown neighborhood to a Chippewa tribal trust, Jackson said. Once that land was in the trust, there had to be a demonstrated local buy-in, so not only was a Detroit City

Council resolution showing support of gaming approved with a mayoral veto-proof majority in 1993, but there was also a referendum in August 1994 called Proposal C, for which Jackson was campaign manager. (There was also a Proposal B, which was for a riverboat casino in an effort led by businessman and developer Herb Strather. Both passed. This is important later.) But Dennis Archer, who became mayor in 1994, was initially opposed. “I campaigned against it,” Archer said. “But while I was campaigning against it, I did disclose that if it passed ... that I would have to respect the majority of the people voted.” U.S. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbit signed off on the matter, and former Gov. John Engler’s own Blue Ribbon Commission on Gaming established in September 1994 recommended a “limited expansion” of gaming in the state in April 1995. But later that year, Engler put the kibosh on the effort, declaring, “Detroit is not going to be the Las Vegas of the Midwest,” UPI reported at the time. By that time, however, Archer began advocating for them and took part in a series of meetings and tours out of state in gaming hotspots like Atlantic City, Las Vegas and others like Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss. See CASINO on Page 12 AUGUST 1, 2022 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 11

CASINO

From Page 11

As many as five, he believed, could be sustained in Detroit. “I thought it would be wise to go see what casinos were like in Las Vegas,” Archer said. “I had a chance to sit down in the office of Steve Wynn and talk to him. He showed me what they were doing, showed me the new casinos that they were building. Talked about the successes they had, how they were able to provide people with good jobs and the benefits they had and how he felt Las Vegas benefited by it and, if we had casinos in Detroit, the residents of Detroit would benefit.” The commission said that casinos generated large amounts of revenue for state and local governments, but also noted the downsides: More crime and social problems, and people would be more likely to develop addictions. Engler torpedoing the proposal led to a statewide ballot initiative, requiring about a half-million signatures, to put a constitutional amendm e n t on the ballot in 1996 — Proposal E — that ultimately allowed for non-Indian gaming in Detroit. It was passed by 51.5 percent of voters, leading the way for the enactment of Public Act 69 of 1997, the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act. Once Proposal E succeeded, the city issued requests for proposals for its three available casino licenses — although, in some ways, it wasn’t hard to guess who would prevail. There was a preference built into the 1997 state law, as well as a subsequent city ordinance (which was taken to court), to those who had sought city voter approval of their gaming operations: The Greektown group and the riverboat casino group, which ultimately morphed into MotorCity Casino Hotel, now owned by the Ilitch family. The third casino license was granted to MGM Grand Detroit, which had local partners like William Pickard and Roy Roberts, among others. “Our two groups (Greektown and MotorCity) had, to some extent, a carve out of two of the three potential licenses,” Jackson said. Among the 11 bidders who ultimately lost out: Donald Trump and Michael Jackson, the latter of whom had paired with the late Don Barden on a $1 billion proposal that would have brought everything from a Thriller Theme Park to an underground aquarium with dolphins to Detroit. As for Trump, one of the things that doomed his proposal was — as Bridge Michigan reported in 2016, less than a month before the presidential election — his “reluctance to produce tax returns.” A vision to build casinos south of Jefferson Avenue down to Atwater Street east of the Renaissance Center on 57 acres ultimately didn’t pan out — Archer blamed the skyrocketing cost of property and greedy landowners at the time — and the three ended up in their current locations.

A rift forms Just a few months before Greektown Casino opened in November 2000, there was an ownership shakeup. In June 2000, Kewadin planned to buy the Gatzaros’ and Papas’ 40 percent ownership interest in Monroe Partners after what the Las Vegas Sun at the time described as a forced divestiture “because of problems found 12 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

Marvin Beatty, photographed this spring in the lobby of what is now the Hollywood Casino at Greektown. Beatty has been involved in the casino since the beginning. | CYDNI ELLEDGE/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Michael Jackson (left) and businessman Don Barden attend a casino rally in Detroit on Aug. 3, 1998. | CARLOS OSORIO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

in their backgrounds during state-mandated investigations.” That sale created an ownership structure that was 90 percent owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and 10 percent by the remaining local partners, Crain’s reported at the time. But Archer was also pushing for more local ownership, so the tribe agreed to sell 10 percent of that interest, creating an 80-20 structure. “It put something of a burden on Greektown from Day No. 1 because of the significant buyout of the interest,” he said. “Before we even built the casino, before we built the hotel, we had a significant amount of legacy debt that we were saddled with and that created a rift between us and the Sault tribe.” Later federal court filings say that the tribe and the local ownership group were “obligated, either directly or indirectly, to make the installment payments” to the Gatzaroses and Papases, but by 2004, both groups were in default on those debts. They later agreed to a discounted cash buyout of $95 million for the Gatzaroses and $55 million for the Papases, with about $50 million outstanding. Jackson noted that around 2005, he and Blackwell sold Barden some of their ownership interest, giving him a 3.8 percent stake in the casino. The Detroit Free Press reported at the

time that the sale was for $11.4 million. That became important because of a right of first refusal provision that required that the tribe, if it was looking to sell the casino, first offer it to the local ownership partners. And because Barden had amassed enough wealth in gaming and other business ventures, the local partners would have enough financial firepower to lead a serious bid to buy Greektown. “The tribe did not anticipate that maneuver, that we would bring someone like Don in,” Jackson said. “His casinos were smaller than Greektown, but they were successful and he was a gaming owner and knew the operations side. He challenged the management of the tribe of the operational and management opposition. He would challenge them more from a position of power but also a position of experience in the industry ... At that point, it became somewhat contentious and the relationship soured.” Barden and other local partners “challenged the tribe and the operators at the time regarding the management of the casino, particularly how (they) were marketing the casino to the African American market,” Jackson said. After putting an offer to buy out the tribe on the table, Jackson said,

There was Beatty’s involvement with a uniform company that won the contract to provide casino employee uniforms. Blackwell had a relationship with a local valet company that provided those services. Jackson, on the other hand, had a stake in ATMs — through North American Bancard, run by Marc Gardner — that proved lucrative, as well as a preview of what was to come. At a time when, as Jackson said, “cash was king,” he had 80 percent of the ATMs in Greektown. “Slot machines took dollars,” he said. “It was a very lucrative opportunity, a profit sharing arrangement between my company and the casino.” He terminated that agreement eventually and teamed up with First Independence Bank and the late Donald Davis through Detroit Credit Card & ATM Processing LLC. First Independence had the ATMs in MotorCity Casino and also some of them in MGM Grand, Jackson said, and through the new partnership, had ATMs in all three Detroit casinos. “Don Davis and I were so successful with the ATM business, we ultimately had over 100 Secretary of State offices, stores,” Jackson said. “We grew that to a very lucrative business and we parlayed that business and created Queen Lillian.” That’s the development company — taking its name from their mothers’ respective first names — behind Woodward West, which is now nearly complete, and the medical office building on the Chrysler Service Drive just south of the Davison Freeway (M-8).

the tribe countered with an offer to buy out the local owners, including Barden. They accepted a four-year buyout and, in the third year, according to Jackson, the tribe received what he called “bad legal advice.” Messages left with former tribe chairman Aaron Payment were not returned. With debt to the local partners, the A launch pad Gatzaroses and Papases, and on the construction, the tribe took the casiFor Beatty, Greektown was a no into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, springboard into commercial real esthinking they could shed debt while tate, where he has been active for still maintaining ownership of the ca- more than a decade. sino. He’s used some of his returns to beA plan of adjustment was ap- come one of the investors in Dan Gilproved in January 2010 and Greek- bert’s City Modern project, which has town emerged from bankruptcy in slowly risen in Detroit’s Brush Park June 2010, Crain’s reported at the neighborhood over the years with 410 time. The bankruptcy eliminated ap- for-sale and for-rent units across a vaproximately $500 million in debt, riety of product types on the 8.4-acre CEO Cliff Vallier said in a statement site. at the time. In addition, he was one of the partHowever, the casino was taken ners with former Michigan State Uniover by a new ownership group, con- versity board member Joel Ferguson, sisting of institutional shareholders himself a Lansing developer, and that were original shareholders NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson known as Greektown Superholdings on the former Michigan state fairInc. and Greektown Newco Sub Inc., grounds site. which was run by a three-member The majority of that property was board: Now-Mayor Mike Duggan; sold off and is now the site of a masFreman Hendrix, the former deputy sive under-construction Amazon. mayor; and Darrell Burks, head of com Inc. warehouse at Eight Mile PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in De- Road and Woodward Avenue. The troit. fate of the remaining 16 acres remains Three years later, the casino “I’VE BEEN ABLE TO BRANCH OFF INTO was sold to an affiliate of Dan DOING A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS, Gilbert; he then sold it in 2019 PRIMARILY ON THE COMMERCIAL REAL for $1 billion: ESTATE SIDE, BECAUSE OF MY $700 million for Vici Properties INVOLVEMENT IN GREEKTOWN.” Inc. to buy the — Marvin Beatty land and real estate for the property and $300 mil- unknown. lion for Penn National Gaming Inc. Beatty also has invested with Nelfor the operating assets. son, the Eastern Market landlord who bought up more than a dozen properties several years ago. When cash was king “I’ve been able to branch off into It wasn’t just real estate where the doing a number of other things, prithree managing partners — messag- marily on the commercial real estate es were left with Blackwell seeking side, because of my involvement in comment — took their entrepreneur- Greektown,” Beatty said. “I attribute a ial spirit, Jackson said. One of the good part of my having moved into things they carved into the Greek- different business areas, Greektown town operating agreement was the being a major contributor in that.” ability to have their own separate business interests operating within Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB the casino.

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ALEXANDER ZONJIC: I played at

LARRY BURNS: Tell us about the practice.

It is Jazz on the River’s 25th anniversary; talk about an accomplishment. That takes place August 6-7 at Elizabeth Park.

DR. PAUL THOMAS: We believe that health care should be affordable and accessible for everyone. Our members pay a membership fee – $55 or $75 monthly – to come in and see the doctor any time. They can also call, text, or email us any time. We don’t bill or use insurance. We do recommend folks carry insurance in case of catastrophic events. I started out by myself with a few patients back in 2016. Today we have over a thousand patients and three doctors in a location in Corktown at the old Tiger Stadium site.

LARRY BURNS: Let’s start by talking about the Racing For Kids to the Hill event.

three Westland Smooth Summer Nights and headlined the Flint Jazz Festival. I’m even doing two country events this year along with Jazz on the River, St. Clair Jazz Festival and Shoreline Jazz Festival.

Shoreline Jazz Festival has a unique three-day lineup August 26-28 at Heritage Landing. In between that, TV and radio, I’m working on a new record with my friend, James Lloyd. We’re ten tracks in already, if you can imagine. Burns: Now that you are back with live audiences, how are the audiences?

Burns: What have been some of the biggest surprises?

Zonjic: These are iconic events that most folks plan their entire summers around. When they couldn’t take place, we took away a big part of their summer. Audiences are enthusiastic and so appreciative.

pandemic, the politicization of a vaccine. It was divisive but a lot of the people, regardless of their political beliefs, trusted us because they formed deep relationships with us as their primary care physicians. I believe in the strength of the doctor-patient relationship and that has carried through despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Burns: The Children’s Foundation now has 160 partners/ grantees across the state, in Ohio and a couple in Florida. We aren’t in Muskegon, and I know Muskegon needs our help. You contacted me and indicated that the Boys and Girls Club in Muskegon was an emerging nonprofit and just got a new building. We’re going to be announcing a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club during the Shoreline Jazz Festival weekend. Tell us about the actual festival, the lineup, and what to expect. Zonjic: It’s the seventh Shoreline Jazz Festival weekend. We

love the location and the diversity of Muskegon Heights, which is predominantly African American. I love the fact that I brought an event to Heritage Landing that was cultural and really skewed African American in terms of jazz — it’s America’s classical music.

We have a couple of new partnerships including The Children’s Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club, and the West Michigan Symphony. We’re doing an outdoor symphony pops on Friday night that not only includes my music with full symphony, but also Motown. Serieux will also do a “Temptations” review Friday night. Then, we have two full days at Heritage Landing, including Maysa, Lindsey Webster, James Lloyd, Najee, Eric Darius, Lin Rountree and 496 West. Find out more at shorelinejazzfestival.com. Burns: Your new album, “Playing It Forward,” came out several months ago. How has it been received? Zonjic: Covid is the reason I made that record because my

normal schedule would’ve never allowed me to take that kind of time. I loved doing it and enlisted all my great friends. The record received great reviews and reintroduced me to national audiences.

Thomas: The biggest surprise was during the COVID-19

Burns: What are you currently seeing with your patients? Thomas: I read today that we may have another spike coming later this summer, and there may be a new vaccine tailored towards these variants. Unfortunately, we’re still dealing with the fallout of this coronavirus and our inability to manage it completely. We still need to have some level of caution, like masking in high-risk areas and continuing hand-washing. Burns: Tell us about your book. Thomas: It’s called “Dressing Well in Medicine.” It’s about

what doctors wear and why it matters. It gets into the history and the significance of the white coat, the doctor’s bag and what to wear to earn the trust and confidence of our patients. It’s a great read for anybody who’s interested in a career in medicine or wants to know what doctors wear and why.

Burns: What type of response have you received? Thomas: It’s on Amazon with a number of five-star reviews.

Medical students have been inspired by it as it helps them prepare for their clerkship rotations and their career in residency training and beyond.

Burns: What advice do you have as we go through the summer? Thomas: Obesity is a big risk factor for Covid severity, as well

as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. I advise my patients to get outside and walk 30 minutes a day. Anytime you do a sustained aerobic cardiovascular activity, it’s great for your heart, blood vessels, lungs and brain tissue. It can improve your lifespan and reduce your risk of having a heart attack, stroke or Alzheimer’s.

ROBBIE BUHL: Racing For Kids has been using motorsports to raise funds for the health care needs of kids for over 30 years. The Racing For Kids to the Hill event is in Grosse Pointe on August 31. This will be our 16th year doing the event, raising more than $1.5 million over the last 15 years. We have an afternoon street fair that’s free to kids and families. There’s a scavenger hunt, food, bands, art stations, stilt walkers and cars on display. We’ll do a crazy motorcycle demonstration that is jaw-dropping.

In the evening, we’ll host a VIP Reception with over 500 people. We’ll have exclusive live and silent auctions, motorsports demonstrations and a jazz band. The event includes specialty cocktails, a full bar and food from The Bronze Door, The Dirty Dog, Fresh Farms, Jumps, Luxe and Cafe Nini. Funds raised stay local, underwriting special pediatric projects at Ascension St. John’s Hospital, Beaumont Grosse Pointe, The Children’s Foundation, Henry Ford Health System and, of course, Racing For Kids. Find out more at racingforkids.org. Burns: Tell us about Teen Street Skills. Buhl: This year, we added an advanced driving program

for teens age 15-19 called Teen Street Skills. We run a morning program and an afternoon program on Belle Isle with sessions in August, October and November. The program includes defensive driving behavior, skid control, emergency braking and accident avoidance. Find out more at Teenstreetskills.org.

Burns: Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens age 16-19. Can you tell us about EyesDrive? Buhl: Our messaging of EyesDrive came from our Teen Street Skills program. If your eyes aren’t on the road to react to what’s happening in front of you, your skills mean nothing. EyesDrive is to attack distracted driving. It is a social/digital campaign to remind us the importance of keeping our eyes on the road and how quick things can happen.Thanks to the North American International Auto Show and the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, EyesDrive is going to be an education partner for the Detroit Auto Show. Burns: Distracted driving is a real problem. Buhl: Michigan stats from the state troopers show a 13 percent increase in distracted driving with a 10 percent increase in distracted driving fatalities. It’s a crazy statistic of how accidents have accelerated in the last year for some reason. Accident numbers are going up instead of down.

Where GOP candidates for governor stand on economic issues Roads, taxes, Line 5 among key topics BY DAVID EGGERT

Here is where Michigan’s Republican candidates for governor stand on some key economic issues:

Taxes All five — Kevin Rinke, Tudor Dixon, Garrett Soldano, Ryan Kelley and Ralph Rebandt — support tax cuts. Rinke has made it his signature issue, proposing to eliminate the state’s 4.25 percent individual income tax by 2024. He has not specified how to cut spending to offset the huge drop in revenue but said the state spends too much and the proposal would grow population and boost consumer spending. Dixon supports gradually ending the tax over an unspecified number of years but questioned the budgetary impact and viability of Rinke’s plan. Kelley has suggested eliminating property taxes, while Soldano and Rebandt have backed cutting the 6 percent corporate income tax. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed bills to lower the income tax, citing cuts to core services while favoring $500 rebate checks and targeted tax cuts aimed at low-wage earners and retirees.

Line 5 The candidates oppose Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut down Line 5, the 69-year-old underground pipeline that carries Canadian oil and natural gas liquids across the Straits of Mackinac linking Lakes Huron and Michigan. Calgary,

PRIMARY

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competitive enough so down-ticket Republicans maintain control of the Legislature after redistricting. Whether that translates into success at the polls next Tuesday is anybody’s guess. Polls have shown Dixon slightly ahead of self-funding Bloomfield Hills businessman Kevin Rinke, who amassed a fortune in car dealerships and traumatic brain injury care. Ryan Kelley, who faces criminal charges for the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and chiropractor Garrett Soldano are within striking distance, with pastor Ralph Rebandt well behind. Many voters remain undecided, however, and polling can be wrong. Dixon is under attack in the closing stretch by her rivals, with negative ads aired by Rinke — who questions her DeVos backing — and a group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association, which is spending $2 million in the final week. “The reason Michigan is in decline is because no one has held this governor accountable. She’s afraid of me, and they’re afraid of me,” Dixon said during the final primary debate Wednesday night while gesturing toward her opponents. “That’s because I’m going to get Gretchen Whitmer out of there.” Rinke countered by calling Dixon a Republican “version” of Whitmer and criticizing how she has been boosted by a political action committee funded partly by the DeVos fami14 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

From left, Republican candidates for governor Ryan Kelley, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Tudor Dixon and Ralph Rebandt prepare for their debate at Oakland University in Rochester on July 20. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Alberta-based Enbridge Energy, which has defied the order, reached a deal with former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to put the Straits segment in a tunnel to protect against a catastrophic spill. Republicans have said a closure would increase energy prices.

“throwing money” at a corporation, for instance, for an existing factory to add jobs over time as opposed to potentially using incentives to land brand-new projects.

Candidates have split when asked about state cash or other incentives used to secure large-scale business expansion projects, such as General

Motors’ electric vehicle and EV battery plants in Michigan. In a debate hosted by WKAR-TV, Soldano said he would have supported the $824 million package. Kelley and Rebandt said they are against “corporate welfare.” Rinke said Whitmer “overpaid” and he would have not signed off on such generous incentives as drafted. Dixon, who was not at that debate due to the death of her father, previously told Crain’s her support for such deals would depend on the terms and whether they are “strategically thought out.” She questioned

The candidates have accused Whitmer of not fixing the roads but have not gotten behind increasing taxes to pump new revenue into the transportation budget, as she unsuccessfully proposed to the Legislature after taking office. Business groups in

ly, a longtime funder of GOP candidates and conservative causes. Betsy DeVos resigned as education secretary over then-President Donald Trump’s role in the deadly Capitol riot after it became clear that Vice President Mike Pence opposed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Political experts suspect the DeVos factor is one reason Trump has not endorsed Dixon despite having briefly singled her out for praise at a spring rally in Macomb County as of press time. “Unlike the establishment-bought candidate, I have been holding (Whitmer) accountable ... ever since two years and three months ago when I was the only one who stood up and led the charge,” Soldano said, pointing to his efforts to oppose her stay-at-home orders to curb the coronavirus. Dixon, who was raised in the Chicago suburb of Naperville and graduated from the University of Kentucky, moved to Michigan in 2002 when her father, the late Vaughn Makary, bought a steel foundry in Muskegon. She worked for the company in sales. “I grew up in a business where as a woman I had to really listen and prove myself,” she told Crain’s after touring Consolidated Electrical Contractors in Lansing. “I think that’s a skill I can bring to Lansing and bring back to Lansing really instead of going in there and wanting to just attack and fight, hearing what both sides have to say, because I was in a position where I had to hear what the other side had to say.”

Dixon later switched careers, founding the “pro-America” Lumen Student News service and co-hosting a show on the conservative streaming network “Real America’s Voice” before running for governor. Her varied jobs, supporters say, have given her some cachet within the business community but also some savvy in media and communications that — should she advance — help her go toe to toe with Whitmer, a veteran campaigner. They describe her as intelligent, sincere, tough and as someone with ethics and integrity. “She knows what return on investment means from a business standpoint. I personally like the education focus she has because we need a lot of work in that arena,” said John Workman, co-owner of Eagle Alloy, a Muskegon steel foundry whose salespeople competed against Dixon when she was at Michigan Steel. Workman and co-owner Mark Fazakerley have given a combined $200,000 to super PACs aiding her campaign. “Given where she started from, without a lot of money to begin with, doors seem to be opening for her just when they need to,” Fazakerley said. Dixon, like every other Republican candidate but Rinke, has said falsely that Trump won Michigan — a stance that aligns with GOP voters but not the broader public once Democrats and independents are included. Unlike Rinke, she opposes abortion exceptions for rape and incest, an issue that has become more important because the state’s old abortion ban could go back into effect af-

ter the reversal of Roe v. Wade, depending on the outcome of lawsuits. Her position is at odds with public opinion and one that Democrats will continue to spotlight and attack should Dixon prevail in the primary. She has emphasized wedge issues to motivate the base, railing against nonexistent drag shows in public schools, for instance. Jim Holcomb, president and CEO of the Michigan Chamber, said it is important to ensure people have confidence in election integrity and that the process works, but “2020 is over.” The organization has encouraged candidates to focus on the state’s future, he said. Dixon “far outshined” other candidates who sought the board’s endorsement and was the “clear choice,” he said. He cited her preparation and thinking on government regulations, taxes, education, manufacturing and addressing the talent shortage. Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan became the first statewide group to get behind Dixon in March. President Jimmy Greene said the GOP should avoid nominating another white man because optics matter and she provides a “little softer tone” and brings “light into this political darkness.” “Who brings people back? We thought it was Tudor,” Greene said. “We thought that was important because new districts — House and the Senate — and we felt like she would bring soccer moms back, she would bring a lot of the women who Trump

Incentives

Roads

the past have supported higher fuel taxes to avoid further deterioration of the roads they use to transport goods and do business. The governor has borrowed money to boost highway projects while acknowleding it is not a long-term solution. Some candidates have suggested using money from other parts of the budget for roads. Michigan already earmarks $600 million in income tax revenue to roads and bridges under a previous road-funding law. The candidates have yet to outline many concrete funding plans. lost in this party.” Trump, who is eyeing another presidential bid, could prove instrumental should he decide to endorse at the last minute. “If he gets in, it shakes everything up depending on who he endorses. But if he doesn’t get in, it’s a really damning indictment of all five of these candidates,” said pollster Richard Czuba, who owns the Glengariff Group. He thinks it is a three-way race among Dixon, Rinke and Soldano. Other major business organizations such as the Small Business Association of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce have not endorsed in the contest. Some did do so in the 2018 Republican primary, which had known quantities in then-state Attorney General Bill Schuette and then-Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. Some groups typically do not get involved until after the primary if there is an incumbent governor. Czuba said it feels like this year’s primary has been compressed into the final week because so many voters are undecided. Some groups have sent mail touting Dixon, but the candidates have spent little to nothing on traditional voter outreach operations. “Nobody can tell you what the hell’s going to happen,” he said. Contact: david.eggert@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @DavidEggert00

WALSH

From Page 6

Consumers are also running lower on cash. The personal savings rate was down to 5.4 percent in May from a record high of 24.8 percent in May 2020 thanks to massive government stimulus. The savings rate last ran this low in the years ahead of the Great Recession. Frankly, consumers are downright sick to their stomach over rising prices. Consumer sentiment is at near historic lows, according to the July Survey of Consumers by the University of Michigan. Last time it was this low was during the Great Recession. “The share of consumers blaming

Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington. | BLOOMBERG

inflation for eroding their living standards continued its rise to 49 percent, matching the all-time high reached during the Great Recession,” the report reads. “These negative views endured in the face of the recent moderation in gas prices at the pump.” What we have is a mismatch of emotional response to rising prices and the actual fact that emotions haven’t stopped consumers from consuming. No one likes a burnt cheeseburger, but even the best of us are going to shove it down our gullet between complaints. None of this, of course, means a recession isn’t coming. Ford and other automakers are living on a razor’s edge. Rising interest rates — the Fed raised rates another three-quarters

of a percent this week — eventually will stymie major purchases like trucks and SUVs. (Note: I ordered a truck seven months ago and plan to take it into my possession whenever I can, even with the high interest rates). Disruption is the most normal thing of the the last decade. Maybe consumers will talk the economy into a recession by slamming shut their wallets until inflation subsides. “A lot of economists, myself included, think a recession is quite possible,” Ballard wrote. “The Fed’s very difficult task is to reduce inflation by restricting credit, but not to stomp on the brakes so hard that we have a recession. That is an extremely delicate bal-

ancing act. They might be able to pull it off, but that remains to be seen. There are so many variables at play. How much disruption will COVID continue to cause? What about monkeypox? How will the war in Ukraine go? And then there is climate-related disruption. I pray that we don’t have a bunch of severe hurricanes on the Gulf Coast this season, because if major refineries are knocked out, even for a relatively short period, that can have a big effect on gasoline prices.” We may not be in a recession right now or even next year or the year after. But there's always a catastrophe on the horizon. Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS To place your listing, contact Suzanne Janik at 313-446-0455

JOB FRONT POSITION AVAILABLE Requests for Proposals are being accepted for:

Adult Education Services Instructor (AESI) Learn to Earn Response Due: August 8, 2022 Issued: July 19, 2022 The Mayor’s Workforce Development Board (MWDB) is directly responsible and accountable to the State of Michigan, Labor and Economic Opportunity-Workforce Development (LEO-WD) for the planning and oversight of talent development programs in the City of Detroit. Designated by the MWDB, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) serves as the fiscal and administrative entity that provides workforce services to job seekers and employers. DESC’s primary funding streams include Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) that funds Michigan’s PATH (Partnership. Accountability. Training. Hope.) employment program, Food Assistance Employment and Training (FAE&T), Wagner-Peyser Employment Services (ES), and other public and private funding. The Corporation enters into contracts with qualified entities to provide workforce development programs and services to job seekers and employers. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Center for Disease Control Foundation (CDC) funding may support contracts resulting from competitive bid process. DESC is seeking proposals from qualified individuals, organizations and/or firms.

Bid package for this RFP is available for download at this DESC website:

Inside the Oudolf Garden | PHOTOS BY LAURÉN ABDEL-RAZZAQ / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

https://www.descmiworks.com/opportunities/rfps-and-rfqs/.

OUDOLF

Mayor’s Workforce Development Board Cynthia J. Pasky, Co-Chairperson David E. Meador, Co-Chairperson

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Had COVID not happened, he would have visited the garden site on Belle Isle — an island in the Detroit River connected to Detroit by bridge — during soil preparation and plantings, said Meredith Simpson, the volunteer COO of Friends of the Oudolf Garden, the nonprofit conservancy caring for it. From his home in the Netherlands, Oudolf has seen the garden at various times of the day and in various stages of growth since then through video chats and drone footage, she said. “(But) he has never seen (the garden) in person...so he’s very excited.” Oudolf, 77, will come to Detroit after a stop in Chicago to check in on Lurie Garden, Simpson said, noting the designer visits the other U.S. gardens he designed to do “design edits” where needed as plants grow. He plans to visit the Detroit garden going forward, as well, she said. “It might be an annual thing or every other year, whatever the garden needs to ensure the integrity of the garden over time.” During his late August visit to Detroit, Oudolf will do an entire review of the installed garden with head horticulturalist Richard Thomas and his team and meet with the hundreds of volunteers who have helped with plantings and care of the garden and the public. He’ll also be working with Ann Arbor landscape architect Shannan Gibb-Randall, principal of InSite Design Studio Inc., on the second-phase design for the low-lying wetland areas which

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation Board Calvin Sharp, Chairperson Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation Terri Weems, President

An equal opportunity employer/program. Supported by the State of Michigan, Labor and Economic Development, Workforce Development (LEO/WD). Auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. 1-800-285-WORK. TTY: 711.

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require different plantings than originally planned. Following extreme flooding on the island in 2019 and 2020, the main garden beds were raised 3 feet. Oudolf will also greet the public on Aug. 21 for an hour at the Belle Isle garden, starting at 10 a.m.

A piece of the garden Fans and gardening aficionados will have a chance to get a piece of Oudolf Garden Detroit during a plant sale fundraiser Friends of the Oudolf Garden plans to host on Aug. 6 at 9 a.m. “It’s an opportunity to share the wealth of the garden with the community,” said Simpson, principal of graphic design and marketing communications firm Group eX, Detroit. “These are all things that seeded in the garden in the last two years and needed to be thinned or divided,” she said. “We hope that it will become an

annual thing.” The group will offer about 1,000 special-order, perennial plants for about $5 to $15 per plant, with many species including: Pale Purple Coneflower, Mountain Mint (a magnet for butterflies, bees and moths) and German irises that bloom in spring and fall, Simpson said. Proceeds from the sale will support the ongoing care and maintenance of the garden, education, the wet meadows planting and the garden’s $2 million permanent endowment housed at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Interest from the permanent fund will support maintenance of the garden in perpetuity. The project attracted a total of $4.7 million in contributions after the project was announced in 2017. Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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GEN Z

to ZipRecruiter data. While more than 9 percent of overall job postings began offering remote schedules, only 1 percent of internship postings switched to remote offerings. Although the workforce has been shifting to younger generations, companies still try to keep senior employees and minimize turnover. “The experience that the retirees have, it’s not necessarily something that we can replace with younger, less experienced (workers),” Bertolini said. For this reason, Barton Malow has retained some of its senior employees in part-time or consulting roles. Also, people who retired or paused work during the pandemic are slowly returning, Buber at ZipRecruiter said, as inflation has significantly raised essential expenses, and in-person programs like day care and senior care have returned.

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As more experienced staffers left the workforce in record numbers over the last couple of years, companies have adjusted expectations of full-time employees. “It takes less time to move up to those levels than it maybe has in the past,” said Sarah Bertolini, vice president of human resources at Southfield-based construction company Barton Malow Inc. Management and director-level jobs have shifted younger in the last few years as more emphasis has been placed on potential rather than a stringent focus on prior experience and education level, Bertolini added. That helps fill openings. In 2018, ZipRecruiter data found that 7.6 percent of job postings required a minimum of five years of experience, Buber said. Now, 4.1 percent of postings require that. Similarly, 14 percent of job postings in 2018 required a bachelor’s degree. Now, that number is down to 9 percent. Since February 2018, the number of job openings in the United States has generally exceeded the number of unemployed people. This temporarily flipped in the early months of the coronavirus crisis due to shutdowns and widespread downsizing, Buber said, but the statistical trend resumed in April 2021. The ratio was historically about two unemployed people per job opening in the U.S., which was a “sustainable number,” Buber said. Now that ratio is switched to two job openings per unemployed person — the highest ratio of job openings to jobless since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting data for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey in 2000.

Age of innovation Increased technology use and digitization of business processes in all industries have given younger generations a leg up in hiring opportunities, as they generally come with those skills and have an easier time learning and applying new technology, Buber said. ZipRecruiter’s tracking of the top 10 most commonly required skills listed in online job postings showed an increased emphasis on technological skills over historically emphasized soft skills like customer service and communication. While soft skills still account for the majority of the top skills needed, mastery of Excel and Microsoft Word programs, databases and general computer literacy have increased in overall job postings. “Those young innovative minds, those are going to be the ones solving the problems,” said Elizabeth Durham, senior communications strategist for DTE Energy Co.’s human resources and talent acquisition. “We’re fully aware that our future is our students.”

Developing talent DTE has about 850 students in internship roles and other development programs, Durham said, and about 11,000 employees. Within the last year, DTE has hired about 150 students full time. The variety of DTE student programs offer a multi-step talent pipeline into full-time positions at the Detroit-based company, from its youth program partnerships with the city’s Grow Detroit’s Young Talent program to apprenticeships at local community colleges and more. 16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

Resurgence of skilled trades

Apprenticeships through Macomb Community College have increased by 300 percent over the last decade. | MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Workforce gets younger The U.S. workforce has gotten younger over the last 10 years as Baby Boomers leave their jobs. June 2012 Age 16-19

June 2022 26.6% 32.6% 61.3% 66.4%

Age 20-24 Age 25-34

74.8% 80.2%

Age 35-44

76.9% 80.3% 75.2% 79.0%

Age 45-54 38.1% 37.6%

Age 55+

NOTE: NUMBERS REFLECT THE PERCENTAGE OF WORKERS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED AGAINST THE POPULATION OF POTENTIAL WORKERS. SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

How job requirements have shifted since 2018 Online job postings that require 5 years of experience Online job postings that require a bachelor’s degree 14% 12%

10.8%

10% 8% 6%

4.4%

4% 2%

2018

2019

2020

2021

YTD 2022

SOURCE: ZIPRECRUITER

While internships and early career programs were often the first to go at the start of the pandemic, Durham said DTE made a conscious effort to keep them, even at reduced hours, and build them into remote working models as they were for full-time employees. “We were building our ship as we were sailing it,” Durham said. The city of Detroit’s young workforce development program, which is offering about 8,000 opportunities this summer to Detroiters ages 14-24, gives the opportunity to join major Michigan companies with pay, get hands-on experience and explore potential employers. GDYT provides a variety of work sites for young adults from radio broadcasting to the

Board of Police Commissioners. “Every year, we are innovative and introduce new companies based on what’s going on in the city and the nation,” said Misty Evans, director of program operations. It also offers on-site construction roles as well as technology and social media management roles. “Whether we develop that talent for DTE or other organizations in Michigan, I think we’re able to arm students with real-world skills and also that beginning network,” Durham said. “A strong economy here, and a strong state, and that really great talent remaining in that strong state is to our strategic advantage,” Durham added. “Everybody wins.”

Internship roller coaster While internships have begun to return to pre-pandemic levels, they have significantly fallen behind the growth of overall jobs. ZipRecruiter data showed there are about 20 percent more internship opportunities over the last year but 65 percent to 70 percent more overall job opportunities. However, companies that retained internship programs or brought them back have been able to use them as a talent pipeline. Lyn Hewitt, vice president of human resources at Clark Construction, said the Lansing-based company took on about 25 interns this summer and had a waiting list after filling positions, which demonstrated a continued desire from young professionals to get internships. Lejla Mandzukic, a project engineer at Clark, started at the company four years ago as an intern while a student at Wayne State University. “Having an internship before you graduate does give you a ton of insight into what you want after you graduate,” Mandzukic said. After interning for Clark for a few months, the company hired her full time. Victoria Powe is interning at Clark for the second summer in a row. She is contracted with the U.S. Air Force after graduating from college next spring and said the experiences at Clark have helped prepare her for future roles. “A lot of the stuff that I’m given is the stuff a project engineer has to do,” Powe said. At Barton Malow, Bertolini said about 95 percent of interns are offered full-time employment. “Especially coming in as young students with different perspectives and some of that diverse background, they’re able to share some ideas that maybe we wouldn’t have thought of because they’re just coming from a different perspective,” Bertolini said. Barton Malow has about 65 interns this year and had a little more than 50 in 2021. The company retained its internship program in the summer of 2020 by way of a shortened, virtual format. Barton Malow, Clark and DTE were the exception in this case, as most companies cut student programs instead of virtualizing them, according

Michigan has also seen an uptick in apprenticeship programs in the last few years. According to Oakland Community College, Michigan had the eighth-highest number of apprenticeships in the nation at more than 14,000. OCC also stated that over the next few years, 37 percent of the state’s job growth will be a result of training and education programs like apprenticeships. Apprenticeships also play a major role in filling skilled-trades jobs. The number of students in the apprenticeship program at Macomb Community College has grown 300 percent since 2012, said Don Hutchison, dean of engineering and advanced technology at Macomb. According to a report from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, women made up 11 percent of the active registered apprentices in 2020, and these numbers further shrunk in construction and manufacturing, where women made up 3.9 percent and 6.6 percent of the overall apprentices, respectively. In utilities, women apprentices made up 1.6 percent. People of color accounted for 12.3 percent of active apprentices in 2020. Hewitt at Clark Construction said the low levels of women and people of color illustrates a missed recruiting opportunity. MCC has more than 700 apprentice students and about 62 sponsoring companies. Apprenticeships at Macomb involve around 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 hours of classroom instruction, equating to about a four-year program. “Depending on the turbulence in the economy, there were issues with layoffs and then being rehired and laid off…I think it put a bad taste in people’s mouths such that they steered students away from those types of careers, but what we’re seeing now is a strong resurgence,” Hutchison said. Previous generations had perhaps negative experiences with job instability during economically turbulent times in the last few decades, especially with Detroit’s major auto manufacturers and its suppliers. However, since the turn of the century, there has been a big push from the state and federal governments to bring back apprenticeships. Employers generally fund apprenticeship education, Hutchison said, providing the new generation with a way to bypass rising college debt and still make $25-$30 an hour as a new graduate. Contact: minnah.arshad@crain.com @minnaharshad

SNYDER

From Page 3

The Shinola Hotel in Detroit. Shinola executives say the company has received at least a half-dozen inquiries from developers interested in more hotel branding deals in the Detroit market and beyond. | KIRK PINHO/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

SHINOLA

From Page 3

Its leather goods category has risen to 25 percent of overall revenue. Watch assembly takes place in Detroit, but 65 percent of its leather goods are manufactured elsewhere in the U.S., while about 35 percent is done in Vietnam, according to the company. “We do the leather straps here in Detroit, but there’s no real manufacturing base on leather goods here in Detroit right now to do at the scale that we need,” Washburn said. Washburn added that she is proud of growing the company’s e-commerce business by 64 percent since 2019. Shinola closed eight stores before the pandemic and still operates 22 around the country with

INVESTMENT

From Page 3

While relying on various stories and narratives, the report highlights significant data points highlighting the continued growth for the state’s startups and venture funds: ` The number of venture-backed startups in Michigan has grown by 56 percent over the last five years, hitting 154 last year. ` There were 19 exits by Michigan VC-backed startups in 2021, the largest number of exits in a given year. ` Michigan VC funds had a total of $5.4 billion under management last year, an increase of 100 percent over the last five years. The MVCA report also highlights some interesting geographic breakdowns of where VC deals are being done in the state. In most categories, the Ann Arbor and Detroit areas stand as the state’s hubs. For instance, Ann Arbor saw 41 deals last year, followed by Detroit with 31 and Grand Rapids with 14. Ypsilanti, Traverse City and East Lansing each saw five deals, according to the report. However, Detroit led the way in

plans to open a couple more in the next couple years, Cobbina said. “We have to continue to use brick-and-mortar retail stores as a touchpoint for us,” he said. Shinola has received at least a half-dozen inquiries from developers interested in more hotel branding deals in the Detroit market and beyond, Cobbina said. The company is also talking with Bedrock Detroit about “potential opportunities … in other areas where they do business.” As for Washburn, she emphasized that she is looking forward to a “true retirement” and spending time with family. “It is a 100 percent true retirement,” she said. “If I was going to stay working and doing something that I loved, I would never be leaving Shinola.”

companies in the Ann Arbor area, GDI Infotech and InfoReady Corp. `CTO Dave Kelly, a 26-year veteran of the Michigan State Police, where he served as the commanding officer of the Michigan Cyber Command Center and the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center. `Dave Behen is the company’s chief client success officer. The veteran of Snyder’s cabinet during his governorship was director of the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget, as well as chief information officer for the state, and a former executive of La-Z Boy, according to his LinkedIn page. The subscription services offered by SensCy range from $750 per month to more than $1,500 per month, depending on the number of employees at an organization The nascent company’s technology essentially seeks to act as a “credit score” for organizations, Snyder said, giving it a current assessment on its cybersecurity practices and offering areas for improvement. Most organizations of the size SensCy seeks to work with are likely to have scores in the range of 200-500, according to Snyder. The company aims to put in “significant work” and get clients into the 700-800 range. To help scale the company around the state, and eventually beyond, Snyder said the marketing strategy for SensCy revolves around tapping some of Michigan’s largest industry trade groups. So far, the company has struck deals with the Small Business Association of Michigan, the Michigan Association of CPAs and the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, which Snyder said gives the early-stage company immediate access to about 30,000 organizations and businesses.

Brian Calley, the CEO of SBAM and which was acquired by software giant Snyder’s lieutenant governor for the Cisco for $2.35 billion in 2018. The eight years he was Michigan’s chief growth of Duo has also spurred executive, said small businesses are spinoffs such as Censys and Blumira. increasingly seeking out solutions for Snyder told Crain’s that the emergthe “growing threat” that cyber at- ing company is beginning to close on tacks create. a $2.5 million seed funding round “It’s easy to put off for another from undisclosed investors. A larger day, week, month,” Calley said of round is likely down the road as the how many smaller organizations, company seeks to expand its geograsuch as members of SBAM, view phy, he said. ramping up their cybersecurity Venture funding to cybersecurity practices. “But when it happens, it companies has begun to slow in recan be catastrophic.” cent months, as part of the broader A survey done earlier this year by market cooling, according to a report CNBC and Survey Monkey of more last month in the Wall Street Journal, than 2,000 small business owners citing data from industry publication found that just 5 percent considered Pitchbook. cybersecurity to be the largest threat Still, such companies have been to their business. However, a 2022 cy- darlings of the investor community. bersecurity report by Verizon found IT companies like SensCy accounted that small organizations are often for 49 percent of the $249 million among the most vulnera- “IF YOU GO ASK THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ble. “When cy- ASSOCIATION TODAY, THEY’LL TELL YOU b e r c r i m e MICHIGAN WAS A ROLE MODEL AND STILL makes the news, it is typ- IS A MODEL FOR HOW TO DO ically because CYBERSECURITY THE RIGHT WAY.” a large organization has — Former Gov. Rick Snyder fallen victim to an attack,” reads the Verizon report, Michigan venture firms put into inwhich found 832 incidents last year state companies in 2021, according to against small business and other or- the annual report from the Michigan ganizations. Venture Capital Association. “However, contrary to what many It’s an issue Snyder is familiar with. may think, very small organizations During his time as governor, he coare just as enticing to criminals as chaired a cybersecurity task force as large ones, and, in certain ways, may- part of the National Governors Assobe even more so,” the report contin- ciation. ues. “Threat actors have the ‘we’ll take “And if you go ask the National anything we can get’ philosophy Governors Association today, they’ll when it comes to cybercrime. These tell you Michigan was a role model incidents can and have put small and still is a model for how to do cycompanies out of business.” bersecurity the right way,” Snyder Ann Arbor, where SensCy will be said. “So this is a longtime passion in headquartered, has become some- many respects.” thing of a hub for cybersecurity-focused startups. Contact: nmanes@crain.com; Most notable is Duo Security, (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl deal value with nearly $537.8 million, followed by Ann Arbor with deal value totaling $419.57 million. Kalamazoo, Madison Heights and Grand Rapids rounded out the top cities for deal value. The MVCA report looks at the year that was 2021, and the venture capital space has hardly been immune from the larger market chill that has taken hold in the new year. Recent reports show that in Michigan, deals in the last quarter were down but investments were up. Topouzian said that as it’s still only halfway through the year, “it’s still too early to tell” how 2022 might shake out for VC funds and startups in Michigan and beyond. The MVCA report, however, points to at least one bright spot: VC funds have “dry powder” — that is, uncommitted money ready to invest — available. The remaining capital available for new investments in 2021 was $527.6 million, according to the report. As for follow-on funding for startups, it is expected that $236.8 million is reserved for existing Michigan-based portfolio startups. Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

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THE CONVERSATION

Luke Bonner on baseball, incentives and a new Hall Road Luke Bonner, CEO, has his hands in a lot of economic development around southeast Michigan as head of his own consulting firm, Ann Arbor-based Bonner Advisory Group, and as economic development adviser to the city of Sterling Heights. Prior to going out on his own, the University of Michigan graduate and pitcher on the Wolverines baseball team from 1996-1999 worked for Ann Arbor Spark and for Sterling Heights in economic development roles. He spoke with Crain's about economic development issues, the future of the Hall Road corridor, and his baseball career. | BY KIRK PINHO ` Big picture, what’s working right in economic development and what’s not? Aspiration. I think there is consistent and continued aspiration from the state down to local governments. Aspiration meaning, how do we keep getting better? Whether you’re accomplishing that or not I think the goal and effort and investments have been there. I think every community and the state, with resources to improve things for tourism, beaches and vacation destinations, I think all of that has been going pretty well. It’s pretty awesome to see all of the things local communities are trying to do to attract investment into their communities. On the flip side, what hasn’t gone well is population in particular. It’s easy to compare yourself to Austin that’s seeing 75,000-plus people move in every year; we don’t have that. At some point, that causes a problem and I think it hurts talent. When it hurts talent, it hurts communities and companies and growth. How do we move the needle? Ever since I’ve been working for 20-some years, it’s been a point of conversation, a decades-old problem that doesn’t seem to be solved. We have some in-state migration, so there are some areas that continue to grow, but not to the benefit of the state as a whole. ` Does the state need to restructure its incentives or add new arrows to the quiver for how it attracts new employers? Why or why not? From an economic development standpoint, from a basic level, as long as I have been working in economic development since 2000, I think we may have had 15 CEOs of MEDC. Maybe that number is a bit of an exaggeration, but probably not much. That’s a problem. That’s a problem

because the constant changing of that leadership role really represents politics. It represents disorganization. It represents no plan. I think that overall, in terms of the lead agency in the state of Michigan (on economic development), but having a plan that’s executable and consistent year over year, that’s inconsistent and I think that’s a big problem. There’s also too much in-fighting in Lansing. Not enough people on the same page, too many people thinking they can do it better. Economic development isn’t a Republican or Democrat thing; it’s a resident of Michigan thing. We are all kinds of different political affiliations or none at all. There has been no harmony in economic development, and I think that hurts. ` Hall Road is probably the busiest retail strip in Southeast Michigan. How have things fared since the early days of the pandemic? It’s pretty good. It’s crazy. A lot of it is driven by national chains, but look at M-59 between Schoenherr and Hayes, everyone wants to be there. There have been so many new restaurants opening there just in front of Lakeside (Mall) alone. There is constant activity along that corridor for new national brands coming into the market for the first time. That’s such a go-to corridor because of all the consumer spending and traffic counts and population numbers. Seems to me like it’s doing pretty good, to be honest with you. ` Is there a Hall Road 2.0 that we need to be on the lookout for? It’s pretty well built out, so does it just become a constant churn of new retailers or does some of this stuff get repurposed for other uses? Is there like a 20- or 30-year vision for Hall Road?

To be quite honest with you, I think it’s probably time for that. I think that the elected leaders that all have communities along M-59, I think they need to drive what Hall Road 2.0 looks like in the future. There’s really been no vision for M-59. It all kind of just happened. When stuff like that happens, at some point that ends, and then you have to get involved and engaged in what’s next. I think it’s time. I know Sterling Heights in particular would really love to take a leadership role in shaping the future of M-59, but they can’t do it themselves. ` You were quite the baseball player. Tell us a little about your career. Big 10 champions once or twice, right? We won the Big 10 outright in 1997 and then the Big 10 tournament championship in 1999. We had good teams, for sure, with a lot of talent. I think what might be rare these days is that on those teams, 1996-99, I would say we probably had a dozen guys that all knew each other growing up and playing travel ball together. As such, we’re all still best friends today.

` Did you get drafted? I got drafted out of high school and then I opted for Michigan, and then signed as an undrafted free agent after I graduated from Michigan. ` Did you play minor league or pro? I played minor league for a year and got released. My situation couldn’t have been any better. I played for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. It was a brand new affiliate of the (Cleveland) Indians. It was a brand new stadium. The team was owned by the Cafaro family out of Youngstown and was a major retail developer. The stadium was packed every game. We were like Niles/ Youngstown. Literally you walk through the mall and people would come up to you and ask for an autograph. I couldn’t have had a better experience. CC Sabathia and Victor Martinez were both on the team that year and we had a lot of attention. It was fun. We won our division championship and then lost in the overall New York Penn League championship to the Hudson Valley Renegades, who had the No. 1 overall pick Josh Hamilton on that team. Luke Bonner is CEO Bonner Advisory Group

READ ALL THE CONVERSATIONS AT CRAINSDETROIT.COM/THECONVERSATION

RUMBLINGS

Final curtain falls on Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak DEMOLITION HAS STARTED on the Main Art Theatre in downtown Royal Oak in spite of efforts by movie and history buffs to spare it from the wrecking ball. An affiliate of Bloomfield Township-based A.F. Jonna Development LLC submitted plans earlier this year to replace the former theater with a five-story, 71-foot mixed-use building which would include 9,200 square feet of commercial space — half for a restaurant, half for a retailer — plus first-floor parking. In addition, there would be about 31,000 square feet of office space on the second floor and the third through fifth floors would include 51 residential units. A spokesperson for A.F. Jonna said the company invited members of the Friends of the Main Art Theatre 501(c)(3) group — which advo18 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | AUGUST 1, 2022

Crews tear down the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak. | JAY DAVIS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

cated for the theater’s preservation — to take what they wanted, such as seating and other memorabilia, from it prior to demolition. The former theater’s signage will be included in the new building’s

design but with a new marquee board in the original’s style as it was deemed to be “rotting and beyond repair, despite two groups evaluating it to determine it was salvageable,” Patricia Radice, the spokes-

person, wrote in an email Monday. Warren-based Blue Star Inc. is the demolition contractor, according to documents filed with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The demolition permit was issued June 28 and expires Dec. 25, according to Royal Oak property records. Electric and gas service were confirmed disconnected at the site on June 7. Precisely how long the demolition will take as well as its cost are not known. Radice said A.F. Jonna declined to release that information. Sylvan Lake-based Tower Construction LLC is the contractor on the new building, according to Royal Oak records. — — Kirk Pinho

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Minnah Arshad, city of Detroit, (313) 446-0416 or minnah.arshad@crain.com Jason Davis, small and emerging businesses. (313) 446-1612 or Jason.davis@crain.com David Eggert, senior reporter. (313) 446-1654 or david.eggert@crain.com Arielle Kass, residential real estate. (313) 446-6774 or arielle.kass@crain.com Nick Manes, finance and technology. (313) 446-1626 or nmanes@crain.com Kurt Nagl, manufacturing. (313) 446-0337 or knagl@crain.com Kirk Pinho, senior reporter, real estate. (313) 446-0412 or kpinho@crain.com Dustin Walsh, senior reporter, health care. (313) 446-6042 or dwalsh@crain.com Rachel Watson, West Michigan, (989) 533-9685 or rachel.watson@crain.com Sherri Welch, senior reporter, nonprofits and philanthropy. (313) 446-1694 or swelch@crain.com MEMBERSHIPS

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