Crain's Detroit Business, August 12, 2024

Auto suppliers slash R&D spend

By Kurt Nagl

TRAVERSE CITY — Automo-

tive suppliers are slashing R&D and engineering budgets in response to intense cost pressures, but doing so could come at their own peril — and that of the industry writ large.

Some of the world’s largest, most tech-savvy parts producers have hit the brakes on spending due in part to electric vehicle launch delays and a dim outlook

for returns on investment.

Aptiv plc is cutting its engineering spend by up to $100 million this year, while Magna International targets its engineering operations for a $200 million reduction. Meanwhile, BorgWarner Inc. said it will cut its previously planned R&D in half, and Continental is pulling back R&D dramatically as it evaluates a spino of its automotive group.

See R&D on Page 11

“I fear we take a pause and that, globally, the rest of the world continues that investment.”

Collin Shaw, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers group at the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association

Michigan braces for expansion of paid sick leave

David Eggert

LANSING — Michigan businesses are bracing for sweeping changes to the state's paid sick time law, revisions they warn will be just as consequential — potentially more so — as pending increases in the minimum wage.

while the one that is due to be restored provides workers a higher level of bene ts, according to a 2022 analysis from the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

e top-line di erences?

EDITORIAL

Lawmakers must act to help small businesses.

PAGE 6

e Michigan Supreme Court two weeks ago ordered the reinstatement of the Earned Sick Time Act, a 2018 ballot initiative funded by a dark-money liberal group that Republican lawmakers adopted and, with then-Gov. Rick Snyder's support, amended in the same legislative session to be friendlier to businesses. e court deemed that move unconstitutional, along with one that watered down minimum wage adjustments. e old sick time law will take e ect Feb. 21 unless the Democratic-led Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revise it.

Michigan is among about 15 states with such a law. Federal law does not require paid sick leave.

e replacement law, the Paid Medical Leave Act, is more in line with other states' laws in hours granted and exemptions

One, employers with fewer than 50 workers will no longer be exempt. e law will cover all employers with at least one employee, except for the federal government.

Two, most will have to o er up to 72 hours of paid medical leave (eight days) instead of 40 hours ( ve days).

Employers with under 10 workers will be required to provide up to 40 hours paid plus up to 32 hours unpaid.

Business organizations say small companies are not equipped to handle the changes. ey warn that employers with a single bank of paid time o that includes vacation and sick time will separate them and cut vacation to o set increased medical leave. at will force employees to call in sick when they are not ill or live with reduced vacation time, said Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the

See SICK LEAVE

Michigan contractor got a x-up job at Mount Vernon

Kirk Pinho

About 600 miles southeast of its Lansing headquarters, a contractor with a penchant for unique historic preservation and restoration projects is undertaking major repairs to a founding father’s home. It’s no easy task for e Christman Co., which is leading the charge on the $40 million e ort to x the foundation and masonry of the 11,000-square-foot mansion on George Washington’s

Mount Vernon estate in Virginia, not to mention replacing the dated HVAC system there and restoring the cellar.  e highly choreographed, multi-pronged campaign began o cially late last year and is expected to wrap up in 2026, said Doug Bradburn, president and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, as the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday — its semiquincentennial.

In simple terms, Bradburn

said, the north portion of the mansion’s foundation and masonry and ooring will be xed rst, followed by the south portion of the mansion and then nishing the work in the middle — the original part of the mansion. en, the new HVAC system will be installed and the cellar will be restored, Bradburn said. But the project is anything but simple.

See CHRISTMAN on Page 15

The mansion at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia estate, is undergoing a $40 million renovation project. | MOUNT VERNON LADIES’ ASSOCIATION

Aptiv is cutting its engineering spending by $100 million, one among many auto suppliers dialing back on R&D expenditures.

Moosejaw to close 3 remaining stores

By Anna Fifelski

e last three Moosejaw stores are closing for good.

e Michigan-founded outdoor retailer’s remaining storefronts in Birmingham at 34288 Woodward Ave., Bentonville, Ark., and Salt Lake City, Utah, are all shuttering.

e employee at the Birmingham location who answered the phone Aug. 2 said they did not yet know when the store’s last day open would be. Employees at the Salt Lake City and Bentonville stores told Crain’s Aug. 2 the stores would be open for a nal day Aug. 3 for the regularly scheduled hours, before closing for good.

e three stores were the nal holdouts for Moosejaw as the brand has undergone signi cant

changes since its Dick’s Sporting Goods bought the company from Walmart in March 2023.

In September 2023, Moosejaw announced plans to close all but three of its stores. It closed its corporate headquarters in Madison Heights this April.

Moosejaw Mountaineering was founded in 1992 by Robert Wolfe and his friend David Ja e in Keego Harbor.

e brand grew into retail storefronts and online sales.

Walmart purchased the brand in 2017 for $51 million.

Wolfe declined to comment on the announcement of the closure of the three remaining stores.

Representatives for Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Maddin Hauser hires attorney group from Lipson Neilson

By Kurt Nagl

Maddin Hauser Roth & Heller PC is lling out its new o ce with a group of attorneys hired away from Lipson Neilson in the latest round of musical chairs among local law rms.

Joining South eld-based Maddin Hauser as shareholders are business and tax law aces David Deutsch and Steven Malach, who will join the rm’s estate planning practice, the rm announced recently.

Additionally, Michael Curhan comes to the rm as of counsel, and Carly Kolo joins as an associate. Paralegals Debra Alster and Megan Fisher round out the group joining Maddin Hauser from its Bloom eld Hills-based competitor.

“It all ts into a strategic growth initiative we’ve had in place for a couple of years now,” Ron Sollish, vice president at Maddin Hauser, told Crain’s. “We’ve gone out and looked for talent. We’re also looking for folks that bring a signi cant amount of business with them.”

Je rey Neilson, managing partner at Lipson Neilson, said the moves “represent a great opportu-

nity for both rms” and that Lipson Neilson will move forward with plans to “expand its core and more pro table areas.”

“ e attorneys joining the Maddin rm are talented individuals and we wish them well in their new roles,” Neilson said in an emailed statement. “Lipson Neilson will soon be celebrating its rst 40 years of practice and we embrace the changes and evolution that will accompany our next 40 years.”

Maddin Hauser, a full-service business law rm, has about 50 attorneys based at its new o ce in One Towne Square in South eld. Sollish said the rm aims to grow to 70 lawyers over the next ve years.

“2024 is a momentous year for us — we’ve just moved into beautiful new o ce space in One Towne Square, and we will celebrate our 100th anniversary next year,” Steven Sallen, president and CEO of Maddin Hauser, said in a news release. “Preserving our distinctive work culture is paramount to our strategic growth and planning for the future.”

Part of that culture is working together in person, Sollish said. e

rm was quick to bring employees back to the o ce after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, and unlike many other law rms, it implemented a policy requiring attendance in the o ce, with an option of ve remote days per month.

“To grow leadership, you have to be together to make that happen,” Sollish said.

Attorneys have been bouncing around between law rms at unprecedented frequency since the pandemic, posing a retention and recruitment challenge for small and medium-sized rms especially.

A couple of more recent examples include Joe DeVito and his group moving from Howard & Howard to Dinsmore & Shohl and nally to Taft Stettinius & Hollister earlier this year. Dinsmore also lost a group of attorneys in June to Plunkett Cooney, which itself saw a dozen attorneys split away in March.

e additions to Maddin Hauser expand and improve its real estate and probate tax services, which clients can tap without breaking the bank, Sollish said.

“ ey get sophisticated business lawyers, but they get Detroit rates,” he said.

The Moosejaw store in Birmingham. | COSTAR GROUP

Marijuana sales off to tepid start in Ohio

By Dustin Walsh

e rollout of the legal recreational marijuana market in Northwest Ohio appeared to get o to a tepid start on Aug. 6 near the Michigan border.

Legal sales to all adults over 21 years old began in the Buckeye State on Aug. 6 after the state issued licenses to at least 98 previously medical-only dispensaries. But between 9:15 a.m. and noon, Crain’s counted only 49 customers entering Toledo’s only store, Rise Cannabis, approved for recreational sales Aug. 6.

Conversely, more than 500 people were lined up at Exclu-

sive Brands Ann Arbor store shortly after opening on Michigan’s rst day of adult-use recreational sales on Dec. 1, 2019.

Ben Kovler, chair and CEO of Rise Cannabis’ parent company, Chicago-based multi-state operator Green umb Industries Inc., called the opening a success, citing the short notice Ohio gave to operators and potential customers about the start of legal recreational sales.

“ e state didn’t really tell everyone when it ( rst day of legal sales) was going to start,” Kovler said. “But it makes day one easier. We weren’t overwhelmed and we’ve had no software prob-

lems. We were expecting a slow rollout.”

e state of Ohio quietly began telling operators their recreational licenses were approved at the start of the month, but only made a formal public announcement on Aug. 5. And the state put strict rules in place for the rst day of sales, including banning music, food trucks and any “Grand Opening” marketing materials outside the retail outlets.

e start of Ohio sales clearly was not stopping Ohioans from shopping for cannabis north of the border.

See MARIJUANA on Page 15

Ad agency Doner pledges $1M to hire Detroit talent

By E.J. Schultz, AdAge

When General Motors Co. scaled back work from the Detroit o ces of Commonwealth/ McCann and Leo Burnett as part of an agency overhaul announced in June, the cuts sparked anxiety and anger in the Motor City creative community for which automotive has been a signi cant employment engine. Now a metro Detroit ad agency that works for a GM competitor is committing to hire and nurture talent in the city.

South eld-based Doner, which has long had Stellantis as a client, said it has established a $1 million incremental talent budget with a goal of hiring locally across key departments in the next 90 days.

e program, branded #HireDetroit, includes other elements.

e Stagwell-owned shop pledges to run a database of metro Detroit-based advertising talent at hiredetroit.doner.com and plans to share the data with clients, agencies and recruiters from across the country. Plus, Doner is providing LinkedIn Premium membership for 200 job seekers in Detroit and agency leaders will o er guidance via resume and portfolio reviews. It has also lined up Bingham Farms-based

personalized coaching platform Boon to provide complimentary career coaching to Detroit agency workers in need.

Commonwealth/McCann announced last week it is laying o 56 employees in downtown Detroit. e rm gave notice of the layo s to the state in a memo dated July 31. e layo is anticipated to be permanent, the ling says. It will go into e ect on Oct. 1. (See story on Page 14.)

“ e morale is very, very poor. People are nding it almost impossible to nd jobs,” said Lianne Lyne, an executive/leadership coach in Detroit and formerly a cultural director for Team Detroit, a WPP agency dedicated to Ford that later rebranded to GTB.

In the wake of GM’s decision, Lyne bemoaned the move in a LinkedIn post that drew hundreds of comments, including one person who stated that “watching the Big 3 slowly and methodically pull advertising work out of the city they’ve depended on, is heart-wrenching.” ( e Big 3 refers to GM, Ford and Stellantis; Ford in 2018 hired Wieden+Kennedy New York for creative, although WPP still has media and other duties it handles from Detroit.)

See AD AGENCY on Page 16

Accounting rm grows with Bloom eld Hills acquisition

Saginaw-headquartered accounting and advisory rm Yeo & Yeo CPAs and Advisors has acquired Bloom eld Hills-based Berger, Ghersi and LaDuke PLC.

e acquisition bolsters the size of one of Michigan’s largest accounting rms and will further expand the rm’s presence in Southeast Michigan.

e acquisition was nalized on July 1. Now, Yeo & Yeo will bring BGL’s locations under its name and brand — and plans to unify teams in Southeast Michigan at one larger o ce location in the future.

“With the acquisition, Yeo & Yeo has 10 locations through-

out Michigan,” Yeo & Yeo President and CEO Dave Youngstrom said. “Looking ahead, Yeo & Yeo plans to establish a larger o ce location in Southeast Michigan to unite the talent of nearly 30 professionals from Yeo & Yeo’s current Auburn Hills o ce and the former BGL rm, changing the number of

o ce locations back to nine.”

Yeo & Yeo has also retained all employees from BGL. e rm will keep partners Alan LaDuke, David Berger and Jim McAuli e, who will join Yeo & Yeo’s principal group and will grow the total number of principals from 29 to 32, Youngstrom told Crain’s in an email.

Pre-acquisition, Yeo & Yeo was the 12th-largest accounting rm in the state, according to data compiled by Crain. Nine accounting and administrative professionals from BGL have also joined Yeo & Yeo, bringing the total number of employees to more than 225.  e leadership of Yeo & Yeo’s four connected companies — Yeo & Yeo CPAs & Advisors, Yeo & Yeo Technology, Yeo & Yeo Medical Billing & Consulting, and Yeo & Yeo Wealth Management — will remain the same.

Youngstrom said the acquisition was part of a larger growth plan for Yeo & Yeo, and the company remains committed to growth through strategic merg-

ers and acquisitions.

Youngstrom declined to disclose the timeline and nancial terms of the acquisition, but said that the rm’s values aligned with BGL’s, which made for a valuable merger between the companies.

“We are pleased to have found a partner in Yeo and Yeo that shares our values and commitment to helping clients succeed,” LaDuke, principal at BGL, said in a news release. “As the accounting industry evolves and becomes more complex, this merger will allow us to stay at the forefront and present greater opportunities to enhance the experiences of our team and our clients.”

Anna Fifelski

Yeo & Yeo President and CEO Dave Youngstrom (left), and partners Jim McAuliff, Alan LaDuke and David Berger.

Detroit’s advertising agency community has been rocked by General Motors Co. and Rocket Companies Inc. changes. DEAN STORM/CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS

No signi cant lines materialized on the rst day of recreational marijuana sales at Rise Cannabis in Toledo, Ohio, the only dispensary in the city of 260,000 people. | STACY SOMINSKI

Detroit City FC amasses more property amid plans to construct a new soccer stadium in Corktown

Detroit City FC has added more property to its portfolio as it works to build a new stadium in the Corktown neighborhood.

e acquisitions — documented in public records and other sources as deals became nalized the last six weeks or so — more than double the organization’s footprint around its proposed stadium site.

In an emailed statement Aug. 6, Detroit City FC co-founder and CEO Sean Mann said: “DCFC has acquired the parcels necessary for the stadium site. e club looks forward to initiating a public process around the project in the coming months.”

According to county land records and title company records, a pair of entities connected to the club through an attorney working on the project paid $6 million for a total of about 8.25 additional acres of primarily vacant land in multiple

transactions.

at adds to the 5.57-acre primary site at Michigan Avenue and 20th Street, bringing the team’s known total holdings in the area to 13.82 acres — plus one abandoned 250,000-square-foot hospital to be razed for the 14,000-seat stadium.

For context, that’s larger than Roosevelt Park at the north of Michigan Central Station following a redesign and recon guration completed last year

According to title company records, an entity called Standish Holdco LLC — which lists attorney H. William Burdett Jr., who is working with DCFC on the stadium project, on its state incorporation documents — on June 27 bought, in two separate transactions, property at 3000 Standish and 3050 W. Fisher Freeway, each for $1.5 million for a total of $3 million.

ose parcels sit in the Central Southwest neighborhood abutting Corktown and immediately south of the railroad tracks. e property, which is about 4.11 acres and takes up about half a block, is primarily vacant.

A message seeking comment

was left with the selling broker Aug. 6. e seller was We Co 1991 LLC. e sale is also re ected with CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service.

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In addition, Wayne County land records show 402310 Holdings

Other property owners on that block are Dennis Kefallinos (2800 Standish); the Moroun family (2101 20th St.) and the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership (3052 W. Fisher Freeway).

LLC, an entity previously conrmed as connected to DCFC ownership, paid Byzantine Ventures LLC, registered to Christos Moisides, an estimated $3 million in a June 21 sale for three properties totaling 4.139 acres. ose

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An entity connected to Detroit City FC paid $3 million for the land bordered in red in June, according to title company records. Another entity connected to the team also bought a large site (not in red) immediately north of the railroad tracks around the same time, according to land records. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

properties are at 2201 20th St., 2301 20th St. and 2701 Michigan Ave. Moisides declined to comment Aug. 6.

e 402310 Holdings entity on March 15 also paid $6.5 million for the former Southwest Detroit Hospital property previously owned by Kefallinos. at site has been abandoned for almost two decades.

Burdett is also listed on incorporation documents for 402310 Holdings.

Not many details have been formally released about the stadium project, although sources have said it is expected to be about 14,000 seats and go through the Community Bene ts Ordinance process, which suggests that some public nancing may be in play.

e men’s team made its national TV debut on CBS on Aug. 3, ending with a 1-1 draw in a USL Championship league match against Rhode Island in front of a crowd of nearly 6,900 on its home pitch. e tie gives both teams a total of 29 points in the USL Eastern Conference, putting Detroit City FC in seventh place and Rhode Island in eighth.

Mann told my Crain’s Detroit colleague Jay Davis in an email recently regarding the new stadium that the team “is moving ahead into the design and development phase ... ”

“In the coming weeks and

months, our focus groups will start at a grassroots level so we can determine what our fans and community members want to continue cultivating the most exciting soccer atmosphere in the United States,” Mann said.

Le Rouge — DCFC’s nickname — began playing at the 7,933-seat Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck at 3201 Roosevelt St. in 2016 under a 10-year lease with Hamtramck

state’s rst Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression, Crain’s reported in 2015 when the lease received approval from the Hamtramck school board.

Prior to the 2016 season, DCFC played at Cass Technical High School’s 2,500-seat stadium for four seasons, Crain’s reported in 2015.

“DCFC has acquired the parcels necessary for the stadium site. The club looks forward to initiating a public process around the project in the coming months.”

Sean Mann, Detroit City FC co-founder and CEO

Public Schools that expires Sept. 30, 2025. e lease is for $1 per year. In 2016, DCFC raised more than $700,000 to invest in improvements to Keyworth, including lighting, bleachers, locker rooms and restrooms.

A team spokesperson said in mid-May that a lease extension is in place that allows DCFC to continue using Keyworth until the new stadium is built.

Keyworth was opened by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 as the

DCFC plays in the Tampa, Fla.based USL Championship league, the professional soccer league ranked under Major League Soccer by the United States Soccer Federation, the sport’s governing body in the U.S. e team began playing in that league in 2022.

e team was founded in 2012, two years after Mann founded the Detroit City Futbol League — a co-ed recreational league — that began playing on Belle Isle in 2010. Mann then recruited four friends as co-founders of the team.

In addition to its use of Keyworth Stadium, DCFC also has physical footprints in downtown Detroit, with a Capitol Park merchandise store and ticket shop, as well as in the Elmwood Park neighborhood, where it has the Detroit City Fieldhouse on Lafayette west of Mount Elliott.

5-hour Energy founder shuts down TV stations

Nick Manes

Metro Detroit businessman Manoj Bhargava has shut down the television news network for which he once had big plans after just two years of ownership.

Bhargava, the founder of energy drink company 5-hour Energy, acquired Farmington Hills-based NewsNet — a 24-hour news channel available through traditional broadcasting networks and on streaming services like Roku — in 2022, as Crain’s reported at the time. In late 2022 the company also launched a sports television news network.

e company announced Aug. 2 that both networks would shut down permanently, resulting in the layo s of 80 employees.

A lack of dedicated audience was the reason for the ceasing of operations, according to Bhargava.

“We believed people would want to watch a clean, non-bias news network, but we were wrong,” Bhargava, owner of par-

ent company Bridge Media, said in a statement sent to Crain’s. “Without a large audience, we just couldn’t continue to lose money. We hired the best people and talent, and we appreciate their hard work and e ort. But we just couldn’t continue.”

Both networks, which were part of Bhargava’s Bridge News LLC, were free ad-supported channels that were viewable over the air on 150 U.S. stations and over 35 digital streaming TV services, according to the release. At the time the network began ramping up operations more than two years ago, Bhargava cited rising advertising costs for his energy drink brand as the major impetus for acquiring the stations.

“For me, it’s more of a media company than a news company,” Bhargava said at the time. e closure of the stations comes while Bhargava remains embroiled in multiple lawsuits tied to his attempts to acquire the majority stake in the parent company of Sports Illustrated.

Manoj Bhargava

Lawmakers must act to help small businesses

Michigan’s highest court has handed our lawmakers an extremely hot potato — one set to a ect most Michigan businesses one way or another, and small businesses the most.

e state Supreme Court’s ruling July 31 on a tactic used on a 2018 ballot issue raising the minimum wage, eliminating the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, and adding paid sick time requirements has businesses sounding the warning bells about the sudden impact they’ll feel when the ruling takes e ect next February.

e Democrat-controlled Legislature must take action to blunt the impact of the court’s move on businesses large and small. Many of them know the e ects will be dire. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a month ago signaled she was concerned about the potential impact of the ruling.

e increase in minimum wage is something businesses could likely absorb if it hadn’t applied in ation adjustments retroactively. at decision will have businesses absorbing several years of high ination all at once.

e rise in tipped wages is perhaps even more impactful. It’s not even clear that most tipped workers want the change, which would threaten to change tipping culture and make their jobs just another minimum-wage job, rather than rewarding excellence.

e change to the tip credit and a new

COMMENTARY

requirement that even very small businesses o er paid sick time o is a doublewhammy, especially on service industries like restaurants.

Even businesses that already o er more paid time o than the law requires will wind up stuck with new requirements to separately account for sick time. Many will just separate o a week of vacation and label those “sick days,” e ectively costing some employees time they used to use as vacation.

As a matter of law, we don’t disagree with the court that adopting a citizen-

initiated ballot issue and then immediately changing it before it even takes e ect goes against the spirit of Michigan’s initiative law. And the court rightly went along with what voters signaled they wanted back in 2018.

But the way the court went about applying that law creates the kind of sudden change in business conditions that even the ballot proposal’s authors sought to avoid by using a phased-in approach.

Although cries from the restaurant industry about “Armageddon” might be a little overblown, one thing is certain — the

move will raise operators’ costs, and they’ll pass those costs on to their customers. And the weakest operators won’t make it.

Whitmer told Crain’s in May that she was watching out for the ruling with an eye toward making sure it didn’t hit businesses too hard.

“We want to make sure that we live up to the spirit of the intent of the people. We also want to make sure that our small businesses can survive,” Whitmer told Crain’s in an interview at the Mackinac Policy Conference. ere’s going to be a lot of work to do in a very short period of time on this front with big rami cations for people.”

She sure had that right.

Democrats will be under great pressure from their labor constituency to let the ruling stand as delivered. But Whitmer and others know very well that it’s a pill that many Michigan small businesses won’t be able to swallow all at once.

Even though the changes don’t take effect until next February, it would be a mistake for legislators to operate like there is time to spare. ere will be a strong temptation to wait to address the issue until after the November elections.

We see no need to wait that long. It would make the lame-duck session into yet another game of chicken while businesses are trying to make plans for the year ahead — including hiring plans. Every day that goes by is another day of uncertainty.

Pharmacy bene ts must be protected in Michigan

The need for access to affordable and quality health care for all residents is something that is always top of mind as Midland’s representative in the Michigan House of Representatives. I have had conversations with neighbors, friends and constituents that now, especially in our high-in ation times, the costs of health care are becoming more and more burdensome on working families, retirees and people just starting out in life.

have co-sponsored legislation that helps more young people go into emergency health services professions like EMS and paramedic school.

In addition to the personal costs, businesses that provide insurance bene ts are feeling the burden of increased costs of prescriptions. Average costs for U.S. employers that pay for their employees’ health care will increase 8.5 percent to more than $15,000 per employee in 2024, according to Aon plc.

roughout my term, I’ve strived to ensure that people in Midland and Gladwin Counties can access and a ord quality health care. at’s why I have led on legislation to help lower costs and increase quality when it comes to health care. I’ve worked on legislation that helps hospitals address nurse sta ng shortages by allowing nurses licensed to practice in 41 other states to practice here in Michigan and

Another aspect of getting control of health care costs is what each of us pay at the pharmacy for prescriptions. Working to manage the costs of pharmacy bene ts is critical for businesses to be able to provide health care to employees. Out of control prescription costs can drive up the cost for insuring employees to the point where a business is overwhelmed with the cost of coverage.

I believe Michigan employers strive to provide their employees with the best possible health insurance they can a ord — and that they should have the freedom to choose the pharmacy bene ts that are right for them. In July, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra spent a few hours in Michigan to make his stance known — and playing favorites with public policy. e purpose of this trip was to weigh in and interfere with how a business is run, leading us down a road to limited options and one-size ts all systems that don’t work for anyone. When national politicians get involved, we all seem to lose.

My focus is Michigan, not national poli-

tics, and I’ll continue working to protect how pharmacy bene ts are managed and encourage my colleagues to do the same. Research shows that negotiated pharmacy bene ts save patients 40% to 50% on prescription drugs and related costs.

With negotiated prices for prescription drugs, managing pharmacy bene ts can save a family of four $4,000 annually. In fact, over the next decade, pharmacy bene ts will likely save the state of Michigan a staggering $8.4 billion. Pharmacy bene ts also help businesses control the cost of o ering employees and their families high-quality, a ordable health coverage. Additionally, when pharmacy

bene ts are negotiated, it makes health care more accessible in our state by providing services such as prescription home delivery, which is especially crucial for senior Michiganders in the rural parts of my district. With the cost of daily living increasing, many hardworking families struggle to make ends meet and often face the choice between buying groceries or medication. Pharmacy bene ts help all Michiganders access quality health care, put food on the table, and have peace of mind. at’s why I’m asking my colleagues to work with me to protect pharmacy bene ts. It’s the right thing to do — for our economy and our communities.

State Rep. Bill Schuette is a Republican from Midland.

The pay scale for tipped workers could change in February if the state Legislature doesn’t act. | NIC ANTAYA

Foundation leaders stress relationship-building for success

By Sherri Welch

Leaders of corporate, private and community foundations gathered July 31 to talk about the landscape of giving amid their own economic realities and the increased demand for basic needs assistance.

But again and again, they returned to stress the importance of collaboration happening in the sector overall and the need for nonpro ts to build relationships beyond the transactional with foundations to move their work forward.

e inaugural Crain’s Detroit Business Philanthropy Summit drew more than 350 nonpro t and philanthropic leaders for the conversation at the Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth. e sold-out event included a keynote address from Rachel Decker, founder and president of fundraising consultancy Detroit Philanthropy LLC. Decker stressed, among other things, the importance of looking beyond the dollars and cents in philanthropy to the humanity at its core. She also gave voice to the nonpro t sector in a call for more general operating support.

On the demand front, the need for basic needs assistance has risen with the expiration of pandemic-era public bene ts and ongoing economic pressures, said Darienne Hudson, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the moderator of the panel, “Corporate Philanthropy — New Realities, New Strategies.”

According to the 2024 update to the ALICE Report for the asset-limited, income-constrained and employed population in the state released by the Michigan Association of United Ways in June, 1.6 million of Michigan’s 4 million residents, or 40%, struggled to a ord the basics like housing, child care, food, transportation and health care in 2022.

“When you start to drill down in our region in southeastern Michigan it’s 42%, Wayne County where we are tonight it’s 52%, the city of Detroit is 69%. I think all of us can agree that that’s not acceptable,” Hudson said. “We’re also still seeing an uptick in our turn. Since 2020, we’re actually up 40% from

where we were before the pandemic was, 750 calls per day. So the questions that we’re going to be asking, the conversation that we’re having, it really is mission critical on the face of this need, how are we addressing these shifts? How are we managing partnerships?”

Corporate foundations are funded by their related companies, said Rodney Cole, president of DTE Energy Foundation and DTE Corporate Citizenship. “When you see economic challenges that face corporations, the foundation is not insulated from that ... whatever corporations are dealing with, we feel it downstream,” he said. “So for us, it’s been very important to really double down on our priorities and double down on meeting the needs of the communities that we serve, despite whatever economic challenges might be out there.”

DTE Energy Foundation’s funding priority areas include arts and culture, education and employment, environment, basic human needs, economic progress and community transformation. With the increase in demand for basic needs assistance in the region and state, DTE has had to gure out how to manage within a budget to help meet the increased need, he said.

“It’s been challenging because you don’t just create money ... resources to go to priority areas have to come on the backside of di cult decisions. And so we have to do that,” Cole said.

Ford Motor Co. understands that “when times are tough, that’s when people need us the most,” said Mary Culler, president of the Dearborn-based automaker’s giving arm, Ford Philanthropy. “We saw that during the pandemic. And during these times, we have to really gure out what can we bring to the table that really provides the most help. We can’t do everything.”

Ford’s foundation directs its grants to essential services, educa-

tion and entrepreneurship and coordinates the Ford Volunteer Corps in the community.

“And we do something that’s really essential, which is we bring mobility to people,” Culler said. “One of the things we’ve learned in the last few years is that mobility is the No. 1 way to get people out of poverty.”

Ford learned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people could not go out for food and needed services, she said.

“Frankly, it’s been a huge shift for us as a corporate philanthropy to, frankly, do what we do best, which is to bring our innovation and mobility to solve some of these problems,” she said.

Rocket Community Fund is also leveraging its expertise and strengths to help the community, said Laura Grannemann, executive director of Rocket Community Fund and the Gilbert Family Foundation.

“What we’ve tried to do is create some clear lanes that allowed the business Rocket to impact the community in unique ways that only Rocket Companies could do, and then have the Gilbert Family Foundation really add to that,” she said.

One key area in which it’s doing that is its work to prevent Detroiters who are at risk of eviction or tax foreclosure from being displaced from their homes. It does that through direct outreach, knocking on doors to reach out to about 60,000 Detroit families at risk and doing targeted engagement with nonpro ts that can help the foundation connect directly to those populations, she said.

“It’s a really beautiful connection

to allow our team members to directly impact the outcome of residents of the city of Detroit and be able to support them through some really di cult times in their life, especially as they go through things like applying for a complex property tax exemption,” Grannemann said. “Our team members are sort of uniquely suited to be able to help someone in that circumstance.”

“We’ve seen some really tangible wins,” including a 95% decrease from about 15,000 foreclosures in 2015, the peak of the foreclosure crisis in the city, she said.

“It’s certainly not just because of Rocket Companies or the Gilbert Family Foundation ... it’s been a huge collaborative e ort,” Grannemann said. “A way that philanthropy can show up is often by creating those connections between Detroit residents and nonpro ts or even some of our public institutions like the city or the county to help, really advocate based on the data and the engagement that we’re doing on the ground.”

e Gilbert Family Foundation builds on those e orts by working to help Detroit residents thrive in their homes and community with additional investments in public space arts and culture and economic mobility, Grannemann said.

“It is a unique position for me because while there are some challenging times economically that do impact Rocket Companies ... we as a team have been fortunate to then be able to couple that with a private family foundation that has been so generous in the last few years,” she said.

Foundation leaders gather for a panel discussion at the Crain’s Detroit Business Philanthropy Summit on July 31 at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth. From left: Moderator Darienne Hudson, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan; Laura Grannemann, executive director of Rocket Community Fund and the Gilbert Family Foundation; Nicole Sherard-Freeman, COO of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan; Mary Culler, president of Ford Philanthropy; and Rodney Cole, president of DTE Energy Foundation and DTE Corporate Citizenship. BRETT MOUNTAIN

Not all metro Detroit malls

are

losing customers. This one’s growing

the most.

cellphone data shows how foot traf c at shopping centers is changing as purchasing habits shift

A shopping mall’s performance can be measured in a lot of ways.

Net operating income, vacancy rates, sales per square foot.

Yet in another key way, metro Detroit’s best performing shopping mall isn’t actually a mall at all — although it used to be one more than two decades ago.

e open-air Village of Roches-

ter Hills shopping center, in the two-and-a-half years between January 2022 and June 2024, saw only one month of year-over-year foot tra c decline — and even in January 2024, it was down just 0.1% from January 2023, according to Placer.ai data provided to Crain’s.

Overall tra c was up 38.8% in 2023 compared to 2021, and 11.1% last year compared to 2022. e rst six months of this year com-

pared to January through June last year? A 9.2% rise.

Purely on a foot tra c level — Placer.ai uses cellphone and other device data to make its estimations — it outperformed even luxury shopping mainstays like Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Somerset Collection in Troy.

e 375,000-square-foot Village of Rochester Hills was redeveloped by Robert B. Aikens & Asso-

ciates LLC. It was formerly the indoor Meadowbrook Village Mall but reopened after a “de-malling” in 2002 in a $90 million e ort.

Crain’s requested comment from Aikens & Associates on July 29.

Several enclosed malls face declining visitors

e Village of Rochester Hills

is an outlier.

The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township and Somerset Collection in Troy paced behind it, notching just eight and nine months, respectively, since January 2022 during which they had negative year-overyear foot traffic.

Others haven’t fared nearly as well.

Five malls around the region

The Village of Rochester Hills has the best foot traf c data, per Placer.ai, out of a dozen or so of the region’s enclosed shopping malls and open-air malls and lifestyle centers. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

Placer.ai

Left: Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights is owned by Miami, Fla.-based Out of the Box Ventures LLC. Right: Great Neck, N.Y.-based Kohan Retail Investment Group bought Fairlane Town Center mall in Dearborn in April 2023 for $52 million. | PHOTOS BY COSTAR GROUP INC.INC.

Kirk Pinho

— Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Twelve Oaks in Novi, Southland Center in Taylor and Westland Center in Westland — saw negative year-over-year foot tra c in at least 15 of the 30 months for which Placer.ai provided data.

All except Twelve Oaks have seen substantial changes — generally not for the better — since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020.

Lakeside Mall

e writing had been on the wall for Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights.

In October 2022, it became public that the mall’s Florida-based owner planned to raze it and build a new town center-type mixed-use development with thousands of units of housing plus retail, o ce and hotel space.

Even leading up to that, however, mall foot tra c had been plummeting at rates not seen at other malls around the region.

Between January 2022 and June 2024, foot tra c fell year-overyear in 26 of those 30 months, according to Placer.ai data, with 20 of those 26 months falling by double digits.

e mall shuttered for good June 30, marking the end of the

nearly 50-year-old mall that was developed by the late A. Alfred Taubman and Rodamco, opening in 1976. It expanded in 1990. A roughly $1 billion mixed-use development is planned to take its place.

Last year’s foot tra c fell by

“It’s part of the bigger story in retail, obviously, which is that there is a generational shift in habits. We are in a time where shopping is not just necessity. It’s leisure and it’s a pastime.”

Allison

14.5% compared to 2021 and by 26.2% compared to 2022. e rst half of this year was down 8.9% from the rst half of 2023, according to Placer.ai.

at’s no surprise to Allison Green eld, chief development ofcer of Lionheart Capital, whose subsidiary, Out of the Box Ventures LLC, has owned the mall

since 2019 when it paid $26.2 million for it. She is also principal of a liate company Leviathan Development.

“It was in decline year after year, probably from before we got there,” Greenfield said. “Those numbers are further evidence of what we already know, which is that these are amazing pieces of land in wonderful communities. There is a way to see them transform and become something new. But what they were in the past is almost like a nostalgia. With that nostalgia, we use those memories and architecture and how it was laid out to inform our moving forward.”

“It’s part of the bigger story in retail, obviously, which is that there is a generational shift in habits,” Green eld continued. “We are in a time where shopping is not just necessity. It’s leisure and it’s a pastime. erefore, the amount of square footage we’ve seen for malls in the past is no longer necessary … I think it was happening before we got there.”

Fairlane Town Center

A previous Fairlane Town Center owner, Miami Beach, Fla.based Starwood Capital Group, fell behind on a $161 million commercial mortgage-backed securi-

ties loan and the mall was sent into receivership.

It was then purchased out of receivership by Dallas-based Centennial Real Estate, along with partners New York Citybased Waterfall Asset Management LLC and fellow Dallasbased real estate company Cawley Partners, in May 2022, but then less than a year later sold it to Great Neck, N.Y.-based Kohan Retail Investment Group for $52 million in April 2023.

Kohan then fell behind on

property taxes and received power shut-o notices for nonpayment of its utility bills — both of which are common occurrences at Kohan-owned malls around the country. e company has been described as a “mall scavenger.”

Foot tra c fell year-over-year in 16 of the 30 months, and fell 3.2% last year compared to 2021, and 3.6% last year compared to 2022, according to Placer.ai.

See MALLS on Page 10

Green eld, chief development of cer of Lionheart Capital

The Southland Center shopping mall in Taylor COSTAR GROUP INC.

Westland Mayor Kevin Coleman said the city has been meeting with what he described as “interested parties,” with the goal of bringing in new uses at the Westland Mall site.  COSTAR GROUP INC.

Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi COSTAR GROUP INC.

Foot tra c is also down 10.3% in the rst half of this year compared to the rst six months of 2023.

An email was sent to Kohan on July 29 seeking comment on the foot tra c data.

Twelve Oaks

Twelve Oaks, generally considered one of the region’s best performing and most stable malls, is owned by The Taubman Realty Group LLC, the successor of Taubman Centers Inc. following a sale to Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group. The mall is about 1.5 million square feet and opened in August 1977.

Foot tra c dropped in half of the 30 months year-over-year, according to Placer.ai. It dipped 1.5% in 2023 compared to 2021, and 0.8% last year compared to 2022. However, foot tra c is up 4% in the rst half of this year compared to last year.

An email was sent to a Taubman spokesperson seeking comment on July 29.

Southland Center

Southland Center in Taylor has seen better days.

Just last month, Crain’s reported that the shopping center on Eureka Road had hit the market for sale following a default on a $78.75 million 2012 CMBS loan from Barclays.

Although net operating income has increased the last several years — rising from $9.17 million in 2021 to $9.69 million in 2022 and $9.74 million last year — the mall has plunged in value, falling from $114.4 million at the time the loan was issued to just $64.9 million less than a year ago, not much more than the current loan balance of about $61.4 million.

Foot tra c hasn’t fared well, either. In 19 of the last 30 months, foot tra c year over year has fallen, according to Placer.ai. It also dropped 3.1% last year compared

to 2021, 2.5% last year compared to 2022 and is down 2.2% in the rst half of this year compared to the rst half of 2023, Placer.ai says.

An email was sent to a Brookeld spokesperson seeking comment on July 29.

Westland Center

e city of Westland has been evaluating what to do with Westland Center, its namesake.

e mall opened in 1965 and the city of Westland, once Nankin Township, changed its name after its beloved new mall after incorporating as a city in 1966.

But it has been struggling as of late.

In 21 of the 30 months Placer.ai tracked, there was negative yearover-year foot tra c. And foot tra c dropped by 5.3% last year compared to 2021, while it fell 1% last year compared to 2022. In the rst half of this year, foot tra c is down 9.3% compared to the rst six months of 2023.

An email was sent to Great Neck, N.Y.-based Namdar Realty Group, which owns Westland Center.

Mayor Kevin Coleman said July 30 that the city has been meeting with what he described as “interested parties” that may be interested in partnering with Namdar on a redevelopment or sale of the mall, with the goal of bringing in new uses such as housing, restaurants, open spaces and other commercial uses.

“Nothing solid yet,” Coleman said. “We realize that the mall model has changed, such that higher-end malls are still doing OK but mid-level malls are struggling.”

“We are trying to get Namdar to negotiate and work with these folks to kind of reimagine the property,” Coleman said. “What we are looking for is more density there. It’s valuable land.”

In early 2023, a previous mayor called the mall “absolute garbage right now,” pointing to what he described as poor lighting, little security and other things showing that the mall was in decline.

The Village of Rochester Hills shopping center, in the two-and-a-half years between January 2022 and June 2024, saw only one month of year-over-year foot traf c decline.

New apartment complex could land near downtown Royal Oak

By Nick Manes

New plans have emerged to build a 158-unit apartment building just east of Royal Oak’s central business district.

Documents filed with the Royal Oak Planning Commission ahead of an Aug. 13 meeting outline the plans by Champion Development Group LLC to develop a five-story building

robust Downtown Royal Oak City Center.”

The roughly 2-acre property is owned by William Crook Fire Protection, and the planning documents say the current industrial use of the parcels is “nonconforming” with city zoning for the area. The developers of the proposed Lincoln Place project seek a special land use permit and site plan approval.

“We know people want to be in Royal Oak, and we have faith in that. And having density allows us to operate in these conditions.”

Michael Nadolski, chief operating of cer of Champion Development

north of Lincoln Avenue between Troy and Main streets.

The Royal Oak-based developers would demolish a handful of existing buildings on the site to make way for the Lincoln Place project, per the Planning Commission documents.

“We have been looking at the 211 East Lincoln Ave. property for a while, and an opportunity to enter into a purchase agreement with the present long-time property owners has recently presented itself,” Champion Development Chief Operating Officer Michael Nadolski wrote in a letter to planning commissioners. “This proposed development will provide an opportunity to convert a decades old small manufacturing facility into another attractive residential property close to the

Depending on the approval process and weather, a groundbreaking for the estimated $45 million-$55 million project could take place by the end of the year, or be pushed into 2025, Nadolski said, adding that he expects a construction period of roughly 19 months.

All of the 158 units would be market rate and rents are yet to be determined, Nadolski told Crain’s on Aug. 2. e developer also owns the nearby Billings Place apartment building — along the west side of Main Street just north of 11 Mile Road — which opened in 2021.

Plans call for studio apartments and up to three-bedroom units, with the majority of the units being a studio or one-bedroom.

At Billings Place, which has 65 units, one-bedroom units start at around $2,300 per month and two-bedrooms start at about $3,000. Rents go up somewhat depending on which floor and view.

Amenities for the proposed Lincoln Place development include exterior sitting areas, barbecue areas, a dog walk and

an indoor fitness center.

At Lincoln Place, the developers aim to provide a total of 214 enclosed parking spaces. That would equal about 1.35 parking spaces per dwelling, just below the required 1.5 spaces that the zoning code calls for. The planning commission documents, however, note that many other residential projects approved in the past have had parking ratios below what the ordinance calls for.

Nadolski also touched on the parking aspect in his letter to the city included in the Planning Commission documents.

“From our direct experience within the Royal Oak market at Billings Place, combined with our marketing knowledge and experience, we have designed our parking solution to match the actual needs of the population of our building,” Nadolski wrote, adding that providing 1.5 spaces per unit “would produce an excessive parking count for the building.”

Apartment construction broadly has dropped sharply in recent years, according to a Red n report. Indeed, Nadolski pointed to lengthy and expensive preconstruction costs, as well as the cost of construction being up roughly 30% in the past few years.

The proposed size of the Lincoln Place development, however, is what makes the project economically feasible, Nadolski said.

“We know people want to be in Royal Oak, and we have faith in that,” the developer told Crain’s. “And having density allows us to operate in these conditions.”

Developers plan to build the 158-unit Lincoln Place apartment project on a site near downtown Royal Oak. | KRIEGER KLATT ARCHITECTS

e cuts are being made to protect balance sheets amid lessthan-anticipated demand for EVs in North America, but they could jeopardize some of the progress made over the past three years, industry experts say. U.S. automakers are leaning on suppliers more than ever in their quest to make a ordable EVs and secure a long-term future.

“I think the risk is we lose that momentum in EVs and software that we’ve been doing for the last three years to get to where we are today to be able to launch the EVs,” Collin Shaw, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers group at the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, told Crain’s at an industry event.

“I fear we take a pause and that, globally, the rest of the world continues that investment. You look at China speci cally, that’s a risk for us.”

Risk has been a central topic at this year’s Center for Automotive Research Management Brie ng Seminars in Traverse City, an annual gathering of industry experts. While the Detroit 3 automakers grapple with the risk of fast-rising Chinese automakers, suppliers are weighing the risk that their investments may never pay o .

ere’s strong consensus now that burning cash on EV-related R&D in the North American market

would be unwise. Restraint on capital spending and returning cash to shareholders are the favored nancial policies for suppliers for now, as recent quarterly reports show.

“It’s important we position ourselves for the trends in our industry and the challenges that our customers are dealing with,” Aptiv CEO Kevin Clark said on a recent call with investment analysts. “As we look at some of those slowdowns, we have scaled back investment in certain areas, in areas like high voltage electri cation, in areas like smart vehicle architecture. We haven’t completely stopped, but slowed.”

Aptiv, which has its North American headquarters in Troy, cut 1,000 salaried employees this year as part of a global headcount reduction.

Magna, a major employer in Southeast Michigan, is also consolidating.

“ is year alone we are taking actions at more than 40 divisions to restructure, consolidate or wind down operations,” Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri said on a recent earnings call.

e nancial strains and risks of the past three years have tested automaker-supplier relations, spilling into pricing disputes that in the most extreme cases have turned into lawsuits.

Automakers such as Ford Motor Co., which issued a “call to action” to suppliers earlier this year, are demanding cost reductions from suppliers and pressing them for EV solutions at the same time.

Speaking at the CAR MBS event Aug. 7, General Motors Co. President Mark Reuss said the automaker’s success is tied to a healthy relationship with suppliers, and he underscored the importance of strong R&D activity in the U.S.

“We’re in it together,” Reuss said. “We have got to win and make things that win globally. It’s important for our company. It’s important for our national security that we have the R&D, the industry, the supply base and the markets that lead the world. If we aren’t doing that here, it’s going somewhere else.”

Partnerships are forming up in the supply chain, from the OEMs down, in unprecedented ways as companies look to defray capital risks and accelerate product development, said Neal Ganguli, automotive adviser at global consulting rm AlixPartners. ree or four years ago, suppliers of all types were throwing money at EVs, inspired by government incentives and bullish forecasts on how EV sales would grow.

“Now the buck is changing direction, so the suppliers are retooling, rethinking their spend,” Ganguli said. “Is the advancement of the overall technology in the United States going to slow? Potentially.” e EV pullback should not be confused with where experts agree the market will eventually go. at’s why R&D investing, from EV powertrains and thermal systems to software, is more important now than ever, Ganguli said.

Seating supplier to cut jobs in Detroit

By Kurt Nagl

Bridgewater Interiors LLC is planning to lay o 63 employees at its Detroit plant after Stellantis NV discontinues the Ram 1500 Classic.

e seating supplier said it expects to make the permanent cuts by the end of September, according to a WARN notice led with the state July 29.

Impacted employees, represented by UAW Local 600, will be paid earned wages and fringe bene ts once terminated, the ling said.

Chris Feuell, CEO of the Ram brand, con rmed that the automaker would be ending production of its popular, half-ton pickup truck on sale since 2009. e Ram 1500 Classic boasts di erent features than its redesigned counterpart, perhaps most noticeably the early-generation Ram logo on its grill, and is generally priced lower.

“ e Ram 1500 Classic has been a great entry point pickup for Ram and the Tradesman model has certainly represented the needs of our commercial truck customers,” Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tin-

son said in an email. “With the introduction of the Tradesman trim on the new Ram 1500 for 2024 model year, we bid farewell to the previous generation and remind customers that the HEMIpowered Ram 1500 Classic will sell into 2025.”

e Ram 1500 Classic is produced at Warren Truck Assembly alongside the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs. Stellantis said a month ago it would temporarily lay o 1,600 workers at Warren Truck “to align production with sales.”

Bridgewater declined to comment on its plan for layo s when Ram 1500 Classic ends production this fall.

Crain’s left a message seeking comment from UAW Local 600.

Stellantis will end production of the Ram Classic this fall. AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN OAKLAND COUNTY CRAIN’S LIST

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com|ThislistisrankedbynumberofemployeesinOaklandCountyandencompassesallemployers,regardlessofwheretheyareheadquartered.Numberof full-timeemployeesmayincludefull-timeequivalents(FTE).CompanieswithheadquarterselsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmainDetroit-areaof ce.GeneralMotorsCo. declinedtoprovidecurrentcounty-level guresthisyear.TheU.S.PostalService,whichwasNo.14onlastyear'slist,didnotrespondbeforepublication.Thisisnotacompletelistingbutthemost comprehensiveavailable.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.NAmeansnotavailable. e. Crain'sestimate. 1. BeaumontHealthandSpectrumHealthmergedasan integratedhealthsystemwiththetemporarynameBHSHHealthonFeb.1,2022.RebrandedasCorewellHealthinOctober2022. 2. AsofJanuary2023. 3. AsofJanuary. 4. Totalcompanyemployment asofDec.31,2022,accordingtoSECForm10-K. 5. EstimatebasedonnumbersfromMWPVLInternationalInc. 6. IncludesTrinityHealthIHAMedicalGroup. 7. FigureisFTEcountfromtheCenterfor EducationalPerformanceandInformation. 8. AsofJuly2022. 9. Privateequity rmAtlasHoldingsLLCannouncedonApril25,2023,thatithadagreedtobuyU.S.FarathaneLLCfromtheGoresGroup investment rm. 10. SucceededAndrewGreenlee,effectiveMarch1. 11. IncludesnumbersforMcLarenOaklandhospital. 12. FormerlyFlagstarBancorpInc.TheacquisitionbyNewYorkCommunity Bancorp Inc. was completed on Dec. 1, 2022. 13. Company estimate. 14. Plans to retire at end of 2024.

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

Region’s largest career exploration event coming to Novi this fall

Hands-on activities introduce high school students to hundreds of in-demand jobs

By Joe St. Henry, MiCareerQuest Southeast

Anticipation is building for MiCareerQuest Southeast, taking place on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

Seven thousand students and teachers from more than 100 Metro Detroit high schools will be participating in Southeast Michigan’s largest career exploration event that day.

Now in its fourth year, MiCareerQuest Southeast is not your typical career fair, where attendees come with resumes and employers share open positions. No promotional signage or paper is allowed onsite.

e event’s interactive environment is what really makes it unique. e 400,000-square-foot show oor is full of activities designed to engage students with employers.

is includes construction and truck driving simulators, opportunities to build walls and climb steel girders, give shots, perform surgeries, experience virtual reality, code

so ware, design automobiles, test water samples and program industrial robots. Students even have the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of a real airplane.

“ ere are other career awareness events out there, but they don’t provide hands-on opportunities like MiCareerQuest Southeast,” said Hernando Flowers, construction rm Barton Malow’s workforce development manager. “ ey really open the eyes of the average student who may not realize all of the jobs and careers available at any given company.”

Amy Jones, Schoolcra College’s senior director of workforce development, concurs and said the school did not hesitate to get involved this year.

“We work with young people all the time and nd they respond the best

and is well worth the investment,” said MUST Co-Chair Donna Pardonnet.

“ e blend of hands-on activities, the variety of employers and exhibits gives students a real-world introduction to career pathways they may not otherwise experience.”

Matrix Human Services participated in the event last year to showcase in-demand teaching careers. Talent Acquisition Coordinator Kathy McClain said the event exceeded their expectations and they are expanding their presence into medical careers.

“We knew it would be big, but it wasn’t until we saw just how many people were involved that it hit us,” she said. “It was so exciting to see the students making their way through the quadrant, asking so many questions about possible careers.”

“You can feel the energy when students arrive and employers feed o of it.”

- Jennifer Llewellyn, Manager, Oakland County Workforce Development

by engaging them with hands-on activities,” she said. “We’ve heard so much about this amazing event that exposes thousands of young people to career opportunities. We’re excited to participate.”

Last year, more than 120 employers brought 1,000 volunteers to sta MiCareerQuest Southeast and share the skills needed to succeed in 200 di erent career paths.

“You can feel the energy when students arrive and the exhibitors feed o of it,” said Jennifer Llewellyn, manager of Oakland County Workforce Development.

MUST (Management & Union Serving Together), made up of construction employers and building/construction trade unions, was an exhibitor and presenting sponsor last year.

“MiCareerQuest Southeast is one of the strongest career exploration events for employers in the region

More than 90 percent of last year’s exhibitors who completed a post-event survey said MiCareerQuest Southeast was an e ective way to showcase their industries to the future workforce.

“ e diversity of careers on display and unique format really gives the students and educators a great chance to connect with the employers,” said Drew Shemenski, president of Wenzel America, whose exhibit highlights metrology careers. “ e people sta ng the booths share real-life experiences in doing the jobs.”

e region’s shortage of skilled workers prompted the Michigan Works! agencies in southeast Michigan, led by Oakland County, to develop MICareerQuest Southeast. is year, eight MiCareerQuest events are taking place across the state. e Novi event is one of the largest, attracting students from six counties.

Students rotate through four career quadrants during their two-hour

visit: advanced manufacturing, construction, health sciences and technology. Each quadrant features 20-25 employers, unions and education partners, highlighting their most in-demand jobs. e day is divided into three sessions with up to 2,500 students in each. Employers are urged to bring energetic sta comfortable working with teenagers.

“MiCareerQuest Southeast is fun, but it will test your stamina,” Barton Malow’s Flowers said. “ e kids come through fast and furious, engaged and ready to ask questions. It’s great to see the students so excited, with light bulbs going o in their heads.”

Event organizers have been working with employers since April to ll the career quadrants. ere is still room for additional exhibitors. e standard space is 20x20, but many organizations request larger areas to accommodate vehicles and large pieces of equipment.

“MiCareerQuest Southeast can’t take place without our employers and partners,” Llewellyn said. “We recognize the commitment they’re making, so there is no charge for participating.”

Each exhibit includes large banners that highlight the careers being

showcased and the presenting organizations. e venue provides limited power and some furniture. Employees can bring additional equipment, or order it from the venue. Setup takes place on Nov. 18.

MiCareerQuest Southeast costs $300,000 to host. Sponsorships are available, providing opportunities for additional exposure on the event website, career quadrant archways, event signage, volunteer t-shirts and other locations onsite.

“It takes a full year to plan MiCareerQuest Southeast,” Llewellyn said. “We could not do it without our workforce, education, labor and government partners and, most importantly, the employers who step up to make this event so memorable for students.”

Join us as an exhibitor and/or sponsor today! Visit OakGov.com/ MiCareerQuestSE

Hundreds of in-demand careers are highlighted at MiCareerQuest Southeast, including PLC robotics technician.

Students enjoy interactive, hands-on activities at the event, including those led by skilled trades professionals.

Medical personnel work with students to share the skills needed to do the job, including how to intubate patients.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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

ACCOUNTING

Plante Moran

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Cinnaire

LEGAL

Quinn IP Law

Laurice Saba assumed the role of Plante Moran’s Auburn Hills of ce managing partner on July 1, 2024, where she’ll focus on developing and growing the rm’s Auburn Hills staff. She’ll also continue her work with Plante Moran’s 1031 practice, helping clients with deferred exchanges, transactions pertaining to partnership and S corporation structures, real estate taxation, and debt restructuring. Saba succeeds Donna Hanson, who joined the rm’s management team.

BENEFITS / INSURANCE

BeneSys, Inc.

BeneSys is pleased to announce that Jason Wolan has joined us as Chief Information Of cer in our Troy, MI headquarters and will be leading our Information Technology operations. Jason has 23 years of cross-functional technology experience, specializing in data strategy and strategic service improvements. In his new role he will be responsible for leveraging technology to enhance the third party administrative and software services we provide to our clients and their members.

SERVICES

Baird

Paul A. Noel, AAMS ® , CWS ®, brings over 25 years of experience to Baird’s Private Wealth Management in Ann Arbor. As Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor with the Mathey Mirabella Noel Group, he assists individuals, families and businesses in making personalized nancial decisions about their future. Noel earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Dayton. He currently resides in Livonia with his wife.

Ryan Robinson has been named President of Cinnaire Syndication to lead the organization’s LowIncome Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) business nancing affordable multi-family housing projects throughout the Midwest and MidAtlantic. He joined Cinnaire as an Asset Manager and, building upon his background in tax credit syndication, investor relations, and fund management, has since served as the VP of Fund Management, VP of Asset Management and most recently EVP of Operations and Risk Management.

INSURANCE / BROKERAGE

Marsh McLennan Agency

Gil Bromley joins Marsh McLennan Agency’s Michigan Employee Health & Bene ts practice as a Vice President based in Troy. Gil brings over 10 years of experience in insurance and nance, Gil takes a holistic approach to helping organizations reach their employee health and well-being goals. Gil focuses on companies in the non-pro t, transportation, professional services, and manufacturing spaces.

Fisher Phillips, an international labor and employment law rm, is pleased to announce that Kate Dedenbach has joined the rm as of counsel in its Detroit of ce.

An accomplished data privacy attorney, Kate served for more than a decade as the Chief Privacy Of cer of a diverse nancial services company. She helps clients – broker-dealers, regional banks, investment advisors and rms, auto dealers, and more – identify and mitigate privacy and data security risks.

Quinn IP Law announces the expansion of its services to include Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Law. We welcome Kenton Bednarz as the new Practice Lead. Kenton has a distinguished career spanning two decades, specializing in complex M&A transactions, corporate governance, and business advisory services. He has successfully guided numerous clients through intricate legal landscapes, ensuring their business objectives are met with precision and ef ciency.

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Feldman buys Livonia Chrysler dealership

By

New Hudson-based Feldman Automotive Group is expanding with the acquisition of a dealership in Livonia.

Livonia Chrysler Jeep at 30777 Plymouth Road has been renamed Feldman Chrysler Jeep of Livonia following the acquisition, which closed Aug. 1.

Feldman now owns and operates 21 automotive and RV/Airstream dealerships across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, including six with actor Mark Wahlberg in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

“Our mission at Feldman Automotive is to provide a rst-class buying and customer service experience at all our dealerships, and our team is excited to provide more brands to Livonia and the surrounding communities,” Jay Feldman, chairman and CEO of Feldman Automotive Group, said in a news release.

Before the acquisition, Livonia Chrysler Jeep was owned by Colleen McDonald, whose history with the dealership consisted of hard-fought and lengthy legal battles for ownership.

McDonald initially lost ownership of all three of her family’s dealerships — Century Dodge in Taylor, Holiday Chevrolet in Farmington Hills and the Livonia store — to the 2009 General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies, Automotive News reported in 2016.

McDonald regained ownership

of the Livonia Chrysler-Jeep dealership in August 2015 after taking her case against the closure to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Crain’s was unable to reach McDonald or the broker on the sale for comment about the Feldman acquisition.

Feldman declined to disclose terms of the deal, but said the 40 people across the sales and service departments will stay on.

“Feldman Automotive Group has retained the employees (of the Livonia store) and we are excited to welcome them to our dealership family, and to be part of the Feldman Automotive Group team,” Feldman told Crain’s via email.

e 37,000-square-foot fullservice dealership has 20 bays and an auto body shop. e location sells Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands.

Other Feldman Automotive Group stores that carry the same brands are in Woodhaven and Clarkston.

Feldman ranked No. 17 on Crain’s Fast 50 list of fastestgrowing companies last year due to its expansion over the past several years. It reported 2022 revenue of $1.669 billion.

Additional expansion could be in the future for the automotive group.

“ e Livonia dealership is our latest acquisition, and we are always actively pursuing new opportunities,” Feldman told Crain’s.

Commercial Alliance is a credit union service organization based in Troy, MI with a mission to empower businesses through strategic partnerships and unparalleled nancial support. The company has seen unprecedented growth since Scott Wolf s became CEO in 2022, and made the decision to seek out a larger of ce space to accommodate the addition of talented individuals to meet the increasing demand for their services. The of ce is located on Crooks Road in Troy.

By Anna Fifelski

Detroit advertising agency Commonwealth/McCann is laying o 56 employees in downtown Detroit following a decision by customer General Motors Co. to move some advertising work to other agencies.

Commonwealth/McCann gave notice of the layo s to the state in a memo dated July 31. e layo is anticipated to be permanent, the ling says. It will go into e ect on Oct. 1.

A representative for Commonwealth/McCann’s parent company, Interpublic Group, declined to comment on the layo s, but they come after a June announcement that General Motors Co. would scale back work with the ad agency, long known for its

work on the Chevrolet brand. Instead, the automaker chose to spread advertising work around to a number of agencies, including Stagwell agencies Anomaly and 72andSunny, both based in New York; as well as independent agencies Mother, based in New York, and Preacher, based in Austin, Texas.  Commonwealth/McCann currently employs about 450 people in its Detroit o ce.

Commonwealth/McCann is expected to retain some work, including Chevrolet campaigns in several markets outside the U.S., Ad Age has reported. e agency has handled Chevrolet since 2012. e layo s appear to largely target creative roles at Commonwealth/McCann.

Elizabeth Schanz

Feldman Chrysler Jeep of Livonia is at 30777 Plymouth Road. | FELDMAN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

CHRISTMAN

It involves everything from a hydraulic jacking system hoisting some of the property just a half-inch or so to employing centuries-old technologies to shape wood culled from the sprawling property’s grounds not far outside Washington, D.C.

e property has been owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association since Ann Pamela Cunningham founded the organization in 1853 and, after ve years of fundraising, bought the mansion and 200 acres for $200,000 in 1858. e organization took control of the property in 1860, just before the onset of the Civil War that ultimately resulted in the freeing of some 4 million slaves.

Of course, Mount Vernon’s — and Washington’s — history is complicated and re ective of the country’s. Not only was it home to the general who led the Continental Army against the British in a ght for freedom for the colonies, but that same person was also a slave owner. Washington had hundreds of them working across ve separate farms at Mount Vernon, although the 500 acres of the Mansion House Farm around the mansion was never used for mass crop production. ey also worked on a gristmill that produced up to 4 tons of our and cornmeal daily, and a whiskey distillery that made 11,000 gallons of the liquor in 1799, according to the property’s website.

Two centuries-plus later in 2018, architectural consultants were brought in to evaluate the building, and Mount Vernon came away with an idea of what work was needed. Christman, as they say, understood the assignment.   “ is is a place where nothing can go wrong. You cannot replace George Washington’s home,” Brad-

MARIJUANA

From Page 3

burn said.

“It is a place that’s been visited by Americans since the American Revolutionary War ended, to come and try to understand who we were as a people and what we are. It’s a place that’s iconic. It’s a place people recognize, even if they can’t name it. It is irreplaceable. It’s not just another important historic building — it is one of the most important historic buildings. ey very much, right away, understood the gravity of the challenge and were very sympathetic to solve problems around that.”

Some of the techniques used on the project today hearken back to when the association bought it — and even before.

Tom Whitmore, vice president of historic preservation based around the nation’s capital for Christman, described the work as “one of the most authentic preservation projects I’ve ever seen.”

Case in point: Some oak being used in the e ort is coming from the grounds of the Mount Vernon estate, which grew to a size of about 8,000 acres in the 18th century before shrinking to around the 500 or so acres today. e trees — which Bradburn described as the “great

Ohio has years to catch up to what we have built in Michigan.”

MARKET PLACE

e parking lots of the eight dispensaries clustered across the state line on Laplaisance Road o I-75 in Monroe Township were dominated by Ohio license plates. Of the roughly 139 cars in the dispensaries’ parking lots, 98 held Ohio plates. An additional 16 cars were from other states, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Iowa.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Quality Roots near downtown Monroe sold products to 208 customers between opening at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., CEO Aric Klar told Crain’s. Of those, 29 were from out of state.

Tuesday is typically the industry’s slowest sales day, Klar said, and outof-state buyers represent 25% of Quality Roots’ sales in Monroe.  Klar said the Ohio market will likely dent Quality Roots’ sales for the rst 30 days, but then pricing pressures will push Ohio customers back into Michigan.

REAL ESTATE

“After that, when the market understands how Ohio’s adult-use market is limited to customers, people will be right back to Michigan,” Klar said. “From price point to variety to brand identity. the state of

A customer from Ohio leaving Urb Cannabis in Monroe, who asked not to be identi ed, said he lived about the same distance from there and Rise Cannabis in Toledo, but opted to shop where he usually does and bypass what he expected would be long lines in Ohio. ere were not lines at Rise in Toledo.

Another customer at King of Budz, who also declined to reveal his identity, said Michigan’s low prices will keep him crossing the border for some time.

A half-ounce of Afternoon Delight, a marijuana strain grown by Green umb Industries in Toledo, costs $170 at its ve Rise stores in Ohio. A half-ounce of Quality Roots branded marijuana ower costs between $45 and $55 at its stores in Michigan, which would represent a discount on Michigan’s typical prices, which averaged $85.88 an ounce as of June 30.

And it’s likely prices will take some time to come down in Ohio as the market rolls out.

e Ohio Department of Cannabis Control received 230 applications for dual medical and recreational licenses and granted 226 provisional licenses for operators in

cellar, there was a kitchen for Washington’s slaves to serve the house — there was less deterioration, so the oor framing will primarily be restored rather than replaced, Whitmore said.

To partially replace and partially restore the oor frame, the mansion needs to be supported o its foundation, ever so slightly.

“It’s sort of like where we have to pull the tablecloth out from underneath the ower vases. It’s a lot easier if you can lift the ower vases up,” Whitmore said.

at’s where the hydraulic jack comes in, and last month was deployed — with not so much a bang but a whimper.

grandbabies” of the trees used to build the mansion — were felled a decade ago and have been stored in a shed since, giving the wood time to dry out and get in the right condition for use.

And you’d be forgiven if you are surprised by or unfamiliar with how the oak is being prepared — with adzes and pit saws, tools that were used around the time the mansion on the Potomac River was originally built in 1734 and added to later on, Whitmore said.

“ is is where we get into the philosophy of historic preservation,” Whitmore said. “On the one hand, you’re patching up an old building and repainting it so that it looks nice. On the other hand, the material in the building, the way it was done, philosophically is like a touchstone to the past. e more authentic you make it … it becomes more purely representative. In Mount Vernon’s case, it’s the beginning of American democracy.”

On the north end of the mansion, the oor framing work is more about replacement than restoration due to the extensive damage caused by termites and water. On the south end of the mansion — where in the

the state. e majority of those provisional licenses were issued to existing medical cannabis dispensaries.

at compares with nearly 1,100 marijuana licenses issued in Michigan. Ohio has nearly 1.8 million more residents.

In June alone, operators in Michigan sold more than $278.84 million worth of recreational and medical marijuana, according to data from the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency. rough June 30, sales have totaled nearly $1.63 billion on pace to sell more than $3.2 billion for the year.

Ohio sales, all medical marijuana, totaled $38.06 million in July, according to data from market analysis rm Headset.

Ohio’s recreational market is also hamstrung by an absence of recreational rules. Until those rules are nalized, operators must continue its medical marijuana rules. Among those rules is a combustible ban, meaning operators can’t sell preroll marijuana cigarettes, a popular category among customers, and marketing is more limited.

Even so, Kovler is bullish on the Ohio market.

“We know people go to Michigan to buy cannabis, but we also know Ohioans love Ohio marijuana,” Kov-

in the 18th century, removing the appearance of things like modern mechanical and electrical systems or smoke alarms.

It was in that cellar that recently archaeologists discovered across ve storage pits 35 glass bottles believed to be from 1740-50. Inside 29 of them, they found preserved cherries and berries believed to be either gooseberries or currants. ey were perhaps forgotten by Washington prior to heading o to lead the Continental Army, Bradburn said.

“We had a whole crowd of people that were there to watch. We told them, ‘ is is exciting because it allows for the structural portion of the job to go forward, but you’re not going to see anything.’”

An HVAC system dating back to the 1990s and nearing the end of its useful life is being replaced by a system that is much more nimble, Whitmore said. While the current system only has two “zones” — allowing for only a pair of di erent settings — the new system will have something like 20, allowing greater climate control, particularly given that the property faces east and gets “hammered by sunshine,” particularly in sweltering Virginia summers.

But replacing the HVAC system and increasing the number of “zones” requires much more extensive modern ductwork — which would be an odd thing to see in a home built nearly 300 years ago.

To hide the ductwork, a trench — at some places 8 feet deep below the cellar — is being dug that will allow the ductwork to go vertically through areas such as chimneys and closets that are not visible to the public, Whitmore said.

Last comes the cellar, which is going to be restored to a state as it was

ler said. “Our marijuana is grown in Ohio by Ohio people. It supports Ohio jobs. e state will continue to open up and grow signi cantly and that’s why we’re here.”

Kovler said Green umb Industries, which is traded on the OTC Market, a small securities stock ex-

“What’s more real than nding food that George Washington was eating, intact,” Whitmore said. “ at’s our cultural identity. at’s the stu you can touch and feel. And it smells like cherries.”

Christman is no stranger to complicated projects at complicated properties.

e company was instrumental in Ford Motor Co.’s redevelopment of Michigan Central Station, which, among other things, required the reopening of a long-closed Indiana quarry to get a speci c kind of limestone. e building reopened to the public in June following a yearslong redevelopment as an anchor of an autonomous and electric vehicle campus in Corktown.

It was responsible for a major e ort outside of Havana, Cuba, to restore Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway’s home. e company helped get materials for a new 2,500square-foot building on the property to house the writer’s artifacts in a climate-controlled environment, sparing them from the harsh Caribbean elements. ose artifacts included thousands of books, rough drafts of his work, letters, photographs, heads of exotic game — and the guns he used to get them.

Christman also pulled o an $8 million restoration of the Lincoln Cottage, where Abraham Lincoln and his family spent summers and autumns during the Civil War between 1862 and 1864.

change in New York with a market cap of $2.3 billion, isn’t as of yet considering entering Michigan’s hypercompetitive market. And it has no plans to expand its presence in Toledo, believing its one dispensary is enough to support the city of more than 266,000.

Carpenters at Mount Vernon deconstruct a northern entrance to the cellar so equipment can be moved there. | MOUNT VERNON LADIES’ ASSOCIATION

AD AGENCY

“We’ve heard about a lot of layo s,” said David DeMuth, CEO of Doner Partners Network. “Hundreds and hundreds of people are losing their jobs.” Doner is “comfortable making the investment because I know we’ll nd really great people. And I know we have a very good new business pipeline right now,” he added.

Another Detroit agency executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, estimated the job losses as likely to be more than 1,000—noting that the impact could be greater considering work done outside the agencies by editorial houses and post-production teams. “Freelancers are absolutely freaking out because there is no work anymore,” this person said.

Detroit’s agency community took another potential hit recently when Detroit-based Rocket Companies hired Publicis Groupe as its media agency of record, replacing Interpublic’s UM, which maintains an o ce in Birmingham. “UM’s o ces in the U.S. service accounts all over the world, and we will continue to have a presence in Detroit,” a UM spokesperson said.

Publicis-owned Zenith, which was assigned day-to-day duties on the Rocket account, does not list a Detroit o ce on its website.

Publicis Groupe Chairman and

CEO Arthur Sadoun in a interview two weeks ago said, “We are very pleased about this win for many reasons, but one that matters for me is that it’s also an (opportunity) for us to continue to invest and to grow our talent and our agencies in Detroit, which is a very important city for us.”

Publicis representatives did not provide details on how it is investing in those agencies.

Lyne on LinkedIn asked Rocket Chief Marketing O cer Jonathan Mildenhall if Publicis planned to open a Detroit o ce to service the account. He stated that “Publicis already has a big physical presence. We now just need to get them into one of our buildings …”

GM’s agency transition is expected to take time, with Detroit agency job cuts likely to come in waves.

e agency review, which was nalized on June 21, included moving Chevrolet creative from Commonwealth/McCann to Stagwell’s Anomaly, which has o ces in New York and Los Angeles. Chicago-based Leo Burnett had long maintained a metro Detroit o ce to serve GM, including GMC, Buick and Cadillac creative as of late. at o ce took a hit when GM assigned GMC creative to Austin, Texas-based Preacher; Buick to Mother, which has o ces

in Los Angeles and New York; and Cadillac to Stagwell’s 72andSunny, which has o ces in New York and L.A.

“We sought out the very best agencies possible, no matter where they were located, geographically speaking,” GM Global Chief Transformation O cer Molly Peck said in a June 21 interview. “ at doesn’t mean that we’re moving away from a Detroit-based presence, though.”

While Publicis and Interpublic saw their scope reduced, they are retaining some work, GM conrmed at the time.

GM did not provide additional comments for this report.

Commonwealth/McCann is trying to help those a ected by o ering services such as free headshots, resume-building workshops and connecting employees to other opportunities within IPG, according to an agency representative.

Doner expects to hire 10-15 people with the $1 million fund. Of course, that won’t be nearly enough to absorb the GM-related agency job losses, which is why the agency established other programs to assist the unemployed.

e new #HireDetroit talent database includes options for people to express interest in the LinkedIn membership and career coaching opportunities.

Doner has already hired eight people from GM agencies, including Matthew Milia, who worked on the GM account for Leo Burnett and landed a role as an associate creative director at Doner, marking a return to the agency he worked at for three years ending in 2022. Milia describes himself on LinkedIn as a fourth-generation Detroiter, noting that his great-grandfather “emigrated here from Greece, set up a small radiator shop in 1914 (that serviced The Big Three for over a hundred years).” He posted about his move on his last day at Leo Burnett about a month ago, saying, “to be leaving on my own terms for a better opportunity is a privilege I don’t take lightly — and one that many of my colleagues in this city-wide shakeup don’t currently have,” adding that “people need to understand the insane degree of ad talent in this town.”

DeMuth said Doner will not pigeonhole people with automotive experience into the Stellantis account, suggesting they could work on a wide range of clients.

Stellantis, which has its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, and whose brands include Jeep and Ram, is having a tough year, recently announcing a cost-cutting program that involves o ering a voluntary separation program for its U.S. salaried workforce.

Doner’s client roster includes

Kenvue, e UPS Store, Meijer and Coca-Cola Co. (Fairlife and Core Power).

DeMuth is a New Jersey native who started at Doner in Cleveland but has been in Detroit for the past two decades. Detroit agency talent is underappreciated, he said, “because the people are kind of inside these agencies that exist for the sole purpose of serving a car company. So they don’t often get as much exposure.” But “the thing that’s great about working on a big car account is they spend a lot of money. So you get exposed to a lot of di erent things.”

Still, DeMuth said he has “no issue with (GM) looking outside of Detroit, they should hire the best agencies for their business that they think can move their business. So I am not parochial at all.”

But “I think there are a lot of good people inside these agencies in Detroit that have been doing really good work,” he added. “You know, GM is selling a lot of cars right now, so clearly the work has been having an impact. And we’d be crazy not to fully examine and try to meet as many of these people as possible because they could make a di erence in our business.”

It’s not the rst time Detroit agencies have su ered a blow, he said. “I think people understand these things go in cycles,” he added. “Detroit people are used to getting knocked down a bit and getting back up.”

THE BOOK 2025

David DeMuth has worked in Detroit for about 20 years.

Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

“From a liability perspective and a cost perspective, employers can’t a ord two weeks of earned sick time plus continue to give three, four, whatever number of weeks in vacation,” she said. “ e decisions ahead for employers are going to be very di cult.”

e chamber has several concerns with the new law, she said. e two biggest ones are the lack of exemptions for smaller employers and no provision explicitly addressing employers with existing plans that already meet or exceed the new law.

Brian Calley, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, raised similar worries and urged legislators to reinstitute the previous law.

“A lot of attention and focus has been on minimum wage issues with respect to adopt-and-amend,” he said. “Many people are just waking up to the complexities, the obnoxious complexities, of what the 2018 paid sick leave requirement is and the way that it’s really antiworker. I’m hopeful that they’ll make substantial changes in that area that I believe will be good for business and pro-worker.”

e new law, he said, is written in such a way that it will require businesses to separately track employees’ accrual of sick time and

“Every worker in Michigan bene ts when they have access to paid sick days and higher wages.”

Tom Lenard, Michigan director for the State Innovation Exchange

keep detailed records of when they are working.

“It’s not a stretch that a business would have to take from the general exible leave bank in order to accrue for a more speci c and more limited sick leave bank,” Calley said. “ is is a great example of an instance where a group of people was trying to create a bene t for employees and ended up hurt-

ing them in the process.”

Attorneys for the ballot committee that spearheaded the initiative have said lawmakers unconstitutionally excluded hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of workers from qualifying for mandatory paid sick leave. e ruling’s supporters say it is pro-worker, re ects the people’s will and will be prospective, not retroactive, dampening the impact on business.

“Every worker in Michigan benets when they have access to paid sick days and higher wages,” Tom Lenard, Michigan director for the State Innovation Exchange, which promotes liberal legislation, said in a statement. “What we’ve seen in state after state is that these types of policies support families and the economy. Scare tactics by corporate business lobbyists should be

called out for what they are — weird, weak, and wrong.”

It is not known if the Legislature will revise the law or let it stand. Whitmer has been notably quiet on the court decision. She told Crain’s in May about the potential ruling: “We want to make sure that we live up to the spirit of the intent of the people. We also want to make sure that our small businesses can survive. ere’s going to be a lot of work to do in a very short period of time on this front with big rami cations for people.”

e brewing debate comes after Democrats last year proposed but did hold a hearing on a proposal to expand the sick time requirement to provide longer-term paid family and medical leave — up to 15 weeks — and fund it with a payroll tax.

Grant Pecor, a labor lawyer who represents employers, said he thinks lawmakers will be pressured to “do something” with the sick time law before it goes into effect. When they made substantive changes in 2018, he said, they also addressed “a lot of holes” in the statute that were unanswered because a special interest group spearheaded the ballot measure.

e original law lacks details on carrying over unused time and what happens when an employee’s employment ends, he said. It also creates a rebuttable presumption that an employer has violated the law if there is an adverse action against an employee, putting the onus on the employer to prove otherwise.

“Frankly, it’s kind of a plainti attorney’s dream,” said Pecor, a partner at Barnes & ornburg LLP in Grand Rapids.

Employers that frontload paid leave will need to provide a new bene t or change to an accrual method because the law does not provide for frontloading, he said. e new law will apply to parttime, per diem and temporary workers, which is not the case in other states with such laws, according to the Citizens Research Council. It will expand the de nition of family members for whom employees can take sick time to include domestic partners and individuals with whom they have “the equivalent of a family relationship.” e law also will allow medical leave for meetings at a child’s school or place of care related to his or her health or disability or the e ects of domestic violence or sexual assault on the child.

Patrice Arend, an attorney and partner in the employment and labor relations practice group at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in South eld, urged employers to be ready, but also to not roll anything out prematurely.

“I certainly would start that process sooner rather than later, but I wouldn’t issue the new policy until it has to be issued to allow any potential changes to come,” she said. “I know there will be a push and a lobby to do some amendments. Whether those will be successful, I don’t know.”

Plum Health founder explains why direct primary care is vital for small businesses

Dr. Paul Thomas, founder of Plum Health DPC, has a mission to make good health care more accessible and affordable. The direct primary care practice established by Thomas in March 2016 in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood offers a monthly membership that provides unlimited access to a doctor without co-pays, deductibles or billing and using insurance. Plum Health now also has locations in Lansing, Van Buren Township and Corunna, with a Royal Oak location set to open later this summer. In a conversation with Crain’s, Thomas talked about why direct primary care is vital for owners of restaurants and other small businesses and their employees. By | Jay Davis

Where did the idea come from for Plum Health’s direct primary care plan?

I really believe health care should be a ordable and excellent for everyone. When you’re using traditional plans, that’s not the case. We’ve got consumers seeing 28-day wait times to establish care with a doctor and that’s not acceptable. We can guarantee same-day and nextday appointments. We routinely order procedures for our clients, help with prescription re lls. We truly believe this model is the best to practice medicine in 2024 and beyond.

You’ve got various parts of Michigan covered. How do you choose where you’re going to open up of ces? We started in Detroit because of the underserved nature of the city. Detroit has 100 doctors for 600,000 residents. ere’s a big disparity in primary care accessibility if you compare Detroit to Oakland County or Ann Arbor. Starting in an area with a health professional shortage we’ve been able to see people from all walks of life and incomes. Now we’ve grown to serve more corporate clients, small businesses, restaurants, and we need to be more strategic about where we open locations. Royal Oak will be the rst of what we hope are several metro Detroit locations. e Lansing and Corunna locations came as part of a plan where 12 school districts banded together to o er primary care. at helps with our footprint.

What’s your reach as far as small businesses and

Dr. Paul Thomas PLUM HEALTH

“With direct primary care, we have 30 minutes to an hour with a patient. We can go deep in assessing any problems.”

restaurants?

Between small businesses and restaurants, we have about 35 groups. Some have as few as two or ve employees. Some have more.

What makes the direct primary care model appealing to small-business and restaurant owners?

A lot of people don’t know the cut-o for Medicaid is $17,000 a year for an individual. Couples and families, it’s about $24,000. Once you earn more than that, you’re disquali ed. at’s only $10, $15 an hour. ere are a lot

Read all the conversations at CrainsDetroit.com/TheConversation

of people in the middle ground making $40,000 or $50,000, but private insurance is still too expensive. People can miss work going to urgent care. If they get sick, they don’t have a doctor to go see. Employers signing up with us do it for the services we o er. If someone cuts a nger, they’re in and out of here in an hour. If someone gets sick, we check them out before anything can spread to more sta .

Is that quick turnaround a big selling point for you to small businesses and restaurants?

It’s part of it. ey want to do right by their employees. Health insurance can be so expensive. Restaurant groups have younger employees who are using us as primary care only because that’s all they need. ey don’t require a lot of big surgeries. An additional bene t is it keeps them engaged longer with that particular restaurant. If an employee knows that restaurant is o ering Plum Health, they may think twice before switching jobs.

Do you see Plum Health as kind of a go-to for small businesses and restaurants? We’ve de nitely experienced that. I was invited to speak in front of a restaurant organization. I explained what we did and we got a good uptick of members. We’re still aiming for larger groups, too. Everyone, companies of all sizes, are seeing the 10%-12% increases from Blue Cross Blue Shield every year. More employers are opting to go self-funded to decrease downstream costs.

What do you mean by downstream costs? Each primary care doctor in the marketplace has 2,500 patients. Plum Health has 500. When you see a doctor, they’re incentivized to send you to a dermatologist or someone else. Large hospitals see primary care doctors as referral machines. Referrals bring about $2.1 million to a hospital on average each year. With those hospitals, a patient is in there for maybe 10 minutes. With direct primary care, we have 30 minutes to an hour with a patient. We can go deep in assessing any problems.

Former Duggan of cial returns to lead Housing Commission

By Nick Manes

Longtime Detroit housing ocial Arthur Jemison is returning to the city.

Jemison, the city’s former group executive for planning, housing and development, left that job in early 2021 and subsequently took on a role in the federal government and as the chief planner for the city of Boston. Jemison resigned from the latter role Aug. 1, according to a report in e Boston Globe.

A Detroit news release Aug. 2

said that e ective immediately Jemison would be the new executive director of the Detroit Housing Commission.

“I am honored to have the DHC Board’s trust to implement the changes needed at the Housing Commission,” Jemison said in a statement. “I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with our tenants and the Commission’s sta and partners like HUD to improve the quality of life in Detroit and for all the people and communities we impact.”

Jemison steps in to lead the De-

troit Housing Commission as it faced executive turnover and concerns over conditions in the properties it owns. In late May the organization announced plans to invest $15 million in assorted upgrades at DHC properties.

Jemison replaces Interim CEO Irene Tucker, who took over following the April retirement of Sandra Henriquez. Both Henriquez and Jemison previously worked at the federal Housing and Urban Development department, from which DHC receives signi cant funding.

e DHC owns approximately 4,000 rental housing units around metro Detroit and operates a Housing Choice Voucher Program known as Section 8 through its Assisted Housing Department, according to its website.

“Arthur was an exceptional leader for the city’s housing department, and he will be the same for the Detroit Housing Commission,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in the release. “He knows the issues Housing Commission residents face every day and will bring them real change.”

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Volume 40, Number 31

Crain’s Detroit Business (ISSN