DETROIT HOMECOMING
2050: DETROIT
OPPORTUNITY AWAITS
We’re nearly a quarter way through the 21st century, and the Detroit of 2024 is far different than the Detroit of 2000. This year, Detroit Homecoming and Crain’s examine the next quarter-century. What can Detroit be by 2050? Special report starts on Page 8.
Henry Ford Health takes fundraising campaign public
By Sherri Welch
Henry Ford Health is taking its $750 million comprehensive campaign, its largest ever, public after raising nearly two-thirds of the target, the Detroit-based health system says.
With a goal of completion by 2027, the fundraising drive is supporting Henry Ford’s expanded campus and partnership with
Michigan State University in Detroit, as well as other capital projects, research and programs across Southeast Michigan.
e health system has close to $488 million in commitments for the campaign since it launched in 2021. at’s up from about $200 million in March when President and CEO Bob Riney spoke about Henry Ford’s Detroit expansion and fundraising for it
at Crain’s Newsmaker luncheon.
Much, but not all of the funding raised is supporting the $2.2 billion expansion of Henry Ford Health’s Detroit campus.
“We’re thrilled that the progress we’ve made today has come from signi cant donors, you know, with big amounts and all sorts of small amounts, and that our physicians and our employees are contributing in signi -
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Competitors
cant ways as well,” Riney told Crain’s.
Henry Ford Health is talking with donors about the uniqueness of the campaign, which the health system says is funding transformation for its next 100 years in Detroit, he said.
“We’re asking people to help us really reimagine the future of
See HENRY FORD on Page 5
Development planned near proposed stadium site.
CONVERSATION
State Agriculture chief on farmers’ struggles, bird u response.
A rendering of the planned new Henry Ford Hospital patient tower on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, near the system’s current agship hospital. | HENRY FORD HEALTH
Stellantis investing $406M in 3 Michigan plants for EVs
By Vince Bond Jr., Automotive News
Stellantis is investing more than $406 million into three Michigan plants to build electri ed Ram pickups and Jeep Wagoneer SUVs and battery parts to support a strategy of making vehicles powered by both gasoline and batteries.
With its investment announcement, Stellantis is taking a step toward meeting some commitments to which it agreed in a new contract rati ed last fall by the United Auto Workers union after a bitter six-week strike. It’s aimed at countering union arguments that Stellantis won’t keep commitments and doesn’t want to invest in U.S. factories.
e automaker said it will spend $235.5 million updating the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant to build the fully electric Ram 1500 REV and range-extended electric Ramcharger on the same assembly line as the gasoline-powered Ram 1500 pickup.
Stellantis said the Sterling Heights facility will be its rst U.S. plant to make electric vehicles.
Production of the Ram REV is scheduled to begin before the end of this year.
To do this, Stellantis said it partnered with “equipment suppliers
and contractors to carefully plan and execute the installation of a new conveyor system, new automation for BEV-speci c processes, and the retooling and rearrangement of workstations in general assembly.”
In its latest union contract, which runs through April 2028, the company agreed to invest $1.4 billion at the Sterling Heights plant, which has been singled out by CEO Carlos Tavares for criticism due to quality problems.
Another approximately $97.6 million will go to the Warren Truck
Assembly Plant so it can build an electri ed version of the Jeep Wagoneer, one of four Jeep EVs scheduled to be produced globally by the end of next year. Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa has said the SUV will get a range-extended electric powertrain similar to the Ramcharger in 2025.
e company promised in the union contract that Warren Truck would get roughly $600 million of investment.
Also targeted for a more than $73 million investment is Stellantis’ Dundee Engine Plant so it can
assemble, weld and test battery trays for future EVs, as well as make front and rear beams for large vehicles. Battery tray production will start this year, and the beams in 2026, Stellantis said in a statement.
e Dundee factory, about 25 miles south of Ann Arbor, is supposed to get $770 million, according to the contract.
Tavares praised the e orts in Michigan.
“Sterling Heights Assembly has performed an incredible transformation in record time and I want
to thank our colleagues for this great achievement,” Tavares said in a news release. “Gearing up to build our rst-ever Ram electric truck and the range-extended version in Michigan is a meaningful moment of pride for our teams. With these investments supporting both Jeep and Ram, we’re adding innovations to our Michigan manufacturing footprint to support a multi-energy approach that is laser-focused on customer demand.”
— e Associated Press contributed to this report.
Corrections
A pro le in Crain’s Sept. 9 special section on Notable Black Business Leaders incorrectly referenced Kiemba Knowlin’s title. His title is director, Materiel Systems Organization.
Andrea Jones’ pro le inaccurately listed her company and her participation in the brand advisory council. Jones is president and CEO of A.Lynn LLC, which is a franchisee of Nothing Bundt Cakes. She was an appointed member of the brand advisory council from 2021-2023.
Lisa Lunsford’s pro le listed inaccurate revenue gures for her privately held company. No new gures were given.
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Stellantis said it will spend $235.5 million updating the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant to build the fully electric Ram 1500 REV and range-extended electric Ramcharger on the same assembly line as the gasoline-powered Ram 1500 pickup. | STELLANTIS
Competitors worry as Sheetz hits metro Detroit
Independent operators push back on convenience store chain’s expansion
By Jay Davis
A group of independent gas station owners doesn’t see a place for rival gas and convenience store chain Sheetz in Michigan, and some are pushing back in communities where the out-of-state chain is looking to expand.
e local business owners say they believe the Pennsylvania-based company’s new 24/7 stores could bring more crime to the areas where it plans to set up shop, and they worry that Sheetz entering the market could spell the end for scores of independent operators.
Scott Barbat under his Birmingham-based The Barbat Or-
ganization owns and operates 14 gas stations across Southeast Michigan, including two near a proposed Sheetz site in Farmington Hills at 12 Mile and Middlebelt roads. Barbat said Sheetz being a 24-hour operation is his biggest concern, as he feels the late-night hours could lead to some less-than-ideal situations.
“ at area of 12 Mile and Middlebelt is a ghost town,” Barbat said. “12 Mile and Orchard Lake is a busy spot and probably where Sheetz should be. Sheetz is desperate to get into the market and you can tell by some of the sites they’re proposing. At one point, all 14 of my stores were open 24 hours. Now it’s maybe one or two
and one is right by a police station in Grosse Pointe. Nothing is open 24 hours anymore. Flies come to the light. at’s gonna happen.”
Sheetz has more than 740 stores in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland and around 26,000 employees. In December 2022, it announced its intention to expand into Michigan and now plans 50-60 stores in metro Detroit within the next ve or six years.
Forbes lists the company’s 2023 revenue at $14 billion, up from $11.7 billion reported in 2022.
Detroit’s new airport shuttle bus nds riders, but funding uncertain
By Anna Fifelski
Ridership on a new nonstop shuttle bus that runs between downtown Detroit and Detroit Metropolitan Airport has exceeded initial expectations — but the clock is ticking.
Launched in March by the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan, the Detroit Air Xpress provides a relatively inexpensive transit option to get to the airport from downtown, or vice versa. Funded mostly by $2.5 million in federal and state grants, the pilot program is secured until March 2025.
e future for the DAX bus is uncertain, as transit leaders court available funding sources.
e DAX operates from 3:30 a.m. to 11:10 p.m. daily, with trips scheduled from the bus stop at 1119 Washington Blvd. to the McNamara and Evans terminals every hour, totaling 16 trips a day.
e service was launched in time for the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, Ben Stupka, executive director of the RTA, told Crain’s, and outperformed the organization’s initial goals.
“We kind of entered this by saying, ‘If we could get to about 100 riders a day to start out within the rst six months, that’d be good, that’d be a nice, solid base,’ and we exceeded that in the rst month,”
Stupka said.
Because the shuttle has only been in operation for ve full months, it’s di cult to predict ridership trends, Stupka said, though business has been steadily increasing throughout the program.
“We’re actually already slightly exceeding my expectations. Not blowing them out of the water, but doing a lot better than I thought,” Stupka said. “ ose numbers are already looking good, so it’s really sustainable, getting us closer to that 200, maybe even 250 range. It is a unique service, so it’s not something that’s easy to benchmark against anything else in the region, but we feel very comfortable with that number.”
It’s clear that there’s continued interest in the service.
In July, more than 4,611 riders used the DAX, averaging more than 1,150 riders per week, according to data from the RTA. Stupka said the organization expects ridership to continue to grow as more people become more familiar with the service.
Adam Roberts, a bus driver employed by the Owosso-based bus company Indian Trails, which owns and operates the DAX and Michigan Flyer buses, said he has never had a bus sell out. ere were 32 riders on his
‘No stopping’ Birmingham software upstart after successful IPO
e journey to OneStream’s break into the public market this summer was 12 years in the making.
e Birmingham-based software company made headlines in July after its value was pegged at $6 billion after its rst day of trading on the Nasdaq. e IPO was just one of a checklist of goals for the company, co-founder and CEO Tom Shea told Crain’s.
“We built the company one success at a time, and we knew that we needed to get that rst customer. Once they became successful, we just wanted three more. And
once we got those three customers successful, we wanted to get to 10,” Shea said. “As we grew, we set big goals for ourselves.”
Leading up to its IPO, OneStream was on an upward trajectory: e company cut its quarterly net loss in half, as its revenue grew 36% year over year in its nal quarter as a privately held company, according to its second-quarter earnings report released this month.
ough this was the rst earnings report for OneStream (NASDAQ: OS) as a public company, Shea said the company has been doing trial runs of earnings calls for at least two years.
“We acted like a public company every quarter. Following our board meeting, we would have an earnings release, and we would actually do a mock earnings call with bankers on the phone, really practicing and trying to hold ourselves accountable to the behaviors that would be expected of a publicly traded company,” Shea said. “We did that for about eight quarters or more. I’m not saying that we’re perfect or anything like that, but we felt well-prepared.” Shea, Chief Technology O cer Bob Powers and President Craig Colby founded OneStream in
Snow,
head
Anna Fifelski
Rahme Youssef, who owns three gas stations in Warren, is concerned about the impact of Sheetz opening locations nearby. JAY DAVIS
The Detroit Air Xpress bus, or DAX, picks up passengers from a street-level bus stop every hour at 1119 Washington Blvd. in downtown Detroit across from the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel and near the Rosa Parks Transit Center. | ANNA FIFELSKI/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
Development planned near proposed soccer stadium site
Amix of uses, including perhaps hundreds of new housing units, is envisioned to surround the proposed Detroit City Football Club stadium in Corktown as part of a larger planned development. ose include mixed-income housing and new retail in four- to ve-story buildings, according to the Detroit-based developer, Method Development LLC, which has been tapped to develop the stadium and the broader Corktown area across its real estate portfolio, which the popular men’s and women’s soccer club has been adding to recently.
Amelia Patt Zamir, co-founder and principal of the company along with Rakesh “Rocky” Lala, said they and DCFC leadership are trying to build what she described as “a new gateway to the city.”
“We feel this is a vibrant mixeduse area that’s going to be a global
destination,” she said. “We’re excited to be involved.”
She said the team is looking to European soccer stadiums “that are kind of just folded into the urban experience” for inspiration.
“We love the area and what we want to develop there. We want to make it something special, and make this a place where people can come and spend the whole day there, whether there are matches or not,” Lala said.
year, expects to move in 2027.
“DCFC continues to acquire the parcels necessary for the stadium area,” Sean Mann, CEO and co-founder of DCFC, said in a statement emailed by a team spokesperson. “ e club looks forward to initiating a public process around the project in the coming months.”
Method has been active in Detroit development since launching in 2017, with projects in the Milwaukee Junction area, plus downtown, the Je erson Chalmers neighborhood, Corktown and Brush Park.
e team declined to discuss the broader plans for the area through a spokesperson.
A source familiar with the matter said hundreds of housing units are envisioned overall as part of the plans, although the precise number is not known.
For those housing units and other uses to materialize, the team needs land — and it has been adding to its portfolio recently.
e team, which con rmed its plans for a new stadium to replace its current leased pitch at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck earlier this
Recently, DCFC dropped $2.55 million for the vacant 45,000-squarefoot former Cornbelt Beef Corp. warehouse sitting on about an acre and a non-contiguous roughly 0.4-acre parcel of land on 20th Street just south of Michigan Avenue.
e seller was an entity called Corktown Slaughterhouse LLC, which is registered to Detroit real estate investor and developer Christos Moisides.
In an email, Moisides said that “the consolidation of properties gives way to an exciting fútbol stadium and other mixed-use developments in the area,” also calling it “a tremendous win for the Corktown and Southwest (Detroit) community.”
e Detroit o ce of Toronto-based brokerage house Avison Young brokered the deal.
In the last six months, the team has spent more than $15 million
assembling property at Corktown’s western edge, kicking its buying spree o with the $6.5 million purchase of the former Southwest Detroit Hospital in March. at property is 250,000 square feet and is expected to be razed, creating a nearly 5.57-acre vacant site. en earlier this summer, entities connected to the team paid $6 million for a total of about 8.25 additional acres of primarily vacant land in multiple transactions.
In all, the team has property sitting on a total of 15.25 acres. e project, which would be anchored by a stadium that sources have said is expected to have about 14,000 seats, is likely to seek public subsidies.
Le Rouge — DCFC’s nickname — began playing at the 7,933-seat Keyworth Stadium at 3201 Roosevelt St. in 2016 under a 10-year lease with Hamtramck 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 earlier this year said a lease extension is in place that allows DCFC to continue using Keyworth until the new stadium in Detroit is built.
Kirk Pinho
Detroit City FC envisions a new soccer stadium surrounded by housing and retail at the old Southwest Detroit Hospital property in Corktown. DETROIT CITY FC
Detroit City Football Club purchased this vacant warehouse on 20th Street in Corktown. | KIRK PINHO
A view looking south from Michigan Avenue at 20th Street in Corktown of a vacant lot with the former Southwest Detroit Hospital in the background. Entities connected to the Detroit City Football Club have purchased both and intend to redevelop the area. KIRK PINHO
HENRY FORD
health and really focus on building the most innovative, the most environmentally friendly and the most advanced facility, both for patients, for their families and for the clinicians who operate in it, so that we can continue to be not only an attraction for people that come from far away, for very complex care serve (but also serve) our immediate communities, for all things in a terri c way, and that’s a really appealing case for people.”
Within the larger campaign, $300 million will support capital projects, with the largest outlay tied to the Detroit expansion, said Mary Jane Vogt, chief development o cer and exec-
Banking giant buys Amazon warehouse in Oakland County
By Kirk Pinho
An a liate of banking giant Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC now owns a warehouse building used by Amazon in western Oakland County. e new 258,300-square-foot Wixom Assembly Park building was sold to an entity tied to New York City-based North Haven Net REIT, or real estate investment trust. North Haven is an externally managed arm of Morgan Stanley, according to its website. Terms of last month’s sale, including purchase price, were not disclosed.
CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, as well as Oakland County land records list the buyer of the building o Wixom Road north of I-96 as NHNR Hold Co LLC. at entity lists David Gross, managing director of real estate investing at Morgan Stanley and head of acquisitions for North Haven Net REIT, on its business incorporation documents in Michigan. rough a spokesperson, Morgan Stanley declined comment. Amazon said in an email that it leases the facility but otherwise declined to elaborate. e building is used for warehouse and distribution purposes, according to a Colliers International Inc. press release.
Brokers from Colliers, a Toronto-based brokerage house, in its Royal Oak and other o ces worked on the sale.
e Wixom Assembly Park was developed by Prairie Village, Kansas-based Flint Development LLC. A press release from Colliers last month says the seller was a joint venture between Flint Development and Omaha-based NewStreet Properties LLC. It is built on a sizable chunk — more than 180 acres — of the 310acre former Ford Motor Co. Wixom Assembly Plant site.
utive vice president. Henry Ford’s clinical programs in cancer, neurology and heart care centered at its agship campus in Detroit will also command signi cant funding, along with research and endowments, which provide permanent funding sources for things like seed money and gap funding for research.
Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE:RKT), and his wife Jennifer Gilbert, who committed $154 million through the Gilbert Family Foundation, lead the long list of contributors. eir support will bring a Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to Detroit and establish the Nick Gilbert Neurobromatosis Institute within the Henry Ford and MSU research building.
ere are also anonymous multi-
million-dollar gifts along with other support including:
◗ $10 million from the Ford Foundation.
◗ $5 million from Boji Group CEO Ron Boji and his wife, Heather, to support the joint Henry Ford Health-Michigan State University research institute.
$2 million from Shari and Stanley Finsilver to establish a support program for cancer patients.
e amount raised to date also includes other, smaller gifts made jointly to the health system and MSU to support construction of the research building that began construction this summer and the research that will happen there, Vogt said.
Beyond the Detroit projects, the campaign is supporting projects at
Henry Ford facilities across the region. It has attracted support from Janet and Jim Riehl for a new patient tower at its Macomb County hospital, a gift from the Glick family to support health care workforce development in Jackson and $10 million from the Stamper family to help fund enhancements at its West Bloom eld Township hospital.
“We have identi ed projects at each of our regional hospitals so they feel part of the campaign (and) are raising dollars to create better health care for all the people that we serve across all of our hospitals,” Vogt said.
Back in Detroit, Henry Ford Health is seeking gifts that include naming gifts for oors of the new hospital, a particular unit, the lobby, sta respite spaces, break rooms
and wellness centers and parks, Riney said.
“We’re still working through some of the details, but we do want healing environments to be attractive for naming, and that can include external park space as well as internal space,” he said. “We really want this new campus to be welcoming and inviting to the community, so we are envisioning a lot of public space that will be walkable, bikeable and accessible by not only our patients, families and our employees, but the community at large. “ e novelness is not in naming like a garden or a space, but it’s really how much we’re going to integrate art, music and healing spaces into this entire campus. And that’s what people are really excited about.”
A downtown project that showed what’s possible “G
ood bones.”
at was a refrain you’d often hear 25 years ago about some of downtown Detroit’s architectural jewels. It usually meant they had fallen into abandonment and ruin, that the structure was sound even if the xtures were rotting and the windows were broken.
It was certainly applied to the Book Cadillac Hotel in the early 2000s, when the classic luxury hotel built in 1924 had been sitting and rotting since its closure in 1984.
But thanks to a 2008 renovation that took the hotel down to the bare concrete and steel and built it back up, the Book Cadillac reached something of a milestone recently — the sale of the last of the 64 condominium units created as part of the building’s revival.
e three-story, 3,500-square-foot condo unit, still an un nished “white box,” fetched $850,000 from an unnamed investor purchaser.
e unit o ers spectacular views of downtown and the Detroit River, areas that have changed dramatically in the years since the Book Cadillac reopened.
e sale amounts to a tting bookend at a building that in so many ways showed developers what might be possible in downtown Detroit, which was lled with
beautiful architecture in a downtown that still felt abandoned and empty.
It’s worth thinking about how remarkable the Book Cadillac project was for its time. ere weren’t other examples to follow, and certainly there was skepticism that bringing the building back to life was possible.
But it was.
e renovation, done by Cleveland-based
developer John Ferchill, in so many ways demonstrated what could be done in those pre-Dan Gilbert days, if the money and the will existed. It leveraged every sort of nancing available, from historic tax credits on down.
At the time, the latest positive developments in downtown were the construction of the Compuware Building (now One Campus Martius), and General Motors Co.
taking up residence in the RenCen. But bringing old, empty skyscrapers back from the dead was not something that had really been tested.
In the years since, we’ve been showered with reclamation projects in downtown Detroit and nearby that have followed similar models, from the David Whitney Building to the Book Tower to Michigan Central. ey’ve preserved beautiful old buildings that bring character and identity to the city that otherwise might have faced a wrecking ball instead.
But the Book Cadillac showed the way, a tangible example that it was possible to rescue these buildings, to make their columns and colonnades gleam again.
At Detroit Homecoming this week, expat attendees will learn and see much of what Detroit is becoming as we look forward in time on the theme “Detroit 2050.”
Now, at roughly the quarter mark of the 21st century seems like a good time to take stock of what’s changed and what could be in the next quarter-century.
Detroit is a city where the past, the present and the future meet. We’re lucky to have seen so much of that past preserved and maintained to inspire future generations.
e Book Cadillac shows what good bones can mean to a city.
New guidelines could damage a big part of the economy
Last year, the World Health Organization made a claim that there is “no safe level” of alcohol consumption and, therefore, risks start at the very rst sip. You might be surprised to think such an e ort could gain a foothold amongst government regulators here in America.
But now the Biden administration and unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., appear to be taking notice of WHO’s claims as they work to create a new set U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which will come out in 2025.
As a Southeast Michigan liquor store owner who serves thousands of people and creates jobs, what does that mean for my business, those jobs, and our customers? Nothing good.
Current dietary guidelines around alcohol consumption in the United States are one drink per day or less for women and one to two drinks per day or less for men. is is supported by four decades of research, which also nds that moderate drinkers live at least as long as non-drinkers.
Here in Michigan, our culture and economy are notably intertwined with moderate and responsible drinking in the form of countless — and very popular — wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, and retailers, to name a few. Making sweeping statements like “no safe level” not only disregards the nuanced reality of consum-
ing alcohol and its role in our culture and entertainment here in Michigan, but also poses potential harm to small businesses and our state’s economic fabric.
In 2022, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission reported billions in sales. e state’s alcohol industry, comprised of over 10,000 retailers like myself, provides almost 40,000 direct jobs.
So, just think about the thousands of stores, restaurants, and bars which rely on alcohol sales. ink about the tourism-driven economic activity generated by our many destination wineries, breweries and distilleries in places from Southwest Michigan to the Grand Rapids area, Grand Traverse region and beyond. ink about the agriculture industry based in this state that produces the ingredients for our craft alcoholic beverages. e negative impacts of this e ort are endless.
Not only would the economy su er if the alcohol industry took a hit, but so would consumer choice. To state that any level of drinking for anyone, however low, is harmful makes no sense for the millions of Americans who enjoy drinking in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle. It is much more reasonable for citizens to continue to decide, along with advice from their physician, which health decisions are right for them, than to receive direction from unelected bureaucrats.
All this said, you may think, “Why would I care about a guideline? I don’t have to listen.” And you would be right — for now, you don’t. But guidelines can — and often do — quickly become the foundation for law. is guideline is an unsettling, slippery slope into prohibition, and that is
why this discussion is so important. Michigan’s citizens can stop this attempted new prohibition at its source by sending an email to the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the leaders at WHO and tell them to end their destructive e orts before it’s too late.
The Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit reopened in 2008 after a $23 million renovation. | WESTIN BOOK CADILLAC
Cliff Denha is the owner of Wine Palace in Livonia.
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TDETROIT 2050: HOMECOMING LOOKS FORWARD
he 21st century is nearly a quarter over. Few cities in America have seen more change in the past 24 years than Detroit.
A downtown that has gone from a ghost town to a jewel. Tens of thousands of abandoned homes demolished. A riverfront transformed from postindustrial wasteland to a public space of joy.
Now, it’s time to look forward to what we want Detroit to become in the next quarter-century.
is year’s Detroit Homecoming event produced by Crain’s Detroit Business, which runs Sept. 18-20, is aiming to do just that, focusing on a theme of Detroit 2050.
To do that, the event programming and this section look at several areas where Detroit has changed and built since the year 2000, and examine what could be ahead for those areas, and how we can get there from this crossroads.
Can the city rebuild its population? Can the riverfront continue its remarkable renaissance? How can we build on the growth in entrepreneurship and the prospects for new innovation hubs in the city?
e invitation-only Detroit Homecoming is entering its 11th year of working to re-engage “expat” Detroit natives who have
found success in other locales by bringing them back to their hometown to see what’s going on now. It aims to encourage investment in the city, but also to foster hometown pride and excitement.
Speakers at this year’s Homecoming include mortgage and real estate entrepreneur Dan Gilbert, investor Roger Ehrenberg, Black Tech Saturdays co-founder Johnnie Turnage and Knight Foundation President and CEO Maribel Perez Wadsworth. Other programming includes a pitch competition, tours of Detroit neighborhoods and developments, and experiences focused on sports, culture, design and more.
RYAN
Detroit population growth by 2050? If leaders work together
By Dustin Walsh
Despite a decade of positive momentum throughout Detroit , the city’s population is still projected to decline by 1.1% by 2050, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
at trajectory is predicated on a 30-year downward trend statewide, as Michigan has ranked next to last in population growth in the country, with Detroit’s population plummeting some 40% since 1990 from just over a million to about 633,000.
But that’s only if the trends stand still. And plenty is changing.
Massive economic investments are being made — including a $3 billion new health development by Henry Ford Health, the redevelopment of Michigan Central Station and dozens of new residential projects that are breathing new life into the city. Flight to the suburbs, a key reason for the city’s decline from its 1950s peak of 1.8 million residents, has attened out and started to reverse.
e mass out ow of residents has slowed signi cantly in the past decade, and Detroit’s population actually rose for the rst time in 70-plus years in 2023 — thanks to a revision to U.S. Census Bureau estimates following lawsuits from Mayor Mike Duggan’s administra-
tion who claim the agency is dinging Detroit for knocking down blighted (and empty) houses in its methodology.
Maintaining that positive momentum is the challenge between now and 2050 for Duggan — who said early in his mayorship that population growth would be his measure of success — and leaders to come.
Building up the basics
Anika Goss-Foster, CEO of Detroit Future City and a member of the state’s bipartisan Growing Michigan Together Council, doesn’t have a prediction for Detroit’s population by 2050, and she’s unsure it even matters. She emphasizes that the city must continue to advance its work to expand economic opportunities for Detroiters. e population part will handle itself, she said.
“It’s less important to me that we grow year over year by tens of thousands of people as much as it’s important to me we’re growing places where you can grow your income,” Goss-Foster said. “If we’re really intentional, we can have high-wage growth jobs for every single sector of our community. en Detroit becomes a destination place. We no longer have a need to grow population for
population’s sake. We could grow our population by 50,000 very-low income people with no place to live a ordably. at doesn’t help the city.”
Detroit Future City’s mission is to grow Detroit’s middle class and improve quality of life in Detroit’s struggling neighborhoods, focusing on economic opportunity and development, housing and climate resiliency.
But the city has seen new exciting plans come and go, even if the strategy seems simple, Goss-Foster said.
“It’s not that complicated for us to be intentional about setting physical and natural asset goals for Detroit,” Goss-Foster said. “We’ve seen it work in places like Baltimore, Cleveland and Columbus. Build your economic centers, build neighborhoods and ameni-
ties. ere are so many models we can begin to use.”
Baltimore’s economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the U.S., growing gross domestic product by 2.2% last year, ranking eighth in the country.
A similar dynamic may be playing out in Detroit, with wage growth for Detroit residents
Housing is increasingly being renovated in Detroit and new homes projects are starting to be built. CITY OF DETROIT FLICKR
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And according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, UDM grads rank among the top10% in the country for overall career earnings. Find out why our graduates earn an average salary of $67,000 a year, well above the national average of $58,000.
Detroit population
Detroit’s meteoric expansion and decades-long contraction in population has shown signs of attening out in recent census bureau estimates, and its population rose year over year in 2023 for the rst time since the 1950s.
projected to increase 1.4% per year between now and 2029, according to the City of Detroit Economic Outlook released Sept. 5 by a consortium of economists at University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. at would well outpace the state average at just 0.6% annual wage growth.
But where that wage growth happens is important to the city’s trajectory into 2050. More than three- fths of Detroiters live in lower-income households, more than twice the national average — 62% of Detroiters lived in lower-income households in 2022. Detroit’s Hispanic and Black residents are less than half as likely to live in high-income neighborhoods as white residents.
ose conditions and circumstances must change for Detroit to succeed and grow its population, Goss-Foster said.
Michigan State Representative.
While Detroit houses a larger number of immigrants than surrounding communities, its makeup is only about 6% foreign-born, compared with 13% in Oakland County, 11.3% in Macomb County and about 10% in Wayne County writ large, according to U.S. Census data.
In 2015, Duggan launched the Detroit O ce of Immigrant A airs to help attract new immigrants and resettle refugees. However, it appears foreign-born residents also leave the city. Despite the ofce settling new immigrants, there were more than 2,000 fewer foreign-born immigrants living in the city in 2023 than in 2015, according to Census data.
But Tobocman is hopeful as the city strengthens as an economic center and its amentities improve, immigrants will nd Detroit as the gateway to the U.S.
“I’m not aware of a successful developed country without continued population growth and I’m also not aware of continued population growth without immigration,” Tobocman said.
Tobocman predicts the foreign-born population of the city to rise to upwards of 14% by 2050. However, because immigration is controlled by federal policy, it’s unclear whether those gains will come from immigrants moving from a di erent country or maybe just a di erent county in the state.
“We have to begin talking about Detroit as neighborhoods that are places of opportunity instead of neighborhoods being code for low-income Brown and Black people,” she said. “Diverse housing options and open space and natural resources are the top reasons people move into a neighborhood. ey want walks, waterfront and natural amenities. We can design our neighborhoods to work for us in this way. at will attract people. And Detroiters deserve that economic potential.”
Immigration question
Measuring results
Kurt Metzger, a demographer, former director of Data Driven Detroit and aid to Duggan’s quest against the U.S. Census Bureau, isn’t as positive Detroit will net new population.
It’s those of di ering ethnic backgrounds, however, who have spurred any population growth in Michigan for years.
e state gained fewer than 4,000 net population between 2022 and 2023. Diving deeper shows the state lost more than 15,000 people to domestic migration to other states. e overall gain was entirely accounted for by international immigration at 22,817, with the di erence accounted for by more deaths than births in the year.
Detroit has woefully lagged behind its suburbs in attracting immigrants, said Steve Tobocman, director of regional development rm Global Detroit and former
“I do think Detroit’s population will get to 750,000 (from the current 639,115) and hover there,” Metzger said. “But when we’re talking about 2050, I don’t see any kinds of plans with metrics. We don’t have any measures or speci c goals between 2024 and 2050 that we’re tracking. If we don’t have a plan for 2050 and are not proactive, then what are we doing? It’ll be no di erent than it is today. We’re relying on small plans with no measures of success. We can aspire with plans but without measures for success and ultimate goals, what are we doing?”
Chart: Crain's Detroit Business • Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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As a startup ecosystem, Detroit plays to its strength in community
By Anna Fifelski
Detroit’s startup community has gained momentum in the past several years, showing out as the world’s second-fastest growing ecosystem and attracting attention as a booster of the state’s economy.
Harnessing that momentum takes e ort from all players — venture capitalists, founders, investors and state government — to develop a community where startups can thrive.
People deeply involved in Detroit’s newly vibrant startup scene say its growth between now and 2050 will depend on leveraging that community.
If Detroit is to compete with out-of-state ecosystems like Silicon Valley, New York and Austin, it needs work.
But some tech experts think that Detroit shouldn’t have to compete. Rather, the Motor City should embrace all the history that makes it stand out as a place where startups can thrive.
How Michigan grows as an ecosystem over the next quarter-century depends on how we approach its issues, Rishi Moudgil, executive director of the Michigan Founders Fund, told Crain’s in an email.
“(It) will depend on us and how much we’re willing to invest into what’s needed to lift many parts of Michigan,” Moudgil said.
“We have to do it di erently than they have elsewhere, and be sure to consider success as not only growing quickly and reaching an exit, but also widening the net of who participates, while also ensuring we’re committed to lifting our broader communities.”
Detroit has seen an increase of around $175 million in yearly venture capital investments since 2019, according to data from PitchBook, a Seattle-based global capital market database. In 2023, there was $467 million in VC investments across the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metro area, spread across 69 deals. In 2019, the $292 million was split across 62 deals.
Venture capital deal size continued to increase throughout 2023, according to the Michigan Venture Capital Association’s yearly impact report. Last year, Michigan as a whole saw the highest ever deal value from outside investors, reaching a total of $543.7 million.
Infrastructure for success
Improving the scene for startups depends on many factors, including infrastructure.
Ned Staebler, president of TechTown and vice president of economic development for Wayne State University, said the answer is simple.
“Transit, also transit, and I would recommend some transit,” Staebler said. “If I could wave my magic wand and create one thing for our startup ecosystem here, it would be transit.”
Transit is key to attracting not only high-tech, high-growth and high-wage businesses and founders to Detroit, but also everyday people.
“We must x that as a requisite, but not su cient — a necessary, but not su cient step,” Staebler said. “ en we can add on to that, investments in public spaces, investments in cultural
Black Tech Saturdays co-founder Alexa Turnage, Michigan Chronicle editor Ebony JJ Curry, Shot Selection co-founder Gerard Victor, Rose Garden Production Co. founder Randi Rossario, and Black Tech Saturdays co-founder Johnnie Turnage at the June 29 Black Tech Saturday event at Newlab at Michigan Central. | QUINN BANKS
amenities and housing options, retail and shopping amenities, those are the kinds of things that create communities where people want to stay.”
And Johnnie Turnage, co-founder of Black Tech Saturdays, agrees. Not only will public transit attract people to Detroit, he argues, but it also serves the entrepreneurial experience.
“We need a much stronger public transit and much stronger mass transit system to make it so it’s possible for entrepreneurs to cut as many costs as possible to survive long enough in the game to get to their next thing,” Turnage said. “Amazon didn’t come here, because of public transit. We’ve lost out on very big projects and very big companies coming here. … Walkability and how people can get around without a car is important.”
Improved transit systems may only scratch the surface of ways that Detroit and Michigan can stand out as a great place to build a company.
Moudgil said there are many factors that people consider important before moving to a new city: founders need adequate health care, child care, safety and a strong education system, as well as easily accessible pathways to the money that can fuel startups’ growth.
Above all, Detroit needs to draw
people’s attention, and people will take notice if Detroit works to keep fostering an inclusive community.
“Building community is one of the most overlooked aspects of creating a successful ecosystem, and that’s why Michigan Founders Fund is focused there,” Moudgil said. “One of the most important criteria is that founders are sup-
ported and have access to other founders. By being intentional about how we build community, we create more density between founders and that fosters trust and a foundation to stay here. We also have built-in mechanisms to not only create thriving companies, but give back to our local communities through philanthropy, vol-
unteering, mentorship, inclusion and more.”
Detroit and its suburbs have seen new victories in creating places for startup founders to meet.
Turnage and his wife, Alexa, co-founded Black Tech Saturdays to create a space for Black entrepreneurs interested in tech; Tech-
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Town o ers a hub for pre-seed startups to get their footing; and Lawrence Technical University in South eld created Centrepolis, the only hardware tech accelerator in the state.
Despite the challenges, Detroit and Michigan’s startup ecosystems have continued to grow. e goal is to make sure everyone both here and outside Michigan can see it, too. “I think letting people know that they belong … We have to be really, really good at showcasing there are a bunch of communities you could belong to,” Johnnie Turnage said. “ ere’s an AI community, there’s a FinTech community, there’s a clean energy community growing here. ere’s growing MediaTech. ere’s SportsTech. Getting really good at an ecosystem, showcasing the diversity in the communities and where people can belong, how they can get plugged in, I think, is how we can attract more people here.”
Dan Radomski, executive director of Centrepolis, said he’s been seeing more specialization in Michigan’s startup ecosystem as well and, in turn, are able to collaborate with multiple programs.
“I think people are recognizing that, ‘Hey, I don’t have to own this client all by myself. If I can get support from another accelerator or incubator program then,
See STARTUP on Page 14
STARTUP
From Page 13
mutually, we’re helping this company be successful, then we all win,’” Radomski said. “So we’ve been very fortunate to work with all the smart zones. ey might provide more of the business strategy support, and we do more of the physical product development. So in that way, I think the ecosystem’s gotten far more reaching, inclusive and certainly specialized to help all sorts of types of founders and startups.”
e opening of the Newlab accelerator at Michigan Central has already attracted the attention of some would-be entrepreneurs from far outside metro Detroit.
In May, EcoG GMBH, an international electric vehicle charging startup, opened its North American headquarters at Newlab at Michigan Central. e company vowed to invest $14.5 million in the city.
Johannes Hund, co-founder of the German startup, said it was always clear that the company would thrive in Detroit.
“We see the ecosystem (in Detroit) is very good for growing companies like us, especially being close to the automotive industry, being in a town that is looking for new opportunities,”
Invested in Detroit’s future
Hund said at grand opening for the headquarters in May. “When we were in the Techstars (incubator) program (in 2015), we were invited for New York and for Detroit, and we chose Detroit — which also in hindsight was the right choice, because it brought us immediately to a very vivid ecosystem between automotive industry, energy industry, and also a general sense of business and entrepreneurship.”
And having physical places where founders can work and meet clearly makes a di erence. A year after its opening, Newlab had attracted 92 startups and 540 members — and that number reects just 30% of the building’s physical capacity.
Founders are looking at startup ecosystems across the country to develop and scale their businesses, but Moudgil, Turnage, Staebler and Radomski all agree: Detroit has something special.
“I might be the wrong person to tell a younger person this, but Detroit is cool. Detroit is authentic,” Staebler said. “ ose other places are sterile, they’re corporate. ey’re Patagonia-vest-wearing, earbud and, cheesy-TikTok, meme-creating, fake places. Detroit is real. It’s authentic. Doing things here creates a much higher sense of accomplishment, value and reality.”
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The Unity Towers at Warren Gateway Park along the Joe Louis Greenway | Photo Credit: Chelsea Irons-Light
On the riverfront, progress is major but opportunity remains
By Kirk Pinho
ese may have been the most monumental 18 or so months for the Detroit riverfront in decades — both to the good and to the bad.
And how a host of unknowns play out in the next couple years will shape one of the city’s crown jewels for decades to come.
e recent victories have been major ones, to be sure: e opening of a new unsubsidized 25-story market-rate apartment tower. A new luxury convention hotel now underway on the former Joe Louis Arena site. Completion of a longplanned Detroit RiverWalk connection between Mt. Elliott and Gabriel Richard parks. Opening the new Southwest Greenway that will connect to the massive under-construction Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park on the west riverfront.
And the big picture: reclamation of a beautiful resource that once was lled with industrial eyesores.
But there are asterisks that make the next 20 years something of a crossroads.
e future of the river’s bestknown building, the Renaissance Center, is uncertain as General Motors moves its headquarters up Woodward and works with Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock real estate rm to
gure out the o ce complex’s future.
Adding to that is the stain left on the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the nonpro t which programs, manages and maintains the wildly popular riverwalk, after its CFO was charged this summer in perhaps the most high-pro le corruption scandal Detroit has seen since the Kilpatrick administration.
William Smith’s alleged crimes, which went undetected by auditors, sta and a stacked board of directors for a dozen years, resulted in the departure of the conservancy’s longtime CEO, who has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, and, to paraphrase Taylor Swift, rusted its
sparkling reputation.
e long-term implications of the scandal, if any beyond just the allegedly pilfered $40 million, on the waterfront and how it evolves will play out in the coming years.
But it raises questions about the future of the conservancy’s ability to provide the same kind of services as it has for years, said Josh Elling, CEO of the nonpro t Je erson East Inc. who believes a public nancing model — and the public oversight and scrutiny that comes with that — may be the best way to go.
“We are in a strange period now where slowly the scope of the crisis is fully becoming apparent,” Elling said. “I love our friends at the
FROM DETROIT HOMECOMING TO YOUR NEXT MOVE
The nal stretch of the East RiverWalk opened in late 2023, linking the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle with the site of the former Joe Louis Arena. | DETROIT
RIVERFRONT CONSERVANCY
Riverfront Conservancy. ey do yeo-person’s work. But if you think about the infrastructure they have subsidized over the years — the camera systems, the security, the maintenance of the Dequindre Cut, the maintenance of the Joseph Campau Greenway — how is that going to be maintained?”
Marc Pasco, director of communications for the conservancy, said in an email that although the alleged theft has been “devastating,” “the ongoing support of our partners and funders provides us with con dence in our continued ability to maintain the quality of operations” for the riverfront.
Mark Wallace, the former CEO,
told Crain’s two years ago that although di cult to calculate, the conservancy spends about $1.1 million per year on things like landscaping, trash pickup, extra police patrols and private security. While foundations have come to the rescue with a $35 million lifeline for completing construction projects like a massive new park on the west riverfront, funding for meat-and-potatoes maintenance is more uncertain.
Matt Cullen, the longtime chair of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy board who has donated millions to the e ort over the years, said it’s the nonpro t’s job to ensure that, in spite of its wounded state, the vision for the waterfront continues. To make it so there is no noticeable di erence to the general public.
But, Cullen said, it’s been “traumatic” for the conservancy, its stakeholders, and the philanthropic community that has poured tens of millions into it, and others.
“You’re never the same after something like this,” Cullen said. “As individuals, as an organization, as a community. It leaves a mark, for sure. But it doesn’t change our commitment to make sure we deliver on the original vision.”
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High stakes
e stakes are high, and the challenges ahead daunting.
While the riverfront continues to attract millions of visitors from the city, region and elsewhere each year, adding housing developments and residents has been slower.
Save for e Residences at Water Square by Detroit-based Sterling Group, the new market-rate tower and the rst and ultimately only phase of Orleans Landing, by St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar Development Inc., not much in the way of new housing has been added near the water in the last decade or so, in spite of the development boom elsewhere in the city — and proposals by other developers have failed.
Although new amenities and programming are regularly added along the miles-long expanse spanning from — eventually, the conservancy says — the Ambassador Bridge to Canada to the Douglas MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle, it’s been an uphill climb to add much in the way of things like new o ce users and retail, for example.
After three decades, a key stakeholder, General Motors Co., is leaving its longtime headquarters overlooking the water and as a result, what is perhaps the entire state’s most iconic piece of real estate — the Renaissance Center, for
some an uno cial marker between east and west riverfronts — faces an uncertain future.
e pending removal of a freeway, I-375, to create a boulevard slinking south toward the water in the coming years adds development opportunity nearby, but questions linger about the precise design and how the developable land created anking it will be carved up.
And none of those factor in Smith’s embezzlement scandal that has rocked the nonpro t conservancy widely credited with the riverfront’s transformation from an uninviting, dirty industrial hub to a pedestrian-friendly hotspot where you can walk your dog, go for a jog, sh, ride a bike or stroll with friends and family.
“As much as the riverfront has changed in the last 20 years, I think it will change just as much in the next 10,” Cullen said.
While the metamorphosis from caterpillar into butter y has been nothing short of remarkable the last two decades, so too must be the leadership and vision from the jolted Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, real estate developers, urban planners and business leaders moving forward in the next two decades, Crain’s has opined.
A remarkable turnaround
e riverfront is in a far better
place than it was just a couple decades ago, from an urban planning perspective.
One of the city’s most unique features — a waterfront bifurcating two countries — has been activated with things like splash pads, playscapes, lush gardens, public art, fountains, carousels and other features that make it a must-see for people living in or visiting the area.
It’s not been an easy journey, of course, essentially creating a brand new urban fabric out of an old one.
But for all the progress, it needs to become denser in the future, said Antoine Bryant, the city’s planning director. With the east riverfront having large swaths of undeveloped land and long-empty buildings, those provide ample opportunity for everything from new mixed-income housing to hotels and restaurants and bars, he said.
“Almost every other major city that has a great riverfront, it’s almost exclusively Class A housing, condos and hotels, right? Pick a city,” Bryant said, pointing to Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, New York City and Miami as examples.
“ ey are willing to maximize that real estate and then it becomes not only an economic driver unto itself, but also a regional pull,” he said.
But it’s been a challenge, Bryant said, getting new private development out of the ground for a host of
reasons, ranging from zoning in the area, which is being explored; to public nancing deployment; as well as broader market conditions. While the new Residences at Water Square tower was completed without public nancing, for example, that’s a rarity in the city.
“If we can have more developers say they want to come in here and do it on their own, well, merry Christmas, everybody,” Bryant said. “But given that’s typically not the case, then we have to be much more strategic with our public resources.”
Among those that may need that: e long-planned — and long-delayed — redevelopment of the 42acre former Uniroyal Tire Co. site sandwiched between Mt. Elliott Park and the Belle Isle bridge. Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native and NFL Hall of Famer, has been working on the project for nearly two decades, and recently brought Detroit developer Roderick Hardamon on board as a consultant.
“ ey really are putting together a pretty impressive development plan to kind of realize and actually can bring that to bear,” Bryant said. “ ere’s still some some sharpening of the pencils to make sure everything works ... it’s much closer now than it’s probably ever been.”
And a somewhat new key player has also come to the area: Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate company, which did not make an executive available for an interview.
In the last few years, Gilbert has spent north of $100 million buying properties along the water, ranging from vacant land to o ce and apartment buildings to hotels and even a former UAW training center.
It could also wind up acquiring even more, as it is in conversations with General Motors about what to do with the automaker’s owned portion of the massive RenCen complex that de nes the city’s skyline. Conversations behind the scenes have taken place about razing a portion of the complex, although there’s been nothing de nitive about its future released.
“It’s an incredible opportunity, but also incredible uncertainty,” Elling said.
Whatever happens with the massive development that was built in the 1970s and 1980s, it will likely set the tone for the future of the waterfront, Cullen said.
For his part, Gilbert, in a conversation with Sachse Construction CEO Todd Sachse that was posted on the contractor’s social media channels a few weeks ago, said one of the options being considered is attempting to create an area akin to New York City’s Chelsea Piers, the 28-acre waterfront complex focused on athletics, tness and other uses.
“ e riverfront is now going to become a much bigger part of what we do,” Gilbert told Sachse.
Welcome back to the great city of Detroit!
The Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation is proud to support the Detroit Homecoming and its efforts to reconnect and re-engage people in the city's rebirth.
ROCK: Your connection to opportunity and innovation
How ROCK, the Gilberts’ Family Of ce, is leveraging For More Than Pro t to invest in the city’s bright future
Detroit Homecoming is more than just an event; it is a powerful platform connecting Detroiters and investors with the city’s remarkable rise. For nearly a decade and a half, ROCK and the Gilbert Family have served as a pivotal connection point for investment and opportunity in the city. ROCK connects some of the greatest minds with the boundless potential of Detroit at the intersection of muscle and brains. ROCK is backed by the power of the Rock Family of Companies (FOC), more than 100 entities spanning sports, technology, hospitality, entertainment and more.
In 2010, Rocket, the agship company in the ROCK portfolio, made a big bet on Detroit, moving to the downtown urban core. This bet was a major catalyst for the city’s transformation, bringing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in capital, sparking a wave of investment. The FOC operates under the ‘For More Than Pro t’ philosophy where business is not solely focused on nancial gain but aims to make a positive impact on society. When communities thrive, business thrives, and that is happening in Detroit. In June 2024, the city showed year-over-year population growth for the rst time in 6 decades. People are ocking to Detroit to live, work and play.
Now is the time to invest in Detroit. The unemployment rate has plummeted from 28% during the nancial crisis to under 5% in recent years, re ecting the robust economic recovery. Detroit’s GDP has been steadily increasing, bolstered by a diversi ed economy that includes technology, nance, healthcare and hospitality. This economic diversi cation is combined with one of the best emerging startup ecosystems in the world, supported by organizations in the FOC like Detroit Venture Partners. Detroit is the ideal destination for savvy investors looking to be a part of history.
The remarkable growth in downtown Detroit is a testament to what can be achieved when business success is paired with a commitment to community development. As the adage goes, “it takes a village.” The FOC has brought jobs and capital, but it is the people of
Detroit who make this city great. Their grit, determination and innovative minds gave birth to the American middle class and put the world on wheels. Now, Detroit is the epicenter of American entrepreneurship. The revitalization of Detroit was a team effort between numerous public and private entities, and we are only getting started.
The foundation for successful investment has been laid. Through Bedrock, the FOC has invested more than $6 billion in real estate to reinvigorate Detroit’s downtown.
The Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund have committed $500 million to community initiatives to ensure the city’s neighborhoods and residents have economic mobility. Detroit Venture Partners has invested nearly $500 million into the startup ecosystem over the past decade. Detroit is growing and you are invited to be a part of it.
ROCK helped build connections and collaboration that resulted in the reopening
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of Detroit’s only HBCU (Historically Black College and University). Under the direction of renowned designer Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, the once shuttered Lewis College of Business in Detroit was reopened as Pensole Lewis College of Design. With support from the Gilbert Family Foundation and major brands like Target, Foot Locker and Nike, the Pensole Lewis College of Design provides worldclass design experience right here in Detroit. This new educational facility, along with others like Apple Developer Academy, create tuition free educational access for Detroiters to advance their skills and diversify industry and talent in the city.
ROCK is a connective tissue across the city, uniting investors, entrepreneurs, community leaders and policymakers to maximize impact and contribute to the growth of Detroit.
One of ROCK’s most notable achievements is supporting the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
ROCK, working alongside the Detroit Lions, Bedrock, Rock Entertainment Group, Rock Events, Rocket Companies and others, played a critical role in bringing this event to Detroit. In addition to drawing a record 775,000 people downtown, the Draft injected millions into the local economy. The world witnessed Detroit’s vibrancy and soul, seeing the city as a premier location for major events and investments.
Detroit’s future is bright, and the city is poised for continued growth and innovation. For investors seeking to be part of this exciting journey, ROCK offers the ideal partnership, providing the insights and connections necessary to navigate Detroit’s landscape.
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For more information on how you can be part of history, visit rock.com.
e Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund have committed $500 million to community initia-
e ROCK Family of Companies includes over 100 entities spanning sports, technology, entertainment and more.
Trio of ‘innovation hubs’ will alter entrepreneurial landscape
By Michael Lee
Critical mass is the name of the game.
A trio of separate projects backed by some of the biggest names in Detroit business are all aiming for similar goals: fostering innovation. And they’re going to change Michigan’s startup economy and business landscape.
One of those projects, the renovation of Michigan Central and the nearby Book Depository building that now houses the Newlab incubator, is already well under way. Two others are in di erent stages of development.
e University of Michigan, backed with funding from New York real estate developer and Detroit native Stephen Ross, is building its new University of Michigan Center for Innovation
in the District Detroit.
And the rst glimpse at a project contemplated by Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC is now starting to emerge on the site of the failed Wayne County jail project.
e three projects at the intersection of technology and business are likely to o er much for entrepreneurs and are likely to offer many ways for entrepreneurs to connect.
TechTown Detroit, a startup incubator that is part of Wayne State University dating back to 2004, has o ered some of the services that are generally part of an innovation campus. Still, as a general rule, “more is better,” Ned Staebler, TechTown’s president and CEO, said of the in-development projects.
“ e reality is that in a real ecosystem, there isn’t just one core. So (Ford’s) train station can get its
own center of gravity,” Staebler told Crain’s. “To make it a true ecosystem, we have to have interplay between those various hubs and nodes. It’s so important ... that people don’t build silos.”
“Innovation hubs” got their spiritual start at the Cornell Tech development on New York’s Roosevelt Island, where Cornell Uni-
versity built a campus with the speci c goal of linking business and academia and to create new companies.
e Cornell campus was the inspiration for Ross’ original vision for the UM Center for Innovation, now under construction in the Ilitch family’s District Detroit development.
Startups at Newlab and Michigan Central
What such a center can promise is getting new attention at Michigan Central, especially the Newlab incubator, which is already putting Detroit on the mind of
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The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, managed by Detroit Development Fund, has now made more than $18 million in low interest loans to support small business owners in Detroit, helping to create and retain nearly 2,200 jobs and occupying 260,000 square feet of previously vacant commercial space.
The redeveloped 270,000-square-foot Book Depository building next to Michigan Central in Corktown was renamed Newlab at Michigan Central. | KURT NAGL
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INNOVATION
From Page 20
would-be entrepreneurs.
e members-only shared workspace, research lab and venture platform opened in April 2023, with 25 startups and 150 members. One year in, that had grown to 92 startups and 540 members.
and house 500 to 1,000 students in its programs. A residential tower is eventually planned that will let those students live in the city.
The jail site
e incubator’s rst member company, an electric RV company called Grounded has already grown to the point where it has rented space in a nearby warehouse for its six employees.
“I mean, starting a startup is hard and it’s an emotional roller coaster and so it’s really nice being in a physical space and a community of people kind of going through the same thing,” founder Sam Shapiro told Crain’s earlier this year. “We help each other with business and engineering questions, but I think honestly, much more than that, we’re just like an emotional support system for each other.”
Less is known about this plan, but designs by Gilbert on the former site of a failed Wayne County Jail project on Gratiot Avenue have been brewing up for years.
A peek at what might be in the o ng for the site came in the form of a request for proposals for architectural services circulated by Bedrock. It envisions a ve-story life sciences building that would house a precision-medicine cancer treatment center and other biomedical space.
UM Center for Innovation
Under construction in the District Detroit after breaking ground in December 2023, the UMCI is intended to house a graduate school that links UM’s business o erings with Detroit entrepreneurs.
e $250 million satellite campus behind the Fox eatre represents UM’s biggest investment in Detroit and promises to be a key link between the Detroit and Ann Arbor startup scenes.
e site, often called the “fail jail” site, came under Gilbert’s control when his company handed over the new jail building it built on East Ferry Street to Wayne County. He had long coveted the western gateway to downtown and argued for years that using it for a jail would be an enormous missed opportunity. e site at one time was the targeted location for what became the UMCI, when Gilbert and Ross were working together on a proposal to develop the 14 acres there. ose plans changed, but the RFP for the life-sciences building preserved much of the language and vision for a district focused on innovation.
Backed by a $100 million donation from UM alum Ross and $100 million from the state of Michigan, the center is planned to focus on programs in robotics, advanced manufacturing, clean energy and other high-tech elds
Bedrock CEO Ko Bonner said the property “o ers a unique chance to craft a dynamic hub that will appeal to innovative businesses and energize the surrounding neighborhood.”
The current vision for the site is an “innovation district” with office, science, tech, residential, retail and park space, the RFP says.
The site of the former Wayne County Jail project in Detroit KIRK PINHO
A rendering of the under-construction University of Michigan Center for Innovation in the District Detroit. | KOHN PEDERSEN FOX ASSOCIATES
Detroit keeps pace with Ann Arbor as VC capital
By Anna Fifelski
While they are longtime competitors, Detroit and Ann Arbor have spearheaded Michigan’s technological growth.
Southeast Michigan dominates in the number of startups, venture capital funds and more. Eyes have long looked to Ann Arbor as the state’s leading force, backed by the educational foundation of the University of Michigan.
Yet Detroit is seeing more investments in innovation, with the development of Newlab at Michigan Central and the renovation of the neighboring Michigan Central Station; as well as the burgeoning of more startup incubators and accelerators.
Despite the long-held belief that Ann Arbor is Michigan’s technology capital, Detroit has outperformed the college town in venture capital deals and capital raised, and is neck-and-neck with Ann Arbor as Michigan’s top innovation ecosystems, according to data from PitchBook, a Seattle-headquartered global markets database.
Head to head
one, because of the resurgence of the city itself and the energy that Detroit has given,” Topouzian said. “I mean, everybody wants to be part of Detroit, and for good reason. And alongside that are the accelerators and the folks that just want to do business and be located in Detroit.”
Between 2014 and 2023, startups in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan statistical area completed 661 venture capital deals compared to 400 deals completed in Ann Arbor in the same time, according to data from PitchBook. Between those deals, Detroit outperformed Ann Arbor in capital invested by $912 million.
In 2023 alone, Detroit startups have nearly doubled the number of venture capital deals when compared to Ann Arbor startups, at 69 and 35, respectively. Detroit has exceeded Ann Arbor in VC deals and investments since 2014.
What builds an ecosystem
When compared to Detroit, Ann Arbor startups are completing fewer exits, which is when a company is acquired by a larger company or pursues an initial public o ering.
S PART ANS
OF STATEWIDE IMPACT
As a leading public research university, Michigan State University generates knowledge and innovations that fuel Michigan’s economy statewide in critical fields like engineering, health care and beyond. And by educating more Michigan students than any other university, we are preparing tomorrow’s leaders to help Detroit and all of Michigan continue to thrive.
Detroit and Ann Arbor have about the same number of venture capital rms, said Ara Topouzian, executive director at the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
MVCA has around 40 active venture capital funds across the state, 15 of which are in Ann Arbor with another 14 in Detroit.
“MVCA really started in the Ann Arbor area, and so I think you did see a number of investors that were from Ann Arbor, mostly because of the University of Michigan and the work that they have done in the spin-outs and whatnot,” Topouzian said.
“So I think naturally, Ann Arbor has been a hub for all of these years for venture activity.”
Emerging tech incubators and accelerators are putting Detroit on the map for startups and investors. TechTown, Wayne State University’s research and technology business park, was founded in 2000; Detroit Smart Parking Lab, an incubator designed for startups tackling parking solutions and backed by Bedrock, Bosch, Ford, the state of Michigan and operated by NextEnergy and Park Rite, was founded in 2021. Most recently, Newlab at Michigan Central opened its doors in 2023, prefacing the grand reopening of the Michigan Central Station in June.
“In the last number of years, I think certainly we’re seeing now … increased activity in Detroit again because of a few things;
However, the exit deals Ann Arbor startups are making are far higher in value than the deals Detroit startups are making. With 40 exits since 2014, Ann Arbor has $3.7 billion in exit value compared to 57 Detroit startup exits valued at $2.5 billion. e di erence comes down to 2018, when Ann Arbor had only four exits but generated $2.4 billion in exit value. Notably, Dug Song, co-founder of Duo Security, sold his startup to Cisco Systems Inc. for $2.35 billion. ere might not be anyone who knows better about how Ann Arbor and Detroit stack up than Song, who attended the University of Michigan and spent years in Ann Arbor scaling up Duo.
In the years since selling Duo and taking a leave of absence from his role of chief strategy ofcer for Cisco’s security division, he’s taken a leading role in the conversation around the resurgence of Detroit’s tech ecosystem. Song is also the founder of the Song Foundation, which invests in projects surrounding diverse youth and emergent leadership, inclusive technology and entrepreneurship, transformative social justice and activism, according to the foundation’s website.
Ann Arbor is an older tech ecosystem than Detroit, Song said, which may be where the perception of it as Michigan tech
capital stems from. But it wasn’t the ecosystem he wanted it to be.
“What I didn’t see was the community I wanted to be a part of,” Song said.
While he was working on Duo in Ann Arbor, Song was starting com-
munity groups and looking for other founders to connect with, leveraging resources from his alma mater and more, to try and build a network akin to Boulder, Colo.
“Your duty is to say, ‘Hey, you
should meet this person,’ and make that connection,” Song said. “ at’s what actually builds an ecosystem. at’s what builds a community. at’s kind of what built Ann Arbor and that’s what we’re doing now in Detroit. It just
keeps going and going.”
But Song doesn’t care about the di erences between the two cities. Rather, he cares more about making sure they work together.
Last October at Michigan Tech Week, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that Ann Arbor and Detroit would work together under one consortium to apply for a federal tech hub designation. e consortium was ultimately passed over.
“Ann Arbor and Detroit are closer together than San Francisco is to San Jose,” Song said. “It’s a cultural problem we have of folks not having a history of ever having to work together to be successful; we’re victims of our own success, in that Ann Arbor never needed Detroit to be successful.”
All of Michigan would bene t if leaders from the cities can work together to capitalize on each
Newlab at Michigan Central, a startup incubator, is among one of the driving forces in accelerating the venture capital ecosystem in Detroit. | STEPHEN MCGEE/MICHIGAN CENTRAL
Testing a virtual reality system at Newlab at Michigan Central in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. | STEPHEN MCGEE/MICHIGAN CENTRAL
This special edition tells Kresge’s history in 100 moments of impact from our founding in 1924 by retail pioneer Sebastian S. Kresge, through decades of capital grants supporting 10,000 public-purpose buildings across the United States, and finally our emergence in this century as a strategic philanthropy defined by our work in Detroit, in our additional focus cities of New Orleans, Memphis and Fresno, California, and in cities across the United States. At each step, our story is also the story of the thousands and thousands of partners we have worked with over the last century. READ IT ONLINE
Views of Detroit, from two boomerangs and a lifer
For too long, Michigan’s population was stagnant, with more people moving away rather than moving to Michigan. But times are changing!
I’m Hilary Doe, Michigan’s rst Chief Growth O cer. I myself am a “boomerang,” a Michigander who returned to Detroit — not out of nostalgia, but because I’m betting on Michigan’s future.
At this year’s Detroit Homecoming, there’s so much to celebrate.
From Michigan Central Station’s rebirth as an epicenter of mobility innovation; to the Lions’ NFC championship game and Detroit’s record-breaking, highest-attended NFL Draft in history (a $213 million economic impact), Detroit is winning on the world stage. And importantly, Detroit’s population is rising too — for the rst time since 1957 — thanks to countless partners and allies. e momentum is palpable and we’re just getting started.
In my role, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from over 10,000 people statewide. ey want great opportunities, great places, and welcoming communities. When asked what speci cally they love about Michigan and value in a place to call home, I noticed two
like PitchMI, and our diversity shaped Make MI Home, a rst-inthe-nation e ort designed to kick-start growth. ese qualities are key to why I’m betting on Michigan — along with my fellow boomerangs, lifers, and transplants. Because of Michiganders — current and future.
Growth is a group project. It takes all of us rolling up our sleeves and building on this momentum.
troit. There was a new sense of investment, and I wanted to be in a place where my actions would benefit a community that I loved.
After going back and forth between Detroit and New York for over ve years, I fully moved back home in 2016 and founded URGE, a real estate rm focused on creative placekeeping and placemaking.
qualities that stand out: our diversity — of place and people –and our innovation. is is precisely what brought me back to Michigan from NYC. at feeling of “if only I could” or “someone should” and in Michigan, you can. Detroit inspires. Our diverse people and perspectives empower us to invent and manufacture solutions to today’s most pressing challenges, as we’re demonstrating now through Michigan’s leadership in the ght against the climate crisis. Our innovators inspired new programs
I’m excited to introduce two Detroiters who share why they choose to live and work here — one who left and came back, and another who has experienced the world without leaving her hometown. Each is helping to build Detroit’s future.
Placemaking and placekeeping
What up doe! I’m Roderick Hardamon, a Detroit native and founder of e URGE Group. My journey took me to Atlanta for college, then to New York to work for over a decade on Wall Street. But Detroit has a way of calling you home. My connection to the city never waned, and by 2010 I could tell there was something transformative happening in De-
We’ve always believed in betting on the impossible.
Impossible challenges. Impossible innovation. Impossible brilliance. Forty-seven years ago, Urban Science didn’t know what the future of Detroit or mobility would hold, but we did have an idea of the potential. Nearly half a century later, we’re making the impossible, possible. Because when we invest in what we believe in, there’s no student who can’t succeed, no infrastructure that can’t become stronger and no limit to the progress we can make.
While we welcome expats and newcomers to Detroit, we must approach community development through intentional “placekeeping” — recognizing the value that already exists in communities and their historical legacies. It’s about supporting our existing residents and creating economic opportunities for everyone. e dynamic communities that make up Detroit are the reason we’re building here. It’s because they chose to remain that there’s so much value in Detroit to build upon. From the Joe Louis Greenway to the riverwalk to the neighborhoods, Detroit is a vibrant city. It’s our culture — the DIA, MOCAD, ree irteen, the murals, the food, the music — that makes the city organic, inclusive, and inviting. If you’re authentic, we welcome you.
There’s fertile ground here for those who want to bring something consequential to the city. If you’re thinking about coming back to Detroit, the time is now. You haven’t missed the boat. There’s still so much opportunity here to make a sustainable impact and to do well by doing good.
Seeing the world in Detroit
Many people leave their home-
Hilary Doe is Michigan’s rst chief growth o cer, leading e orts to grow the state’s population, economy and reputation.
Roderick Hardamon is the CEO and chief strategist of e URGE Group, a real estate advisory, development and investment platform headquartered in Detroit.
towns for colleges in other states to experience new places, but for me, being in Detroit has never been a barrier to experiencing the rest of the world.
My name is Angelica Williams and I’m a youth empowerment advocate. I’m a born and raised Detroiter, and I plan to be one for life.
Growing up, my family faced nancial di culties and housing insecurity. As a young Black girl in Detroit, it was often challenging to escape the perception of violence. I’ve reconciled that violence isn’t exclusive to Detroit and is only a small part of the city’s character.
After graduating from Cass Tech in 2020, I chose to attend Wayne State University because it was the school my mom attended, and I didn’t want to leave my little sisters behind. Plus, the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge created an accessible pathway for me.
I didn’t feel like I needed to leave Detroit to experience the world around me. Growing up, I was privileged to go to places like Atlanta and Chicago, and on one memorable occasion to Spain. Now when I go anywhere, whether it’s to the store or out of the country, it’s nice to come home to a place I know as well as I know myself.
Access to opportunity isn’t al-
Angelica Williams is the youngest member of the L!FE leadership team, advocating for youth voices and opportunity.
ways a given. We’re at a time where Gen Zers are having diculties nding entryways into sustainable livelihoods. I work with organizations like L!FE Leaders to promote intergenerational partnerships and youth leadership. I envision expanding arts and culture opportunities outside of downtown, creating a legacy of belonging where murals, development projects, and neighborhoods re ect Detroiters’ vision for themselves and the city.
Detroit is full of opportunity. It’s about unlocking that opportunity and creating a place where everyone is glad to come home to.
VC DEALS
From Page 25
city’s strengths, Song said. Despite the e ort to work together, Ann Arbor and Detroit have their di erences.
Building a bridge
Amanda Lewan, co-founder of co-working company Bamboo, is capitalizing on the culture of the Detroit and Ann Arbor communities.
“(In Ann Arbor), we are seeing more boomerang talent and executive-level talent and students and engineers,” Lewan said. “But in Detroit, we’ve always had this culture of Detroit has always been a little bit of an underestimated city with underestimated talent. And our Detroit startups are often bootstrapping and guring out models and then getting to a series A, and it might be the rst time they raise money because they’ve had less resources.”
Ann Arbor and Detroit startups have had a similar number of fundraising deals since 2014, according to PitchBook data, with 26 and 25 deals, respectively.
However, Ann Arbor startups have had double the amount of capital in the same amount of time. Since 2014, Ann Arbor has raised $1.1 billion in capital compared to
$535 million raised by Detroit startups. In 2023 alone, Ann Arbor startups outperformed Detroit startups by three times, raising $275 million in capital compared to $76 million in Detroit.
Bamboo has locations in Detroit at 1420 Washington Blvd., Royal Oak at 220 S. Main St. and Ann Arbor at 200 S 1st St. e co-working company has about 150 members in Ann Arbor and 600 in Detroit. Lewan said that in a few years, she anticipates the Ann Arbor space to have around 400 members.
Being the company’s rst location, it makes sense why Detroit would be outperforming the Ann Arbor space, which opened in April.
“We’ve always had mentors and friends in the Ann Arbor community, and they have been participating in the Detroit community, and we thought there was an opportunity to build a bridge between the two cities,” Lewan said. at bridge includes connecting the talent and members in both communities through events.
Lewan said the Ann Arbor location is working on integrating into the UM community by opening the space for university students to explore the world of startups and hosting UM-related events.
UM has long been considered the backbone of Ann Arbor’s startup ecosystem, from the developments of its students and faculty to
its investments through UM Innovation Partnerships and its recent participation in the Michigan University Innovation Capital Consortium.
“ ere’s a tremendous movement of diverse talent in Detroit, as well as really talented founders,” Lewan said. “So I think there’s this opportunity to connect the talent in the two cities. Ann Arbor’s housing market, I think, is actually more challenging and expensive. In Detroit, there still are a ordable places to live. So you have a little more room, I think, to live and grow in Detroit. But with the University of Michigan and the success of Duo and all that spin-o talent and capital, there should be some great opportunities here for companies to thrive in both cities and leverage both city’s strengths.”
Dug Song is co-founder of the Song Foundation. BRETTMOUNTAIN
Humana enlists Michigan veteran to land state contract
By Dustin Walsh
Kentucky-based insurance giant Humana Inc. is making a play to grow market share in Michigan — and it’s hired the former CEO of the state’s largest mental health provider Eric Doeh to lead them there.
In June Doeh resigned from the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, which provides services to more than 123,000 people in the county, after seven years with the organization and took the role of Michigan market CEO and plan president for Humana in July.
Doeh’s marching orders are to secure a lucrative government contract for Humana (NYSE: HUM) when the state of Michigan transitions about 3% of the population from its MI Health Link pilot program into a new permanent dual-eligible plan in 2026.
More than 300,000 people in the state qualify for both federal Medicare and state Medicaid programs and the state is transitioning into a broader plan to service those people. e MI Health Link pilot coordinated Medicaid and Medicare services under one provider for a more streamlined system to rid confusion among separate government programs. ere are currently about 34,000 dual-eligible Michigan residents under the MI
Health Link pilot. e larger, more permanent program will roll the remaining dual-eligible over in phases.
e state issued a request for proposals earlier this year for providers to the new, permanent program — which is likely to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Dual-eligible special needs plans, which are rolled into traditional Medicare Advantage plans, tend to have higher pro t margins for providers’ MA plans without dual coverage, according to a re-
port by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. ose plans had an average margin of 10.7% in 2020, compared to just 6.5% in MA plans.
Humana enrolls roughly 54,000 in its dual-eligible special needs plan and another 199,000 in its Medicare Advantage plan.
“ ere isn’t a shortage for people who need service and care,” Doeh, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice, told Crain’s. “We’ve always had a footprint here in Michigan, but this provides us an opportuni-
ty to be more innovative. Competition is a healthy thing and there is opportunity for us to collaborate and do some amazing things.”
In April, the state divvied up its managed care Medicaid contracts, which are valued at $15 billion.
Nine providers secured the veyear contracts, which include three one-year optional extensions and go into e ect in October, to cover roughly 2 million people. ose contracts are divided into 10 “prosperity regions” across the state. e new dual-eligible program will operate under similar
regional divisions.
Humana is the second largest dual-eligible provider in the country, growing signi cantly in the last ve years as the dual-eligible population also grew. Humana controlled a 15% market share of dual-eligible plans in 2023, up from 9% in 2018. at translates to Humana growing its dual-eligible population by near three-fold, as more people in the country become eligible.
e dual-eligible special needs population across the U.S. is diverse, with nearly half being people of color and nearly 40% under the age 65. e common theme is they are usually from low-income areas and have special health care needs that are often too complex when covered under two disparate Medicaid and Medicare systems. People under 21 years old are covered under a separate program.
Under these dual-eligible plans, Medicare is the primary source of health insurance coverage and Medicaid covers the cost of Medicare premiums as well as added services.
Humana’s dual-eligible plans include dental and vision coverage, $0 co-pays and an allowance plan that helps members pay for food, pet supplies, utility bills or rent.
Humana is based in Kentucky. | JON CHERRY/BLOOMBERG
Proactively planning for a sustainable energy future in Michigan
CHARLES MARSHALL
Vice
President
of Transmission Planning
ITC Holdings Corp.
Charles Marshall is vice president of Transmission Planning for ITC Holdings Corp. In this role, he is responsible for identifying all transmission system needs and developing system solutions to ensure the reliable and economic delivery of electricity to customers across ITC’s four operating subsidiaries.
Marshall previously served as director of transmission planning, responsible for ITC’s annual planning assessment to ensure compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) criteria and facilitating customer interconnections to the transmission system.
Marshall joined ITC as an associate engineer in 2004. His experiences range from regulatory policy and stakeholder relations to project engineering and business unit planning. Marshall was appointed to the Michigan Infrastructure Council in 2024 for a three-year term. The Council’s mission is to de ne a vision for Michigan’s infrastructure that provides the foundation for public and environmental health, economic prosperity and quality of life. Marshall is a member of the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO). He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of MichiganFlint.
Economic growth requires a reliable energy system that can provide power when and where it’s needed. Transmission is a vital part of this system that literally keeps the electricity owing. But to meet evolving energy needs, Michigan’s transmission system needs more than just maintenance; it also demands strategic expansion and proactive upgrades to unlock a cleaner energy future.
For insight into the complexities of transmission planning and how it impacts Michigan’s future growth, Crain’s Content Studio recently spoke with Charles Marshall, vice president of transmission planning at ITC Holdings Corp.
What is ITC’S role in Michigan’s energy system?
MARSHALL: ITC is part of the three-part system that keeps the lights on, which includes energy generation, transmission and distribution. ITC owns and operates portions of the transmission grid in Michigan and six other states, which is the component that allows us to enjoy our highly reliable energy systems. Our system in Michigan performs among the best in the country.
Since ITC acquired these systems roughly 20 years ago, we’ve been making prudent investments, and we’ve realized measurable improvements in the reliability of our systems. However, as you look at the industry trends in front of us, particularly as we talk about clean energy transition, it’s incumbent upon ITC to continue to make investments that keep pace with the demands placed upon the grid.
What is ITC’s horizon for planning the future needs of the grid?
MARSHALL: We have done a good job maintaining a system that’s designed to meet the needs placed upon the grid today. But those needs are rapidly changing, so we need to make decisions that will position us to be successful in the future.
Often, as an industry, we react on a real-time basis. We have load interconnections and generator interconnections that are priorities, so we do what we can to process those as expeditiously as possible.
The next planning horizon is a ve-year assessment, which
ensures we’re adhering to reliability standards. Beyond that is the long-term planning horizon, which provides us an opportunity to be proactive as opposed to reactive. It takes ve to 10 years to build the transmission infrastructure, so we need to anticipate energy needs 10 to 20 years down the road so we can start building the infrastructure we’re going to need in the future.
Why is proactive transmission planning so critical to Michigan’s energy future?
MARSHALL: When you have a proactive, forward-looking planning mindset, you have the ability to right-size the infrastructure. Then, as customers demand to interconnect, that capacity is there so they’re not waiting ve or 10 years for it to be built.
Transmission ensures reliability. As our industry evolves, the needs and demands placed upon the grid change, so it needs to behave differently. As we build a future that’s more dependent upon renewable resources, we need a broader, more robust transmission system. We need greater access to regional or wholesale markets — the ability to import power from neighboring states and regions on a real-time basis. When you build the right transmission infrastructure that provides access to those neighboring markets, it ensures reliable energy to customers.
What projects are underway to ensure that power is reliably delivered across state lines?
MARSHALL: There is a multistate planning process underway called Long Range Transmission Planning (LRTP). The rst portfolio of projects, referred to as Tranche 1, was approved in July 2022. These 345,000 volt projects span from the Dakotas to Michigan. This entire portfolio of Tranche 1 projects is about $10 billion, and the investment in Michigan is $850 million.
Here in Michigan, there’s about 95 miles of 345 kV projects from Lansing down to the Northern Indiana border. That’s going to be the rst interstate transmission we’ve built in 50 years, which is signi cant.
Now, LRTP Tranche 2.1 is in the works, with a targeted approval date of December 2024. Many of those projects are at a higher voltage — 765 kV — so that’s
exciting. As you build a higher voltage infrastructure, the bene ts associated with that infrastructure accrue as well.
Why do we need to update the electric transmission infrastructure? Even if we weren’t shifting to renewable energy generation, would this still be an urgent need?
MARSHALL: The energy grid sustains our quality of life. It truly is the framework that society is built upon — but society is changing, and as a consequence, that framework needs to change. We’ve got signi cant load growth coming from increased electri cation, economic development, onshoring of manufacturing, and data centers to support AI. We need to ensure that we’re building the right infrastructure to support this growth, in addition to supporting the aforementioned generator interconnections for wind and solar. We’re at this in ection point where there are multiple external in uences forcing us to think differently about the transmission system.
What is ITC’s vision for Michigan’s energy future?
MARSHALL: To have a robust, reliable, high-voltage electric transmission system that drives value to customers and provides access to competitive wholesale markets.
As our utilities are actively investing in wind and solar, we want to ensure we have the infrastructure available to support them so they can deliver value to their distribution customers.
Clearly at the center of all we do, there’s a focus on the infrastructure, but it’s not just the infrastructure. There’s also a focus on the customer and ensuring that we’re delivering an affordable solution. Since our inception in 2003, ITC has invested $7 billion in the transmission system. But, with all of the investment that we’ve made, our impact on the customer’s bill continues to be less than 4%, so that’s a lot of value delivered with minimal cost impact to the customer.
To learn more about ITC, visit itcholdings.com/itc-michigan/
DETROIT'S LARGEST EMPLOYERS CRAIN’S LIST
ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com|ThislistofDetroitemployersencompassesthecitiesofDetroit,HamtramckandHighlandPark.EmployerswithheadquartersinWayne,Oakland,Macomb, WashtenaworLivingstoncountiesarelistedwiththeirheadquarters'addressandtopexecutive.Companieswithheadquarterselsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmain Detroit-areaof ce.Numberoffull-timeemployeesmayincludefull-timeequivalents.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.Crain'sestimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesand benchmarks,newsreportsandawiderangeofothersources.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.Actual guresmayvary.GeneralMotorsCo.andMagnaInternational ofAmericaInc.bothdeclinedtoprovidecurrentcounty-level guresthisyear.TheU.S.PostalService,whichwasNo.13onlastyear'slist,didnotrespondbeforepublication.NA=notavailable e. Crain's estimate. 1. SucceededWrightLassiteraspresidentandCEOinJuly2022. 2. AsofDecember2023. 3. AsofDecember2022. 4. FigureisFTEcountfromtheCenterforEducationalPerformanceand Information. 5. FigureisFTEcountsfromtheCenterforEducationalPerformanceandInformation. 6. AsofJanuary. 7. AsofJuly2022. 8. EstimatefromMWPVLInternationalInc. 9. Estimatebasedon numbers from MWPVL International Inc. 10. Includes numbers for Karmanos Cancer Institute. Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data
Gilbert open to selling Rocket stock;
‘I certainly don’t need to own 93%’
By Nick Manes
Dan Gilbert says he’s interested in getting more of his Detroit-based mortgage company’s shares in the hands of public stockholders.
Gilbert, the founder and chairman of Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE: RKT), made comments about shrinking his own stake in the company at Rocket’s rst investor day, held Sept. 10 at the Shinola Hotel downtown for largescale investors and analysts.
“I certainly don’t need to own
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
ENGINEERING / DESIGN
Spalding DeDecker
The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc.
Honigman
93% of this business,” Gilbert said during a conversation with Rocket Companies President Bill Emerson, adding that having more “ oat,” or stock available on the public market, would be a positive. “I want to own a chunk of it, and the more oat we can get out the better, either through (secondary o erings), or really interesting acquisitions,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert’s comments on the company’s limited stock-market oat — the share of the company’s stock that changes hands on the public market — stems from his ownership of about 93% of that stock. It came toward the conclusion of several presentations from C-suite executives laying out a vision for the company’s coming years, including goals of substantially gaining market share in the fragmented mortgage space.
Stocks of companies with limited oat are often seen by investors as more volatile because there are fewer shares available to buy and sell.
“ anks to his ethos, our company has never accepted the status quo,” Krishna said. “We were the rst to take the mortgage to the internet, we were the rst to make it digital. And now, with the power of AI and the era of data, we are writing the next chapter of that book.”
To that end, Krishna used the investor presentation to lay out the company’s goals for the next three years.
Most notably, that involves growing the company’s market share in mortgages used for home purchases — from 4% to 8%, and growing share in re nancings — long an area where the company has been dominant — from 12.3% to 20%.
“Obviously we want to get serious about long-term growth and market share, which is why we focused on purchase and re ,” Krishna said of the stated “bold” goals. “But at the end of the day, we feel like our goals are attainable.”
Dennis Farmer, PE, Sr. Project Manager, joined Spalding DeDecker’s Construction Engineering Group. With more than 28 years of expertise in complex transportation and infrastructure facilities, Dennis has led teams on various design and construction projects, including new “green eld” developments and existing facilities. David Basilious, P.Eng, joined our Spalding DeDecker’s Urban Design and Sustainability Group in Detroit as a Project Manager. He brings extensive expertise in civil engineering and project management for infrastructure enhancements, road improvements, and subdivision developments. Basilious
The Guidance Center
Jill Blackson joins The Guidance Center as the new Chief Operating Of cer. Blackson has spent the last 34 years in a variety of roles in the behavioral health system, most recently as Senior Clinical Director of Hegira Health. Throughout the years she has focused on quality and compliance, nances, corporate leadership, development, and marketing & public relations, as well as the direction and supervision of the administrative aspects of clinical and managed care programs.
The Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. (MSG) proudly welcomes Hervé H. Léonard, MPA as Detroit Market Leader. Renowned for leadership in politics, public service, and business, Hervé drove strategic initiatives as Chief of Staff for Councilmember Fred Durhal III, enhancing metro Detroiters’ lives. A Detroit native, he earned the Spirit of Detroit Humanitarian Award in 2024 and 2011. Hervé brings that same spirit to his new role and anticipates helping to bring Detroit’s future plans to fruition.
Honigman LLP welcomes Christopher Mull to its Real Estate Department as partner in the rm’s Real Estate Transactions Practice Group. He focuses on commercial real estate law, advising large and mid-market clients navigating transactions across a diverse range of real estate asset classes and structures. Chris has also worked on investments involving multifamily, of ce, retail, mixeduse, industrial, warehouse, affordable housing, renewable energy, hospitality, and portfolio deals.
Gilbert’s Rock Holdings owned the equivalent of 1.85 billion shares of Rocket stock, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement. at’s worth just about $35 billion at the Sept. 10 midday stock price near $19.
Gilbert did not put any timeframe on any plan to increase the public oat, but said it would “probably” happen in the “shorter or medium term.”
Gilbert has made only one stock sale, of about $500 million in March 2021, since Rocket Companies went public more than four years ago.
Since its August 2020 initial public o ering at a price of $18, Rocket stock has seen signi cant swings, falling as low as $6.37 in the summer of 2022 when rapidly rising interest rates put a damper on the mortgage sector, and once surged above $43 in March of 2021 when the company found itself caught up in the so-called “meme stock” surge.
New goals
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The Guidance Center
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The Vella Group
Rocket’s shares fell slightly Sept. 10, dropping 22 cents to $18.90 in afternoon trading. ey have been trading near a three-year high over the past month.
While the use of AI as a means of gaining e ciencies runs through much of the company’s current strategy, a variety of initiatives, which executives called a “super stack,” are helping to achieve those goals. at includes a heavy focus on customer service and retaining clients within the Rocket “ ywheel,” essentially its suite of products and services tied to homeownership, as well as leveraging its “iconic brand.”
Last month, Rocket announced that French advertising rm Publicis Groupe had been appointed as its media agency of record for its $875 million advertising budget.
Moreover, Rocket’s Chief Marketing O cer Jonathan Mildenhall also announced Sept. 10 new initiatives, with a particular focus on the importance of home ownership and honing in on the nation’s changing demographics. at means “win de nitively” with Hispanics, women and aging rsttime homebuyers, Mildenhall said.
Pasquale (Pat) Vignola has moved into the newly created position of Chief Strategy Of cer at The Guidance Center. Vignola has been a member of the agency for 30 years and began his career as a support staff in mental health programs before serving in supervisory and director positions. He has been instrumental in the agency’s success as a Certi ed Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) and is a recent graduate of Leadership Detroit.
Phoebe Wall Howard has joined The Vella Group as partner, after covering autos and tourism for The Detroit Free Press/USA Today. She has extensive news experience in radio, TV, print and social media. Phoebe ran a communications and crisis management rm in California, working with nonpro ts, corporations and law rms. The Vella Group, based in Detroit, provides organizational development, fundraising and communications services to nonpro ts.
While Gilbert has remained rmly in control of Rocket Companies as its founder, chairman and controlling shareholder, much has changed for the company and the broader mortgage space in the ensuing years. ose changes were on full display during the Sept. 10 morning investor day presentations.
For starters, much of the C-suite presenting at the event are new executives to the company, something Gilbert noted during his presentation. Most notably, that includes Varun Krishna, a veteran technology executive who just passed a year at the helm of Rocket.
Under Krishna, Rocket has leaned heavily into arti cial intelligence.
Speaking Sept. 10, Krishna credited Gilbert’s philosophy with the company’s ramp-up of AI initiatives.
Additionally, Mildenhall said that early next year the company would roll out new visual branding aimed at ensuring Rocket “is instantly recognizable.” e CMO didn’t share speci cs of the new branding, but said it would aim to be in line with blue-chip brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola. “I can con rm that we all believe that what we have planned is comparable to the iconic brands I’ve just referenced,” Mildenhall said. “Rocket’s iconic brand and its core creative idea is going to be a simple call to action for every American who’s ever had the dream of owning their own home, or has ever wondered about the dreams they could realize via the built-up equity they have in their existing home.”
Rocket Companies Inc. founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert (left) speaks with President Bill Emerson on Sept. 10 during the Detroit company’s rst Investor Day. | SCREENSHOT
MSU plans new 4,000-seat sports arena, hotel
By Sherri Welch
Michigan State University is looking to add a mixed-use project with a hotel and 4,000-seat arena for hosting regional Big Ten athletics events on its East Lansing campus.
e MSU board of trustees on Sept. 6 unanimously approved planning for the public-private development as well as construction of a $200 million Plant and Environmental Sciences building.
Both projects are aimed at making the East Lansing-based university more competitive, both in the Olympic sports of volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics o ered by its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and in the attraction and retention of top researchers, MSU said.
MARKET
As envisioned, the mixed-use project slated for 14 acres on the west side of MSU’s East Lansing campus will include a new hotel, retail space and a 4,000-seat athletics arena. It’s also expected to include locker rooms, coaches ofce space and classrooms for various academic units.
e remainder of the project site would be nanced, constructed, owned and operated by a developer to enhance the arena, MSU said. at could include buildings to support academic programs, a hotel to augment the 73-year-old Kellogg Center, mixed-use retail/ o ce/housing, market-rate housing and parking to serve the site.
O cials did not disclose a budget or timeline for the proposed project.
“ is multi-purpose development, which will be a public-private partnership, is a bold step toward ful lling our mission as a passionately public university,” MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz said during the Sept. 6 board meeting.
e university will look at mixed commercial-use options including hotel space and restaurants to augment the 73-year-old Kellogg Center and additional retail, o ce and housing spaces, which could give MSU’s business hospitality
program a modern facility and new opportunities for hands-on learning.
Most Big Ten universities have arenas for their Olympic sports teams to better position them to host regional competitions that will come with the conference’s expansion, Guskiewicz said. e Big Ten has grown to 18 teams with the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington since last summer. e new arena being considered as part of the project would give MSU the opportunity to host those regional contests while also providing a site for high school conferences to hold state championships.
Development of state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research and clinical spaces to further advance MSU’s culture of collaboration across its colleges and local health care providers is also being considered, Guskiewicz said.
“ is project has the potential to elevate every aspect of Michigan State and the experience that our students, faculty, sta deserve, and it’ll also, I think, provide opportunities for our alumni and the entire community,” he said.
With the trustees’ unanimous approval of planning for the project, MSU said it will now begin the formal bidding process for a developer for the public-private project.
e project also could substantially enhance the region’s ability to attract events, improve tourism and complement other regional assets, Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, said in the release.
“ e possible public-private partnership proposal in East Lansing could once again put us on the national map from a tourism and entertainment perspective, attracting large activities that will spill over into the entire region,” Trezise said.
e mixed-used project is planned for the Cherry Lane Park site bounded by Harrison, Trowbridge, Birch and Wilson roads, directly south of the $200 million Student Recreation and Wellness Center under construction at Harrison and Shaw Lane.
MSU is looking at the new rec and wellness center, which is set to be substantially complete in February 2026, as an opportunity to revive the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams that were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. MSU intends to demolish the current Intramural Recreative Sports West building next to Spartan Stadium, which has a 10year, $46 million capital renewal need, according to an MSU memo. MSU trustees on Sept. 6 also approved construction of a
200,000-square-foot Plant and Environmental Sciences Building.
e work is set to begin this fall and be completed by December 2026, the university said. e facility will provide laboratory space for about 40 principal investigators in food security and climate adaptation and their teams.
“State-of-the-art spaces will accelerate climate-critical discoveries while helping MSU attract talented graduate students and retain leading researchers,” omas Jeitschko, MSU interim provost and executive vice president for academic a airs, said in a news release.
Ten of Michigan State’s 11 members of the National Academy of Sciences focus on plant and environmental sciences, the university said.
e building will foster interdisciplinary collaborations between MSU’s College of Natural Science and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, positioning the university “to make groundbreaking advances with a far-reaching impact on research, education and the broader scienti c community,” Eric Hegg, dean of the College of Natural Science, said in the release.
Research teams from both the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory and the Plant Resilience Institute will use the new building, aligning Plant Research Lab’s strengths in plant biology and molecular genetics with Plant Resilience Institute’s focus on developing crop varieties that can withstand heightened environmental stress.
Michigan State University has approved several new major projects for its East Lansing campus. | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY VIA FACEBOOK
Michigan State University is building a new student recreation and wellness center on the west side of campus. | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
GAS
With those resources, Barbat said he believes Sheetz's plans will lead to the closure of several smaller operations.
“ e intersection in Farmington Hills they’re planning to open at, there’s close to 10 gas stations in a one-mile radius. ere’s a Sunoco across the street that’s barely making it. I can guarantee it’s only a matter of time before it’s over for that guy,” Barbat said.
Mike Awada owns and operates more than 60 gas stations in Southeast Michigan and supplies fuel to more than 100 customers. Awada said he recently put up about $4 million to redevelop one of his stores at I-94 and Haggerty Road in Belleville, near where Sheetz has proposed to open a location.
Awada said Sheetz selling alcohol is a major concern.
“As an independent operator, I put community over pro t. We don’t sell liquor, beer or wine in any of our stores because of community safety,” Awada said. “We can get a liquor license, but if I sell a bottle in a gas station and someone gets into an accident I couldn’t deal with it. We don’t even sell avored vape pens if we’re less than 600 feet from a school.”
Sheetz does sell beer, wine and liquor at some of its locations. Not every Sheetz location sells alcohol because it would require a restaurant liquor license. Its new Romulus store includes a "beer cave" that is not yet operational as it works to nalize licensing.
Sheetz o cials did not respond to a Crain's request for information on the company's plans related to alcohol sales in Michigan.
Big plans for Michigan
Sheetz's rst location in Michigan opened Aug. 27 at 33380 Wick Road in Romulus. A second Romulus location, on Middlebelt Road just north of I-94 near Detroit Metropolitan Airport, is planned. Along with those two, Sheetz o cials in early August an-
nounced plans for stores at: 8200 Telegraph Road in Taylor ◗ 20623 Eureka Road in Taylor 45011 Gar eld Road in Macomb ◗ 31925 Van Dyke Ave. in Warren 23 Mile Road east of I-94 in Chester eld Township Sheetz in June also discussed taking over the former Ginopolis restaurant site in Farmington Hills at 12 Mile and Middlebelt.
Along with gasoline and snacks, Sheetz o ers made-to-order hot foods and items like self-serve milkshakes with indoor and outdoor dining and drive-throughs.
“We’ve had other big names come in like Speedway and Murphy USA. We’ve never tried ghting them,” Awada said. “And there are plenty of other areas of Michigan the company could move into. Why Southeast Michigan?”
e pushback is par for the course, Sheetz President and CEO Travis Sheetz previously told Crain's.
“ at’s completely expected. It’s what we are used to, particularly when you go to a new market and people don’t really know your brand or your company,” Sheetz said.
“It’s up to us to prove who we are. It’s expected that there is fear and anxiety up front, and it’s really our job to kind of bridge the gap between that and reality.”
As far as safety goes, Sheetz understands the concerns but ocials say any such incidents would not be exclusive to the company.
Public Relations Manager Nick Ru ner said in an email to Crain’s that Sheetz at each location has security systems that cover just about every area of each store and parking lot. Ru ner said the company uses a security operations center that is connected to each store in real time and sta ed 24/7 to help address any issues.
"Unfortunately, all retailers — not just convenience store operators — are occasionally subjected to criminal acts,” Ru ner said. “ ese safeguards at our stores allow our employees to notify police as soon as an emergency situation develops. As innovation is a key tenet at Sheetz, we also continually experiment with a variety of
safety solutions to enhance the security of our stores where appropriate. In addition we proactively work with local police to ensure our stores are safe for all individuals that visit our stores including our current and future metro Detroit-area locations."
Rahme Youssef owns three gas stations on Mound Road in Warren within 2 miles of two proposed Sheetz locations — one at 12 Mile and Mound roads and one on Van Dyke Avenue north of 13 Mile Road. She said having a security team may not be enough to handle certain situations.
“ ey glorify that they have a security team that watches stations out of their corporate o ce in Pennsylvania," Youssef said. " at does nothing when you have a customer or situation in front of you that you deal with it 1-on-1 and de-escalate the situation that just in many cases needs an invested person to handle it.”
Bottom line
Nassir Siddiqui owns 35 gas stations in Southeast Michigan, including in Farmington Hills and Warren, and supplies gas to more than 100 independent retailers. Siddiqui said he believes Sheetz opening its planned ve dozen locations could lead to some job losses.
“We employ people in the communities we serve,” Siddiqui said. “Sheetz isn’t o ering anything different from what you get at the
corner market. I don’t get why they need to open so many stores here. ere are communities like Warren and Farmington Hills that already have more gas stations than they need. If Sheetz comes in, sooner or later my stations or one of my partner’s stations will be negatively impacted.”
e typical Sheetz location has 30-35 employees with starting pay at $15-$16 an hour, above the minimum wage.
Awada said he believes Sheetz's entry into the Southeast Michigan market will directly impact customers at the pump.
“ e perception of Sheetz coming into the market is that competition drives prices,” Awada said. “I think it should be looked at di erently because the independent operator has to make more money on gas. Everything Sheetz makes as far as food is done in-house. We partner with local brands to o er food in our stations."
Sheetz has also gotten pushback from some communities where it has proposed opening stores.
In Livonia early this year, the Planning Commission shot down a rezoning request for a Sheetz at Five Mile and Newburgh roads, Hometown Life reported. Livonia City Council following the rezoning recommendation has held public hearings related to Sheetz, but has not had a formal vote. e Fraser Planning Commission axed a plan for a new Sheetz site at 14 Mile and Utica roads, according to e Oakland Press,
which also reported that Sheetz halted plans on proposed locations in Rochester Hills at Rochester Road and South Boulevard and Waterford Township on Dixie Highway near Sashabaw Road. e Van Buren Township Planning Commission at a July 10 meeting tabled a vote on a proposed Sheetz at Ecorse and Haggerty roads.
Travis Sheetz previously told Crain’s that these types of concerns arise when the company looks to expand. However, the opposition has not changed the company’s plans for Michigan.
Siddiqui said he’s attended local government meetings in a handful of cities where Sheetz plans to set up shop to voice his concerns. Awada, who has done the same, acknowledged that Sheetz is trying to capture market share like any business would.
“We welcome competition, sure. But we want these communities to look really hard and what current gas owners are doing,” Awada said. “A lot of independent owners are spending millions on sites to provide better experiences for their customers. I don’t think some of the independents will be able to make it or compete with Sheetz coming in from outside.”
Sheetz still operates on the principles of a small business, Ru ner said in an email to Crain's.
“(Sheetz) is a family-owned and operated company. Sheetz was founded as a dairy and deli store in 1952 by 18-year-old Bob Sheetz in Altoona, Penn.,” Ru ner said. “ e Sheetz family, now in its third generation, still owns and operates Sheetz independently today.
“Our o erings are unique and di erentiate us from other gas stations that are in the market. Sheetz is o ering the community a completely new experience that includes indoor and outdoor dining options, drive-throughs, robust grocery options, an award-winning menu of Made-to-Order food and premium beverages such as breakfast, subs, sandwiches, salads, pizza, co ee, cold brew, milkshakes, smoothies and much more - all available 24/7/365."
Gas station and convenience store Sheetz opened its rst Michigan location in Romulus on Aug. 27 | SHEETZ
The Warren Planning Commission earlier this year approved site plans for a Sheetz to be constructed at this site at 1925 Van Dyke Ave. | JAY DAVIS
busiest bus route, though the buses can hold between 55 and 56 depending on the style.
“Heading to the airport is usually (busier than the route to downtown Detroit),” Roberts said. “On Tuesdays, we’re really busy in the morning, just because people are always catching the earlier ights. Our biggest compliment about the service is people have been able to take those earlier routes and not having to rely on a family member or a friend to wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning.”
Stupka said there are not dramatic di erences in ridership throughout the week, in part due to airport workers using the bus. e highest ridership days have fallen in conjunction with large events, such as the NFL Draft, festivals and conferences.
A cheaper alternative
e bus stop is across the street from the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel and around the corner from the Rosa Parks Transit Center, in front of a public parking lot.
e DAX bus does not have its own o cial parking lot.
e routes are planned with 45 minutes between departures, to adjust for tra c, though it takes the bus an average of 30 minutes to travel between downtown and DTW.
For Bonita Walker, a Detroit resident, the DAX bus was a more cost-e ective option compared to other alternatives to get to the airport.
Walker took the bus on a recent Friday in August to catch a ight to Kansas City for a family member’s birthday. It was her rst time on DAX and she was dropped o at the bus stop by a close friend.
“My car was down, so I was looking for transportation to the airport, which, some days Uber is $50 and some days it’s $75. And I was like, ‘I’m not paying $75 to go to nobody’s airport.’ at is just way too much money,” Walker said. “Sometimes, I’ve been at my daughter’s house, and she lives in Westland. So we will Uber from Westland, but not from where I live.”
Walker booked her DAX ticket online, but was returning from her trip to Kansas City with local family members and catching a ride with them back home.
Tickets for DAX are $6 when booked online or $8 when bought at the bus station. Travelers can purchase departing and returning trips, which can be exchanged for later same-day rides if a ight is delayed.
e ticket costs go directly toward the maintenance of the buses and paying its drivers, Stupka said. It’s not likely, he said, that there will be a future where the program can rely totally on ticket costs to sustain operations.
e DAX bus program is funded by a $2 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Carbon Reduction Program and a $500,000 matching grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Joe Koberl and his wife took the
bus for the rst time to get to the airport for a trip to Hawaii as an alternative to driving to the airport and leaving their car for the duration of the trip.
“ e bus is actually a very good option, and that way the car is safer,too, because it’s in a parking garage versus being outside,” Koberl said. “And the cost is better because for a two-week trip, you pay quite a bit if you park down at the airport.”
Parking at DTW starts at $22 per day for the Evans Terminal and $30 per day for the McNamara Terminal. For the couple’s twoweek Hawaiian vacation, they could expect a bill of around $420 to park at DTW.
e couple booked their bus tickets in advance online for $6 each and parked downtown at Koberl’s employer.
Koberl had read about the bus
and thought the vacation would be a good time to test it out. It took little preparation, Koberl said, except to scout out where the downtown bus stop was located on Washington Boulevard.
At DTW, the DAX drop-o and pick-up locations are in the same location, by each terminal’s checkin entrance. Travelers interested in riding should follow the signs to the public transportation area at the airport where the Michigan Flyer, which runs from East Lansing with stops in Brighton and Ann Arbor on its way to DTW, and other public transportation options also are available.
An uncertain future
Stupka said the program has been an idea for several years, but it was a two-year process to secure funding for the shuttle and imple-
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ment DAX.
ere are two big questions that need to be answered to determine the future of the program: Is there a need for the service and, if so, how does the RTA fund it?
e service is funded through a $2 million Carbon Reduction Program grant for one year, thanks to federal and state Departments of Transportation, as well as through a $500,000 grant from the Southeast Michigan Council of Government, that o ers the potential of funding for an additional six months or more.
“What we’re doing now is monitoring ridership and determining if we continue to see good, steady ridership, is this something we want to make a permanent xture in the region?” Stupka said. “Right now, we’re just kind of still early. We’re about six months into it, but ridership continues to do well. So we’ll have to start seeing like, ‘OK, if we do want to make this permanent, how do we continue to fund it going forward?’”
Marketing for the DAX bus service includes billboards along I-94 and in downtown Detroit, as well as e orts to advertise the service to employees at DTW and outreach to organizations hosting or attending conferences in Detroit, Stupka said.
e RTA is working to continue promoting the service to airport workers and reaching out to organizations in the city hosting conventions, so that the attendees may use the service.
Hopes are that ridership continues on an upward trajectory through the end of the year, at which point the RTA will need to make a decision on whether the bus service will survive after its initial pilot program.
“By the end of this calendar year, we’ll have a good sense of where we’re at, and if the trends are continuing to kind of go in the right direction,” Stupka said. “ ere’s always gonna be a funding question. We have to make sure we get funding to support the service we have. We are talking to some partners, federal partners, state partners, to see if we can put together something. at’s the big question, really.”
2012, as a single enterprise andnance software platform for the 16 products that Shea, Colby and Powers developed in their respective companies, UpStream and Hyperion. e goal was to “empower the o ce of the chief nancial o cer.” e three co-founders took inspiration from the iPhone, Shea said, because of its ability to integrate multiple tools in a single device. e three bootstrapped the company for six years, growing in size and demand. Around 2018, when OneStream reached $100 million in revenue — Shea’s next goal — the three considered it may be time to bring in an outside investor. “ at was a major milestone for us, and it was also a really, really big in ection point, because to that point it had always been bootstrapped,” Shea said. “ e major milestone in 2018 was, ‘Wow, do we know how to become a big company?’ It was a kind of a realization for us. And so we did open ourselves up to that opportunity to bring on an investor that can help us scale and become more mature and improve our thinking towards capital markets.”
KKR & Co. Inc., a New York-based global investment and private equity company, has had a majority stake in OneStream since 2019. e next goal was hitting $500 million in revenue or ling an IPO, whichever came rst.
OneStream did privately le for an IPO in 2021, for which it raised $200 million for a $6 billion valuation, before the market went cold.
e company did not end up pursuing an IPO that year, which Shea said was a testament to its exibility and plans to meet its goals responsibly. However, becoming a public entity was still very much on the table for the software company.
On July 24, OneStream nally made its stock market debut, with shares opening 29% above its $20 listing price, at $25.83. OneStream raised about $490 million in its IPO. e company was one of two metro Detroit companies that began trading during the same week in July. Lineage Inc., a cold-storage giant headquartered in Novi, raised about $4.4 billion in the biggest IPO deal of the year.
A few weeks later, OneStream hit its goal of $500 million in annual recurring revenue.
e company will continue to invest in research and development surrounding arti cial intelligence to help CFOs deliver on core nancial processes. Shea said OneStream is looking to grow its footprint in di erent regions, including Europe and Asia-Paci c region.
“After achieving $500 million, we certainly have aspirations to go beyond a billion … But we feel that this is a huge opportunity and that there's really no stopping us when we look at other platform-based companies, really seminal marquee software companies, that's certainly the goal that we've set for ourselves, is to become this marquee brand,” Shea said. “In terms of aspirations, I let myself think a little bit bigger every year … So in my mind, right now, next stop is $1 billion, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my eye on $6 billion or $10 billion.”
The Detroit Air Xpress bus makes 16 trips a day shuttling passengers between Detroit Metropolitan Airport and downtown Detroit. | ANNA FIFELSKI
DAX bus driver Adam Roberts said he has never had a bus sell out. | ANNA FIFELSKI
Detroit resident Bonita Walker rides the DAX bus on a recent Friday in August. ANNA FIFELSKI
Michigan agriculture chief talks about farmer struggles, bird u response
Tim Boring’s day job is leading the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which supports and regulates the industry and is responsible for food and animal safety. On nights and weekends, the sixth-generation farmer helps out on the family’s medium-sized grain farm in Stockbridge, halfway between Lansing and Ann Arbor. As a student at Michigan State University, he was interested in cropping systems and took a shine to research — leaving with a bachelor’s degree in agriscience and a master’s and a doctorate in soil and crop sciences. Before being appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in March 2023, he was the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency’s executive director in Michigan and previously had jobs related to soil conservation and agribusiness. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How is agriculture doing in Michigan?
It’s rough right now in a lot of areas, and it’s poised to get rougher, especially for production systems in Michigan that are designed around specialty crops. Labor availability has been really tough. ere’s not a lot of room for margin in the rst place. It’s tough economics of guring out how to get labor onto farms. A lot of the H-2A (temporary foreign worker) labor wage rates are increasing and putting a real crunch on folks. (He also pointed to competition from imports). Peruvian asparagus can come in here and undercut at cost considerably. Turkish cherries have been coming into the market. We’re also poised to be falling o a cli here with the general farm economy in the next year or two. Input costs are still holding pretty high. Cash grain prices are really falling. Livestock markets aren’t in great shape. We’re looking at some broader headwinds across the ag economy here in front of us. at’s really concerning here of how we position farms and make sure we’ve got safety programs in place for farms. A lot of that is, of course, informing our work here at the department. We’re really prioritizing resiliency, diversity. We’ve substantially increased our e orts around regenerative agriculture over the last year. Building up those programs that are putting more of a focus on how you grow it. Making sure that we’re building in environmental protections around products. If we, the consumers and the stakeholders, value greater climate resiliency in our systems, better climate outcomes, healthier water quality, greater carbon sequestration, more diversi ed production for smaller farms across the state, there’s got to be a value for that. Building those systems in place to make sure we’re capturing that sort of value is a big focus.
What can the state do?
We got $3 million (in the recently enacted budget) for the (new) Farm to Family program and importantly some added sta capacity. As we’ve traveled around the state in last year talking to communities about what they needed to grow farms di erently, whether it’s urban space, whether it’s in very rural places, access to food and access to having markets to do something di erent on your farm continue to emerge. And those
“We’ve substantially increased our efforts around regenerative agriculture over the last year. Building up those programs that are putting more of a focus on how you grow it.”
Tim Boring, director, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
By | David Eggert
things are linked together. We’re in a state that grows a lot of di erent products. And all too often, the products that are on shelves or on your dinner plate from a restaurant are sourced from out of the region. Processing is sometimes limited. e distribution isn’t always the easiest from how we’re getting stu from local farms up into these places. Too often, school cafeterias aren’t set up to source out of the community. It’s easier to call an aggregator and have the stu show up on one truck. at becomes a real opportunity for the department to be building systems and have greater piece to this, of understanding how can we source Michigan products to create economic opportunities for farm families but do it in a way that are grown the right way into grocery stores, schools and restaurants. e rst step for us is getting some food-system experts on sta here, that kind of live and breathe this work on a daily basis, that have some expertise in this already, and be building out these opportunities for how we as a state can be working together to put systems in place that address
some of these ongoing challenges that keep being surfaced.
Where do things stand with the bird u that has hurt the poultry and dairy industries?
We have a lot more knowns today. Michigan was really at the forefront of this outbreak at the national level. We started taking de nitive steps in April, for instance. We had the rst dairy farm con rmed (in) late March. Quickly, we had signi cant impacts to the poultry industry. We had a lot of questions of how the virus is being transmitted around, obviously in a di erent way, that it’s moving from dairy farm to dairy farm. We knew pretty quickly that it was moving from dairy farms to poultry operations through things like whole-genome sequencing. ere were questions at that time of the safety of the milk supply and the health risk to people. We’ve really pushed hard and stood up a lot of science in real time to help guide that decision-making. We’re a little bit more focused in the approach today. We understand that milk is a contamination source and a transmission potential more
so than perhaps other vectors. We know the pasteurization is safe and so our food system, our food security there, isn’t compromised in a real way with this. We know that the greatest health exposures today are around farm workers dealing with sick animals. It’s prioritizing those initial health responses to make sure that farm workers are protected but continuing to be guided by this broader this issue — the threat ahead of us is this virus persisting in the environment and mutating in a way that causes additional health risks to people. e poultry industry has been dealing with HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian In uenza) for several years now. It’s new for the dairy industry.
Was Michigan a hot spot?
We certainly had more cases con rmed here on a dairy aspect and a human health impact. But that’s largely because we were looking.
Is there aid available for affected farmers?
e USDA came out with nancial assistance to help farms (with) upwards of $28,000 for personal protective equipment, for on-farm pasteurization, to implement speci c biosecurity practices. We followed that on with a $28,000 o er of our own tied to research participation. A lot of the research that’s guiding the e ort nationally now was done here in Michigan. But at the end of the day, if you’re a farm that’s dealt with this in a real way, you’ve had far greater economic impacts than a few tens of thousands of dollars. A USDA (program) is open for enrollment now, and that compensates growers for upwards of 90% of the value of your lost milk production.
You issued an emergency order in May to control and prevent the spread of HPAI. Is that still in effect?
It is. at is in e ect for six months. We’ve got another couple months here. We’re looking to how we continue to build out focused response e orts across farms after the expiration of that order. ose are ongoing discussions with industry partners and farm groups about how do we continue to build in protections here to make sure that we’re not spreading the virus further around the state.
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