After 20 years, Detroit’s TechTown continues to evolve
By Anna Fifelski
Detroit’s rst innovation district has turned 20. And it’s still evolving.
While TechTown has changed over the years, with the expansion of the campus, introduction of non-tech business programs, and more, TechTown President Ned Staebler said the nonpro t has continued to stay true to the work it was designed to do.
“For a long time, people were really focused on, ‘Did you get businesses started? How many new businesses started?’” Staebler said. “ at’s ne and all, but we don’t want new busi-
nesses. We want new successful businesses. Our goal is not just to start companies, our goal is to help people break out of poverty. Our goal is to help them improve their quality of life and for their kids and end those cycles. And so it’s not enough just to help businesses get up, we want to make sure that they’re successful, and that takes a di erent thing.”
TechTown is often an early stepping stone for entrepreneurs in Detroit; and serves as a pipeline for homegrown talent in a city that’s now heralded as one of the fastest-growing
See TECH HUB on Page 17
‘What
it really comes down to is collaboration’
Rocket president on Detroit’s positives and where progress is
By Nick Manes
Civic leadership in Detroit is on the mind of one of Detroit’s leading executives.
It remains to be seen whether Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will run for a fourth term in 2026, or make a bid for governor next
Public safety has a perception problem
For the Great Lakes region’s biggest cities, crime stats don’t fully capture how people feel. Page 10
year with current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer facing term limits. But the city’s needs and continuing on Duggan’s legacy of “collaboration” with the business community is top of mind for Rocket Companies Inc. President Bill Emerson.
“What it really comes down
needed
to is collaboration,” Emerson said Sept. 20 during a wide-ranging discussion with Crain Communications Inc. CEO KC Crain at a Crain’s Detroit Business event at Michigan Central Station held in
See DETROIT on Page 18
Ford House unveils plan to restore Lake St. Clair shoreline.
Corktown site near Michigan Central for sale again. PAGE 4
CONVERSATION
Nevan Shokar on deals, business ownership and bike rides. PAGE 19
Crain Communications President and CEO KC Crain talks with Rocket Companies President Bill Emerson about Detroit’s future trajectory. NIC ANTAYA
Linglobal founder and CEO Ernestine Lyons explains her project and product demo to TechTown CEO Ned Staebler. QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
State to proceed with faster step-up in minimum wage
By David Eggert
LANSING — e state of Michigan will proceed with implementing a minimum wage schedule that includes an initial jump to $12.48 an hour next year and $14.97 in 2028.
e current minimum is $10.33.
Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity spokesperson Jason Moon con rmed the plan with Crain’s on Sept. 16 after the Michigan Supreme Court did not rule on a request that it clarify a July ruling that resulted in the wage hike under which the lower minimum for tipped workers will also be phased out.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Aug. 21 had asked the court to weigh in by Sept. 15. It was not clear if the justices might still provide clarity, because the state does not have to publish the new wage until Nov. 1. Court spokesperson John Nevin said he had not heard if it may rule.
minimum wage ballot initiative in 2018 and watered it down later that year. Business groups have backed one of two other options that would raise the regular minimum more slowly between 2025 and 2028.
e state’s plan is to increase the minimum to $12.48 on Feb. 21, to $13.29 in January 2026, to $14.16 in January 2027 and to $14.97 in January 2028.
Two business organizations led responses to the administration’s legal request on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4.
Republican legislators unconstitutionally adopted a minimum wage ballot initiative in 2018 and watered it down later that year.
Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association on Sept. 16 declined to comment on the state’s plan “until we hear from the court.”
Because the court did not opine within roughly 3½ weeks, the state will go with Option 1, the Democratic administration’s favored interpretation of how to account for in ation since Republican legislators unconstitutionally adopted a
e Michigan Manufacturers Association issued a statement reiterating its support for a di erent wage schedule proposed to the court: $11.36 next year, $12.10 in 2026, $12.89 in 2027 and $13.63 in 2028.
“As laid out in our amicus brief, we believe the ‘Option ree’ is the most reasonable approach to address the vagaries left open by the Court,” said Dave Worthams, MMA’s director of employment policy. “ e overly aggressive schedule set forth in the State’s ‘Option 1’ is not supported by the reasoning expressed by the Court in Mothering Justice.”
Chris White, director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers Michigan, welcomed the court’s decision not to rule by the state’s suggested date and urged the Democratic-led Legislature to reject the business
community’s push to make changes.
“We’re already six years behind. We oppose any e orts to water down the increased minimum wage because it takes Michigan out of being a competitive state when it comes to the U.S. economy. It is important that wages be on par with the increase in cost of living,” he said. “We will struggle to keep young talent. We will struggle to keep our population at a stable point or even grow if we don’t move to increase wages.”
Restaurants particularly have raised alarms about the cost of a
floorplates
wage increase totaling more than $2 an hour, including in the lower wage they pay servers as long as their tips mean they make at least the regular minimum. ey have warned of layo s, price increases and more self-serve kiosks in sitdown eateries.
e court’s opinion also will lead to a major expansion of the state’s paid sick leave law in February, boosting the minimum amount of required time o and covering all employers with at least one employee except the federal government. Business are seeking changes to that law, too.
a
design services and furniture selection, at no cost to
Ford House unveils plan for Lake St. Clair shoreline
tivities that could possibly include shing.
e Edsel and Eleanor Ford House expects to begin work this winter on the rst phase of a $7 million shoreline restoration and habitat plan that will also bring new amenities for visitors.
e project will restore the natural habitats of Ford Cove and nearly one mile of Lake St. Clair shoreline near the Grosse Pointe Shores home where Edsel and Eleanor Ford once lived. Early plans include adding as many as four new viewing platforms to the estate and increasing public access to the concrete-studded shoreline for education and recreational ac-
Funded with a federal grant administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the project aims to reduce the impact of waves and ooding, reduce polluted runo and nutrient loads and improve natural water and wetland habitats beneting several Great Lakes species, Ford House said.
Planning and design for the project is ongoing and permitting approval from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy still in process. But Ford House is hopeful it will begin work this winter on the rst phase of the project, which in-
cludes restoration of just under an acre of a wooded wetland west of the administration building, said Kevin Drotos, landscape and natural areas manager and project manager for the Lower Lake St. Clair Habitat Restoration Project.
A primary goal of the larger project is to improve or create habitats for a wide range of fauna, including sh, birds, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians and bugs, Drotos said.
e wetlands restoration work will include the introduction of native plants — an approach favored by famed Ford House
See SHORELINE on Page 16
Detroit Lions coach selling home amid security concerns
A Bloom eld Hills home rooted in Detroit sports lore will likely soon have a new owner after its current owner, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, got a bit too much attention there.
Built in 2013 by a hockey legend, the 7,800-square-foot Cape Cod-style mansion was purchased for $3.5 million in 2021 — from di erent owners — by Campbell and his wife Holly when the former was named head coach of the Lions earlier that same year. In that time, Campbell has become an icon among Lions fans, known for trick plays and fourth down gambles, and continues to lead the team now viewed as potential Super Bowl contenders.
e Campbells listed the house for sale last week at an asking price of $4.5 million, and the home was marked “pending” within 24 hours.
e couple “loved” the house, but security concerns necessitated the move to somewhere more private, Dan Campbell told Crain’s.
“ e neighborhood, everything,” Campbell said of the appeal of the house. “ ere’s plenty of space, it’s on 2 acres, the home is beautiful. It’s just that people gured out where we lived when we lost.”
Located near Woodward Avenue and Quarton Road on the Birmingham-Bloom eld Hills border, the ve-bedroom, seven-bathroom home was built by former Detroit Red Wings center
and Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov, and features a “seaside feel,” according to a 2020 report in the Detroit Free Press.
e home features “an awe-inspiring 2-story foyer that sets the tone for the home’s opulent interiors,” according to the listing, and features “expansive, lightlled living and entertaining areas (as well as a) pristine white marble chef’s kitchen.”
e identity of the pending buyers was not disclosed, but they are described as “a large blended family that have been waiting for the right thing to pop up and they fell in love” with the Campbell house, according to Ashley Crain, Realtor with Birmingham-based Crain Homes, who represented Dan and Holly Campbell in the pending sale, as well as the purchase of their new home in Oakland County.
Crain noted that the pending buyers of the Campbell house are “huge” Lions fans. Ashley Crain also represented the pending buyers.
Dan Campbell gave accolades to Crain for making the home selling and buying process “a heck of a lot easier for us,” and said their new home more “ ts the architecture we were looking for.”
High-end homes in the ritzy Oakland County suburbs are in relatively short supply at present, Crain said.
(Crain is married to KC Crain, president and CEO of Detroitbased Crain Communications Inc., the parent company of Crain’s Detroit Business.)
Michigan works to land mammoth $55B microchip project
By Kurt Nagl and David Eggert
Michigan o cials are working to land a microchip project that could bring an up to $55 billion investment and 10,000 jobs to a Flint-area megasite, two people familiar with the e ort con rmed to Crain’s.
Western Digital Technologies Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based producer of memory and storage chips, is considering the development, which could involve sever-
al semiconductor manufacturing plants on a 1,300-acre site in Genesee County, sources said. e people spoke on condition of anonymity.
Code-named “Project Grit,” the potential development in Mundy Township near Flint would be the largest economic development project in recent state history, perhaps ever, should it materialize.
e project is dependent on billions of dollars in federal CHIPS Act funding as well as a state in-
centives package. e state and local contributions are expected to total more than $22 billion, sources told Crain’s. at gure includes tax abatements and local incentives. Cash grants from the state are expected to be around $1.5 billion. e CHIPS Act funding would come on top of any state and local funds.
e 10,000 jobs gure includes direct and contract employees. Another 5,000 construction jobs would also come with the project.
e company is anticipated to invest between $35 billion and $55 billion over 10 years.
A decision by the Biden administration about funding the project is expected before the presidential election in November. at will trigger a nal decision by the company, followed by legislative action for state incentives. Crain’s inquired Sept. 17 with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and federal o cials about the timing of the expected decision.
Crain’s also inquired with the company Sept. 17. e Michigan Economic Development Corp. said it cannot comment “on potential partnerships or projects that may be underway with speci c companies.” Western Digital is one of several companies Michigan o cials have been courting for the megasite. e company name was rst reported by e Detroit News.
Sherri Welch
$7M restoration of natural habitats also will include new visitor amenities
Nick Manes
A rendering of the viewing platform proposed for the shores of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House as part of a $7 million shoreline and habitat restoration project. | CINSITE DESIGN STUDIO INC.
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and his wife Holly bought this Cape Cod-style mansion in 2021. WAYUP MEDIA
Corktown property near Michigan Central for sale again
It’s been a long slog for the CPA Building in Corktown. e prominent building across Michigan Avenue from the recently reopened Michigan Central Station has been under the thumb of a New York City-based real estate speculator for more than a decade as major moves have been made in the neighborhood. Now, it’s up for sale again two years after an RFP process yielded
no takers, with an undisclosed asking price. e Jonna Group, a brokerage rm out of Birmingham that’s a division of Colliers International Inc., has the listing on behalf of the ownership, an entity called BFD Corktown LLC. e listing also includes vacant land immediately west of the building, totaling about 1.44 acres.
e CPA Building, named for the Conductors Protective Associ-
ation union for railroad workers that it originally housed, prior to BFD Corktown had been owned by CPA O ce Building Plaza LLC, an entity registered to Ray Kouza. It is approximately 11,000 square feet.
It’s one of the key pieces of real estate with an uncertain future surrounding Michigan Central, the autonomous and electric vehicle campus spearheaded by Ford Motor Co. in Corktown, anchored by the renovated train station as well as a former Detroit
Public Schools Book Depository building that’s now startup incubator Newlab.
Last month, the old St. Vincent school across the street from Newlab sold to a nonpro t that plans to put an early childhood education center and other uses in it.
Another property with big question marks: the former Roosevelt Hotel owned by Dennis Kefallinos across from Roosevelt Park.
Simon Jonna, who has the CPA Building listing for owner Robert Zalkin, said Ford’s reopening of
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the depot this summer, plus news that the Detroit City Football Club is planning a large new stadium and housing a few blocks down Michigan Avenue, pushed Zalkin to list it again.
Dollar signs are in Zalkin’s eyes.
“He’d love to hear a lot of meat on the bone in terms of a price point,” Jonna said. “Ten million, $15 million, $20 million, whatever it is for this piece in Corktown with the way the market is developing.”
So will something, anything, happen with the CPA in the near future? Hard to tell if anyone will plop down the type of dough that Zalkin has in mind, whatever that is.
But he has a history of doing this before — buying Detroit properties on the cheap, sitting on them and not doing much work, and then selling them for a massive windfall.
at was the case with one downtown Detroit building a few years ago, and could ultimately end up being the case with this one.
BFD Corktown, which is an a liate of Zalkin’s and Vivek Garipalli’s Sequoia Property Partners, paid just shy of $900,000 for the CPA Building in June 2014, according to city land records. Zalkin has told me that the overall site was assembled over the course of a few years in several deals. Around that time, it was also placed on the city’s dangerous buildings list — David Bell, the city’s director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environment Department, at the time called it and another a “hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the public” — and began the march toward demolition, the Detroit News reported.
A few months later, a court order was issued requiring the building be razed or renovated; Sequoia opted for the former.
However, the Detroit City Council then gave it an interim historic designation while the Historic District Advisory Board considered whether to place it in a local historic district, which would have required the Historic District Commission sign o on any changes, demolition in particular, to the building.
However, the building sits just outside of the Corktown local historic district.
Next to nothing has happened at the building since (although seven years ago someone pulled a fun prank and placed a sign saying a Trader Joe’s was coming there, when obviously it wasn’t).
In late 2018, Sequoia put the Fowler Building downtown at 1225 Woodward Ave. on the market for $22 million, six years after it bought it for just $700,000.
Ultimately, it ended up selling in March 2019 to Dan Gilbert — surprise, surprise — for an estimated $18 million.
“We just get lucky,” Zalkin told me two years ago.
Kirk Pinho
Michigan trio starts ad agency; represents global brands
Google alums leverage traditional and digital marketing to grow clients
In 2021, three Michigan natives le their Google jobs to start something new. A er years of advising some of the world’s most iconic brands in Google’s advertising department, eron Tingstad, Mike Birney and Zain Mahmud saw an opportunity.
“We thought: what if we launched an agency that was rooted in digital, adept in traditional and aligned with brands’ business ambitions?” eron mused.
It was an idea that eron and Mike had discussed over co ee one Saturday morning. e idea kept growing. ey were determined to make it a reality. at idea would become Arbor Growth, an agency that now manages millions in advertising spend annually.
Mike knew that he and Theron would work well together. Mike had come to Google from Ford’s marketing department and joined a team led by Theron. They established a rapport immediately, bonding over athletics; Theron was a college boxer and Mike had a storied lacrosse career. Mike had been a standout at Detroit Catholic Central High School and a star player at the University of Detroit Mercy. He went on to play professional lacrosse and led his team to be World Champions.
At Google, eron valued Mike’s discipline, performance under pressure and motivation. On eron’s team for ve years, Mike had successfully grown “unicorn” e-commerce brands.
“I knew that if I ever had the guts to leave my position at Google and start
my own thing, Mike would be a key partner,” eron remembered.
Mike felt similarly. Not only was eron a skilled and motivational leader, but he also had a phenomenal resume. A er studying political science at the University of Michigan, he worked for over a decade in public service, rst as an analyst at the State Department and then as an airborne infantry o cer in the Army’s 82nd Airborne, before going on to earn a masters in public administration from Harvard and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Google recruited him directly from the University of Chicago.
“Most agencies don’t have leaders with this level of pedigree and experience,”
quickly found his footing. Before long, Google had recognized his talent and brought him on as a Lead Digital Strategist, supporting rapidly growing brands.
Could Mike and eron convince their experienced ex-colleague to launch a edgling advertising agency?
Zain was in.
“It was an incredible opportunity to work with two people who I respected, personally and professionally,” said Zain. “It was risky, sure, but for me: a no-brainer.”
During their time at Google, the team had seen many marketing agencies promise the world to their clients, only to struggle to keep pace with the
“We thought: what if we launched an agency that was rooted in digital, adept in traditional and aligned with brands’ business ambitions?” - eron Tingstad
Mike said. “ at’s how I knew we were going to be successful.”
ere was, however, a missing piece. eir former Google colleague Zain Mahmud, who had le a year earlier to run the marketing of a mortgage lender, and just led the company to a billion-dollar valuation.
Like eron, Zain was also a University of Michigan graduate. e son of hard-working immigrants from Pakistan, Zain started his advertising career straight out of college and
ever-changing advertising landscape. But their tenure at the tech behemoth – which has long been the world’s largest digital advertising platform – had given the team an inside track on a better way of doing things. With their knowledge of marketing strategy, they were convinced that they could accelerate growth for any business with an online presence.
eir rst client? e iconic hgeneration family-owned luxury eyewear brand, MOSCOT, based out of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Winning MOSCOT as their rst client was a coup for the Michigan trio. Celebrities from Andy Warhol to King Charles have worn MOSCOT glasses and to this day, Arbor Growth continues to grow MOSCOT’s brand and revenue, in the US and internationally, as the company’s agency of record.
Sarah Taghizadeh, MOSCOT’s Director of Marketing, maintained, “Arbor was absolutely essential to the success of our business.”
ree years a er their founding, Arbor Growth is already the agency of record for roughly a dozen companies, managing millions of dollars in advertising spend every month and generating more than $100 million in annual revenue for its clients. ey have managed multimillion-dollar public awareness campaigns, merging digital and traditional advertising, for both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans A airs.
While the agency provides various services, from advertising to SEO and social media management to clients in various industries, Arbor Growth has specialized in partnering with e-commerce and business-to-business lead-generation clients.
e Arbor Growth trio attributes their agency’s success to a few factors –technical know-how, years of working together, and a deep understanding of how to grow companies through traditional and digital means. However, their secret sauce is a Midwestern mélange of hard work, integrity and resilience.
“All of us grew up, were educated and worked in Michigan, so we
anticipated that most of our clients would be other local businesses,” said Mike. “But we found that our downto-earth, straight-shooting attitude resonates with clients from across the country.”
YEAR FOUNDED: 2021
EXPERIENCE: 20+ years of combined digital advertising expertise
SERVICES PROVIDED: Paid media buying, website design & development, SEO, paid social media marketing, and analytics & reporting
PORTFOLIO: Moscot, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1 Natural Way, Grayscale, Saltbox, Club Champion, Bundled
PRICING STRUCTURE: Packages starting at $5k
Contact marketing@ arborgrowth.com for more information.
Founders Theron, Mike, and Zain started Arbor Growth in 2021, Credit: Melissa Douglas
e time is now to invest in Detroit
The investments in Detroit range in size and scope.
From a planned $2.2 billion hospital in New Center to a handful of newly built single-family homes near Indian Village. From the burgeoning startup scene at Newlab to a gleaming apartment tower on the Detroit River where Joe Louis Arena once stood. And work has started on a matching, 25-story hotel next door.
To be sure, Detroit has a lot on which it can still improve. But there’s no doubt that when it comes to investment and development, the city has momentum — and more investors are welcome.
ey’ll be greeted by the Hudson’s tower, which now stands at its full height of 685 feet above Woodward Avenue and is slated to open next year.
But there’s plenty of investment opportunity beyond the ashy construction projects — a growing venture capital scene and a startup ecosystem that is beginning to generate wider attention.
Crain’s Detroit Business reporter Anna Fifelski recently reported that PitchBook data showed the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metro area had $467 million in venture capital investments across 69 deals in 2023. at gure compared with $292 million across 62 deals in 2019.
PitchBook’s Growth Score, based on one-, three- and ve-year growth rates involving VC deals, exits and fundraising, ranked Detroit second in the world, trailing only Dubai among the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the world.
COMMENTARY
e Newlab accelerator at Michigan Central, which opened last year and o ers space where founders can work and meet, has attracted 119 startups and 670 members. e number, Newlab estimates, amounts to about a third of the building’s capacity..
It’s a solid start, but there’s clearly room to grow.
Talent attraction is key if Detroit hopes to build on its momentum.
Founders need adequate health care, child care, safety and a strong education system, Rishi Moudgil, executive director of
pathways to nancing to keep their startups growing.
Another tangible need is better public transit. It is not only attractive to young professionals but, as with health care and education, improvements would be a bene t for the wider community as well.
Detroit businessman and philanthropist Dan Gilbert has been rightly vocal in calling for better public transit, something echoed by Johnnie Turnage, the entrepreneurial co-founder of the wildly popular Black Tech Saturdays program at Newlab.
“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 told Fifelski.
On Detroit’s east side, Greatwater Capital Opportunity has constructed a handful of new single-family homes, with the potential for more to come. It’s a wonderful sign of renewal — and an investment opportunity, should the market respond. But it also spotlights the necessary infrastructure the city must provide, such as new sidewalks, if o cials hope to foster such new construction at scale.
Detroit’s challenges are also aligned with its opportunities when it comes to competing for talent and investment with shinier, newer cities such as Austin and Salt Lake City.
Detroit has deep history, culture and a strong sense of place — attributes it can, and must, continue to play to its advantage when recruiting.
At the same time, Detroit’s civic and business leaders have to be relentless in pushing for improvements in critical areas such as education, transit and housing. Progress in those areas will not only make Detroit more attractive to talented young professionals and investors, but it will improve the quality of life and help lift up all of the city’s residents.
Detroit o ers great opportunities for investors, and clearly still has plenty of room to grow.
Child care crisis is holding back economic growth
As business leaders, we recognize the importance of critical factors that drive our regional economy — skilled talent, public-private partnerships, infrastructure, and innovation. However, one pressing issue is often overlooked: access to high-quality, a ordable child care. is isn’t just a family concern; it’s a growing business imperative that a ects our workforce, talent pipeline, and economic future.
In Michigan, the lack of sucient child care options results in nearly $3 billion in annual economic losses. Washtenaw County exempli es the scale of the crisis, with some families paying more than $30,000 annually for full-time toddler care — the highest cost in the state. Locally, the Livingston and Washtenaw Counties Child Care Coalition, convened by Ann Arbor Spark, revealed that many communities are child care deserts, where more than three children compete for every available licensed spot. And while care is expensive for families, it’s also not a lucrative business model. Child care centers
are plagued by sta ng shortages and low pro t margins, making it increasingly di cult for providers to stay operational. e consequences are clear: over half of families surveyed report struggles in maintaining consistent employment due to child care issues. is often leads to women in particular stepping out of the workforce, further exacerbating the talent shortage and hindering economic growth. Without action, the problem will only intensify, limiting our region’s ability to attract and retain the talent needed to sustain business growth.
Despite these challenges, there’s a signi cant opportunity for us to lead and drive change. On Sept. 24, during the Tech Talk event at a2Tech360, we’ll host a reside chat that explores the intersection of child care and economic development in Ann Arbor. is discussion will highlight innovative approaches to address child care challenges while enhancing workforce participation and supporting the growth of our local tech sector.
Additionally, on Oct. 1, the Impact 2024 event will feature executives from Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), a Colorado-based child care solutions facilitator now expanding nationwide. EPIC has demonstrated that for every dollar invested in child care solutions, businesses see a return of over $4. Colorado’s business community has already taken bold steps in this area, and we can adopt similar strategies in Michigan to support our workforce while strengthening our economy.
Here are some actions you can take right now to help address the child care crisis:
Promote awareness: Share the ndings of the Livingston and Washtenaw Counties Child Care Coalition with your peers. It’s essential for more people to understand how child care impacts the economy and our ability to retain a skilled workforce.
◗ Engage with employees: Talk with your employees about their child care challenges. Knowing their needs is the rst step toward nding solutions that bene t both your business and your team.
Implement quick wins: Leverage the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s roadmap for actionable child care solutions. Consider exible work policies or developing support networks for working parents — small changes can have a big impact.
◗ Explore the Tri-Share model: Michigan’s Tri-Share program, which splits child care costs between the state, employer, and employee, has already shown success. is investment can lead to improved employee retention and reduced absenteeism.
Look into additional solutions: Consider providing on-site child care, securing spots for employees at local providers, or establishing backup care programs. ese initiatives not only support your workforce but also enhance your company’s appeal to prospective talent.
Addressing the child care crisis is not just about doing the right thing for families — it’s about securing the long-term economic health of our region. By taking these steps, we can ensure that our businesses, employees, and community thrive in the years ahead. Now is the time to act.
the Michigan Founders Fund, told Fifelski. ey also need easily accessible
Paul Krutko is president and CEO of Ann Arbor Spark.
Newlab (left) and the refurbished Michigan Central Station | JASON KEEN/NEWLAB AT MICHIGAN CENTRAL
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PUBLIC SAFETY
26% Just over a quarter of Americans rate Detroit as a safe place to visit.
Gallup, August 2023
27% Just over a quarter of Americans rate Chicago as a safe place to visit.
Gallup, August 2023
51% A majority of survey respondents said they feel less safe now than a few years ago.
Akron Decides Survey, 2023
Public safety has a perception problem
For the Great Lakes region’s biggest cities, crime stats don’t fully capture how people feel
By Steve Hendershot
Chicagoan Lisa Stringer sees the improving crime stats coming out this year — a decline in car thefts, homicides returning to pre-pandemic levels — and she wants to believe. She wants to relax.
But Stringer can’t square the data’s rosy picture with what she sees outside her window in the city’s North Mayfair neighborhood. In the last couple of years, she’s witnessed a break-in at a neighborhood business, seen the dismantling of a stolen car, and heard shooting in the alley behind her home. Late one night while she drove along Elston Avenue, an SUV pulled alongside her at a stoplight. Two people wearing masks got out and approached her car. She sped forward, narrowly avoiding a collision while making her escape.
So when she hears reports of a stabilizing city, Stringer is skeptical.
“It’s frustrating when people try to dismiss you and pat you on the head and say you’re being dramatic,” Stringer says.
“You have a chart, but I am telling you that my personal, lived experience in the last two years is the complete opposite of that. For the rst time in my life, I don’t feel safe.”
Often a perception gap exists between how safe city dwellers feel and their statistical risk of victimization. Right now, however, it’s exceptionally wide.
Polls indicate that many Americans share Stringer’s perspective. In the 2023 edition of Gallup’s annual crime survey — the most recent iteration — respondents voiced more pessimism about local and national crime than at any point in the survey’s roughly 20-year history.
Yet according to law enforcement data, crime is receding across the country. Homicides and auto thefts are declining sharply this year, with the number of murders approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to AH Datalytics’ Real-Time Crime Index. A Council on Criminal Justice analysis that focuses on big-city crime shows similar positive trends across the country’s largest metros. e number of homicides is down in three of the Great Lakes region’s largest cities — Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago.
It adds up to a curious divergence, not to mention a stubborn problem in a region where cities are trying to emerge from the pandemic and also reverse decades of population loss.
It’s not just safety that’s on the line, it’s civic momentum.
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Detroiters are “so invested in a comeback and seeing the city come back to a sense of prominence,” says Zoe Kennedy, who works to stem community violence as public health and safety director of nonpro t Force Detroit. e pandemic interrupted that progress.
In Chicago, during the pandemic “there was a crisis of con dence. People were not con dent they were going to have a positive experience” downtown, says Michael Edwards, president and CEO of the Chicago Loop Alliance. But Edwards says the crime data backs up the improved conditions he’s observing. If people are still scared of visiting the Loop, he says, “it’s a mistaken old idea, a remnant of the pandemic.”
at frames the challenge facing regional city leaders: not only to ensure that their cities are safe but also that they feel safe.
at’s easier said than done right now, in part because of a string of high-pro le crimes across the region that cut against the crime data’s optimistic narrative. In the early hours of Labor Day, four sleeping passengers on a Chicago Transit Authority train were shot to death.
In July, two were killed and 19 wounded during a shooting at a Detroit block party. On a Saturday night in late June, a gun ght broke
Homicides decline in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit
out at Cleveland’s most popular beachfront park. All three incidents were horri c and felt even more unsettling because they showed how violence can erupt even in seemingly safe public spaces.
“Nobody has ever tied their personal feelings of public safety purely to crime stats. They go outside their door and look around.”
What’s driving the perception gap?
ey’re the sorts of crimes that grab hold of the imagination, which can be an especially powerful in uence on perceptions.
“ e fear of crime that (high-prole incidents) create cannot be oset by a 20% reduction in homicide,” says Charlie Beck, former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and former interim police superintendent in Chicago. “Nobody has ever tied their personal feelings of public safety purely to crime stats. ey go outside their door and look around.”
An increasing political dimension drives perceptions of urban crime. For example, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were more than three times as likely as their Republican and Republican-leaning counterparts to consider Chicago a safe place to live or visit, according to a di erent 2023 Gallup Poll. In Detroit, the gap was only a bit more narrow, with Republican or Republican-leaning independents about two and a half times less likely to view the city as safe than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. e partisan gap has grown sharply this century: e average divergence in perception across the poll is 29 percentage points, compared to just 2 points in 2006.
But politics and outside opinions don’t explain why many residents of solidly blue cities aren’t feeling safe. Crime ranks as the top reason Detroit residents would consider leaving the city, according to a 2023 survey by the Detroit Chamber of Commerce. In a survey of Chicago voters conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy on behalf of several local media outlets prior to the 2023 mayoral election, crime was the runaway leading issue.
Charlie Beck, former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and former interim police superintendent in Chicago
So what gives? Are city residents seeing things that are missing from crime data? Or are their perceptions especially skewed? Several factors may be contributing to a pronounced safety perception gap:
An environment that feels more chaotic
Kenya Valentine is a longtime rider of Chicago’s el trains. Since the pandemic, “there’s been a huge change,” she says. “It’s not safe.”
She says this while standing beneath the tracks at the Red Line’s Wilson stop, where a few days earlier a man fled the train after being stabbed during an afternoon altercation. Yet Valentine’s assessment wasn’t based on witnessing violent crime so much as an uptick in other sorts of rule-breaking, like people smoking on the train or selling drugs at el stations.
Public-transit crime is an issue in Chicago. A September Chicago Tribune analysis found that serious crimes occurring on Chicago Transit Authority trains, buses and stations are near their highest levels since 2000. But riders like Valentine are also noticing the small stuff that doesn’t show up in violent-crime data. That’s a crucial development, according to Beck, the former Los Angeles police chief. Since the pandemic, he says, “in the big cities, I think there is a lot of evidence that people see in their day-to-day lives that shows a lack of control, or a society that is shifting towards less cohesiveness about what’s normal in public spaces.”
The word “normal” is key to thinking about perceptions of safety, because people can feel comfortable in a broad range of environments as long as their surroundings seem predictable and familiar.
For example, Chico Tillmon, executive director of the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy, grew up in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood during a violence-plagued period in the 1990s. Yet he felt safe there.
“It wasn’t about Austin being safe. It’s that I knew the blocks, I knew how to maneuver, and I was familiar with the people,” Tillmon says.
Tillmon calls it “adaptation and normalization.” It’s the inverse of what Beck is describing and what people like Kenya Valentine and Lisa Stringer are experiencing: a change in environment that’s so striking that it upends people’s sense of what’s normal — and what’s safe.
How can cities guard against that decreasing sense of environmental control? One obvious answer is a greater law enforcement presence, but that’s a challenge both in terms of police department manpower and also the fraught relationship between residents and police in many communities. There also are
The Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Crime Lab provides a program to educate violence intervention leaders across the country. Those who graduate, including Myesha Watkins (top) from Cleveland and Zoe Kennedy (above) from Detroit, have had ve months of hands-on education that includes classroom instruction and immersive learning labs. They return to their organizations to expand the efforts in their cities to reduce violence, working with police departments and residents to save lives through strategies and data-driven practices that bridge the safety gap. Vice President Kamala Harris honored the program’s rst 31 graduates at a White House ceremony in February to highlight “Community Violence Awareness Week.”
plenty of other options, according to Sandi Price, executive director of the Rogers Park Business Alliance, an economic development group on Chicago’s Far North Side. They range from community gatherings and cleanup events to beautification and infrastructure projects such as murals or the new public plaza unveiled in Rogers Park in early September. They’re projects that “help alleviate the perception that people don’t care,” she says.
Random violence undermines con dence
At a Detroit block party over the July Fourth holiday, gun re killed two and wounded 19. e incident illustrated a troubling trend noted by anti-violence leaders: More dispute-related shootings are occurring in settings where innocent bystanders become victims. e randomness of those events can unnerve people who think of themselves as possessing the street smarts to steer clear of trouble.
tims are verboten even in circles where gun violence often occurs, and that the ethic is taking root in parts of the city.
“In my community, shooting up houses, that’s unacceptable,” Kennedy says. “ at’s what the community embraced, and that’s the standard we set.”
Neighborhood apps and tech shift perception
Security cameras and Neighborhood Watch groups have been around for decades, but their reach — along with the volume of alerts they generated — exploded in recent years thanks to the growing popularity of tech products such as Amazon’s Ring Doorbell. More than 20% of U.S. households have a smart doorbell, according to research rm Parks Associates, and the market is projected to grow by 33.4% each year through 2030, according to Grand View Research. Apps such as Citizen and NextDoor also are helping spread awareness of hyperlocal crimes and suspicious activity; NextDoor had 41.8 million weekly active users in 2023.
Chicagoan Luis Martinez uses Ring and NextDoor to track crimes and suspicious activity in his neighborhood, in addition to watching the news.
“I’d rather know something’s going down in my neighborhood than not know and be caught o guard,” he says.
e issue is that people who use those platforms perceive higher rates of crime than those who don’t, according to a study by University of Houston researcher Adam Fetterman, director of the school’s Personality, Emotion, & Social Cognition Lab.
“ ose push noti cations that keep telling you about crime keep it at the top of your mind,” says Fetterman. “Crime rates could be going down in general, but if you’re constantly being told about crime throughout the day, you’re going to have this perception that it’s happening more often.”
Novel, brazen crimes grab extra attention
“ e biggest feeling of being unsafe is that you could be totally innocent, have nothing to do with nothing, and still be a victim of violence,” says Tillmon. Tillmon is a pioneer in the community violence intervention movement, in which community members intervene to try to head o gun violence before it occurs. FORCE Detroit’s Zoe Kennedy, a graduate of the CVI Leadership Academy that Tillmon leads, says that one of his group’s goals is to ensure that shootings that might claim innocent vic-
Media coverage, including social media, also elevates perceptions of crime. at’s not a new phenomenon, but it may be surging thanks to the camera- and feed-friendly nature of some pandemic- and post-pandemic-era crime. From downtown street racing to smash-and-grab burglaries in high-pro le shopping districts, to a recent incident in Detroit when a large crowd surrounded a city bus and cheered as two women twerked on the hood, these incidents draw eyeballs to familiar scenes where the urban environment appears out of control.
“It’s, ‘I know exactly where this is happening, so it’s easy for me to visualize it,’” explains David Ewoldsen, a professor at Michigan State University who studies media and psychology. “It just makes it much more salient, much more arousing.”
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Could crime be underreported?
Could the public-safety perception gap be explained by shortcomings in data collection? Is it possible that elevated levels of crime aren’t being reported or recorded?
Not likely, at least for the highest-pro le crimes.
“ ere aren’t a lot of homicides that are going unreported,” says Kim Smith, director of national programs and external engagement at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
Murders, along with car thefts, are reliably reported across di erent time periods and regions, one reason why they serve as benchmark crime statistics.
However, it’s more plausible that other types of crimes are underreported. For example, Smith cites sexual assault as a chronically underreported type of crime. And some pandemic-era changes such as smaller police forces (Chicago had 12% fewer sworn o cers in July 2024 compared to July 2019, according to city data), along with diminished trust in law enforcement, could plausibly contribute to a decrease in reports of, say, property crime. “ e higher con dence people have in police, the more they report crime,” says Beck.
Still, an analysis from AH Datalytics’ Je Asher found that while current trends could spark reporting vagaries, they’re likely too small to signi cantly skew the gains shown in recent crime data.
Sentiment can be a lagging indicator
Chicagoan Stringer, describing her escape from a would-be carjacking, says, “ is is something that sticks with you on a whole different level.”
e psychological impact of experiencing crime or intense danger can be long-lasting and a ect perceptions of safety even amid an increasingly safe environment. In other words, it might take time for perception to catch up with a safer reality, especially given that “safer” is a matter of degrees, particularly in the communities that deal with the brunt of crime and violence.
“Exposure is a big part of this story — the lasting and longer-term impacts of exposure to gun violence,” says the University of Chicago’s Smith.
e challenge facing cities like Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, then, isn’t as simple as bending people’s understanding of their environment into alignment with a new, safer reality. It’s deeper: It’s about reclaiming part of society that eroded during the pandemic. It’s about healing.
So it seems tting that next to the same Red Line stop in Chicago where two days earlier a stabbing victim ed the train, an artist painted a mural on the side of a brick building. e image depicts a young woman with her eyes closed and face overcome with emotion. She’s surrounded by blooming owers.
It’s titled “Regrowth.”
Detroit makes progress on crime, but the city’s reputation still lags
By John Gallagher
Detroit has been celebrating a remarkable decline in crime lately, reporting fewer criminal homicides in 2023 than in any year since 1966. Nonfatal shootings were also down year over year; so were carjackings, robberies and sexual assaults.
But the good news on crime prompts two questions: First, why have crime rates dropped so dramatically? And second, why hasn’t the city’s image as a dangerous place improved along with the crime rate?
Many reasons are o ered for the decline in criminal behavior both in Detroit and elsewhere, and there is no consensus.
Detroit Police Chief James White credits better policing — including using newly available funds to put 200 more o cers on the street, as well as newer technologies like the “ShotSpotter” (now named Sound inking) system that alerts police to gun re in real time.
en, too, Detroit police have stepped up enforcement against such activities as drag racing that can lead to violence and other illegal after-hours gatherings. And, more money has been available recently for mental health interventions.
“Being able to engage in a variety of different programs and having the funding to do it has led to success,” White told Crain’s. Detroit has also partnered with county, state and federal authorities to crack down on likely crime scenarios such as drag racing and gun crimes. e U.S. Attorney-backed One Detroit strategy in the city’s 8th and 9th precincts, where some of the worst crime had occurred, included increased federal prosecution for gun crimes and gang activities.
Federal agencies including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency are all involved in crime-reduction e orts in the city.
Mayor Mike Duggan echoed White’s remarks when the lower crime statistics were
released last January.
“In 2023, many cities in the U.S. saw a reduction in crime as the COVID-era violence has begun to abate,” Duggan said. “What’s truly remarkable is that Detroit’s homicides dropped below pre-covid levels. I want to thank the men and women of the Detroit Police Department and all of the other partners in the law enforcement system that made this possible.”
However, it’s important to note that there are other explanations for less crime beyond more cops on the beat and better policing methods. Chris Johnson, president of the nonpro t Bagley Community Council on Detroit’s northwest side, credits his more activist neighbors for his area’s safer streets and rising home values.
In the Bagley district, where home values have been rising, “People tend to pay more attention to their neighbors,” Johnson said. “We keep the blight down. e houses are pretty much kept up. Crime usually depends on how well the area is kept. Major crimes are not prevalent in this area.” Indeed, even interventions like cleaning up vacant lots and cutting the grass have been credited with reducing crime.
And professionals who study crime o er still other explanations. An aging population tends to see less crime as youths “age out” of the typical years for criminal activity. Some theories even cite less leaded gasoline in our cars; less lead pollution in the air means less damage to the brains of youngsters, which in turn means less cognitive decline and therefore less anti-social behavior.
If there’s no consensus why crime is down, it’s clear that the lower rate hasn’t fully translated into a better reputation for Detroit. Chief White says it’s a hangover from the bad old days when Detroit had an image as the nation’s murder capital.
“Some of those old stories still come up, that Detroit is crime ridden and bankrupt,” he told Crain’s.
at may be true enough. But Peter J. Hammer, a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, says perceptions that crime is out of control stem in part from America’s unresolved con icts over race.
“Perceptions of crime are really re ections of racial anxiety,” Hammer said. Among much else, he cites the current political ads blanketing the airways depicting dark-skinned immigrants supposedly preying on innocent Americans.
“If all you get is this notion of how dangerous the world is and how dangerous the racial ‘other’ is, a natural human response is ‘My God, crime is way out of control!’ at’s not the only factor but that is one of the things that is stoking perceptions.”
en, too, when a particularly gruesome crime does occur in Detroit, the news can override the more upbeat crime statistics. ere was the horri c block party shooting in July on Detroit’s east side that left two people dead and 19 others wounded. And the 2023 stabbing death of Lafayette Park resident Samantha Woll equally sent shock waves through an otherwise peaceful area.
But as White acknowledges, a big reason for any negative image of the city is that crime remains too high, even as the overall rate has come down. Detroit saw 252 criminal homicides in 2023, and while that marked a dramatic reduction from previous years, it’s still a lot of murders.
Comparisons with European cities where guns are more tightly regulated are sobering. Last year, Detroit reported one homicide for roughly every 2,500 residents. at rate is 10 times higher than the homicide rate in Stockholm, Sweden, and 30 times higher than the rate in London, England. London had fewer than half the number of Detroit’s homicides even while its population was roughly 14 times greater.
As White told Crain’s, “We’re not celebrating these (lower crime rates). ere’s way too much gun violence in our city.”
Crime is not a fact of life, it's a disruption
Detroit, like other major cities, is still experiencing the transition from preCOVID norms.
e past few years have given rise to a sense of fear, helplessness and restlessness within society that ultimately resulted in an increased awareness of mental health issues. is created an environment that led to skyrocketing crime and a new norm of tolerance and insensitivity to violence. Coupled with the murder of George Floyd, a new distrust for law enforcement emerged, challenging every police chief around the country to rebuild their pillars of con dence within their own communities.
and everyone should be indignant toward any individual that nds it appropriate to harm another person.
ere was a time when society shamed people for even minor misconduct. But our e orts to explain the underpinnings of crime seems to have given rise to senseless reasons and baseless excuses. Society’s tolerance only grew from there.
is is not to say that all crime is to be treated equally. ere are complex social issues that give rise to crime.
Today, we talk about shootings and stabbings like they are normal, everyday events. People have grown numb to senseless violence, and some even nd violence to be an acceptable form of problem-solving. In the past, when two people in a dating relationship simply broke up when things weren’t working out, the relationship ended, some on better terms than others. But, more and more we are seeing people turning to (often times fatal) acts of violence rather than simply moving on with their lives.
e Detroit Police Department is doing its part to keep the condence of its community while deterring crime and vindicating the rights of individuals who have been victimized by crime. With respect to community, the department hosts numerous community events ranging from procedural justice seminars to organized walks in the community. e goal is to provide a forum for all aspects of Detroit’s unique and diverse population.
On the issue of crime, Detroit has seen historical reductions in violent crime. In the 2023, we recorded the lowest number of homicides since 1966 as well as double-digit decreases in nonfatal shootings and carjackings. We are on track for even further reductions, as evidenced by the fact that, as of Sept. 10, we are down in all categories of Part 1 crimes, including a 21% reduction in criminal homicides, a 16% reduction in sex crimes, a 25% reduction in non-fatal shootings, a 36% reduction in carjackings, and a 14% reduction in motor vehicle thefts. is speaks volumes of the hardworking members of the Detroit Police Department as well as the work of the department’s senior managers and crime strategists.
As promising as these statistics are, we cannot a ord to celebrate. One senseless act of violence is one too many, and we can never a ord as a society to become tolerant of crime or establish it as a norm. Crime is not a part of life; it is a disruption thereof. Residents must embrace their security and their safety,
As a certi ed mental health counselor, I see crime through a very unique lens and understand that mental health issues can lead to erratic and unpredictable behavior that results in criminal acts.
Although often the rst to be called to the scene, police departments in general are ill-suited to address people in mental health crisis. e department has established mental health co-response teams and has partnered with reputed organizations and agencies in its e ort to create e ective strategies addressing mental health. While they have been highly successful, more family and government support is needed.
Addressing the former, residents must make their mental health, as well as the mental health of their families a high priority. If a family member is struggling with mental health issues, please seek the appropriate help and take an active role in their treatment. Many people a icted with mental health issues can (and do) succeed with the proper family support.
My hope is that everyone will assume personal responsibility for the safety of their loved ones, especially when they cannot support themselves.
Turning now to the latter, I rmly believe more nancial support is needed to address mental health in the community. Although the recent opening of the 707 Crisis Care Center is promising, more and similar facilities are needed throughout the region. As previously stated, not all crime is created equal. Where mental health gives rise to a criminal act, our response should address, at least in part, the underlying condition.
Counseling and other forms of treatment should be required terms of probation or release. If people and their families are willing to commit to ensuring their own mental health, they should be a orded the opportunity.
My hope is that the residents will embrace the foregoing concepts: intolerance toward senseless violence, owning the mental health and well-being of our loved ones, and greater support of the mentally ill.
Crime in Detroit is declining; four ways police have helped
Crime in Detroit is declining again.
Nearly all major categories of crime decreased in the rst six months of this year. Murder, sexual assault and robberies, were all down — by double digits year to date. Among violent crime, only simple assault increased. Aggravated assault is down recently, but not below pre-COVID levels.
Lyke Thompson is the director of Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies and is a professor of political science.
Among property crimes, damage to property dropped by double digits, while burglary and larceny fell by single digits so far this year. Auto theft peaked in late 2022, but has come down since then, though police are challenged by new technological techniques that thieves are using. ese declines are good news for Detroit, helping to overcome a bad reputation that has held Detroit back for decades.
Note, though, the “again.”
Detroit, like many major cities, had seen massive declines in crime over recent decades until these were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. COVID reversed the decreases for several years, but then crime levels headed back down. FBI data on crime levels lags somewhat, but it con rms a temporary COVID increase that has been replaced by a post-COVID decrease in crime rates in Detroit.
e FBI data also suggests one cause for decrease, an increase in clearance rates (i.e., the extent to which a perpetrator is caught).
is is one several causes of the drop in crime. e clearance rate increase indicates that the police are getting better at their jobs.
ey don’t catch every perpetrator, but they are catching about
double the number they were — a huge improvement. is, in turn, points to other things Detroit’s police are doing well. ese include:
Targeting high crime areas. For over a decade now they have been identifying hot spots for crime and completing proactive patrols in those areas, providing more protection for citizens and increasing the risk for criminals who might be planning a crime. e criminals often decide that the crime is too risky, and those decisions lead to reduced crime rates.
Using technology and working with community organizations to reduce violence. e city has experimented with using cameras at gas stations and other locations, and it has used a gunshot detection system to identify where guns are red in the city so they can target crimes as they occur. At the same time they have engaged residents in some neighborhoods to identify and engage people at the greatest risk of violence, who are then helped to pursue a di erent path.
◗ Tracking down repeat o enders. Criminals on parole or probation, who commit additional crimes, now are far more likely to nd themselves back in police custody. Partly this because of increasing close cooperation between police and corrections ofcers. Higher quality data tracking of the probationers and parolees and their crimes accelerates this process.
◗ Sustained partnerships with federal, state and local agencies that include aggressive investigation and prosecution of the relatively small number of individuals responsible for the most
violence in the community. One important reason that crime is falling in Detroit is beyond the control of the police. is is a reduction in the number and percentage of youth in the city. e 2010 Census and the 2022 American Community Survey document a decline in the number of children in Detroit and a stronger decline in youth 15 to 24. is is the cohort that has historically had the most difculty getting jobs and who have long been represented disproportionately in crimes. ese trends are projected to continue with Detroit’s population gradually getting older with fewer and fewer youth.
A nal question: Are Detroiters recognizing these changes? Two surveys by the University of Michigan indicate that Detroiters are seeing the declines that the crime statistics show. Comparing 2019 data to 2021 data the UM data indicates that fewer Detroiters were victims of crime in each category from auto theft to physical attacks. A majority or nearly a majority said police were doing a good job in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Not all were so positive. Younger people, in particular, were far less likely to believe that the police were doing a good job. e data indicate young people are more likely to have had “forceful” interactions with the police.
Overall, Detroit police are now more representative of the people they police. ey are better trained. ey use more technology. Many are good at engaging with the community. ey have fewer youth to police. e economy has been good, reducing the negative impact of unemployment on crime. All these trends are converging to reduce crime levels. It’s time to applaud the progress and nd ever more new and inventive ways to continue the positive trends in the city.
James E. White is a Detroit native and has been chief of the police department since 2021.
Detroiters want a safer city; the media isn’t helping
In April, Outlier’s newsroom paid the University of Michigan to survey more than 1,000 Detroiters about their community involvement and political participation.
We also asked which issues people most wanted local leaders to address.
Sarah Alvarez is founder and editor-in-chief of Outlier Media.
Crime was an answer at the front of the pack, but it wasn’t alone. Around the same number of people who mentioned crime instead mentioned a ordable housing, blight and xing the damn roads as their top issue.
But when we included answers about safety and violence along with crime, that group of concerns pulled far ahead of all others. One in three Detroiters said these concerns are the thing they most want local o cials to address.
I’ve built a newsroom o the simple idea that reporters and editors should take Detroiters at their word when they say what is important to them. And that we should deliver information these residents can use to address these concerns. When information alone can’t x a problem, we add investigative reporting or monitoring by the Detroit Documenters to the mix. We would feel less overwhelmed and more served by the news if more newsrooms followed this model.
But when Detroiters say they are concerned about crime, is more crime news the answer? Absolutely not. Over years of doing this work, I have come to recognize when a signal is broken; when a concern clouds a deeper problem.
Crime is one of these areas. News about crime is unlikely to reduce it.
is kind of news can weaken communities in other ways, too. It’s not that Detroiters or news organizations can ignore crime. e number of violent crimes in the city has been falling, but the incidence of violent crimes here is still among the highest in the country. Residents here have had more than their fair share of traumas, from theft to arson to murder, to contend with over the years. A violation like this can upend a day, a year or an entire life.
But the news pushes us to believe crime is a bigger threat than it really is. It makes us feel more powerless than we really are. When there is this mismatch between the reality and perception of crime, people change their political priorities, become more isolated and are more likely to believe misinformation. Narratives that Detroit is overrun by crime make it easier for us to accept unproven assertions, like retail theft being so out of control that toothpaste needs to be in a locked case at our drugstores. Crime statistics don’t support those claims of theft, mistakes drive a lot of the losses retailers see and over-relying on self-checkouts is also at play.
A never-ending stream of crime stories can also convince us that the reason car insurance rates in Detroit are higher than in any other major city in the country must also be because of theft or break-ins. We blame each other. Crime does not explain our auto insurance rates, and state o cials should hold these insurers accountable instead of believing that narrative.
e investigative reporting into
auto insurance rates took a team of four reporters at Outlier and the national investigative newsroom e Markup almost a year to nish. It cost a lot more than pumping out stories about crime would have.
Crime stories also calcify beliefs that Detroiters are dangerous. It helps explain why when the city planned to welcome hundreds of thousands of out of town guests for the NFL Draft, festivities went o almost without a hitch or an incident.
A few months later, at Detroit’s much more local yearly rework display, police said their concerns about crime and violence required them to shut down many city parks, keeping Detroiters from enjoying their own city or the event. No violent incidents were reported this year.
who think more policing is the solution, and who said as much in our survey. But if safety is the goal instead of reducing crime, everyone has a job to do, not just the police.
ShotSpotter versus ShotStoppers is an example of how this dichotomy works. It’s easy to mix up the two names, but these initiatives are very di erent. ShotSpotter, now called Sound inking, is meant to reduce gun crimes. It is a system of surveillance sensors that listens for the sound of gunshots, records them and alerts police. Several cities, including Chicago, have canceled their contract, the new mayor there said the technology was ineffective, and activists said it led to police killing a 13-year-old. Detroit renewed a $7 million per year contract for the technology in 2022.
When there is this mismatch between the reality and perception of crime, people change their political priorities, become more isolated and are more likely to believe misinformation.
News about crime from local media or social accounts like Crime in the D is easy and cheap to make. It holds our attention with drama, tension and salacious detail. Crime is better for the news business than safety.
But safety is better for Detroiters. When residents ask o cials to reduce crime, what do we really want them to do, speci cally? Crime has a huge impact but few players. ere are victims and perpetrators, there are police and the courts. What is a local o cials’ role? What should the news hold them accountable for?
ere are certainly Detroiters
ShotStoppers is an anti-violence initiative in six Detroit neighborhoods that has been running for a little more than a year. A small group of community organizations uses tactics from mediation to help people nd housing to interrupt violence. In neighborhoods without ShotStoppers crime dropped an average of 37% when compared to the year before. at decline was 72% in one of the ShotStopper neighborhoods. e program is paid for from an $11 million fund made up of mostly federal dollars. e bigger the reduction in violence, the more the community groups earn.
Take another example. A hitand-run is a crime. ese are devastating incidents that have increased slightly across the nation, with some recent high-pro le incidents in Detroit. If we ask o cials to put more of a focus on crime, it’s possible they would eventually begin to focus on reducing the numbers of hit-and-runs. Maybe there would be more police patrols or more surveillance of our roads, but pedestrian safety has gotten short shrift for years.
Even with fewer hit-and-runs, our children would not have many safe routes to school. Getting our kids to school safely would require the city would need to put crossing guards at every school, instead of fewer than half last school year, or more volunteers to help kids cross the roads near their schools. Even if we aren’t breaking any laws by running red lights or speeding when we drive by a school, we can all drive more carefully there.
Newsrooms need to look at data about what is injuring Detroiters, or shortening their lives, or keeping them from being able to go for a walk in their neighborhood, or reluctant to let their children go play basketball at the park. Sometimes these dangers are also crimes, but many times they are not.
We need to prioritize stories that interrupt harm to Detroiters and hold people and institutions accountable for that harm, not just for crimes. ere are examples of stories that do this everywhere in the local media landscape. But there are also far too many stories about crime. Read them less, make them less and share them less: it won’t make you any less safe.
Communities could make more use of crime-solving tools
Our communities face a gun violence crisis, in part, because we face a clearance rate crisis. Knowing that less than half of all gun homicides in America are solved by police, you would expect law enforcement o cials to use every tool available to solve these cases. But new research from the Joyce Foundation found that, in Illinois at least, that’s not true.
Gun homicides are especially di cult to solve. Using a gun allows for greater distance between the shooter and victim, reducing the likelihood that DNA evidence is left behind or that the crime is clearly witnessed.
In Chicago, the clearance rate is even more dire: Less than one-third of homicides are cleared by arrest. Chicagoans also experience stark racial disparities in homicide clearance rates. is lack of accountability erodes police-community trust, making it harder for police to investigate shootings — creating a vicious cycle that perpetuates violence.
New research from Joyce uncovered another reason we aren’t solving more gun homicides in Illinois: Roughly a third of law enforcement agencies statewide are not signed up for the primary federal tools that help solve gun crimes. And many of the rest are not maximizing their use.
ese crime gun intelligence tools are housed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and include eTrace, Collective Data Sharing (CDS), the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and the NIBIN Enforce-
ment Support System (NESS) — and they are incredibly e ective. Together, they allow law enforcement to analyze crime guns, shell casings and police records. ey empower law enforcement to quickly identify shooters, like the suspected Highland Park parade shooter in 2022. ey also allow police to prosecute straw purchasers, like the individual who illegally bought the gun that murdered Chicago police o cer Ella French. Most importantly, these crime gun intelligence tools have been shown to increase clearance rates for gun crimes.
To maximize the impact of these tools in Illinois, Attorney General Kwame Raoul recently launched Crime Gun Connect, an innovative platform that brings together statewide data and captures key patterns on the sources of crime guns. e U.S. Department of Justice also established a new Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Chicago, enhancing law enforcement’s abilities here. Milwaukee’s
CGIC, on which Chicago’s is modeled, improved the clearance rate there for nonfatal shootings.
Still, Illinois police are not consistently using some of the most e ective tools to solve gun crime. Only 579 of approximately 900 agencies statewide are signed up for eTrace. Of those agencies, only 287 share their trace data with other agencies in the state via collective data sharing. is lack of participation hampers investigations and undermines safety. It also limits the effectiveness of e orts like Crime Gun Connect and the Chicago CGIC. Policymakers and law enforcement leaders must nd ways to prioritize the use of these tools and eliminate barriers to doing so.
First, every law enforcement agency in the state should sign up for these tools. If they don’t, the state should mandate it. Not surprisingly, states that require such participation — New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia — have some of the highest law enforce-
ment participation rates in the country.
Second, we need to make sure police are e ectively using them. Among those agencies signed up, not all recovered crime guns are traced. Model policies and protocols should be developed to ensure all recovered crime guns are traced via eTrace, all recovered ballistic evidence be submitted into NIBIN, and that agencies are fully participating in e orts like Crime Gun Connect and the Chicago CGIC.
Finally, the state must invest in these tools. It can do so through increased training for local law enforcement on how best to use them. e state should also fund outreach and awareness campaigns to increase use.
Gun violence is hard enough to solve in this country as it is. If there are tools available to law enforcement to do something about it, we need to do everything we can to ensure they’re being used. Completely and e ectively.
Tim Daly is director of the Gun Violence Prevention and Justice Reform program at the Joyce Foundation. Joyce is a sponsor of Crain’s Forum.
landscape architect Jens Jensen — to create vernal pools that will improve amphibian and bird habitats, Drotos said.
" rough the wetland, we're looking at putting a wooded or a boardwalk structure for public education… (and) for birders, too, for seeing di erent things and just for overall public enjoyment and bene t. at's going to be a really popular spot on the property, I think.”
GEI Consultants of Michigan is leading planning for the project, working with Ann Arbor companies InSite Design Studio and LimnoTech and St. Joseph-based Edgewater Resources.
'Fish hotels'
e second phase of the project includes “softening” the shoreline to improve sh habitats in the waters around Ford Cove. It also includes re-creating a wetland area on Bird Island, which is connected by a walkway to the Ford House estate. at work would ideallt start in the winter of 2025-26 outside of restricted “in-water” months from April to October when sh spawning and other activity is underway, Drotos said.
ere's little softened shoreline on the U.S. side of Lake St Clair, which Drotos said is a detriment to the transitional zone between water and land in Grosse Pointe Shores.
“Currently, looking at the shoreline, it's all this broken concrete. It's a big hazard. e public can't get down to the water to actually experience the water. It's just not safe in its current state. So we'll be looking at ways to get the public to be engaged with the lake through various methods, and we're still working out some of those public enhancements for access to the shoreline.”
e Ford House project will focus on regrading shorelines to create gentle slopes and planting dense, native vegetation to help absorb wave energy and prevent erosion, he said.
In areas that are too steep to grade out into the water, the development team will have to employ other tactics. ose include adding downed woody debris or fallen trees back into shoreline waters and building sh lunkers, or “ sh hotels” — structures that give sh a place to hide under the bank of the lakeshore, Drotos said.
One idea in the works is a boardwalk over the water. Another is putting a viewing platform over the water where the Ford family’s boathouse once stood.
“We're kind of still working through the details of what that's going to look like, but we want people to be able to experience what a naturalized shoreline is, what it looks like."
e project will also provide a more aesthetically pleasing shoreline for kayakers and boaters, Drotos said, noting there are a good amount of shermen on the lake shing from boats.
“We're very hopeful that this project will increase the ( shing grounds) in the area.”
Storm drain issue that held up arts center work settled
Sherri Welch
A lawsuit led against the nonpro t developer of a performing arts center on the Grosse Pointe Park-Detroit border by Wayne County and the Fox Creek Drainage District was dismissed this month after the two sides reached a settlement.
e lawsuit alleged Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation, the nonpro t that is building the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Center for the Performing Arts, general contractor PCI and project manager CBRE intentionally encroached on a required 100-foot easement to a Wayne County storm drain, even after repeated warnings from the county to shift construction plans and a stopwork order issued in February.
e county and drain district said in a complaint led in March in ird Judicial Circuit Court in Detroit that the Schaap Center encroachment would hamper the ability to maintain and improve the drain. e court paused action in the case in April after the sides reached an interim agreement to pave the way for settlement talks.
e case was dismissed Sept. 10 after Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation, the county and drainage district came to an agreement.
As part of the settlement, in addition to complying with all relevant permitting requirements and associated costs and fees, URIF acknowledged the drain easement and agreed to enter into encroachment and crossing agreements to protect the county drain on the
MICROCHIP
From Page 3
Western Digital Technologies registered to lobby in Michigan in October 2022. Its CEO, David Goeckeler, registered as a lobbyist agent on Aug. 12.
e Michigan Strategic Fund approved in May a $250 million grant to prepare the megasite for development. Dubbed the Advanced Manufacturing District of Genesee County, the tract of farmland sits near Flint Bishop Airport at the city of Flint’s southern edge.
It has been marketed as the state’s last remaining premier megasite after Ford Motor Co. claimed one in Marshall for an electric vehicle battery plant and local opposition spoiled plans to develop one in Eagle Township, near Lansing.
“An investment on that scale would be generationally transformational for Genesee County and also for the state, particularly if it were in the semiconductor space. I’m hopeful that the e orts are successful,” state Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, told Crain’s on Sept. 17.
Schaap Center site and limit future liability for the drainage district that may arise due to the development, Penelope Filyo, communications specialist for Wayne County’s Department of Public Services, told Crain’s in an emailed statement.
“While litigation was a last resort, it was necessary to emphasize the importance of adhering to permitting processes and respecting stop work orders,” Filyo said. “... Wayne County remains dedicated to supporting development while also safeguarding critical infrastructure. e resolution of this case reinforces our commitment to ensuring that development projects are conducted responsibly and align with infrastructure protection, which ultimately serves the best interests of both developers and the residents of Wayne County.”
URIF founder A. Paul Schaap said the organization is pleased the lawsuit has been amicably settled and dismissed.
“Several key utilities are located within our project site, and Wayne County has been an invaluable partner in supporting this exciting development while ensuring the proper recording of easements necessary for the safe and ongoing maintenance of critical infrastructure,” Schaap said in a statement emailed to Crain’s.
“ e development of this area dates back over 100 years, and navigating easements associated with older infrastructure is a complex process. We appreciate Wayne County’s commitment to nding a solution that allows this project to move forward while protecting public interests.”
URIF has recognized the signicant ooding challenges that residents and businesses continue to experience in Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park area since the project began in 2012, said Schaap, retired chairman and founder of Lumigen Inc., which sold in 2006 for $185 million.
“URIF is proud of the e orts made over the last two decades to provide separation of the stormwater and sanitary sewers by the City of Grosse Pointe Park to help remedy these challenges. To support these e orts and mitigate the burden of introducing additional stormwater into the existing combined sewer system, URIF is adopting stormwater best management practices into the project scope in coordination with our partners at Wayne County and the cities of Grosse Pointe Park and Detroit,” Schaap said.
e project’s development team is proposing a system of bioswales and onsite detention chambers under the center’s parking area to accommodate heavy rain and provide a place for water to go and then slowly be taken away by the stormwater system to minimize environmental impact. at stormwater management was “in our planning long before Wayne County got involved,” Schaap said.
“What this means for our neighbors … is all of the stormwater from our site goes into this stormwater (system), eventually into Lake St Clair (as) clean water, rather than be added to the sewage system of the city of Detroit and be a burden, then, to our Detroit neighbors,” he told Crain’s on Sept. 13.
URIF recently received a stormwater permit from Wayne County to conditionally proceed with the planned improvements, including connection to the separated stormwater system of Grosse Pointe Park, Schaap said.
e bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in 2022, provided $53 billion in subsidies aimed at spurring semiconductor investment in the U.S. after losing the critical industry to Asian countries.
Since then, companies from Intel to Micron have announced massive projects around the U.S. from Arizona to New York — but Michigan has yet to land one. It tried to lure Micron, which in 2022 announced a 20-year, $100 billion plan to build the country’s largest semiconductor fabrication facility in western New York.
Beyond massive investments in site infrastructure, the Whitmer administration has also rolled out initiatives aimed at job training, such as the Michigan Semiconductor Talent and Technology for Automotive Research.
State o cials have also engaged universities, including Kettering and University of Michigan, regarding Project Grit, according to a source. e potential megasite project comes as Whitmer pushes the Democratic-led Legislature to extend the state’s biggest closing funding for company expansions, the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve, for another 10 years. It is due to get up to $500 million this scal year and up to $500 million more next scal year, after which automatic deposits will stop unless lawmakers act.
Democrats want to continue SOAR funding for a decade but halve it to $250 million a year and use the other half for public transit projects ($200 million) and housing ($50 million.) e plan has business support but is opposed by some Democrats and many Republicans who want changes.
“If we were to land a project of this scale, I fully expect that the administration would be coming to the Legislature to try to get an agreement on SOAR that would allow for the incentives that the project would entail,” Cherry said.
The 1,000-acre Advanced Manufacturing District of Genesee County in Mundy Township is being marketed to high-tech manufacturers. | FLINT & GENESEE ECONOMIC ALLIANCE
The Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation is building the Schaap Center for the Performing Arts in Grosse Pointe Park. | A. PAUL SCHAAP
startup ecosystems in the world.
A hub in New Center
Founded as Detroit’s rst research and technology park, TechTown Detroit has become a gathering space for startups and non-tech companies alike, with clients that range from startups tackling software and arti cial intelligence to small businesses selling consumer products.
“Twenty years has built us not only the brand equity given the work that we do, but that relationship equity and capital that allows us to be that trusted connector within the community as well,” said Christianne Malone, chief program o cer at TechTown and assistant vice president for economic development at Wayne State University. “Not only connecting amongst other entrepreneurial service organizations, but most speci cally, a connector for those who are looking to start, grow and scale those businesses and startups.”
TechTown’s New Center campus has 976 members, including tenant company sta and coworking members, with a geographic reach that has extended throughout Southeast Michigan.
TechTown also hosts 227 companies and organizations, including tenant and coworking companies, and is at 95% occupancy in its 135,000-square-foot space at 440 Burroughs St., Malone said. at 1927 Albert Kahn building in New Center is the epicenter of TechTown’s blueprint.
Its location just north of Wayne State University and across from the university’s Industry Innovation Center places TechTown in proximity to leverage the university’s talent and Detroit’s long history of research and development.
Years of expansion
While the idea of TechTown was born in 2000 as a joint partnership by Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System and General Motors, the nonpro t organization didn’t open its doors until 2004.
TechTown expanded to include non-tech companies in 2012, and since 2018 has served a total of 1,346 entrepreneurs; 791 were tech, 575 were non-tech or small businesses and 20 entrepreneurs overlapped both categories, Malone said.
Again, in 2015, its programming evolved to host e Shop, a monthly opportunity for small or online businesses to set up popup shops in one of TechTown’s spaces to sell their products.
In the initial planning of the innovation park, TechTown was to include schools, residential lofts and retail in a 12-block district in New Center.
“It has all those. So there’s an elementary school, a high school, middle school, there’s lofts here, there’s lofts there,” Staebler said. “Some parts of it haven’t happened, and we still are very frustrated by them, but if you go back and look at that plan from 12 years ago, a lot of it’s actually happened.
And a bunch of the catalyst projects … they’ve happened now, and it’s kind of fun to watch 12 years later, that you have this vision and it’s starting to come to fruition. Got a lot more work to do. But the transition is pretty remarkable.”
It’s this space that allows TechTown to host public events like Demo Days for the startups that go through its programs. Its most recent Demo Day on Aug. 28 saw nine startups from the Start Studio MVP program’s summer cohort displaying the products they had developed. e public was invited to vote for their favorite product; with cash awards of $500 to $1,500 for the winners.
Growing Detroit’s startups
Lauren Daniels, a Detroit-born founder of Digital Rich Technologies, worked with a TechTown developer to program an app for the startup, to coordinate event planning and allow all participants to organize and delegate tasks across the platform.
“Just being in the ecosystem, I’ve worked with TechTown with my other companies, so when I decided to start an app, I immediately came to TechTown because I knew they had the resources, the community and they could provide support,” Daniels said.
TechTown runs three startup incubator programs, designed for pre-seed startups in the Detroit area. Scale Studio Discovery and Start Studio MVP each run twice a year. Traction, which helps tech startups with a revenue-generating minimum viable product establish
their path to recurring, predictable revenue, is an ongoing program.
TechTown also runs Capital Programs and Tech Initiatives, which are open to founders who have completed another program to help them raise capital and connect to industry leaders and partners in the Detroit ecosystem.
e support has paid o : founders at TechTown have raised an estimated $7.05 million through VC and other non-dilutive channels of funding, Malone said.
Filling the gaps
Because TechTown focuses on pre-seed startups and early stage companies, it is often the rst stepping stone for entrepreneurs in Detroit. e organization has worked with startups that have gone on to Newlab, or work out of other accelerator programs like the MSU Conquer program, Staebler said.
e key is guring out how all the tech communities in Detroit can work together.
“I think we’ve done a good job here. And Detroit has become more of a model of how entrepreneurial ecosystems can grow, and the ‘How does everyone start to play nice in the sandbox?’” Malone said. “It’s taken us time to get here, but I think we’re at a really good point of everyone acknowledging everyone’s strengths. And we know where the gaps are, collectively, but really utilizing each other to refer businesses to so they can get the support that they need.”
In 2020, the nonpro t channeled its e orts into securing funding for small businesses that
were impacted by the closures spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. TechTown worked with Invest Detroit, Ann Arbor Spark, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and more to raise nearly $200,000.
TechTown’s goal is not only to make businesses successful, but also to help business owners and founders understand what suc-
cess looks like. Going forward, the nonpro t will continue to leverage its experience to help Detroit’s small business and tech ecosystem ourish.
“Being a vanguard in this space, being the rst innovation district, and one of the rst tech companies … in this ecosystem, and to be a nonpro t and to make it 20 years, I think it’s exciting,” Malone said.
TechTown is located at 440 Burroughs St. in Detroit. | QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
DETROIT
DETROIT
partnership with the 11th annual Detroit Homecoming gathering.
“We’ll work with anybody from a civic leadership perspective,” Emerson continued. “But everybody has to keep that in mind. From the citizens to the businesses to the philanthropic community ... A lot of times people get in their own mind about what’s in it for them. But (that’s) got nothing to do with what we want to get done here in Detroit.”
During the Homecoming event, produced by Crain’s, Detroit expats hear leaders, took tours and took part in many activities to reacquaint themselves with their hometown.
Emerson’s conversation with Crain touched on the myriad ways the city has experienced positive momentum, and where it still has progress to make.
Some highlights from the discussion:
Michigan Central impact
e Sept. 20 Homecoming programming was held in the main hall of the newly reopened Michigan Central Station, which was restored by Ford Motor Co. after standing empty for more than 35 years.
“ is is a phenomenal investment, what the Ford family has done here,” Emerson said, referring to the train station. “ ere have been catalysts over the history of Detroit ... And I”m blown away by this facility.”
Manufactured housing
Gilbert’s philanthropic foun-
dation is working with assorted partners on a manufactured housing project in the North Corktown neighborhood, just north of the train station and with three new houses now on display.
e housing showcase, and the types of homes being built as part of it, could prove impactful, according to Emerson, a longtime mortgage executive.
“ is is not typical manufactured housing,” he said. “ is is a real stick-built home that just happens to be built in a factory.”
Such housing could help with the nation’s a ordability issues, and Emerson said they expect to know more in the coming months on how such homes could be delivered at greater scale.
Impact of the NFL Draft
Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert and other business leaders were key gures in bringing the NFL Draft to Detroit this past spring, which generated an estimated $213.6 million in economic impact to the area.
Such gures show that Detroit is fully capable of holding largescale events, Emerson said.
“We found a way to bring 775,000 people downtown in three days to witness the draft,” he said. “And you know what? Zero issues.”
Entrepreneurship
Within the umbrella of companies controlled by Gilbert sits another organization that has seen fast growth: StockX.
e Detroit-based e-commerce platform for shoes and various other high-end goods — billed the “stock market of things” — was founded by Gilbert and others, and has been valued as high as nearly $4 billion.
e company speaks to the role that entrepreneurship plays in Detroit, according to Emerson.
“Watching (StockX) grow, it’s a real international business that came right out of the brains and the grit from folks right here in Detroit,” Emerson said. “When I think about the growth of our organization, this region and this city, that has been a piece of this puzzle.
e people in Detroit are unbelievably resilient, they’re phenomenal human beings. at’s something you need as an entrepreneur to be able to survive.”
Duggan on education crisis, RenCen and re-election
By Nick Manes
As the third-term mayor of Michigan’s largest city, Mike Duggan has a variety of items on his plate.
For starters, the Detroit mayor and his administration have made a ordable housing in the city a key policy priority and the mayor has been wheeling out myriad initiatives in recent months.
But uncertainty also abounds. at includes unknowns about key developments in the city, as well as Duggan’s own political future.
Duggan touched on these issues and more during a discussion Sept. 19 with Mary Kramer, founder of Detroit Homecoming and the former publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business.
Education needs
Detroit’s public schools are run by an independently elected board and therefore not under the direct purview of the mayor’s o ce. Still, it’s not as though Duggan doesn’t have opinions. Speci cally, Duggan expressed concern at the lingering e ects of the pandemic and the years lost for students.
“We need to recognize the reality,” Duggan said. “If you were in rst, second, third grade when
COVID hit and you went home, you lost a lot. And the districts that weren’t that technically connected in the rst place lost the most.”
While cities like Detroit, which has long struggled with digital connectivity, may feel the pain in a more pronounced manner, the city is hardly alone. To that end, the mayor called for action statewide.
“I don’t understand why we don’t essentially have a reading tutor Peace Corps in this state and say we are not gonna forget the fact these children have slipped,” Duggan said.
Future of the RenCen
e news this spring that Gener-
al Motors Co. would abandon its longtime world headquarters at the Renaissance Center along Je erson Avenue hit Detroit with more weight than 10 Silverado pickups, leaving the future of the o ce and hotel towers uncertain. at future remains uncertain, Duggan said.
At present, what future uses — if any — the various skyscrapers may have is being determined by GM and Bedrock LLC, the Detroit-based real estate company controlled by billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert.
“Dan Gilbert knows more about reusing former o ce buildings than anybody in America,” Duggan said. “... So we’ve got the Renais-
Events, talent and climate could boost city investment
By Anna Fifelski
To increase investment in Detroit, the city needs to invest in more events, like the NFL Draft, that attracts outsiders. at’s just one idea that savvy investors in Detroit have for growing the startup ecosystem. is year, Detroit’s startup community was ranked by PitchBook, a Washington-based data platform, as out as the world’s second-fastest growing ecosystem. e question that investors and founders are looking to tackle is, how can the city harness its momentum?
Michigan already has all the materials it needs to attract investors, but the key is harnessing it all, said Lindsey Kilbride, a principal at Detroit Venture Partners.
“Detroit is the model community to start a business,” Kilbride said. “We have all the resources accessible, available for anybody who wants to start or scale a business … I think anything can be built here in Detroit.”
ere are 1,500 active startups in Detroit and metro Detroit, Kilbride said, which proves how much interest there is for companies to start and scale their businesses in Southeast Michigan.
Roger Ehrenberg, a Detroit native and managing partner of New York-based venture capital rm Eberg Capital, believes that Michigan will bene t from climate migration, as the state has the cooling power from the surrounding Great Lakes.
sance Center in the hands of the right person. Now, will the nal product be three towers or ve towers? I’m not sure. Certainly, I think the Renaissance Center is a critical part of our skyline, but I will tell you this, we are gonna face reality as it is. We’re gonna make a decision in the next six months. We’re gonna execute on that decision, and all of us are trying to preserve as much of the Renaissance Center as it’s possible to preserve.”
Duggan’s political future
Now in his third, four-year term in the mayor’s o ce, Duggan has won each race by large margins. But for the last several months, Michigan political insiders have wondered whether he would make a bid for a fourth term, or instead mount a campaign for governor in 2026, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer facing term limits for the o ce. ose political insiders didn’t get their answer Sept. 19.
“We have a very urgent election going on right now,” Duggan said, referring to the presidential election in which he has endorsed Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris. “And I’m not doing anything to distract (from) our e orts on that.”
“Detroit has proximity to onefth of the world’s supply of freshwater, top educational institutions … We need to think about, ‘What is the environment we can create that can make people want to come and stay here? What will bring people here to raise families?’” Ehrenberg said.
Several climate experts have dubbed Michigan a “climate haven,” meaning that while it is not immune to climate change, it is expected to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change, according to a 2021 report by the Council of the Great Lakes Region.
Ehrenberg said Detroit and the rest of the state needs to focus on building communities that make people want to not only stay in the city, but attract people without ties to Michigan to move to the state.
Trevor Lauer, vice chairman and group president for DTE Energy, said he’s interested in drawing more positive national attention to Detroit, and since the NFL Draft in April, he’s felt a change in the energy in the city.
“ e energy since the draft has been amazing … (events) like that, that’s how you feel a change in the city,” Lauer said. “As Detroit goes, Michigan is going to go … Michigan’s success hinges on Detroit being successful.”
Detroit Homecoming founder Mary Kramer (left) and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan chat onstage during a Homecoming session Sept. 19 at Wayne State. | NIC ANTAYA
Hundreds came to Michigan Central Station to hear about Detroit’s entrepreneurial present and future. | NIC ANTAYA
Nevan Shokar juggles real estate deals, business ownership and family bike rides
Nevan Shokar has seen real estate development through the eyes of both the public and private sectors. Fresh out of the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Shokar, a metro Detroit native, cut his teeth at a real estate investment trust in Toledo before joining a real estate private equity rm in Chicago, where he stayed for 2 1/2 years before returning home to Southeast Michigan, where he took a job at the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. There, he worked on major development deals including The District Detroit and a massive Stellantis project on the city’s east side. After nearly ve years there, Shokar returned to the private sector to work for the Detroit-based Basco of Michigan development company. Most recently, Shokar, a father of two young daughters, decided to strike out on his own, starting his own real estate consultancy, Detroit-based Shokar Group LLC. Today he is working on about a half-dozen development projects for clients totaling about $150 million. He spoke with Crain’s about the ups and downs of running his own business, the public nancing landscape for development and trends he’s seeing in the industry. By |
You went from working on large projects at the DEGC to going back to the private sector. Why’d you make the jump?
Being in the private sector and having my own rm gives me the freedom and exibility to work on the deals I’m most interested in. I’m working with a dozen or so clients, half of those are the traditional real estate development plays where you have a grassy site and you’re looking to build something and how do you get the numbers to pencil out. Construction costs are 30% higher now than they were prior to COVID. Interest rates are in the 8% range and rents are basically where they were in 2020. So it really hasn’t been challenging for me to get clients. It’s been more, am I focused on sustainably building my own practice here? More than just doing the consulting, I’m also chasing my own real estate deals, bidding on di erent parcels and looking to do my own development, as well.
What’s it like going from what seems like the relative stability of the DEGC or another employer to trying your hand at running your own business? What are the ups and downs of that?
It’s been easier to nd clients than I would have imagined. ere’s a ton of business out there for me. e Mackinac Policy Conference helped where it was really a coming-out party for me, where I generated a ton of new business. e challenges in kind of going o on my own was maybe nding o ce space. I’ve never done this before. I’ve always been a W-2 employee. I toured some properties downtown that were Bedrock properties. I looked in Capitol Park. I ultimately found space at 42 Watson (in Brush Park), where there is a con uence of real estate rms that all o er complementary services. ere’s Ronnisch Construction, District Capital and BBG. So it’s almost like a onestop shop.
e other thing that’s been a little challenging is hiring the best talent and making sure that folks are a good t. So I’m very active with the Weiser Center (for Real Estate) at the University of Michigan. at’s where I’m looking to
Kirk Pinho
build kind of a pipeline of talent. is is a specialized eld we are in. When you’re in business school, you learn that there’s debt and equity but you don’t learn that there’s public subsidies out there and a whole di erent layer of nancing.
The DEGC has its hands in a lot of development, plus incentive awards. How does the public nancing landscape need to change?
Without a doubt in this current environment, incentives are paramount to getting any development done. As part of that, late last year, there was a new a ordable housing TIF (tax-increment nancing) law that passed. Amy Hovey (executive director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority) and her team are responsible for getting that approved and it’s been a tremendous asset to development. ere is also, through MSHDA, the Missing Middle funding that I believe is coming back. And there are also things like legislation at the federal level, tax credits to help turn vacant o ce buildings into residential. Maybe the last one would be ultimately, I would hope there is a solution for Detroit’s property tax burden, which is some of the highest in the country. My old colleague at the
“ I don’t think we’ve ever seen at this time in Detroit more eagerness to develop and build hotels within the city.”
DEGC, Nick Allen, proposed the land value tax reform. I think that’s potentially one solution. I’d like to maybe see a sales tax in the CBD that could help generate revenue and maybe drop taxes.
What are you working on these days? What’s keeping you busy?
I’m sort of limited in what I can say, but I would say that some of my clients are family o ces, high net-worth individuals. I’m working with Paul Glantz and Emagine to sort of get that deal done to bring a movie theater to downtown. I’ve also worked with Perfecting Church to help them with their development and a land swap where there’s going to be a solar farm adjacent to the church, which is the mayor’s initiative. I’m working with those family ofces and those high net-worth individuals, and there are sites all across Detroit, so Corktown, Brush Park, downtown, and then in places like Pontiac as well.
What sort of trends are you seeing on the development horizon in Detroit and more broadly?
ere’s a shift maybe more to smaller (residential) units than we’ve traditionally seen in the past because, as the unit size kind
of shrinks on a per-square-foot basis, the rent increases and that’s really helping to pencil deals out. e other thing I’m seeing, and I’m working with a couple groups to help bring more hotels to downtown Detroit. I think you’ve seen it with the new Autograph Collection in the David Whitney Building. ere’s the announcement of the JW Marriott. ere’s the Edition Hotel at the Hudson’s site, which is going to be the rst ve-star hotel in the city of Detroit. I don’t think we’ve ever seen at this time in Detroit more eagerness to develop and build hotels within the city, and I think it’s tremendous because we have the Final Four coming up.
Outside of work, what keeps you busy? What do you like to do for fun?
So I have a 4-year-old and a 3-year-old, both girls. So I’d love to say that I play golf and go skiing and play basketball like I used to, but I’m pretty much just picking up toys in the evening and cleaning up their food o the oor. When we do get time, we go on a lot of bike rides. I have a seat on the front of my bike so my 3-yearold can look out and get a great view. We do picnics and go along the riverfront down to the Dequindre Cut.
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