Crain's Detroit Business, September 25, 2023

THE RACE FOR EV INVESTMENTS

Across the Midwest, the battle for EV supremacy

Teamwork takes center stage

At Detroit Homecoming, expats hear of the power of partnerships

It was a chance to look back on 10 years — but also a chance to look forward at what Detroit can yet become.

That was the message at the 10th edition of Detroit Homecoming last week, during which 180 metro Detroit “expats” heard from top civic leaders and saw for themselves what’s going on in metro Detroit in 2023 and what’s on the drawing board for the years ahead.

e annual event, produced by Crain’s Detroit Business, invites successful metro Detroit natives who’ve made their fortunes elsewhere back to the city for several days of programming

in an e ort to re-engage them and encourage them to invest in their hometown.

A thread that linked much of the programming was the value of partnerships and teamwork — whether it was the many players who teamed up to lure the 2024 NFL draft to Detroit, the major players linking up on a major hospital and medical school expansion.

And Homecoming even featured word of the real-life homecoming of the biggest star in the Detroit Pistons’ history.

See HOMECOMING on Page 19

STRIKE EXPANDS

Economic impact of UAW action likely to grow quickly as union adds targets.

stages I PAGE 8

Heidelberg retools amid cash crunch

Will sell HQ, pause educational programs

By Sherri Welch

e Heidelberg Project in Detroit has paused its educational programs, laid o its sta and is selling the headquarters buildings it acquired ve years ago as it struggles to gure out a longterm plan to survive.

e nonpro t behind artist Tyree Guyton’s painted houses, clocks and massive sculptures of found objects is focusing all available resources on preserving its namesake art installation,

after failing to fully recover revenue lost during the pandemic and spending down cash reserves.

e narrowed focus comes amid a projected loss of more than $280,985 this year on a budget of just under $470,000, less than half of the revenue it saw last year with COVID relief grant and loan dollars and just over half of its pre-pandemic budget.

See HEIDELBERG on Page 18

CONVERSATION

Restaurateur

Ping Ho looks to the long term in Detroit. PAGE

Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas says he is moving back to metro Detroit. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT

UAW strike cost economy $1.6B in rst week

Impact expected to grow exponentially

By Dustin Walsh

e rst week of the UAW strike against the Detroit 3 is projected to result in $1.6 billion in economic losses, according to estimates by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group. But with 38 more parts distribution centers joining the strike Friday across the U.S., that amount is expected to grow exponentially.

So far, the losses have been concentrated in Michigan, Indiana, Alabama, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio, where plants are shuttered over the strike. UAW Shawn Fain announced new locations walking o the job in 20 di erent states on Friday, including six GM facilities and seven Stellantis centers in Michigan.

Ford Motor Co. was spared as negotiations progressed.

Some 5,600 additional workers have now joined the strike on top of the 13,000 of the 146,000 members who began the strike Sept. 15. e new GM sites employ roughly 3,400 workers, including 1,600 near Flint. e Stellantis sites employ about 2,100 workers.

“Because the auto industry is highly integrated across suppliers

and assembly plants, shutting down one plant will cause layo s and shutdowns at other plants,”

Patrick Anderson, principal and CEO of AEG, said in its latest report. “ at includes supplier businesses, especially those that are dependent on a handful of contracts with the OEMs.”

Detroit-based seating supplier LM Manufacturing last week temporarily laid o 650 workers due to the strike. e company, a joint venture between Canadian auto supply giant Magna and minority-owned LAN Manufacturing, made the move after the strike halted production of Ford Motor

Co.’s Bronco, among various other makes and models by the Detroit

3.

Other suppliers are holding on as long as they can, but the longer the strike continues, the more likely more suppliers will begin mass layo s.

It’s unclear the impact of the 38

General Motors and Stellantis parts distribution centers added to the UAW strike Friday. ose plants mostly support auto dealers and aftermarket parts, but also serve as warehousing for less critical auto parts from suppliers.

U.S. auto dealers have an inventory average of about 55 days, which is low for industry standards, but does isolate them from production impacts. e strike on parts distribution will likely impact dealers’ service departments quickly, however.

However, auto suppliers will still be negatively impacted, Anderson said in a statement.

“For those Tier One and Tier Two suppliers with business with GM and Stellantis, it just became almost impossible to plan for production in the coming weeks,” Anderson wrote.

“Some of these suppliers, which often have small-margin contracts with just a handful of plants, are at risk of closing down. ere is no $800 million strike fund to hold over suppliers, and they don’t have a vote in this strike. e most serious damage is occurring to the workers and owners of these rms. We estimated the rst-week cost of the UAW’s ‘stand up’ strike was at least $1.6 billion. e lost wages in the next week will be substantially more.”

Downtown Boxing Gym looks to expand footprint

Program also to break ground on new campus

By Sherri Welch

Downtown Boxing Gym is in active talks with youth groups in other parts of the state and the country to license its youth development model, while also preparing to break ground on a new Detroit campus.

Detroit Vs Everybody aims to battle back

Popular brand braces for nancial hit after Eastern Market building collapse

By Jay Davis

For one of Detroit’s most popular brands, the Sept. 16 partial collapse of a four-story building in Eastern Market has halted its progress.

When the Del Bene building at 2501 Russell St. began to crumble during a busy Saturday morning, Detroit Vs Everybody LLC was hosting a sidewalk sale, according to CFO Mark Russ. Luckily, no employees or customers were injured, but the 11-year-old Black-owned apparel company believes it will take a major nancial hit.

Detroit Vs Everybody had recently consolidated its operations in a ground oor space in the building, which the city has declared too dangerous to enter. e building's owner was granted a reprieve on Friday on a city-ordered demolition, but uncertainty remains.

e business had been working on about $50,000 worth of renova-

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

tions into its Eastern Market space, Russ told Crain’s last week. e work includes upgrading the store checkout area and security system and two murals were commissioned detailing Detroit Vs Everybody’s place in the city’s history.

“ e whole point of the relaunch, or rebrand, is to make the store a more immersive experience,” Russ said. “We’ve got the murals, the glass (stanchions), we added neon lighting in the stairwell. It’s a way to grow the brand, connect to Detroit and own our story.”

In 2020, Detroit Vs Everybody closed four of its metro Detroit locations shortly after moving into a warehouse and headquarters at Eight Mile and Telegraph roads in South eld that was more than triple the size of its previous base. In August, the company moved all of

its manufacturing equipment and some apparel to the Eastern Market shop. All of those items remain inside the damaged building in Detroit.

“In the last month, we transitioned everything to the city. We thought that it was best for our brand to operate completely out of the city of Detroit,” Russ said. “We moved all of our stu . We have production equipment there, plus all of our apparel is manufactured in that spot.”

Detroit Fire Department ocials have said the risk of further collapse exists and no one is allowed to enter any of the businesses in it. e building is also home to Jabs Gym Detroit, Beyond Juicery & Eatery, Brooklyn Outdoor and j’adore Detroit.

See COLLAPSE on Page 21

e new, three-story building will enable it to more than double the number of kids it serves each year to 500, with new science, technology, engineering and arts lab spaces, community areas and classrooms for licensee training. Expected to start in the spring, construction costs on the 22,000-square-foot building are estimated at $7 million-$10 million.

It’s all part of an overall goal of serving more kids, whether they are in Detroit or elsewhere, Jessica Hauser, executive director of Downtown Boxing Gym, said.

“We feel it is absolutely our responsibility to do our part... to provide resources and opportunities to as many kids as possible,” Hauser said. “As far as the licensing, it’s the same principle. We feel it’s our responsibility to share everything we have learned.”

if they can replicate the model, Hauser said, and “ is is our answer to that. ey are passionate people who want to make an impact in their own community, and this is our way of supporting them.”

e program works.

Downtown Boxing Gym provides free academic support, mentoring and social-emotional learning, using boxing as a hook to get kids in the door. And it breaks down barriers like transportation issues, food insecurity and the digital divide to help youth age 8 and up access them.

People have been coming to DBG and asking for years asking

In areas like self-e cacy and sense of belonging, “Our kids are scoring 30 percent, on average, better than their peers internationally,” Hauser said, citing research conducted by Amanda Case, an associate professor of counseling psychology at Purdue University, who’s worked with DBG for more than a decade. “ ose are all indicators that they’ll be able to persist when faced with challenges throughout their life,” Hauser said.

Beyond boxing

DBG has seen a 100 percent graduation rate among the more than 300 Detroit kids who’ve come through the program since its inception in 2007, she said.

See BOXING on Page 22

Entrepreneur nds her sweet spot with dog boutique

Detroit business offers high-end brands, royal treatment for canines

Jay Davis

ere are boutiques all over the world where customers are made to feel like royalty as soon as they step through the entryway. Candace Williams provides the same feeling for her unique clientèle.

Barks Fifth Avenue in Detroit is Williams’ rst business venture as sole owner. e 1,100-square-foot boutique at 19359 Livernois Ave. in the Avenue Plaza o ers highend apparel and accessories for dogs. e shop features dog sweat-

ers, shirts, sweatshirts, capes and even dresses and tuxedos, many of the items in colorful prints. Barks also o ers its pet patrons luxury brands in the form of Chanel-like necklaces and white hoodies with “Pawlenciaga” embroidered on the back.

Barks gives its customers the royal treatment, including dressing rooms for the dogs to try on items and Williams hosted a “Vanity Fur” fashion show last year featuring several canine models.

Williams, a 43-year-old Com-

merce Township resident, said she wants the doggie customers to get the same feeling their owners would get shopping at their favorite retailer.

“When you walk into Barks, it gives you that boutique feel,” said Williams, who opened Barks in April 2022. “You’re not walking into a Petco or anything like that. We cater to the dogs. We want them, and their owners, to have a top-notch shopping experience.”

Popular apparel brand Detroit Vs Everybody is one of a handful of businesses displaced after a portion of a building collapsed on Sept. 16 in Eastern Market. KIRK PINHO

Detroit Vs Everybody CFO Mark Russ

Programming at Downtown Boxing Gym includes studying the weather, climate and insects. | DOWNTOWN BOXING GYM

“We feel it is absolutely our responsibility to do our part...”

Jessica Hauser, executive director, Downtown Boxing Gym

Russell Street building isn’t the only one around Detroit’s Eastern Market that’s collapsing

Apartial building collapse in Eastern Market on Sept. 16 came as a shock to businesses occupying it, real estate observers and certainly to people buying produce, owers and other items from the popular Saturday market.

On Sept. 17, the city said that the Del Bene building would be razed in the near future as a result of the collapse, which injured one person and damaged several vehicles when bricks fell to the ground. However, the owner was granted a reprieve Friday afternoon to assess the damage and potentially repair it to save the building.

It’s not the only one crumbling before our eyes.

Just a few blocks to the south, Eric Grosinger, the owner of Detroit-based KAPS Wholesale, a wholesale distributor of beef, pork, poultry and other foods, has been dealing with decaying buildings for years — and he said he has struggled to have its owner, Develop Detroit, address them.

Walking along Gratiot Avenue at Russell Street, across from the Crain Communications Inc. headquarters where my o ce is, you’ll see recently installed fencing and essentially the entire middle section of a building emblazoned with “Busy Bee Hardware” collapsed on itself, yet more deterioration that has occurred in recent weeks.

Also in that time period, Develop Detroit has been sued both by KAPS — which has a facility that neighbors the property — and the city of Detroit over conditions in their buildings there, which have, for years, been proposed for demolition to turn into a large-scale mixed-use development with what ultimately would be more than 200 residential units, plus retail and other space.

e project, generally referred

to as e Hive (formerly the Eastern Market Gateway), came before the Planning Commission and the Detroit City Council this summer seeking reinstitution of a lapsed planned development zoning classi cation. Grosinger said in public statements at the time that Develop Detroit has been “horrible stewards of the land and buildings” and opposed the measure, which ultimately was approved.

“ e roofs and walls of the structures are all collapsing, and the buildings are harboring rodents,” Grosinger said earlier this summer. “We cannot have a locus for rodents near our facility. It invites disease and economic calamity for us, and is frankly a public health and safety risk.”

He has also said that residential units planned for the site don’t mesh with his property’s use, given the heavy truck tra c at his property and others nearby.

In an interview with Crain’s on Sept. 19, Grosinger said the blight at the properties had been going on for too long and the city was just writing blight tickets and not taking action, so he took action by

ling the lawsuit against Develop Detroit.

In its complaint, the city says it issued “numerous” blight violations for over a year to Develop Detroit and that the buildings “have su ered signi cant structural deterioration, and have become a blight to the surrounding neighborhood, as well as a danger to the health and safety of passersby.” e complaint also says Develop Detroit repeatedly failed to correct issues cited in blight tickets dating back at least to April 2022.

While KAPS’ lawsuit remains ongoing, the city has dismissed its Wayne County Circuit Court complaint as a consent agreement was reached requiring Develop Detroit to clear overgrown vegetation; remove debris from the site; and hire a pest control company to exterminate any vermin, and use things like trapping or baiting as recommended by the company to keep them from reappearing. Also as part of the consent agreement, the city agreed to defer demolition of the buildings until Nov. 27. Develop Detroit was also required to

install 8- to 10-foot fencing around the site as well as a protective canopy along Gratiot to protect from falling debris.

By Dec. 4, Develop Detroit is required to hire a demolition contractor, with demolition to begin by Jan. 18 and be completed by July 18. If Develop Detroit defaults on the consent agreement, the city is able to demolish the properties itself and seek reimbursement from Develop Detroit.

It’s more complicated than just buildings falling into disrepair, said Craig Willian, chief investment o cer for Develop Detroit, which is run by Sonya Mays. In part, because Develop Detroit has applied for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development nancing, what’s called a choice limiting action hamstrings what it can do.

For example, Willian said last month, if you ask HUD for $1 million to nance a project and say $200,000 is for demolition, but you start demolition before the project nancing is approved, “it looks as though you’ve done something that you would not have needed

nancing for and then you end up having to start all over again and reapply for funds.”

“ ere are certain cities and states that abide by it very well, and then there’s certain municipalities that look the other way,” Willian said. “ e city of Detroit is very aggressive in making sure that developers follow the choice limiting actions law.”

With regards to the condition of the property, Willian said: “A picture is worth 1,000 words. You’re seeing the unfortunate degradation of the property.”

Grosinger has said he has offered to buy the property from Develop Detroit and demolish it, but Willian said Grosinger o ered $425,000 for it and Develop Detroit has put “millions of dollars” into it, so selling at that price would constitute a major nancial loss for the organization.

e properties in question are at 1325 Maple St.; 1366 Service St.; and 1358 Gratiot Ave.

An entity tied to Develop Detroit called Dev Detroit 1346 Gratiot owns the buildings, according to city property records.

Stellantis evaluating future use of Auburn Hills headquarters

Stellantis NV is reassessing its footprint in Michigan, including its mammoth North American base in Auburn Hills, amid contract talks with the United Auto Workers and a strike that threatens to intensify.

“As part of our company’s evolution to a more exible work environment, called the New Era of Agility, we are currently evaluating how we work to enable our teams to be their most innovative, creative and e cient,” company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told

Crain’s in an email. “ at analysis includes potential adjustments to our real estate portfolio. However, the Chrysler Technology Center will continue to be our North American headquarters and North America technical center.”

e 5.4 million-square-foot

Chrysler Technology Center east of I-75 and north of M-59 is among 18 facilities the automaker included in a proposal Sept. 14 to the UAW, according to a report from CNBC, which said the company is required to notify the UAW of any possible sales or closures of facilities where a union member works.

Other Michigan plants potentially on the chopping block include the Trenton Engine Complex and Mount Elliott Tool & Die in Detroit, the report said.

Like many o ce buildings around town — including General Motors’ Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit — the hulking complex in Auburn Hills has sat underutilized since the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in the workfrom-home era for many companies. Stellantis has maintained a exible hybrid work approach even as some other companies have asked employees to return

to the o ce full or part time.

Stellantis COO Mark Stewart, who is overseeing talks with the UAW, told WWJ-AM last week that the company has a “series of facilities that we were looking to downsize or recon gure.”

“Here in Auburn Hills, this is our North American headquarters. It will be our North American headquarters,” Stewart told the radio station. “But like everyone in a hybrid working environment and looking at our overall environment across the region and speci cally in the U.S., we have a lot of the building here in

Auburn hills that we are not utilizing today. We’re looking at other use cases for that.”

He added that the company is not leaving the headquarters complex “in any shape, form or fashion, but the areas we’re not using, we’re looking at some different repurposing for those.”

e UAW launched a strike Sept. 15 on Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Stellantis NV’s Toledo Assembly Complex just across the Ohio border and General Motors Co.’s Wentzville Assembly plant near St. Louis.

Kirk Pinho

This building owned by Develop Detroit around Eastern Market has partially collapsed. A nearby property owner says he has voiced concerns about conditions there for years. | KIRK PINHO

Kurt Nagl

Meet the next generation of change-makers

For nearly two decades, our Student Leaders® program has helped prepare community-minded high school students to become successful in the workforce by connecting them to skills development, service and leadership training. Through paid internships with local nonprofits like Focus: HOPE , they gain practical work and life experiences. It’s just one more way we’re working together with our communities to build a better future for all.

Matt Elliott President, Bank of America Detroit

While UAW ghts old battles, a war continues

On the rst day of the UAW strike, Automotive News sent out its afternoon email news alert. e top four headlines were about the historic strike against the Detroit 3 automakers.

But tucked in at headline No. 5 was an intriguing little story that couldn’t have been more dissonant from the news of the day. e headline read, simply: Tesla closes in on car manufacturing breakthrough.

Translation: While the UAW is ghting for the past, Elon Musk is building for the future.

Tesla, the electric vehicle maker owned by Musk, is working toward an advancement that could help the company achieve its goal of cutting production costs in half, Reuters reported.

It’s already well known that electric vehicles contain far fewer parts than traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines. Over time, as EVs achieve greater market share, fewer workers will be needed.

Now, it seems, Musk is putting even more downward pressure on that equation.

Tesla pioneered the use of massive presses to mold portions of its vehicles with a process that slashed production costs. Now, Tesla is “closing in on an innovation would allow it to die cast nearly all the complex underbody of an EV in one piece, rather than about 400 parts in a

COMMENTARY

conventional car,” Reuters reported. Repeat: One piece, instead of 400 parts. So, UAW members are free to picket. at’s certainly their right. Shawn Fain is free to spew outlandish, hyperbolic, class-baiting rhetoric. at, too, is his right.

Meanwhile, the world is passing by the UAW. While Fain postures, Musk innovates.

In March, the Tesla CEO unveiled an “unboxed” manufacturing strategy as part of his e ort to lower production costs of EVs while still turning a pro t. Say what you want about Musk, but he is disrupting the mobility industry in a consumer-friendly way, just as Henry Ford did more than a century ago.

While Musk is pushing the boundaries of EV production, Fain is pushing the Detroit 3 to return to the days of unsustainable labor costs that drove them into bankruptcy. Restoring retiree health care bene ts is objectively a terrible idea to anyone who cares about the long-term sustainability of the mobility industry — and the good-paying jobs we can retain with it — in Michigan.

We understand change creates anxiety for some, and even fear for others.

But Fain and the UAW are doing themselves a disservice to put their heads in the sand about the future and only ght to restore the supposed glory days of the past.

Yes, UAW workers deserve a fair wage increase. Yes, the automakers have enjoyed record pro ts in recent years. But it can’t be stated plainly enough that a portion of that windfall is necessary for GM, Ford and Stellantis to make enormous investments they’ll need to remain competitive in the EV future.

Instead of ghting to restore unsustainable bene ts of years gone by perhaps UAW leadership should be doing more to prepare its members to compete for high-paying jobs in the mobility industry of 10, 20, 30 years from now.

Keep in mind Telsa workers are nonunion. A strong Detroit 3 is good for both the unionized employees and the future of the companies. is is not a zero-sum game — the Detroit automakers and their workers have a generational opportunity to seize market share if they work together and do this right.

We were heartened to see that Unifor — the UAW’s counterpart in Canada — struck a last-minute tentative agreement with Ford last week, and we implore the UAW to come to the bargaining table with a sensible ask, before it’s too late.

Whether the UAW likes it or not, the industry that pays its workers' wages is in a ght for the future. And their competitors are already there.

What a pizza can teach us about the ‘Detroit’ brand

As a food reporter at Crain’s Detroit Business, I was always a little jealous of those I covered. I had a lot of fun reporting on the industry, but there was a brotherhood among the entrepreneurs that I became increasingly aware of the longer I wrote about them. So it’s fun to enter the arena with Nate’s Detroit Pizza, the pop-up restaurant I’m building with an operating partner who is currently managing a popular pizza restaurant called Table 87 in Brooklyn, named Jorge Ivan Gonzalez. We are selling, as authentic as we can make it here, Detroit Pizza to an underserved New York market.

To be sure, there are other Detroit-style pizza places popping up around the city. But I’m not trying to sell Detroit-style pizza. I’m making Detroit Pizza. ere’s a distinction. One of the biggest di erentiators between us and our competition is well, I have a real connection to the city, a history and love a air with Detroit pizza and because of that, a pretty good understanding of what makes Detroit, and its pizza, so distinct.

In my nal column for Crain’s I wrote that I wasn’t born in Detroit, but I grew up there. I meant it then and I still do today. Friends turned into family there. I played rock ’n’ roll in dive bars downtown, won softball championships in the suburbs and got married while I lived there. e Nate’s Detroit Pizza logo was made by one of my best

Ave,

friends there, a Crain’s alum Steve Williams.

One of the big stories of my era at Crain’s Detroit, 2008-2014, was the launch of Shinola, whose founder had the brilliant idea to test the price premium of the name “Detroit.” Turns out if you stamped “From Detroit” on a pen, people would pay a dollar more for it. Hence Shinola’s quartz watches that sell for upwards of $800.

At least anecdotally, that hypothesis rings true. Our customers want to know that

they’re buying Detroit pizza from someone who lived and worked in and knows metro Detroit. ey quiz me on the origin of the pans, tell me stories about wild nights in Greektown or the girl they dated in Hamtramck. All true interactions, from a recent weekend.

ey want to know that when they eat our pizza they are getting an authentic piece of Detroit. Silly as it sounds, that connection resonates. It’s been surprising just how

powerful our connection to Detroit is in carving out a place for our startup pizza company in a crowded city like New York.

But if you’re going to leverage the name Detroit, you have to be able to credibly defend yourself from accusations of being just another phony cashing in on a name.

I was called out, early on by a user named King, a self-proclaimed real Detroiter. He bluntly said we were using the city’s namesake to make a quick buck. “Grew up where? And if you say anything other than a DETROIT street? You’re not from Detroit and you’re the epitome of a culture vulture.”

I don’t know if this is necessarily the best strategy but I engaged publicly. Basically, I had to prove that I had the credentials to use the name. I argued my case. You can still read the thread. We eventually DM’d each other and found common ground.

“Make me a believer,” he said.

So we are going to meet during my next visit.

I’m not sure if we’ll throw a Nate’s Detroit Pizza pop-up, but I promised King I’d make him one of our pizzas and I sure as hell won’t go back on my word.

e only way I know to be authentically Detroit is to get support from real Detroiters. at will be the di erence maker for us.

Nathan Skid was a reporter for Crain’s from 2008-2014 and worked for Ad Age and CNBC before going into the pizza business.

GM

Author Nathan Skid and Jorge Ivan Gonzalez are running a Detroit-style pizza pop-up in Brookyln called Nate’s Detroit Pizza. COURTESY NATE SKID

By Nathan Skid

Kmart HQ site owners seek millions in brown eld funds

By Kirk Pinho

e city of Troy may be asked to sign o on more than $11 million in brown eld reimbursements on the former Kmart Corp. headquarters.

e brown eld plan, which was obtained through a public records request, was submitted to Troy ofcials in June seeking a reimbursement of $11.55 million over the course of seven years until 2030, or two years after the estimated completion of an as-of-yet unknown development project on the 40-acre site at West Big Beaver Road and Coolidge Highway.

“ ere is a wide variety of potential redevelopment opportunities being considered for the property,” the brown eld plan says.

Mark Adams, economic development manager for Troy, said $11.55 million would also be deposited into the city’s local browneld revolving fund. e Browneld Redevelopment Authority has not considered the plan yet, nor has the Troy City Council, both of which would need to approve it.

Asbestos assessment and abatement is expected this year and demolition would begin after, according to the plan. Future uses are also expected to be identi ed

A fence has been erected around the former Kmart headquarters in Troy where demolition is soon to begin. BETH REEBER VALONE

this year, as is a construction timeline. e plan also says the site, when construction is nished, is expected to have a value of at least $312.5 million.

e property’s owner, a joint venture between the Forbes and Frankel families, is also eligible to apply for Michigan Strategic Fund brown eld funding totaling some $10.8 million. at would need to be signed o on by the MSF board.

THOUGHT LEADER REPORT

CLEAN ENERGY & EVS

SPONSORED BY CONSUMERS ENERGY

rough a spokesperson, the property’s ownership declined comment. An email was sent to a spokesperson for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. e pending demolition, which is being handled by Detroit-based demolition contractor Adamo Group, was announced in August. Demolition would start rst on the parking structure and then the main building.

SPONSORED

CONSUMERS ENERGY LEADS MICHIGAN’S EV TRANSFORMATION

We’re in the middle of a growth spurt propelling us toward the state’s goal of 2 million EVs on Michigan roads by 2030.

Lauren Snyder is vice president of customer experience for Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, serving over two thirds of Michigan’s 10 million residents.

We think it’s important to be clear this isn’t just a transition, but an outright transformation in clean transportation. We at Consumers Energy continue to see growth in sales – and growth in the structures that will support EVs – accelerate at a pace that isn’t letting up.

e property, which clocks in at about 1.1 million square feet across 40 or so acres, is owned by Forbes Frankel Troy Ventures LLC, which paid a reported $17.5 million for it in December 2009 in a defensive real estate move.

e JV, run by Nathan Forbes and his South eld-based Forbes Co. and the Frankel family, also owns the adjacent luxury shopping mall, Somerset Collection. Forbes said in an interview four years ago that tearing down the Kmart property was a possibility, although some plans had called for repurposing it. In 2016, Forbes said during a conference that a master-planning process was underway, although nothing was publicly revealed on it after.

After Kmart vacated the o ce complex in the mid-2000s and moved to Illinois as a subsidiary of Sears Holding Corp., continuing its well-documented implosion across state lines, the plan was for a $320 million redevelopment called the Pavilions of Troy. Reston, Va.-based Richardson Development Group Inc. was to be developer; New York Citybased equity fund BlackRock Inc. owned the property at the time.

BlackRock paid $40 million for the Kmart property in December 2005, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based

real estate information service. at project would have had 440,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, 132 residential units, a public ice rink, a 3,000seat theater, restaurants and a grocery store. But under the weight of the economic recession, those plans collapsed.

Sidney Forbes, founder of Forbes Co., told Crain’s in 2012 that the purchase of the Kmart property “was a defensive move” after Farmington Hills-based Grand/Sakwa Development began courting Somerset Collection tenants for a retail development.

“So when we had the opportunity to buy that land, we took it,” Sidney Forbes said in 2012.

Grand/Sakwa’s plans stalled at the Troy City Council and there has been little action on it since.

At its peak, the Kmart property accommodated 5,000 employees. When it was sold in 2005, it had fewer than 1,900, many of whom were transferred to Illinois.

Kmart’s last store in Michigan closed in November 2021, ending its run nearly six decades after its rst store in Garden City opened in 1962. Financial woes hampered the retailer the last two decades, seeking bankruptcy protection in 2002-03 and eventually merging with Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 2004, the Associated Press reported.

If you own an electric vehicle today — and more people do than ever before — you’re experiencing a cleaner, quieter and, day to day, more a ordable ride. You’re far from alone.

EVs are more and more visible on the roads here in Michigan. In just a year and a half, the number of electric vehicles that Consumers Energy powers has nearly doubled.

Since our rst EV programs started four years ago, Consumers Energy has been committed to making this transition a ordable and convenient. We have provided over 4,000 incentives to power EV chargers along highways, in rural communities, at workplaces and in garages and driveways across Michigan.

Consumers Energy is powering the charging network that allows EV drivers to take to the road with con dence. A year from now, we will have provided the money and electrical work for nearly 500 public and long-term EV chargers.

We’re helping school districts add electric buses. We’re partnering with

50 businesses that are looking at electrifying their eets. We’ve created a one-stop-shop where customers can ask questions, get a rebate for their charger and receive the lowest rate to charge their vehicle. We are right there for those who are considering an EV and need help getting things ready at home and work.

We aren’t overlooking our central role as an energy provider that will power EVs. To help ensure those vehicles run more cleanly than conventional gas-combustion engines, we’re moving quickly to decarbonize the electric grid. We’re closing our coalburning plants by 2025 and moving aggressively to renewable energy. Our goal is to make sure the energy that powers EVs is completely clean.

While we can’t predict what the future will look like, Consumers Energy is ready for whatever will happen. We’re ready to help Michiganders make the transition to EVs, whether they buy their next vehicle tomorrow or in a few years.

The Future is Electric

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

STATES PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS IN RACE FOR EV INVESTMENTS

By Kurt Nagl

e electric vehicle arms race is on, and it’s still anybody’s game.

Southern U.S. states have captured the lion’s share of more than $100 billion in North American EV investments announced by automakers in the past three years, data from the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research shows. At the same time, Midwestern states have regained some ground.

Michigan went on a spending spree to get back in the mix.

Ohio and most recently Illinois also opened up their pocketbooks to claim a piece of the automotive future. Even Canada, once predicted to be left behind in the EV transition, is holding its own thanks to a federally funded leveling of the playing eld.

In short, the battle for EV supremacy is still in the beginning stages, said Mark Barrott, head of Southfield, Mich.-based Plante Moran’s automotive practice.

“We’re probably at the end of the first quarter,” Barrott said.

EV and battery-related investment

Michigan leads states in automaker announced EV and battery-related investment since 2018 with more than $23 billion. Ohio is in the top 5 with nearly $9B while Illinois has only $200 million.

“We will need two to three times more battery capacity than what we have or what’s been announced if we are to meet the projected North American demand.”

That means more than a dozen mega projects (at least $1 billion in capital expenditures and $75 million in annual payroll) are still on the table, according to a number of economic development officials around the U.S. and Canada who were interviewed for this story and say they are watching those projects like hawks.

Announced automaker EV and battery-related investments by year

Note: Data through July 2023. Source: Center for Automotive Research Book of Deals, 2023

Some are more desperate to land them than others, and not all projects are created equal. While the strategies and prizes may vary, incentives packages in the hundreds of millions of dollars have become table stakes.

Subsidies, incentives and more

Here’s why: To compete with China and the rest of the world on EVs, the U.S. ooded the domestic market with subsidies, from the In ation Reduction Act’s $370 billion for clean energy — including a consumer credit up to $7,500 for eligible vehicles — to tens of billions of dollars in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Energy. e incentives-fueled, win-atall-costs attitude is contagious, it seems.

e industry’s more than $500 billion transition to battery power over the next few years — as research rm AlixPartners estimates the investment to be — sparked a bidding war across North America for factories representing the future of manufacturing and economic security. Skeptics, though, have criticized the massive taxpayer subsidies and questioned the ROI of the projects, which remains to be seen.

It all started in 2021, or at least

that’s when many states were put on alert. at year, Ford Motor Co. announced $11 billion of investment in Tennessee and Kentucky, which sent shockwaves through the Dearborn, Mich.based automaker’s home state and made it clear: the Rust Belt wouldn’t simply be entitled to the

spoils of resurgent domestic manufacturing.

“It was a game changer and a state changer for us. It’s the largest project ever in our history, even if you account for in ation,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in an interview with Crain’s. e same could be said for Tennessee.

Ford’s electri cation overhaul, like those of other automakers, revealed how much states are willing to pay for a project. e $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park some 50 miles south of Louisville, Ky., is expected to launch in 2025 and create 5,000 new jobs with starting annual pay of $55,000. e

twin battery factories are being subsidized by $250 million in taxpayer cash, plus $27 million worth of land provided at no cost.

e cost per job works out to $50,000 when factoring in just state cash incentives. e cost of losing the project, though, would have been immeasurable, as Beshear sees it. “For us, this battle wasn’t just about having the new jobs of the future. It was about making sure we didn’t have displaced workers. … To land these facilities means we will not go through the displacement that we saw in the energy sector.”

What’s at stake

Losing that Ford project was a major blow to Michigan, and it paid a premium to make sure it didn’t happen again. e state approved an incentives package valued at $1.7 billion — the largest subsidy approved by any state this year — to land the Ford-CATL battery plant in Marshall, about 100 miles west of Detroit.

Slated to launch in 2026, the $3.5 billion plant promises 2,500 new jobs with starting annual pay of $45,000. at comes out to $384,000 per job when including just cash in the deal.

See INVESTMENTS on Page 14

MSU is all-in on EV technology in Michigan and beyond

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that there will be between 18.7 and 26.4 million EV automobiles on U.S. Roads in 2030. Consumers are interested in reducing their carbon footprint but have concerns about EV technology and the semiconductor chips that run them.

Some of these concerns include:

• How far can an EV drive on a single charge (range anxiety)?

• How easy is it to nd charging stations?

• How safe is it to charge EV batteries at home?

• How long does it take to fully charge a battery?

• Are batteries able to be recycled?

At Michigan State University and our College of Engineering, we have a long history of EV and semiconductor chip research. We are committed to educating and training our students in the latest EV technology so they can become the skilled workforce our manufacturing partners need.

Soothing range anxiety

University Distinguished Professor Satish Udpa, a member of Michigan’s Council on Future Mobility and Electri cation, is part of a team of MSU researchers who are working on solutions for EV range anxiety. Team members are taking a close look at how many miles it

takes for batteries to keep a charge and studying the availability and installation of charging stations.

Civil Engineering Associate Professor Dong Zhao and his team received a National Science Foundation grant to develop a nationwide EV charging network that’s reliable and affordable. Zhao’s team will work with city planners, engineers and policymakers to study the best practices surrounding charging station installation.

MSU is also researching ways to safely speed up EV battery charging times and prevent batteries from getting damaged or losing charging capacity during extreme cold weather events.

One of MSU’s leaders in these elds is Chengcheng Fang, who was named a 2022 “Innovator Under 35” in “MIT Technology Review Magazine.” Fang has found ways to improve the storage and safety of EV lithium batteries.

East

Lansing’s

EV proving ground

Since 1855, the year MSU became the nation’s premier land-grant institution, leaders and researchers have taken pride in being responsible environmental stewards. We are currently researching ways to safely recycle EV batteries and recondition them for second-life usage.

This work is all being done when we’re converting the ICE (Internal Combustion

Engine) eet vehicles on campus to electric and currently have 47 vehicles in use.

Opportunities for more EV breakthroughs

The university and College of Engineering are strengthening relationships with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, automotive industry and other economic stakeholders.

The State of Michigan, in partnership with MSU and other academic institutions, launched an EV Scholars program earlier this year to send skilled talent to employers in need, especially those in Metro Detroit. This pilot program gives students interested in EV and mobility careers the opportunity to learn, train and eventually work with our industry partners. We are proud to say that at least 15

students successfully completed internships in these elds over the summer.

Like with any new technology, there are plenty of challenges in the EV and semiconductor sectors. MSU is positioned well to continue being a leader in EV technology and semiconductors. Last month, we welcomed Judd Herzer as director of MSU Mobility and look forward to engineering the future of EV and chip technology locally, nationally and globally.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks during a Ford Motor Co. event in Frankfort, Ky., in 2021. Ford announced a BlueOval SK Battery Park to be built in Kentucky, sending shockwaves through the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker’s home state. | BLOOMBERG

Leo Kempel is the dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan State University

2023 EV Scholars student cohort

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Why Michigan is paying a premium to land EV factories

When it comes to landing electric vehicle-related projects, Michigan is known to be the highest bidder.

at’s because the state that put the world on wheels risked being squeezed out of the electric vehicle investment boom in North America. At least that’s how Michigan — and other states — have justi ed mammoth incentives packages for automakers reshaping their manufacturing footprints. In reality, the window to land these mega projects isn’t closing as quickly as many might believe, according to industry experts, but economic developers say they are moving aggressively nonetheless.

“ e stakes are high for Michigan,” said Josh Hundt, executive vice president and chief projects o cer for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “I think for this type of investment that creates good-paying jobs and has the technology of the future, it’s high stakes for any states competing. We built this industry. We’re the home of this industry today, and we need to make sure that we’re the home for the industry in the future.”

Despite the general decline of manufacturing in recent decades, Rust Belt states are still heavily exposed to the sector. Manufacturing remains the largest economic driver in Michigan, accounting for 609,000 jobs, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. at’s 14,000 jobs shy of pre-pandemic levels and a third less than 20 years ago.

What’s more concerning is the reliance of the Midwest — particularly Michigan and Ohio — on transmission and engine plants, said Shea Burns, a partner at consultant AlixPartners specializing in automotive. “ ere is a larger concentration of powertrain plants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Ontario,” he said. “So, certainly from a medium to longer term, there’s more to lose there from a jobs standpoint if those powertrain jobs aren’t replaced with something having to do with EVs.”

With automakers and battery companies expected to plunge anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion into EVs over the next decade, states are vying to capitalize on the resurgence in domestic manufacturing. Ensuring economic security and preventing job displacement are the primary justi cations for going all in on EVs, according to more than a dozen economic development o cials and politicians around the U.S. and Canada interviewed for this story.

But from a jobs standpoint, EVs won’t come close to replacing gas cars. Internal combustion engines are composed of more than 2,000 parts — 100 times as many as an EV motor, according to the Congressional Research Service, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research institute. “Battery packs and e-axles certainly have less labor than an engine or transmission,” Burns said.

Southern states have captured nearly 70 percent of the $100 billion in EV-related investments announced in North America since 2021, according to data from the Center for Automotive Research.

Georgia has won more than any other state, at $20 billion worth of commitments, with Michigan next behind at $14.7 billion.

Michigan, though, shelled out $4.8 billion of incentives to land its projects, nearly $1 billion more than its southern counterpart, according to an analysis of data from Good Jobs First, which tracks corporate subsidies. e state’s $1.7 billion incentives package for the Ford Motor Co.-CATL battery plant in Marshall is the largest subsidy approved by any state this year.

In response to losing Ford Motor Co.’s $11 billion investments in Kentucky and Tennessee in 2021, Michigan rolled out the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve package — a $1.5 billion “toolkit” to land EV projects. More recently, the new $337 million Make it in Michigan Competitiveness Fund was passed with the budget this summer to lure clean energy investment. e state’s utilities DTE Energy and Consumers Energy have also o ered cut rates for large projects to compete with energy costs in the South, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said her administration will streamline the permitting process for developments.

Until just recently, Illinois had come up empty in its pursuit to land a battery plant. e aggressiveness of the Motor City state — and its willingness to spend big — didn’t help.

“Michigan is a great competitor.

ey have a deep pocketbook and a large auto workforce,” said Dan Seals, CEO of Intersect Illinois, the state’s public-private business attraction arm. “ ere is absolutely a bidding war component to this.

e state does engage in that competition, but not to the extent Michigan does. I don’t know anybody that goes as far as Michigan does in that regard.”

Yet, Illinois took a page from the Michigan playbook when it created a $400 million “deal-closing fund” targeted at EV projects. A $125 million check will be cut

Kurt Nagl

Our Next Energy founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz stands in the company’s under-construction battery plant in Van Buren Township.

Ford CEO Jim Farley (top) announces Feb. 13 that Ford Motor Company will be partnering with China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, to create an electric-vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (above) speaks at the announcement.

from that fund for Chinese battery maker Gotion Inc. to build a pack assembly plant 50 miles south of Chicago, the company announced Sept. 8. Illinois o ered an incentive package totaling $536 million for the plant, expected to create 2,600 jobs. For Gotion’s cathodes/anodes plant near Big Rapids, which is expected to employ 2,350 and supply the newly announced Illinois factory, Michigan approved a package worth $715 million — including a $125 million cash grant.

Michigan paid $304,255 per job, factoring in all the incentives, whereas Illinois paid $206,153.

“We take a really aggressive approach to making sure that we are securing the next generation of this,” Hundt said. “ at’s through having a strong set of economic development tools, but it’s also making sure we’re continuing to invest in our sites to locate these projects.”

e state’s pursuit of Our Next Energy’s $1.6 billion battery factory provides some insight into its strategy. Flush with capital, the startup was searching the U.S. and Canada for a site to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries and create 2,100 jobs. North Carolina, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, Arizona and Canada were all in the mix, according to the company.

In March 2022, the company sent out a request for proposals with a bare bones framework to more than a dozen states, selected according to incentives structures and past deals, said Deeana Ahmed, vice president of strategy, policy and sustainability. e company’s considerations in order of importance were labor availability, speed to market, nancial incentives and energy costs. It took on the daunting site selection process without outside help.

Ultimately economic development is a competitive process, as it should be, and I think Michigan plays a good game.”

“It was a phenomenal learning experience doing it ourselves rather than bringing in a consultant,” Ahmed said. At the same time, Michigan was learning how to reel in a large battery factory, investing millions of dollars in site readiness and business attraction e orts, after losing Ford’s investments down South. e state was determined to land Our Next Energy’s plant, Ahmed said.

“We did have two to three bids at the end that were pretty contentious,” she said. “As we went through the negotiation process, (Michigan) outbid other o ers. …

Pills are driving the bills

Prescription drug prices are unregulated and are now the single largest contributing cost to health care premiums. Pills are more expensive than inpatient hospital care.

Michiganders take prescription drugs more frequently and pay nearly three times as much for them as other industrialized countries. The United States is the undisputed leader in manufacturing new drugs. There are now almost 20,000 FDA-approved prescription drugs on the market. According to RAND Corporation, America has the highest per-capita pharmaceutical spending of any country in the world, and Americans consume nearly 60% of all drug sales made on Earth.

Clearly, Americans have a large appetite for prescription drugs. This is very concerning, considering our country has the worst health outcomes among high-income countries, as independently studied by the Commonwealth Fund.

The United States is now home to more drug manufacturers than any other country. Five of the top 10 revenue-earning drug makers now call America home. Why? Because prescription drug pricing is entirely unregulated here. Drug makers can market and charge whatever they want for medications.

Most would say this is a good thing, right?

Competition and demand should lead to lower prices. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.

According to the federal government, 1,216 prescription drugs had price increases of 31.6% in one year. Some drug prices increased by more than $20,000 in 2022. Over the past decade, drug pricing has risen three times faster than in ation.

To make matters worse, brand name drugs that have been on the market for years, like Trulicity, Humira, and Dupixent, that cost tens of thousands of dollars a year, are increasing prices greater than the rate of in ation.

According to reports by AARP, Trulicity has risen by 91% since it came to market in 2014, and Humira has increased by 562% since it came to market in 2002.

Even though exclusive patent rights have expired for these brand-name drugs, and identically cheaper generic alternatives are available, the prices for these drugs are still increasing. How can that be? Why hasn’t competition lowered prices, especially while consumer appetite has grown?

Only two countries allow drug makers to advertise directly to consumers. America is one of them. Such marketing builds awareness, loyalty and dependency on costly brandname prescription drugs. When did you last watch a commercial break that didn’t have a pharmaceutical ad? I would relish some editorial commentary from “60 Minutes’” Andy

e company is in the process of selecting a site for further expansion. CEO Mujeeb Ijaz said he was considering a new 700,000-squarefoot factory next to the one in Van Buren Township, but the company needs space beyond that to meet demand over the coming years, and it is considering sites beyond just Michigan. “We have more time this time around,” Ahmed said. “We get to consider options that we couldn’t have the rst time around, inclusive of green eld (sites), so that’s interesting because we’re learning about all the assessments.”

Permitting is a top issue for the company, Ahmed said. Slow permitting is a major hurdle for battery companies and automakers, and states including Michigan are working to streamline the process to increase speed to market and better their chances of winning projects. e company con rmed Michigan is a top contender for the future investment but declined to say other states that are being considered.

More than a dozen EV-related

“mega” projects are still on the table, according to the economic development o cials. Details of those projects are largely under wraps, though a few previously announced plants are still looking for a home. One of the largest is Stellantis and Samsung SDI, which said this summer it would build a second battery plant in the U.S. e automaker has been mum since and declined to comment on when a location would be decided.

Michigan economic development o cials have indicated that they are gunning for it, but there is a question of whether the state can scrape together enough incentive money after draining its business attraction fund to land Ford, Gotion and Our Next Energy and to secure General Motors Co. EV investments.

It won’t be the last opportunity for the state to win an EV project. Automakers will need at least double the announced or under-construction battery plants if they are to meet ambitious EV production projections beyond the next decade. So, if EVs are indeed the future, there will be plenty more investment to go around, Burns said.

“It’s not like you either have to get on board in the next two years or you never have a chance again,” he said.

Rooney nowadays on these ads.

On a per-capita basis, the U.S. has been ranked among the top 15 most obese countries in multiple studies. A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans will face outrageously higher prices for every major prescription drug to combat weight loss. Once again, customers won’t be in short supply for drug makers, so why are prices so much higher here?

This insanity must stop. Why are drug makers afraid to charge Michiganders the lower prices they charge in other countries?

Competition and supply-demand economics have not led to affordable prescription drugs. It’s time to rethink how drugs are priced. The federal government has opened doors to allowing states to control drug pricing by regulating certain activities of drug manufacturers. We applaud the efforts of Gov.

Whitmer and the legislature. We stand with those leaders who believe that it is possible for Michiganders (and Americans) to stay at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation and have pharmaceutical drugs priced at more reasonable levels.

By applying similar common-sense regulations on drug manufacturers already placed on providers and insurers, we can begin to lower the tide of this storm. Reforms like state-level drug pricing transparency and a drug affordability review board will still allow Big Pharma to maintain their pro ts in the land of the free.

Dominick Pallone is executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans

“MICHIGAN IS A GREAT COMPETITOR. THEY HAVE A DEEP POCKETBOOK AND A LARGE AUTO WORKFORCE.”

—Dan Seals, CEO of Intersect Illinois

e Midwest can and should be home to the EV revolution

I grew up within an hour drive of the auto assembly plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Wayne, Mich., that went on strike earlier this month for fair wages, the elimination of an unjust tier system and a union-built electric vehicle future. For families and communities like mine — as is true throughout Michigan, Ohio and much of the country — the outcomes of the strike and UAW’s contract negotiations matter on two levels: they impact my community directly and materially, and they are a bellwether for how the clean economy will look for the workers who comprise it.

e auto industry isn’t new to transformative innovations — it’s built on it. e shift to EVs is no di erent. New technologies to reduce emissions, improve fuel economy, protect drivers and make production lines safer and more e cient are constantly rolling out and transforming auto production. Innovation after innovation, autoworkers take it all in stride. Now, to meet the climate moment, they are ready to build EVs.

at’s part of the reason the United Auto Workers union has gone on strike.

e members believe, rightly, that the shift to EVs must not incite a race to the bottom for the quality of auto jobs in the United States. ere is no good reason that EVs cannot be made in the United States by union workers who are paid family-supporting wages.

Auto workers and climate advocates agree: e transition to EVs is a crucial part of e orts to drive down emissions from transportation and meet climate goals. at’s why the Biden administration put the force of the In ation Reduction Act behind it. e law includes incentives for automakers to build EVs and their parts here. It also provides billions in grants and loans to keep at-risk or recently closed facilities running, by transforming production lines that were building

internal combustion engine vehicles and their parts into production lines building the clean vehicles of the future. ose funds could be used at recently closed facilities like those in Belvidere, Ill., Lordstown, Ohio, and Romeo, Mich.

ese federal investments are working to boost other investments and create jobs. Demand for EVs is exploding and they are selling at record high rates, while investment in EV manufacturing domestically is skyrocketing as well. Since the In ation Reduction Act was signed into law last August, there has been approximately $66 billion of investments announced supporting 60,000 EV manufacturing jobs in 117 facilities around the country. Many of those announcements and jobs are popping up here in the Midwest. In fact, historically, Michigan ranks second for both the total number of announced EV jobs and amount of EV investment, and it leads the nation by a large margin for state and local subsidies supporting EV manufacturing.

It’s a good time to be in the automaking business. But is it a good time to be an autoworker? When it comes to job quality — fair wages and bene ts, job security, predictable hours, a safe work environment, and the free and fair choice to join a union — there is certainly room to improve. ese are the people creating the record pro ts that auto manufacturers are enjoying, and they should be treated with dignity and get their fair share; that is what the UAW is ghting for.

Simply put, we cannot take advantage of the technologies of the future at the expense of the workers today. We all have a moral responsibility to workers and the communities they work and live in. e times and technology may be changing, but what must stay the same is our expectation that opportunities for working families come before executives’ pro ts.

Frank Houston is the Michigan regional program manager for BlueGreen Alliance.

United Auto Workers members picket Sept. 18 outside the Stellantis NV Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio.

UAW members and supporters (above) hold signs and chant during a Sept. 15 rally in Detroit, Mich.

A United Auto Workers member on a picket line (left) Sept. 15 outside the Ford Motor Co. Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Mich. | BLOOMBERG PHOTOS

Environmental responsibility goes beyond vehicle emissions

Routinely being hit by a waft of fumes that smell of paint upon opening a door or window at home would concern any reasonable person. For Robert Shobe, a longtime resident of Beniteau Street on Detroit’s East side, exposure to potentially hazardous pollutants makes him more than concerned.

He is genuinely afraid.

Having already fought cancer to remission once, Shobe’s health status makes him particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of environmental contaminants. As he takes a breath and his burning throat kicks o a persistent cough, he isn’t thinking much about the type of vehicles rolling through Stellantis’ paint booths a mere 300 feet from his back door. He just wants to be able to breathe.

ere is no question that, over their lifetime of use, most EVs emit far less in greenhouse gases than internal combustion vehicles. Sadly, at all levels of government, those long-term bene ts are being pursued at the expense of plant-side communities already bearing the disproportionate burden of our societal pollution. Communities much like Shobe’s. at’s because the production of

an electric vehicle emits far more pollution than a comparable fossil fuel vehicle.

First, the major sources of emissions that exist during the manufacturing of gas-powered vehicles remain unchanged for EVs. For example, the painting process is the same no matter how the vehicle is fueled — the paint booth alone accounts for nearly all volatile organic compound emissions at a plant and 65% of its CO2 emissions. Similarly, the steel composition of EVs is generally comparable to traditional internal combustion vehicles. Primary steel production in U.S. plants remains reliant on coal and its byproducts, making them some of the worst sources of toxic heavy metal air pollution in the United States. ose industry impacts are not equally shared. Communities supporting steel facilities are among the country’s most socioeconomically and environmentally disadvantaged.

en there are the batteries. Lithium-ion battery production requires enormous amounts of energy and resources. Materials like lithium, nickel and cobalt are also in limited supply. at means more emissions from diesel trucks traveling through low-in-

come neighborhoods and communities of color already exposed to nearly 30% more diesel pollution than higher-income majority-white neighborhoods.

Suppose manufacturers and our policymakers genuinely care about reducing both the long-term impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and the health of plant-side communities. If that is the case, they must combine the necessity to eliminate tailpipe emissions with a commitment to reducing both the number of vehicles on our roads and the impact of their production on plantside communities. at demands prioritizing investment in mass transit systems, focusing consumer incentives on the least resource-intensive electri ed vehicles and

requiring manufacturers to use cleaner materials, like carbon-free steel and low VOC coatings.

Across the United States, a person’s race is the best predictor of whether they are exposed to elevated levels of industrial pollution. Unchanged, the drive to replace every car on the road with an EV of comparable size will further expand the already enormous discriminatory chasms in health and environmental outcomes in communities already overburdened by pollution.

If we don’t address this now, policymakers and manufacturers will further entrench current inequalities. Sadly, that seems to be the route we’re headed, but it’s not too late for us to do this right.

Working to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. JoyceFdn.org

Andrew Bashi is a sta attorney at the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.

Steel production plants are some of the worst sources of toxic heavy metal air pollution. BLOOMBERG

INVESTMENTS

Factor in federal incentives, and the math is even more staggering. Ford’s plant in Michigan will be eligible for about $6.7 billion in federal tax credits, according to an analysis by Good Jobs First, which tracks corporate subsidies. at works out to $3.4 million worth of subsidies per job. In Ohio, the new $3.5 billion Honda-LG plant being constructed east of Dayton is in line for more than $2 million of allin subsidies for each of 2,200 jobs promised.

ose price tags invite plenty of criticism. “ ese deals are less about business and more like giant publicly funded campaign advertisements,” said John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, a Michigan-based think tank. Companies are far more concerned with other factors such as labor availability, energy costs, infrastructure and tax structure than subsidies, he argues.

Josh Hundt, executive vice president and chief projects o cer for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said the state had to inject so much cash into the deal because of how far behind it was in prepping mega sites for development. e subsidy included $750 million for building out infrastructure and utilities on the farmland.

“It was necessary for us to be more competitive with these other states that were securing these projects, frankly, when we were not,” Hundt said.

Competition vs. cooperation

After coming up short in a bid to win Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion Inc.’s rst plant, which went to Michigan, Illinois followed its neighbor’s lead and created a $400 million deal-closing fund to go along with legislation that added new tools to the state’s economic-development program speci cally tailored to EV and battery projects.

Among the incentives are tax credits of up to 75% of payroll taxes for new or retained jobs for up to 30 years; and 10% to 25% of employee-training costs. Other incentives include tax credits on 0.5% of a company’s property investment; income taxes connected to construction wages; exemptions from taxes on building materials and utilities.

e e orts paid o . Armed with more than a half-billion in assorted tax breaks, including $125 million from the deal-closing fund, Gov. J.B. Pritzker beat out Ohio and Alabama to land a Gotion battery-assembly plant this month.

It’s not quite the bargain deal that Illinois got several years earlier when it lured startup EV maker Rivian to take over a shuttered Mitsubishi assembly plant in Normal for about $50 million.

e EV battery race began in earnest a couple of years ago with the rst tranche of investments

from Ford, General Motors Co., Stellantis NV and other foreign and startup automakers looking to cash in on North American incentives. Even if unwittingly, Southern states had a head start before battery electric cars in the mainstream were even a consideration.

and Dell. “We call economic development in 2023 the second war between the states.”

It’s a war the South was winning handily on the EV front before the Rust Belt started making moves. It’s been a costly one for both sides.

top of mind for economic developers. e state lured a $2.5 billion Stellantis-Samsung SDI battery plant last year but is on the prowl for more. “ e incentives are still key and king, but the type of incentive is ipped,” said Brock Herr, senior vice president of business development for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. “No longer is nancial incentive the rst priority. Speed is the new best incentive.”

Southern states were decades ahead in site readiness, but other factors including market dynamics and business climate have inuenced the auto migration south, Barrott said. It’s become more important for automakers to produce batteries and vehicles nearer to where they sell them, for one. Cheaper labor, as plants are largely nonunionized, lower energy costs and taxes, faster permitting, and the lack of United Auto Workers in uence are all major bonuses too.

“ e art of economic development was really perfected in the Sun Belt, the Southeast primarily, to lure industry away from the Rust Belt and the Northeast,” said John Boyd, principal of e Boyd Co. Inc., a Florida-based rm that consults on site selection for companies including Honda, Boeing

Since 2021, southern states have captured nearly 70 percent of EV investment in the U.S., with Georgia leading the way at $20 billion, according to CAR data. Michigan had the second-largest chunk of $14.7 billion. Deal ow peaked in 2022 with nearly $50 billion committed in the states. Less than half that amount has been announced this year.

e southern states that have won the most EV projects in the past three years — Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee — have netted $38 billion of investment and shelled out $6.7 billion worth of incentives to close those deals.

e winningest states in the Midwest — Michigan, Indiana and Ohio — have secured $28.6 billion of EV investment, greased by $5.6 billion in subsidies.

e level of incentives is unlike anything in the 120-year history of the automotive industry, Barrott said. “It’s not really coming with many strings. If the OEMs and the supply base weren’t driving toward an electric future, it would be a problem, but the OEMs are doing this anyway. What the federal

government is doing is speeding it up.”

States like Tennessee were regularly investing in the infrastructure of sites they hoped would eventually house some sort of transformational manufacturing project. “Tennessee has been in a position to attract these types of projects for reasons that date back decades,” Stuart McWhorter, commissioner of the state’s department of economic and community development, said of the $8 billion of recent EV-related investments in that state. “It’s organically happening. We’ve created a business environment that is attractive not only to the automotive industry but a lot of industries.”

Tennessee did approve $884 million of incentives for Ford’s $5.6 billion, 6,000 job EV investment announced in tandem with its Kentucky plant, but the prize was more valuable than just a battery plant. In addition to battery manufacturing, the project includes an assembly plant and supplier park, making for a far larger job multiplier and economic impact. “What that has meant to that community is generational,” McWhorter said. “It’ll impact families for generations.”

More to come

For now, the industry is calm before another wave of investment, Barrott said. “We always projected a bit of a lull at this point in future announcements of battery facilities,” he said. “Just like any manufacturing operation, you have to build your facility in advance of the actual demand.”

About 850 gigawatt hours of capacity has been announced, is under construction or is in operation, which is enough to ful ll the market through 2029, by Plante Moran’s estimation. If automakers are to meet ambitious EV sales goals — half of all new car sales in the U.S. could be electric by 2035, according to an S&P Global Mobility projection — they will need to build at least twice as many plants. us, the break in announcements is crunch time for economic developers eyeing those projects still out for bid.

In Indiana, site readiness is also

e same goes for Ohio, whose automotive manufacturing prowess is second only to the Motor City state. JobsOhio, the state’s business attraction arm, has more than doubled annual spending on business attraction and expansion in the past three years. e state has also dedicated $750 million for site readiness, with an eye on EVs, said J.P. Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio. “It’s one of our highest priorities,” he said. “We’re sourcing these deals all over the world.”

Like Michigan, Ohio’s exposure to manufacturing raises the stakes of the EV transition, said Jonathan Bridges, managing director, automotive at JobsOhio. “Being the largest producer of engines and second largest producer of transmissions, particularly as we talk about how the industry is in transition, that puts us at risk. We’re actively supporting the transition by diversifying away from ICE (internal combustion engine) technology as well as supporting those investments that are still in that space.”

U.S. states are also feeling pressure from their neighbor to the north. Canada has won about $20 billion of EV investment in the past three years, or more than 14 percent of overall investment. e incentive-rich In ation Reduction Act legislation blindsided Canada and forced the government to open its co ers to stay competitive, said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade.

“It certainly was not in the spirit of the free trade agreement (USMCA), so the IRA would have certainly come as a complete surprise to everyone else in North America,” Fedeli said. “Our federal government announced that we would develop a tax structure that was competitive to the IRA.”

at was only after Stellantis forced its hand. In May, the automaker halted construction of its Nextstar battery plant with LG Energy in Ontario, demanding an incentive package as lucrative as those o ered up by the U.S. After a monthslong stando , the Canadian government conceded by approving $7.5 billion in tax incentives to match the provincial government’s $3.7 billion.

Fedeli said his government plans to keep beefed-up tax breaks to win future projects. “ is is our go-forward strategy,” he said. “We don’t think you can make an o er that is competitive without it.”

John Pletz and Jay Miller contributed to this report.

Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford in February announces a $3.5 billion investment plan for a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Marshall, Mich. FORD

The BlueOval City SK electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility is under construction in Stanton, Tenn. Tennessee is among the southern states that have won the most EV projects in the past three years thanks to government incentives. | BLOOMBERG

“THESE DEALS ARE LESS ABOUT BUSINESS AND MORE LIKE GIANT PUBLICLY FUNDED CAMPAIGN ADVERTISEMENTS.”

John

Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability

UM research led to 580 new inventions this scal year

By Anna Fifelski

Research led by the University of Michigan generated a total of 580 new inventions during the 2023 scal year, a university record.

e previous invention record was 522, set in FY 2020. University research also generated 25 startups in FY 2023, second to the record of 31 startups, set in FY 2020.

UM President Santa Ono announced the research commercialization metrics at the annual Celebrate Invention event in the Michigan Union Sept. 14. e event, hosted by Innovation Partnerships, showcased eight of the 25 projects and start-ups developed in the last year.

Innovation Partnerships, a unit based in the O ce of the Vice President for Research, also reported 145 new U.S. patents and over 300 license and option agreements during the last scal year. It funds and supports UM startups through the Accelerate Blue Fund, an early stage venture fund. Since its approval by the Board of Regents in 2016, the fund has grown to have more than $15 million un-

der management and deployed $2.75 million of investment capital into 14 startups, according to the press release.

For each dollar invested into the Accelerate Blue Fund, UM startups raised an average of $36 from other investors, the university said in a statement.

UM startups through Innovation Partnerships had more than $786 million in capital fundraising and liquidity events over the past scal year.

Ono said the developments make clear that the University of Michigan is an exceptional place

CLEAN ENERGY & EVS

for research as well as research and development.

“ e scale of our inventions, the reach of innovations and the sum of overall impact is just phenomenal,” Ono said in a statement.

e research was mostly focused on medicine, engineering, social research and design, business and environmental sciences, the university said.

Startup companies launched in FY 2023 range from Auricle, an audio electronics startup based in San Francisco, focused on alleviating tinnitus for its users, to Decimal Code, a medical coding company aiming to use arti cial intelligence to automate medical billing and optimize repayment e ectiveness. Decimal Code launched in spring 2023, though the company began working with Innovation Partnerships in 2018.

Alexi Pierce, a spokeswoman for Innovation Partnerships, said in an email that while the unit doesn’t have projections for FY 2024 yet, Innovation Partnerships “anticipates that UM will continue to see 15 to 25 startup companies launched per year given the strength of our startup pipeline.”

Downtown Detroit to get its rst Chipotle

By Kirk Pinho

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is opening its rst downtown Detroit location.

e Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain con rmed it is opening a restaurant immediately south of Shake Shack on Woodward Avenue in space owned by Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate company.

Annie Gradinger, a spokesperson for Chipotle, said the restaurant is expected to open in the spring. ey typically employ about 25. An email was sent to a Bedrock spokesperson seeking comment. ere are 53 total Chipotle loca-

TRANSMISSION IS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

from federal and state leaders, as well as cooperation among numerous stakeholders in the face of an everchanging energy landscape.

Consider these factors: Consumer demands and declining costs are driving the shi toward renewable energy resources. Governments, corporations, and other organizations pursuing sustainability goals are demanding clean energy. Traditional generation plants are being retired at an unprecedented pace. Severe weather events are increasing in frequency. Automakers are phasing out internal combustion vehicles and declaring ambitious electri cation goals.

to expand transmission systems by 60% by 2030 and may need to triple those systems by 2050. at means signi cant investments in transmission infrastructure will be required. Furthermore, new transmission is needed to balance the high levels of renewable, intermittent, energy moving through the grid to ensure continued reliability.

ITC plays a critical role in connecting new, renewable generation sources and transporting that power to distribution centers, having already connected roughly 9,800 megawatts of renewable energy to date.

tions in Michigan. e only other Detroit location is on the Grosse Pointe border.

Chipotle has locations in Allen Park; Ann Arbor (four); Bloomeld Hills; Brighton; Canton Township (two); Chester eld Township; Clinton Township; Dearborn Heights: Livonia; Madison Heights; Northville; Novi; Orion Township; Plymouth Township; Rochester Hills (two); Roseville; Royal Oak (two); Shelby Township; South eld (two); Sterling Heights (two); Taylor; Troy (two); Warren; West Bloom eld Township; and Woodhaven, according to its website.

GREATER GRID GREENER FUTURE

Our nation’s electricity transmission system holds the key to unlocking a clean energy future, in much the same way the interstate highway system provided a roadmap to economic prosperity in the mid-20th century. However, like the construction of the interstate highways, the transformation of our nation’s energy grid will require visionary leadership

Not only are customers, states and businesses demanding clean energy, but the economics of renewable resources have become increasingly more attractive for energy developers and providers. However, it will not be possible to meet these demands without additional, large-scale transmission projects to carry energy from remote locations to where it is needed. Independent estimates indicate that to meet growing clean electricity demands, we’ll need

We are ready to work with government, communities, stakeholders and others to ensure that we can seize this opportunity to invest in our transmission system in order to unlock abundant, a ordable clean energy, as well as increase the resilience of our energy system. If we are successful, the transformation of the grid can drive signi cant bene ts for this generation and the next.

In our increasingly electrified society, that’s where a resilient grid matters most. ITC is working every day and investing in our state’s infrastructure to modernize the grid. That means safe, secure, reliable electricity to power our energy future. At ITC, we’re always working for the greater grid. Learn more at www.itc-holdings.com.

Chipotle is opening its rst downtown location at this Woodward Avenue storefront. KIRK PINHO

Research led by the University of Michigan generated a total of 580 new inventions and 25 startups in FY 2023.

| UM PHOTOGRAPHY, D. MARSHKE

SPONSORED BY ITC

Simon Whitelocke is President, ITC Michigan and Vice President, ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States. Since its founding in 2003, ITC has strengthened our aging transmission infrastructure by providing safe, reliable and resilient solutions to meet today’s evolving energy needs.

SPONSORED CONTENT

THOUGHT LEADER REPORT

CRAIN'S LIST |

LARGEST MICHIGAN LOGISTICS COMPANIES

Ranked by 2022 revenue

1 LINEAGE LOGISTICS LLC 46500 Humboldt Drive, Novi48377 800-678-7271; lineagelogistics.com

2 UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS INC. 12755 East Nine Mile Road, Warren48089 586-920-0100; universallogistics.com

3 ALTA EQUIPMENT GROUP INC. 13211 Merriman Road, Livonia48150 248-449-6700; altaequipment.com

4 ATLAS OIL CO. 24501 Ecorse Road, Taylor48180 800-878-2000; atlasoil.com

5 LIPARI FOODS 2 26661 Bunert Road, Warren48089 586-447-3500; liparifoods.com

6 SYNCREON GLOBAL HOLDINGSLTD. 2851 High Meadow Circle, Suite 250, Auburn Hills48326 248-377-4700; syncreon.com

atbeds

services, including domestic and global air, ocean and ground transportation, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, warehousing and distribution and export crating, white glove services, MED-Tech, Omni channel logistics

23 LOGOS LOGISTICSINC.

16490 Wahrman Rd., Romulus48174 734-403-1777; logos3pl.com

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com

|ThislistoflogisticscompaniesisanapproximatecompilationofthelargestcompaniesinMichigan.Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.Netrevenueistotalrevenue minusthecostofpurchasedtransportation. Crain's estimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesandbenchmarks,newsreportsandawiderangeofothersources.Unlessotherwisenoted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.Companieswith headquarterselsewherearelistedwiththeaddressandtopexecutiveoftheirmainMichigano ce.NA=notavailable.NOTES: e. Crain'sestimate.

1. From TransportTopics, Top100Logistics.

2. Soldtoana liateofConnecticut-basedprivateequity rmLittlejohn&Co.inNovember2022.LittlejohnacquiredthefooddistributorfromMiami-basedprivateequity rmH.I.G.Capital,whichacquiredLipariinearly2019.

3. Estimatefrom TransportTopicsTop100Logistics.

4. From TransportTopicsTop 50LogisticsCompanies.

5. DirectorofUniversalLogisticsHoldingsInc.,vicechairofCentralTransport,chairofP.A.M.TransportandowneroftheAmbassadorBridge.

6. Estimatefrom TransportTopics,2022 Top100For-HireCarrier.

7 Estimatefrom TransportTopics,2021Top 100 For- Hire Carrier. 8. Acquired by Banyan Technologies Group, Dallas, Texas, in October. Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data

State universities agree on uniform admission standard

By Sherri Welch

Ten of Michigan’s public universities have banded together to broadly market a 3.0 grade point average as a uniform standard for admission to those institutions.

e Michigan Assured Admission Pact is aimed at demystifying the public school admissions process, helping reduce anxiety for students during it and boosting enrollment, leaders said.

Participating institutions will work together to promote the uniform standard to high school students, parents, secondary school partners and college access organi-

and Wayne State University.

“ e pledge is about becoming more transparent about how we make admission decisions ... (and) getting the message out to the students that they are admissible, and we want them to enroll at our schools,” said Joe Vainner, director of admissions at UMFlint, who co-led the initiative along with the directors of admissions at OU and NMU. “We believe they can be successful and want to give them the opportunity to do so.”

None of the participating universities lowered their admission criteria to join the group, he said.

2037, the Michigan Association of State Universities said in a news release, citing numbers from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

While many states are just now approaching the so-called “enrollment cli ,” the number of high school graduates in Michigan has been at or declining since 2008, when it peaked at more than 123,000, the MASU said. By 2037, the number is projected to decrease by nearly 40,000 graduates.

zations in Michigan. ey include Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University, Oakland University, Saginaw Valley State University, the University of Michigan-Flint

e 3.0 was a line that all participating universities could agree on, and schools that admit students with a GPA below a 3.0 will continue to do so.

Despite the fact that the schools compete on admissions, increased enrollment is the collective goal, leaders said.

e number of high school graduates in Michigan is expected to decline by 11.4% from 2022 to

At the same time, the number of Michigan high school graduates pursuing higher education is also on the decline, the association said, noting the percentage of high school graduates going on to college has declined every year from 65.8% in 2013 to 52.8% in 2022.

Given the projections of fewer high school graduates in Michigan, “ e way you get more students is by increasing enrollment from that existing pool,” Vainner said.

With initiatives like the Michigan Assured Admission Pact and the new Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which will pay a third or more of tuition costs for quali-

ed students at the state’s public universities, a strong economy and very strong labor market need for more workers with four-year degrees and above, all those messages should lead to a turnaround in enrollment, said Daniel Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities.

“ anks to our state policy leaders, paying for a college education just got much more a ordable in the state of Michigan,” he said. “We want to amplify that

good news by sending a message to high school seniors that you can be assured admission to all public universities with a ... 3.0 or higher.”

at assurance “is going to take a lot of the stress out of the process for students, demystify the process and increase awareness of high quality education in Michigan and the dramatic improvement in a ordability of a public university education in Michigan,” Hurley said.

Delta Dental of Michigan supports opening of new dental clinics in Mount Clemens, Traverse City

By Dr. Michelle Kohler

From o ce closures to capacity restrictions to supply- ain disruptions, the COVID-19 pandemic presented allenges both immediate and lasting.

More than two years a er the onset of the health emergency, COVID-induced realities remain. Sta shortages paired with increased patient counts come during a period of reduced revenues, the result of increased wages required for sta ng and in ated supply costs.

Delta Dental understands these allenges have likely led to a decrease in access to care, particularly in underserved populations where reimbursement rates are lower and administrative allenges are increasing.

To combat this, Delta Dental laun ed a valuebased payment program in 2022, directing an additional $1.4 million in incentives to providers in the Detroit region. is move was followed up with increased fee s edules to support providers in 2023.

Delta Dental also supports nonpro t dental clinics with grant agreements for non-utilizer access to several federally quali ed health centers (FQHC) statewide, as well as a pair of new dental clinics in MyCare Health Center in Mount Clemens and United We Smile in Traverse City.

e pair of new clinics focus on underserved populations, including members of the state Healthy Kids Dental program, whi provides

dental care for those who have Medicaid and are under age 21. Delta Dental provided $250,000 in nancial support for ea of the two new dental clinics and is excited to have more access points for our Healthy Kids Dental and Healthy Mi igan Plan with adult Medicaid members.

e MyCare Health Center in Mount Clemens, whi opened earlier this year, o ers a full range of dental services and a sliding fee s edule based on income and size of household, while accepting Medicaid and Medicare in addition to standard dental coverages.

e ief executive o cer for MyCare Health Centers, Karen Wood, certainly understands the

importance of more access for dental services in the area.

“Our clinics are deeply rooted in the Macomb County neighborhoods in whi we live, work and play, so we’re excited to have the opportunity to expand dental services into Mount Clemens and ful ll this need,” she said.

Opened in August, United We Smile in Traverse City provides dental services for ildren, pregnant people, veterans, and those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. United Way of Northwest Mi igan CEO and President Seth Johnson said the support of both the Delta Dental Foundation and the Delta Dental Quality Improvement and Population Health team was

instrumental in the opening of this clinic.

“With their support, we are able to signi cantly improve access to oral health in our area,” Johnson said. “Together we are ensuring that individuals in our community have the opportunity to receive quality dental care and improve their overall well-being.”

Delta Dental continues to respond to the dental care needs of communities and to support both private dental providers and FQHCs in delivering services to our most vulnerable members.

The Elliott Tower is pictured on Oakland University’s campus in Rochester. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

“The pledge is about becoming more transparent about how we make admission decisions ...”

Joe Vainner, director of admissions, UM-Flint

Heidelberg earns a small amount of revenue from guided tours and merchandise sales but is almost entirely reliant on donations and grants to fund its programs and operations. And nearly all of its experiences and programs, from the art installation to arts education in Detroit schools, have been free, Chairman Andy Sturm, creative director and founder of Chicago-based Public Works Studio, said.

Despite its national stature, “Heidelberg has never had the substantial, patient investment from funders and donors that it would take to become sustainable, so it’s always been a little bit precarious,” he said.

When something like COVID comes and shifts philanthropic priorities in many cases to safety and welfare, and that support doesn’t come back fully, “you can only last so long,” said Sturm, a University of Detroit Mercy alumnus who joined Heidelberg’s board 17 years ago and has chaired it since 2015.

Heidelberg has been around for 38 years. “We want to gure out a model that will get us to the next 38,” he said.

Guyton, who was back at work on Heidelberg Street earlier this month deferred all comment to Sturm.

Changes ahead

Heidelberg laid o its nine fulland part-time employees Sept. 15 and paused the executive director search it launched in 2022 after Jenenne Whit eld, its longtime leader and Guyton’s wife, departed to lead the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.

It is now working with O’Connor Real Estate to sell the administrative buildings and property it purchased in 2017 on McDougall Street near Gratiot Avenue as part of its plan to cultivate a cultural village of artists in the neighborhood.

Located a couple of blocks southwest of the famed art installation, the property turned out to be too far away, Sturm said.

“We really need to be in the core art environment...in order to take more advantage of earned revenue opportunities. Part of the hope is that with the sale of McDougall we can ...reinvest what we get from the sale into the main street preservation and sustainability,” he said.

After exceeding $1 million in revenue for the rst time in 2018, Heidelberg’s revenue plummeted to just over $136,000 in 2020 during the pandemic. e nonpro t covered a $333,517 loss that year with reserves. Revenue rebounded somewhat to $429,592 in 2021, but Heidelberg still reported a roughly $13,000 loss.

Last year, with the infusion of COVID relief funding and a $150,000 COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan it recently began paying back, it had just over $950,000 in revenue and ended the year $195,000 in the black, Sturm said.

But COVID relief dollars have gone away, contributions have not fully rebounded and it’s running out of cash.

“We keep applying for the same amount of things we do, but the numbers of what actually comes in (aren’t) changing,” Sturm said. “So we have to say the model we have isn’t sustainable (to support) this many programs.”

Educational o erings tabled as Heidelberg works to gain nancial footing include in-school programs, a summer camp and a training and employment assistance program for youth with creative leanings. ose programs have served 476 students since launching in 2018, a Heidelberg spokesman said.

Developing a sustainable model

e Heidelberg Project was attracting about 275,000 visitors from near and far annually before the pandemic, according to the organization. But unlike a community theater that charges for a ticket, you can’t charge people to be on a street.

e board is exploring a number of revenue-creating opportunities, including moving forward on an earlier idea to turn the Dotty Wotty House into a museum and archive that preserves Guyton’s legacy and would charge a ticket price or seek donations from visitors. Also in the o ng is renting out space in the Numbers House, the second of two remaining houses Heidelberg owns on the street, for meetings and events.

“Often times, people want to come and shoot lms on the site,

and we would be looking to work out how to compensate Heidelberg for that,” Sturm said.

With the proceeds from the sale of the McDougall property, Heidelberg could also create a small endowment that would provide long-term revenue, he said. “It’s not anything we haven’t thought of before, but it’s been di cult in the past to get donors to give to endowment.”

Earlier this month, the Heidelberg Project noti ed its funders about the paused educational programs and other moves it’s taking.

Among the biggest of those are the Hudson-Webber Foundation and Kresge Foundation.

“ e Heidelberg Project has represented the spirit of Detroit, of reinvention and reclamation,” said Michael Shaw, program director at the Hudson-Webber Foundation,

the Heidelberg Project has faced over the past decades, including arson, theft and demolition by the city government.

Guyton, his rst wife Karen and his late grandfather, artist Sam Mackey, began erecting the massive art environment in 1986 to draw attention to the blight in the neighborhood where Guyton grew up. e installations are located on Heidelberg and Elba streets between Mt. Elliott and Ellery streets.

ey attracted national and international attention in the following years, becoming a top destination for visitors to Detroit.

In 2016, Guyton said that by drawing attention to a forgotten neighborhood with bold public art, he brought life to the area, which helped reduce crime and bridge the gap between Detroiters and suburbanites.

But despite national press and a growing number of visitors, as early as 1995 and at various points in its history, the project saw pushback from city leaders who wanted to see it demolished. en, between 2013-14, a dozen homes that were once part of the Heidelberg Project were damaged or destroyed by unsolved arson res.

Heidelberg continued its work, launching drop-in workshops for youth and a gallery inside its Numbers House with its rst rotation of exhibitions, and Guyton continued to gain national and international acclaim.

e nonpro t attempted to buy properties it had been caring for on Heidelberg for decades, but the Detroit Land Bank denied it the community partner status that allows nonpro ts and faithbased organizations to buy properties in bundles.

In 2016, it announced plans for “Heidelberg 3.0,” an e ort to shift the project from an art installation driven largely by him to an arts community. As part of that, Guyton began dismantling pieces of the outdoor installations, featuring some in museum exhibitions.

a funder since 2018. “Tyree Guyton’s creation inspired healing and imagination.”

e Troy-based Kresge Foundation has been providing support to Heidelberg since at least 2010 and has stepped up its support in recent years. Last year, it made a three-year, $150,000 general operating grant to the nonpro t after an earlier three-year grant of just over $77,000 expired.

“We are looking forward to hearing more from the Heidelberg team about their plans for moving forward,” Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of Kresge’s Detroit Program, said in an emailed statement.

A history of challenges

e nancial struggles are the latest in a long list of challenges

Heidelberg purchased the McDougall property in 2017 to establish its rst headquarters in the neighborhood and with the intention of using it for artist-in-residence accommodations, and the following year, in what Heidelberg termed “a historic turn of events,” entered a memorandum of understanding with the city tied to acquiring additional properties on its namesake street.

“ e MOU has evolved. It started with the past planning director and then it changed a few times and most recently it’s evolved into conversations with the land bank about a potential swap between properties they have in our area that we have been taking care of for decades, and properties that aren’t important to the core art environment with better uses, like on Mt Elliot,” Sturm said in a forwarded statement.

e deal is still in the works, he said, but hasn’t yet gone through.

“We have been very focused lately on funding and what we need to do to shift to a more sustainable model,” Sturm said.

Artist Tyree Guyton works on new art for the Heidelberg Project in front of the Dotty Wotty House. | PHOTOS BY LAURÉN ABDEL-RAZZAQ

An art instalation featuring old bikes and tricycles in front of the Dotty Wotty House at the Heidelberg Project.

Some of the highlights from discussions at the event last Wednesday-Friday:

Innovation center

priority No. 1

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told Homecoming attendees his No. 1 priority is nishing landing the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, a $250 million project funded by New York real estate developer and Detroit native Stephen Ross.

e project is still awaiting approval from the university’s board of regents to move forward, which Duggan said he is hoping will happen in the next six to eight weeks.

e plan, which would be partially funded by a $100 million pledge from Ross and a $100 million grant from the state, includes an innovation center in the Ilitch family’s District Detroit that would work with UM graduate students on entrepreneurship and innovation.

In a separate presentation at Homecoming, UM President Santa Ono did not directly address the question of the center’s status, but highlighted e orts to link the Ann Arbor university with the city of Detroit as a way to spur entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We’re going to talk about how we can really double down on what we do in terms of education, what we do in terms of technology transfer from the city of Detroit,” Ono said.

Ono said he’s also looking to have more faculty and students in the city. “As we move forward during my administration, (we) will do much more for Detroit than we have at times.”

Zeke’s own Detroit homecoming

e phrase “home is where the heart is” can have any number of meanings but for an all-time great Detroit sports icon, it means one speci c thing.

Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame point guard Isiah omas is returning to the metro Detroit area as a full-time resident. e 62-yearold omas announced the plan during a 2023 Detroit Homecoming chat with longtime Pistons

play-by-play announcer George Blaha and Ethan Davidson, son of former Pistons owner Bill Davidson.

“My family and I decided this would be our last stop,” said omas, a Chicago native who is married and has two daughters. “I feel like I’m a part of everybody’s family in Detroit. Everyone who meets me when I’m here treats me like a relative. is is a wonderful place. Everyone has uplifted me so much here. is is de nitely home to me. Even still to this day when I go to dinner here and try to pay, they don’t take the money.”

omas, who currently lives in New York, did not detail the plans. omas has some business interests in the area. He’s working with Auburn Hills-based Stellantis to have industrial hemp replace plastic in the production of automobiles. His Cheurlin Champagne is on the shelves at numerous grocers. omas on Friday also mentioned a partnership with Hyatt Hotels that would see the Cheurlin brand o ered at all Hyatt locations.

Sports on the menu

e increased economic development of Detroit over the last handful of years has put the city in prime position to host some of the biggest events in sports.

In a 2023 Detroit Homecoming panel discussion Friday, o cials from the NFL and NCAA said the city’s growth and moves such as adding Little Caesars Arena, clustering venues and adding hotels make Detroit very attractive.

Friday’s panel was moderated by WXYZ-TV Sports Director Brad Galli and included Matt Shapiro, NFL vice president of event strategy and integration; JoAn Scott, NCAA men’s basketball managing director; and Washington University-St. Louis sports business Professor Patrick Rishe.

e city will host the 2024 NFL Draft and the 2027 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball tournament.

Both Scott and Shapiro said the Detroit Sports Commission did a great job in pitching the city for the two events. at sell is only part of why an area is chosen as a host, though.

“Economic development is obviously huge. e (DSC) always does a great job on its presentations during our bid process,” Scott said. “ ey did a fantastic job showing the economic development and everything that’s been done to transform the city. We’re excited to come back.

“ ... Venues, fundraising, government funding — all those things go into a pitch to win the Final Four.” Rishe, founder and CEO of sports consulting rm SportsImpacts, said state support plays a big part in the city hosting major sporting events. If competing markets don’t have resources from the city and state, that makes them less competitive during the bid process, he said.

“Detroit has an advantage over a lot of cities because of what it’s done the last 20 years,” Rishe said. “Little Caesars Arena has played a big role in the whole story. Having multi-purpose venues is huge. A lot of events you’ve had here since LCA opened, you weren’t getting at Joe Louis Arena. en you add the complementary pieces — more hotels, restaurants — that puts you over the top.”

A triple-team for health

During a panel ursday, Henry

West Grand Boulevard, a $300 million research center with Michigan State University and the Detroit Pistons are slated to transform HFH’s existing headquarters and parking lot into multiple residential and retail buildings along with greenspace.

Earlier this month, billionaire Dan Gilbert pledged to fund $375 million of a $439 million, 72-bed state-ofthe-art physical medicine and rehabilitation facility that will occupy three oors of the planned HFH tower when it opens in 2029.

Teresa Woodru , interim president of MSU, said on the panel that the partners were reimagining the future of health care in Detroit.

“Detroit is essential to the health of the state,” Woodru said. “Strengthening Detroit starts with a foundation of health.”

Riney and Arn Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons, both said the foundation of any great city is a world-class educational health system, and that’s the aim of the expansion project.

Ford Health CEO Bob Riney touted the partnerships the Detroit health system garnered toward the now $3 billion investment into the city’s New Center neighborhood.

HFH announced a $2.5 billion plan earlier this year that included a $1.8 billion new hospital tower on

Riney also touted the new one million-square-foot hospital tower will be “all-electric or near all-electric” when it opens as part of the system’s mission toward long-term sustainability and is aiming for carbon-neutrality.

Crain’s reporters Jay Davis, Dustin Walsh, Sherri Welch and Nick Manes contributed to this report.

Dug Song, founder of the Dug Song Foundation, (left) and University of Michigan President Santa Ono during the University of Michigan: The Vision for Innovation in Detroit panel during Detroit Homecoming X last week. | NIC ANTAYA/ CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan talks during the reside chat at the Hilberry Gateway during the Detroit Homecoming X in Detroit last week. | NIC ANTAYA /CRAIN’S DETROITBUSINESS

Assets under custody of LPL Financial and Charles Schwab.

Dick’s Sporting Goods to shutter nearly all Moosejaw stores

By Kirk Pinho and Jay Davis

Moosejaw is shuttering all but three of its stores less than a year after it was sold to a new owner, Crain’s has learned.

e Madison Heights-based outdoor apparel retailer, which previous owner Walmart sold to Dick’s Sporting Goods in March, said the stores will close in early February.

“After careful review of our outdoor specialty business, we have decided to form one team that will support the operations of (Dick’s outdoor brand) Public Lands and Moosejaw. e team will be based at Public Lands’ headquarters in Pittsburgh,” Sarah Cassella, a spokesperson for Dick’s, said in a statement Friday.

“ is move supports our business optimization e orts and will allow us to operate more efciently, quickly leverage best practices across our outdoor business and drive our longterm success. We look forward to continuing to provide outdoor enthusiasts great gear and service on moosejaw.com, publiclands.com and at Moosejaw and Public Lands retail locations,” the statement concluded.

e Moosejaw locations that will remain open are in Birmingham on Woodward Avenue, Salt Lake City and Bentonville, Ark.

e Madison Heights headquarters is also going to close. e Moosejaw website lists 14 brickand-mortar stores.

Michigan locations that are slated to close are in on West

Maple Road in downtown Birmingham, Ann Arbor, Belmont, downtown Detroit, East Lansing, Grand Rapids and Grosse Pointe. Managers on duty at four of the stores either hadn’t been aware of the closures or declined comment. Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC deferred questions to Moosejaw.

A source close to Moosejaw said 35 employees had been terminated Friday, but it is not known how many employees will be a ected once all locations shutter.

Moosejaw’s pending closure in downtown Detroit will mark another retail departure from the Woodward Avenue corridor, following the likes of the Under Armour Brand House, John Varvatos, Detroit is the New Black, Madewell, Le Labo (which relocated to Library Street) and Cornerstone Barrel House.

Dick’s says in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lings that the average Moosejaw store is 4,000 square feet.

Moosejaw was founded in

1992. Walmart purchased it in 2017 for $51 million.

At the time its sale to Dick’s was announced, Moosejaw had 240 employees; the total number of employees today is not known. e acquisition of Moosejaw was meant to expand Pittsburgh-based Dick’s (NYSE: DKS) outdoor portfolio. Dick’s launched Public Lands in 2021 with a goal of celebrating and protecting public lands for all, a press release at the time said.

Todd Spaletto, Dick’s senior vice president, said at the time the Moosejaw purchase agreement was announced: “We admire what Moosejaw has accomplished over the past 30 years as leaders in the outdoor industry and look forward to the opportunity to share insights and learn from one another. We believe there’s potential to grow the Moosejaw business and provide compelling experiences and an expanded product assortment to its millions of loyal customers.”

Women First OB/GYN group expands with new af liation agreement

By Dustin Walsh

Grosse Pointe-based management service organization Together Women’s Health continues to expand across the state.

e private equity-backed gynecology and obstetrics provider completed last week its fth a liation agreement in the state, this time with Women First OB/GYN Center. Women First operates all-female practices in Royal Oak and Birmingham. at practice is a liated with Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, the company said in a press release.

Women First signed on with TWH to reduce overhead and share increasing costs in providing health care, Dr. Paula Fishbaugh, a partner at Women First, said in a statement.

“We take great pride in the medical care we provide our patients,” Fishbaugh said. “With the climate of health care changing, increasing costs, and no change in our reimbursements in many

years, we realized to continue to grow and provide the best services to our patients, we needed to look for smart business solutions without compromising what we do. At least ve years ago we began meeting with companies with stated expertise addressing these challenges to allow us to continue to grow our business. Together Women’s Health was the clear leader.

“As partners, Women First can continue to provide the high standard of care we and our patients are accustomed to and TWH can streamline our backend processes, reduce overhead, provide best-in-class solutions, support investments in growth, and give us a stronger voice with insurance companies and health systems. We are con dent that this opportunity will continue to allow us to run our practice in the smartest way possible …”

TWH was founded in February 2021 after the acquisition of Eastside Gynecology Obstetrics and Comprehensive Woman’s Care

by Chicago private equity rm Shore Capital Partners LLC. e acquisition resulted in TWH operations in Clinton Township, Chester eld Township, Detroit, Macomb Township, Rochester, Grosse Pointe and Roseville.

Private equity’s interest in rolling up physician practices has been growing for years. According to research published in 2020 by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University, 1,426 physical locations and 5,714 physicians were rolled up in deals with private equity rms between 2013 and 2016. Health insurers are also back to rolling up providers as part of expansion e orts.

In August 2021, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan acquired MSO Triarq Health LLC. TWH began expanding outside of Michigan last year and has expanded to ve states with more than 100 providers and 12 practices.

The Moosejaw store in Ann Arbor. COSTAR GROUP INC.

Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department spokesperson Georgette Johnson on Wednesday morning told Crain’s that the building at this point is essentially condemned.

“It’s unsafe. It’s dangerous. We have it blocked o so people can’t even walk around it,” Johnson said. For businesses, “going in and moving things around, that’s really dangerous. You never know what could happen from any vibration.

“We’re sensitive to all the concerns. But this is about preserving life. We can’t have that liability where we allow someone to go in there and there’s a loss of life.”

Overall, Detroit Vs Everybody stood to lose about $150,000 in merchandise, equipment and materials because of the collapse, Russ estimated. at gure includes the renovations. It's unclear what it will be able to rescue due to the demolition reprieve.

Russ declined to disclose recent revenue.

He said conversations have begun with the company’s insurance carrier. No cause for the collapse has been determined, leaving Detroit Vs Everybody and the other tenants in limbo.

To o set those losses, Detroit Vs Everybody launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $150,000, announced by founder Tommey

Walker in a post on the Detroit Vs Everybody website.

“I’ve always believed in the power of unity. When one of us faces a setback, it’s the collective strength that propels us forward,” Walker said in the post. “Let’s come together and showcase the true essence of ‘Detroit Vs Everybody.’ ank you for standing by us, for your unwavering belief, and for being the lifeblood of our brand. Together, we will rebuild, reemerge, and resonate stronger than ever before.”

In the meantime, the company can handle smaller orders using manual print screens, Russ said. CEO Sean Williams has one at his home and another is available at an undisclosed site. ree sta ers can produce 300-400 printed shirts in about six hours using a manual

press, Russ said. Detroit Vs Everybody o cials are reaching out to a production partner for assistance with larger orders, the CFO said.

“ at’s our CEO getting his hands dirty,” Russ said. “But this hurts. We’re losing a lot on materials alone for not being able to get back in the building.”

Russ said Detroit Vs Everybody is looking for corporate partners for a series of pop-ups.

“Another tough part is this hit us right before the holiday season,” Russ said. “We’re not ready to commit to another space for ve years, but we’d like to do some pop-ups. We’ve gotten great support from the community. We had a young lady email us saying she’s willing to volunteer in any way. We had another person reach out and o er up their o ce space as retail space. e community has been great. We knew they’d come out for us like that.”

e incident won’t stop Detroit Vs Everybody from moving forward, he said.

e company will proceed with a planned December trip to Ghana for a pop-up to highlight its Africa Vs Everybody brand. Six other undisclosed, popular Detroit brands will also make the trip, Russ said. “ is hurts, yeah, but it’s not going to stop the traction we’ve already created,” he said. “When it comes to the business side, we’re good. It’s a question of how do we build the foundation back quickly.”

Hospitals to recoup millions after decision

Dustin Walsh

University of Michigan Health is expecting a $73.7 million lump sum payment from the U.S. government related to a federal drug pricing program that has been reversed by the High Court.

e U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that the Department of Health and Human Services illegally cut drug reimbursement under its 340B discount drug program. e agency slashed reimbursement for hospitals receiving 304B discounts by nearly 30% in 2018.

e feds are now going to be required to repay roughly $9 billion to hospitals that participate in the program. e Supreme Court ruled the agency didn’t have authority to make the cuts to those hospitals.

UM Health is expected to receive the largest repayment in the state, followed by $33 million to Ascension St. John in Detroit and $28.8 million to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, according to a list of the top 100 hospitals owed provided to Crain’s by Community Oncology Alliance.

e 340B Drug Pricing Program was created with the enact-

ment of the updated Public Health Service Act of 1992, designed to require drug manufacturers to provide drugs to safety net hospitals and community care organizations that support the Medicaid population at a discounted price.

e U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration sets the ceiling pricing on the drugs. e feds made the cuts to hospitals in the 340B program because, under their view, if these hospitals were receiving cheaper drugs for Medicaid patients, they would have cheaper overhead and therefore could receive less overall reimbursement from the government.

e American Hospital Association sued the government and the case made it to the Supreme Court in July, leading to the ruling.

It’s unclear when the hospitals will receive the lump-sum payments from the government, but they would relieve nancial pressures, Mary Masson, director of public relations for UM Health, told Crain’s in an emailed statement.

“Michigan Medicine still awaits nal word from CMS on repayment of 340B payment cuts,” Masson wrote.

Detroit Vs Everybody was launched in 2012 by Detroit native Tommey Walker Jr. and its slogan quickly caught on. | DETROIT VS EVERYBODY

Its model has gained national attention, including, as recently as this month, winning the 2023 “American Prize” literacy award from the National Library of Congress for making a signi cant and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels in the U.S. e prize includes a cash award of $50,000.

It also garnered a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, with Case as lead investigator. e grant is intended to build on earlier research about youth participants’ views of STEM and themselves, to better understand what is happening in the lab and how that is impacting students’ STEM identity, e cacy and expectations, she said.

Kids who already have an interest in STEM and feel con dent engaging in it are drawn to robotics clubs and weekend science clubs.

“What’s really unique about DBG’s STEM lab is the fact that it’s embedded in a broader program...If we can learn about what attracts (kids) to DBG’s program and then keeps them in it, then we can use those lessons to either de ne or rene other types of programs,” Case said.

Ninety-eight percent of the kids in DBG’s program opt into expanded STEAM o erings beyond general education o erings at DBG and stay in the programs, leaders said.

ey include student-led, hands-on programming in areas like computer coding, digital animation, studying the weather, climate and insects and closed loop systems (including raising chickens and growing vegetables, an

DOGS

Going to the dogs

Williams is no stranger to her four-legged customers.

She began caring for a dog, Bear, following the death of her grandmother, Naomi Bailey. e dog was like another family member, Williams said. Bear, who has since died, ate table food and wiped his feet at the front door.

“I never really cared about dogs before that,” Williams said. “Once my grandmother passed and Bear came home, that changed. Being around Bear let me see that dogs have their own personalities like people. at shows even more when you put them in some clothes. Bear and my grandmother are a big part of the reason why I opened the store.

“I was sitting out on Livernois one day watching people walk their dogs and thought ‘people really treat their pets like their child. Why not let pets express their personality through clothing like we do?’”

Location, location, location

e Livernois space that Barks Fifth Avenue occupies is perfect for Williams. It’s on a popular strip near the city’s Bagley neighborhood and on the same block as popular

area students asked for themselves). ere’s even a group of students learning about product development and marketing, creating their own juice brand.

“Student voice is in uencing and evolving our STEAM-related

Broadening the brand

After working with outside consultants and replication subject matter experts to codify its methodology, DBG is in active licensing talks with youth groups from Grand Rapids, Bu alo, New York and Los Angeles, Hauser said. She declined to name them in advance of nalizing agreements.

e nonpro t expects to roll out its DBG Academy program to train and support its rst licensees from its Detroit base by mid-2024.

take place throughout the year.

e amounts initial pilot partners will pay to license the DBG model will vary based on their program goals, size and other factors, Hauser said.

DBG was in talks with Romulus Community Schools about taking its model there but paused those conversations following unexpected changes to school board leadership there, she said.

It also got early interest from one or more youth groups in Spain and Africa and is still exploring a partnership in Africa, she said.

Licensing the program will provide a source of earned revenue to fuel DBG’s growth in Southeast Michigan, Hauser said. It’s currently operating on a budget of about $5 million for scal 2023.

Investment at home

e new building, being designed by Faber Design Co. in Detroit, is planned for three parcels across from the gym on Meldrum Street purchased from the Detroit Land Bank for $12,600.

DBG is seeking public and private contributions to nance the costs of the building, Hauser said, noting it has some early donations and applications out for capital grants to help nance the project.

programs to cater to student interests,” said Peter Fezzey, who left DBG’s board after 10 years to its become chief advancement ocer. “ at spark is created. How do you cultivate it from a long-term program perspective?”

was convenient. I knew that with some other things like Palmer Park opening up its dog park would drive in customers along with the foot tra c the area already gets.”

e mother and daughter business owners will work even closer together when they combine spaces on Oct. 1. Candace Williams will close her storefront and move into the Teasers space at 19355 Livernois Ave.

Candace Williams said the decision to move is a nancial one.

“With the current state of the economy I was looking to cut overhead costs and there’s enough room in the (Teasers) space for both businesses,” she said.

Paulette Williams said it works out for both of them.

“We are replicating how we do the work. Programming and curriculums speci c to each partner will be created and developed through our collaborative process at the DBG Academy,” Hauser said. e program will include physical and virtual training, workshops and success measurement. Training will range from daylong workshops to two-week trainings and

regular trips to Teasers. e Southeld resident had previously purchased apparel online for her Shih Tzu, Mr. Bojangles, but has been a customer at Barks since it opened, she said.

“My dog is extra small,” Blassingame said. “A lot of times when I buy things online, it doesn’t t him. Barks Fifth Avenue is great because you can try the things on the dogs before you buy them. It’s a really fun store for the dogs.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve bought everything they’ve ever had for him.”

Purchases like those made by Blassingame will help Williams hit her nancial goals.

She declined to share the amount raised to date, as DBG waits to hear on grant approvals.

“ e hope is to break ground in the spring,” Hauser said, noting DBG will look to have at least half of the project cost in hand before breaking ground.

“Everyone sees the demand for our space, for our program and the outcomes. ere’s de nitely a lot of support to be able to make more impact.”

putting everything in a package and bought $500 worth of items in one visit. ere’s really good potential for this business here.

“I feel like what makes us stand out from other brands or stores is that I hand-pick everything, so there’s no shortage of quality. I pride myself in making sure the quality is good. e same way I dress myself, I’ll dress your pet.”

Pulling double duty

businesses including Good Cakes and Bakes and Kuzzo’s Chicken & Wa es. It’s also directly to the north of a store where Williams cut her teeth as an entrepreneur. Barks Fifth Avenue sits right next to Teasers Boutique, a women’s clothing store owned by her mother Paulette Williams. Paulette has owned and operated her store for 23 years. Setting up shop next to her mother only felt right to Candace Williams.

“I didn’t even look anywhere else. I was already sold on the area,” Candace Williams said. “It

“Candace had been around family business all of her life so I felt comfortable knowing that she understood basic business practices and principles,” Paulette Williams said. “...we discussed it and felt it would be complementary to what I’m doing. It’s the perfect example of bootstrapping, which works really well because we can share resources, share information, reduce some of the risk, and it enabled her to come to the market much better prepared.”

e synergy between the mother-daughter entrepreneurs is paying o .

Alicia Blassingame discovered Barks Fifth Avenue on one of her

Williams said she invested about $20,000 into her business. She’s projecting about $80,000 in online and in-store sales over the rst three years, after which Williams expects the gure to increase. Williams signed a ve-year lease with renewal options with landlord Collette Williams of Avenue Community Services.

Williams chose a good time to get into the business. e global pet clothing market is projected to grow from $5.19 billion in 2021 to $7.66 billion by 2031, according to a report from Allied Market Research.

e Barks Fifth Avenue owner said her customers are willing to spend each time they come into the store.

“I had a breeder come in from Las Vegas,” Williams said. “He kept

Wiliams is the pet boutique’s lone employee. To supplement her income, she continues to work as a human resources/payroll consultant. Both jobs are done on a by-appointment basis. She opens Barks for customers noon-6 p.m. ursday-Saturday.

“It can be stressful at times, especially when you have everything on your plate,” Williams said. “It’s a lot of work. It’s not easy. Some days are high stress. I think I’m accustomed to it now. I don’t think I’d know how to act if I had an easy day.”

All the stress, the work, Williams says it’s all worth it.

“It’s fun. I have a lot of fun,” Williams said. “I’ve never had a negative experience with a pet. Yes, they have accidents at times but the store is set up for that. at usually happens because they’re excited.

“Fashion makes me feel good. I didn’t think I’d get this type of feeling from out tting pets, but I do.”

A teacher instructs two students at Downtown Boxing Gym how to make slime out of Tide detergent and glue. It’s one of the fun STEM program options available at the nonpro t in Detroit. | PHOTOS BY DOWNTOWN BOXING GYM

Jessica Hauser, executive director, Downtown Boxing Gym, (left) and Amanda Case, associate professor of counseling psychology, Purdue University, have been working together for over a decade to study the youth development organization’s approach and impact.

From Page 3

Commerce Towship resident Candace Williams owns and operates Barks Fifth Avenue. The boutique, located in Detroit on the Avenue of Fashion, offers high-end apparel for dogs. | CANDACE WILLIAMS

Food entrepreneur on long-term prospects of additional investments in Detroit

Entrepreneur Ping Ho is fully entrenched in the city of Detroit. The 46-year-old Detroit resident is owner of restaurants Marrow Detroit in West Village and Mink Detroit in Corktown as well as The Royce wine shop and wine bar in downtown Detroit under her Backbone Hospitality Group company. Ho, who came to the U.S. from Singapore in 1996, also owns and operates artisanal meat producer Marrow Detroit Provisions in Eastern Market. The former music executive and a 2022 Crain’s Notable LGBTQ in Business honoree talked to Crain’s about her plans, her road to Detroit and the city’s expanding restaurant scene. By | Jay

Marrow turns 5 this year. Do you have anything special planned to commemorate that?

So, we’re embarking on a refresh of the menu. West Village is proudly known for our chef’s tasting menu. I think we’re going to go back to when we rst started, with a bit more simple menu, more sharing plates, a la carte options. Our tagline at the restaurant is “All appetites are welcome.” People think of (Marrow) as a butcher shop, but we do have a lot of options for non-meat eaters. We’ve never been a steakhouse. at continues. e a la carte options include fresh seasonal greens, a nice seafood menu.

How is the Marrow Detroit Provisions line performing? Are you in a good amount of stores?

It’s an expansion of our meat business. On Memorial Day, we launched with Plum Market. We introduced four specialty sausage recipes we’ve honed over the years. Over the past couple of months, we’ve gone into Western Market in Ferndale, Westborn Markets, Sprout House in Grosse Pointe Park. We’ve also partnered with Zingerman’s Deli on a monthly butcher box. We’re just at the beginning of our expansion. By the end of the year, we’ll add more avors of sausage, beef bacon.

Where did the idea for Marrow Detroit Provisions come from?

We’ve operated a butcher shop since Marrow launched in 2018. e ethos for Marrow Provisions is the same: source locally, work with family-owned farms that practice sustainable agriculture. Since its inception in 2018, we’ve always worked with local farms. We take that same approach in supporting the local food system and broaden it to include retail distribution. In order to get into that broader retail distribution, we have to be USDA inspected. Provisions is focused on producing a line of items that have been inspected so we can more broadly distribute, and still use a handcrafted recipe that’s

driven and focused developed. e focus is on value-added products — products we’ve added recipes to, avor to. ese aren’t just raw cuts that are processed further.

You run three different establishments with totally different concepts. How do you balance that?

I have a really good team at each of my businesses that manage the day-to-day operations. I have a VP of operations, Amanda Franke. She’s essential. She’s the backbone. She provides the structure for HR, bookkeeping and accounting. e day-to-day operations at each business are run by the executive chefs. I meet weekly with my team. We have processes in place where we review weekly sales. Business development is a big part of what we do. We’re focused on Provisions. I pop into each place when I can. I have set days. Wednesdays I’m at Mink and Royce. ursday and Friday I’m at Marrow.

You were a music executive in New York. How did you come to run restaurants in Detroit?

I worked in strategy in business development at Warner Music for over a decade. e impetus to leave came from the realization that I didn’t want to be a middle-aged music executive or work a corporate job I was uninspired by. It was a great job. I worked with great people, but it was time to move on. I took a great leap into the beverage industry. e Royce (in 2016) was my rst business. I’ve always loved wine. I took a lot of trips at Warner and ate great food, drank great wine.

e opportunity to move to Detroit was personal. We started noticing things happening in 2014, 2015. It made sense to make a big leap. ere were a lot of really cool developments. It wasn’t crowded with an oversaturated food and beverage scene.

Is that still the case with the city’s food and beverage offerings?

e evolution and development of people’s palates and taste is noticeable since I moved here. Detroit has grown considerably in o erings and customer taste.

Since opening Marrow, a lot of new, excellent restaurants have opened. Competition has gone up. It feels like more restaurants open up than new people moving into Detroit. Marrow is 5 years old. Mink is 4. We’re not the new kids on the block anymore. We have to market ourselves better, evolve, freshen up the menu and remind customers we’re here. More e ort needs to go into what’s reaching our regulars and new customers.

What are some of the places in Detroit you like?

Selden Standard is a really classic Detroit restaurant that’s been around for a while and never fails to maintain quality food and ambiance. I like the vibe at San Morello because it kind of reminds me of New York. SheWolf has great northern Italian food.

Any plans to expand Back bone Hospitality further?

My immediate focus is to develop the Marrow brand, from the restaurant to Provisions. e Eastern Market is de nitely a priority for me and my business partners. at’d be a great neighborhood for Marrow to expand into. e potential Eastern Market concept hasn’t been eshed out yet. Beyond that, I think I’m always open minded. What I’m watching is Detroit’s density. If there are more opportunities to launch new concepts because the market calls for it, then I’m totally open to it. I think there are neighborhoods doing better than others in Detroit. If the opportunity comes along to be located in a new neighborhood, I’m open to that, too.

Any concerns going forward?

ere are certain factors I’m a little concerned about. e ability for Detroit to attract new residents, more weekday tra c from residents, is big. Since COVID, I’ve seen a decline in weekday tra c. If that doesn’t improve, I won’t be as enthusiastic about opening new concepts in the future.

Ping Ho is the owner and operator of three Detroit restaurants and artisanal meat producer Marrow Detroit Provisions.

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“We have to market ourselves better, evolve, freshen up the menu and remind customers we’re here.”

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