Crain's Detroit Business, Sept. 26, 2022, issue

Banking on Detroit

Airbnb-style car rentals spark ght

Plan in Legislature would tax, regulate services

BY DAVID EGGERT

LANSING — A proposal to tax and regulate services that function as a sort of Airbnb for car rentals has sparked the latest legislative ght over the sharing economy.

e bills have drawn criticism from opponents who say they would increase costs and shield traditional rental companies from competition.

e legislation would a ect “peer-to-peer” platforms that let people avoid rental counters and rent vehicles from their owners. e apps often are cheaper and can o er drivers more exibility and convenience, letting them browse for a speci c model they want and get it delivered for a fee.

STARTING ON PAGE

San Francisco-based Turo, the world’s largest peer-to-peer car-sharing operation and the most established one in Michigan, grew amid a shortage of rentals and soaring prices during the

See CAR RENTAL

BY ARIELLE KASS

Signs advertising new homes dot the roadside in communities a 30-minute or longer drive from Detroit’s city limits. In those outer-ring suburbs, dirt roads are being paved and homes continue to be framed, even as rising interest rates cause the resale housing market to slow.

In metro Detroit, Census data shows more than 3,000 new single family homes were authorized to be built from the start of the year through July. Nationally, statistics from the National Association of

Home Builders show new construction is increasingly likely to take place further from a city’s core.

Builders are still “very, very busy” said Bob Filka, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Michigan, even as some people have dropped o waiting lists for new construction. e number of new-home permits is down 10 to 15 percent from last year, Filka said, but the change doesn’t mean demand is gone.

“We’ve had this roller coaster of prices and supply chain challenges,” he said. “ ings have softened,

While rising interest rates have had an e ect on the new-home market, the time it takes to build a house means it’s not as easy as turning on or o a spigot. Nathan Boji, an associate broker/vice president with RE/MAX Classic in Farmington Hills and president-elect of the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors, said nancing costs for construction loans have deterred some borrowers. booms in outer-ring suburbs

but it’s the kind of softening you might expect.”

JAFFE’S NEXT STEP industry

CONVERSATION James

Huntington

Workers on the job site at a Healy Homes development located on Shadowview Drive in Northville. | QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS TO THE Detroit Homecoming dives deep on technology, talent and Detroit’s potential as a hub for innovation.

 UM, NURSES UNION REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

THE NEWS: Michigan Medicine and the union representing about 6,200 nurs es have reached a tentative agree ment, more than two months after their contract expired, according to a news release from the union. e union said highlights of the tentative agreement include an end to manda tory overtime, an improved mecha nism for enforcing contractual work load ratios and competitive wages to recruit and retain skilled nurses.

WHY IT MATTERS: e Michigan Nurses Association-University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council had sparred over contract negotiations and what the union called a “refusal to bargain over safe workloads.” e parties had been bargaining since March 15, and the contract expired June 30.

 4 TECH STARTUPS

RAISE $34.5 MILLION

THE NEWS: At least four tech startups have completed seed stage or Series A fundraising rounds totaling $30.5

million in venture capital largess re cently. Voxel51, an arti cial intelli gence data company born in Ann Ar bor, but operating fully remote, has closed on a $12.5 million funding round. Kode Labs Inc., a 5-year-old Detroit-based real estate technology startup, closed on an $8 million Se ries A funding round. Detroit-based CoverTree Inc., a digital insurance company focused on the manufac tured housing sector, closed on $10 million from a variety of coastal and local investors. And Detroit-based digital privacy startup Hush closed on a $4 million seed round (Read more about Hush in the Detroit Homecoming section, Page 18).

WHY IT MATTERS: Even amid mounting external pressures on the broader economy, capital still appears to be owing to startups in Southeast Michigan and beyond.

 OFFICE FURNITURE GIANT TO CUT 180 JOBS

THE NEWS: One of West Michigan’s largest o ce furniture makers will cut 180 salaried jobs amid declining or ders, in ation and supply chain is sues. Steelcase Inc. said in its sec ond-quarter earnings report Wednesday that it will cut the posi tions across the Americas and its cor porate departments in response to a 20 percent decline in orders in the rst few weeks of the third quarter com

pared to the same period last year.

WHY IT MATTERS: e company said it will make the cuts by mid-October in response to “lower-than-expected” return-to-work trends. It did not dis close how many will happen in Mich igan, though it did con rm there will be cuts in Grand Rapids.

 DETROIT METRO AIRPORT AMONG TOP AIRPORTS

THE NEWS: Among airports its size, DTW tied New York City’s John F. Ken nedy International Airport for third place in the latest customer satisfac tion rankings of North American air ports by Troy-based J.D. Power. Min neapolis-Saint Paul International Airport took the top spot, followed by San Francisco International Airport. Detroit Metropolitan Airport ranked ninth in the same survey last year.

WHY IT MATTERS: is year’s survey also found that overall satisfaction is down as passenger volume ap proaches pre-pandemic levels and airlines struggle with labor shortages and in ation.

FOOD AND DRINK

Eastern Market Brewing to open

 Michigan’s rst self-pour taproom is set to open next month in Royal Oak, a little more than two months after the state moved to make legal self-dispensing beer, wine and mixed spirits from taps at bars and restaurants.

Eastern Market Brewing Co. said it plans to open Lincoln Tap in a few weeks at the former home of Roak Brewing Co. at 330 E. Lincoln Ave. Lincoln Tap will take up a portion of the 17,000-square-foot produc tion facility previously occupied by Roak, which consolidated opera tions in Marshall after it acquired Dark Horse Brewing Co.

It will utilize a 30-tap, self-pour draft system featuring technology from self-serve tapwall manufacturer iPourIt. e taproom will also serve as a showroom for craft beers brewed by Eastern Market Brewing Co. and its experimental arm, Ferndale Project on Livernois in Fern dale.

e self-serve tap system will o er a rotating mix of beers, along with wine and cold brew co ee. Touchscreens will allow drinkers to nd de tails for each product above the taps. Radio Frequency Identi ca tion-enabled wristbands will be used to activate the taps and track ounces poured, the release stated. e self-serve taps will not take the place of bartenders, the company said.

Eastern Market Brewing Co. is set to open Lincoln Tap, a full self-pour taproom in Royal Oak, in October.

|

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S TO

Atwater spends $1M to brew more complex beers

Brewery nets upgrades, fermentation scientist

JAY DAVIS

Atwater Brewery this year marked 25 years in business, and the com pany is working to ensure the next 25 are even stronger for Detroit’s largest brewery.

Atwater is wrapping up $1 million in capital improvements that have been underway for more than a year, according to President Katy McBrady. e updates include adding state-ofthe-art kegging and packaging lines, she said.

“ e improvements will allow us to produce more beer at a faster rate, package more,” McBrady told Crain’s. “We’ll be able to send more of a variety of beer into the market, too. Our intent is for us, over the next 25 years, to make the best beer possible.”

e improvements could also bring new jobs. Atwater currently has a sta of about 65 employees. e company has done some hiring to ll vacant positions, McBrady said.

“Hopefully we’ll sell more beer, bring more people in,” said Mc Brady, who took over as president of Atwater in April.

Selling more beer is the ultimate goal, McBrady said. Atwater, which has taprooms in Detroit, Grosse Pointe and Grand Rapids, has plans to add more IPA options, following the 2020 release of the Pog-o-licious IPA. e company is also working on an easy drinking lager.

Atwater is best known for its tradi tional German-style lagers, along with boutique brews Dirty Blonde and Vanilla Java Porter, which are the company’s best sellers.

Henry Ford’s Piquette Plant changed the world. This nonpro t is ghting to preserve it.

Restoration e orts at the birth place of the Model T are taking an other leap forward, spurred by the redevelopment of the former Studebaker sales and service build ing next door.

Power to the nonpro t, Ford Pi quette Avenue Plant Museum — currently drawn from the attached Studebaker building — will be cut in February, President and COO Jill Woodward said, as developer e Platform LLC moves forward with its $37.3 million plan to turn the Studebaker building into workforce apartment.

A $500,000 grant from the Na tional Park Service (its third to Pi quette) and $1.4 million in grants

and contributions from the non pro t museum’s board — which includes Henry Ford III, the largest individual donor to the campaign to date — will fund a temporary power shift for Piquette, followed by rewiring of the 1926, cloth-cov ered wiring at the former auto plant and a new switch or power box that will take 40-60 weeks to secure, due to supply issues.

Reportedly one of the few surviv ing early automobile factories in the world, the museum is working with Detroit-based architecture rm Albert Kahn Associates on the design for the new electrical system and other restoration projects for the historic site.

Huntington Bank opens new Detroit HQ

erations for Huntington Bank.

e development timeline for a new bank headquarters in down town Detroit has been through two merger deals and a global pandemic. But on Wednesday morning, the doors nally opened.

Initially announced in the summer of 2018 as a new headquarters for what was then Chemical Bank, some $9.5 billion in dealmaking has ulti mately led to the grand opening of the 21-story parking and o ce tower for what is now a Detroit base of op

A total project cost for the develop ment done by an entity called GPC Adams LLC was not disclosed.

e Columbus, Ohio-based Hun tington vastly expanded its presence in Southeast Michigan and elsewhere in the Midwest and Great Lakes re gions via its $6 billion acquisition completed just more than one year ago of TCF Bank, which had acquired the previously Midland-based Chem ical Bank in 2019 for $3.6 billion.

Huntington Bank now stands as the 21st largest bank in the country

with about $178 billion in assets, ac cording to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

e new tower in Detroit, located just south of the Fox eatre on Woodward Avenue at Elizabeth Street, has been touted as a “dual headquarters” alongside Hunting ton’s presence in Ohio’s capital city.

e new Detroit building rep resents a consolidation of multiple o ces Huntington has had across metro Detroit and features 10 oors of parking on the lower levels plus

Jill Woodward is the president and CEO of the nonpro t Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum. | CYDNI ELLEDGE / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Details of a 1915 Model T at the Piquette museum in Detroit.

CYDNI ELLEDGE / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

SHERRI WELCH

McBrady

Envisioning a future for the CPA Building

The owner of two Corktown blocks that in clude the CPA Building has put the property out to the market seeking a buyer or developer.

Robert Zalkin, who owns the 2-acre-plus site on Michigan Avenue between 14th and 16th streets via an entity called BFD Corktown LLC, started mar keting the property through a web site on Monday, with bids due by Feb. 1 and finalists selected by March 3.

The website says it could be sold or ground-leased for new develop ment, which is being limited to “au tomotive companies interested in establishing a presence” in the area, home to Michigan Central Station, currently being redevel oped as the anchor of a new nearly $1 billion autonomous and electric vehicle hub for Ford Motor Co.

“For quite some time we didn’t know what Ford was planning,” Zalkin said Tuesday morning. “Ob viously they are kind of anchoring the mobility district, so as that proj ect starts to come to a conclusion, we sort of are putting it out there to other auto makers to be part of this community.”

He said he has had serious con versations about a mixed-use proj ect on the site but declined to re veal with whom.

“An auto company could do things other than office space,” he said. “We’ve seen other conceptual plans that include hotel and resi

public” — and began the march to ward demolition, the Detroit News reported.

A few months later, a court order was issued requiring the building be razed or renovated; Sequoia opt ed for the former.

However, the Detroit City Coun cil then gave it an interim historic designation while the Historic Dis trict Advisory Board considered whether to place it in a local histor ic district, which would have re quired the Historic District Com mission sign off on any changes, demolition in particular, to the building.

However, the building sits just outside of the Corktown local his toric district.

Next to nothing has happened at the building since (although five years ago someone pulled a fun prank and placed a sign saying a Trader Joe’s was coming there, when obviously it wasn’t).

Yes, ambitious conceptual ren derings for what a mixed-use devel opment on the site could look like have long floated around the De troit Development and Architec ture Internet, with nothing of the sort coming to fruition.

Sequoia hired Northville-based architecture firm Inform Studio to mock those up.

One even more ambitious ver sion of the renderings came to me in early July — they are not publicly available — in a manila envelope with no return address, which is easily the most fun way to get juicy story tips (hint, hint).

That mockup refers to the prop erty as a “Tesla Experience Center + Branded Residences.”

Included in the envelope was a fourword, cryptic handwritten note saying “Not good for Ford.”

Zalkin de clined to com ment to me on that mock up.

dences from automotive compa nies. They are not limited to doing office. They could do mixed-use. It really could be anything.”

The ownership group has a histo ry of buying Detroit properties on the cheap, sitting on them and not doing much work, and selling them for a massive windfall. That was the case with one downtown Detroit building a few years ago, and could ultimately end up being the case with this one.

BFD Corktown, which is an affili ate of Zalkin’s and Vivek Garipalli’s Sequoia Property Partners, paid just shy of $900,000 for the CPA Building in June 2014, according to city land records. Zalkin said the overall site was assembled over the course of a few years in several deals.

Around that time, it was also placed on the city’s dangerous buildings list — David Bell, the city’s director of the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environ ment Department, at the time called it and another a “hazard to the health, safety and welfare of the

The package I received describes hotel, residential, retail and event space.

To put it mildly, a vision like that is wildly optimistic, and to be 100 percent clear, I have heard no other chatter suggesting that such a proj ect is actively in the works.

I sent an email to Justin Haasch, Tesla’s North American real estate director, as well as the company’s investor relations account, seeking comment.

In late 2018, Sequoia put the Fowler Building downtown at 1225 Woodward Ave. on the market for $22 million, six years after it bought it for just $700,000.

Ultimately, it ended up selling in March 2019 to Dan Gilbert — sur prise, surprise — for an estimated $18 million.

“We just get lucky,” Zalkin said.

The CPA Building, named for the Conductors Protective Association union for railroad workers that it originally housed, prior to BFD Corktown had been owned by CPA Office Building Plaza LLC, an entity registered to Ray Kouza.

Not far away, Ebiara deploys first financing

A ground-up housing develop ment in southwest Detroit has re ceived the first money from the new $11 million Ebiara fund.

Construction formally kicked off Tuesday afternoon on the $22.82 million The Brooke apartment complex with 78 units and retail space.

The project sits at the corner of Bagley and 16th streets in the shad ow of the under-construction Mich igan Central Station by Ford Motor Co. and adjacent to community sta ple Honey Bee Market.

Construction is expected to wrap up in the first quarter 2024.

Detroit-based Woodborn Part ners LLC is the developer.

The city issued a request for pro posals for the property, located at

2420 Bagley, four years ago, imme diately following Ford’s announce ment that it would redevelop the train station and other buildings into an autonomous and electric vehicle campus.

Ford’s Michigan Central plan is now expected to cost nearly $1 bil lion.

Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

“AN AUTO COMPANY COULD DO THINGS OTHER THAN OFFICE SPACE. WE’VE SEEN OTHER CONCEPTUAL PLANS THAT INCLUDE HOTEL AND RESIDENCES FROM AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES. THEY ARE NOT LIMITED TO DOING OFFICE.”

—Robert Zalkin, owner, CPA Building site

Kirk PINHO

The CPA Building in Corktown. | KIRK PINHO / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

A rendering of what the CPA Building could look like. | PHOTO OF RENDERING BY INFORM STUDIO

On Detroit’s population, count needs to be right

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan raised the stakes last week in his battle with the U.S. Census Bureau of its counts of Detroit’s population.

e city led a federal lawsuit over esti mates that showed the city lost more than 7,000 residents from 2020 to 2021. It adds to a challenge of 2020 census numbers that Dug gan says amounted to an undercount of 20,000 people.

Duggan’s evidence is compelling.

e mayor cites data from the Postal Ser vice and electric and water utilities showing a gain in residents in 2021.

e city’s estimate of the 2020 undercount also squares with the census bureau’s self-admitted undercount of Black and His panic people in the census.

“All we’re suing on today is the one-year change in estimate where the Census Bu reau said we lost 7,100 people,” Dug gan said. “ e post o ce said that we gained 11,000 peo ple.”

e stakes are high.

Millions of dollars in federal funding for cities is tied to the de cennial census and the estimates that are done in between. e city has estimated the di erence amounts to $5,000 per person.

And an undercount has a disproportion ate e ect in a majority-Black city like Detroit; it’s akin to a disenfranchisement. In a city

that has high poverty rates, as Detroit does, every dollar matters.

The Census Bureau is opaque about its methods for estimating population be tween its official counts, presumably to keep cities from gaming the system. But it’s not a great leap to presume that an under count on the decennial census results in estimates for the next 10 years that are also short of the mark.

e bureau also suspended its own pro cess for challenging its estimates until 2023 and won’t consider any challenges to 2021 estimates.

Clearly, the bureau needs to get its act to gether.

Detroit’s problems in hanging onto people are real, despite improvements in city ser vices and amenities under Duggan. Even an undercount of 20,000 in 2020 would still leave the city down 50,000 residents since 2010.

But the world and the city have changed drastically since the dark days of the last de cade. Some certainty on the current trend is needed for planners and developers to make decisions for the future.

ere’s no question that the city’s popula tion is the most important issue for its longterm economic health. Duggan himself has long called it the measure of his mayorship. (And we’d be remiss in not noting that the latest estimates did have some good news for city, showing that homeownership rates have increased and the city is no longer ma jority-renter.)

Still, we hope the city’s lawsuit will result in some transparency over the latest estimate and that the mayor is right that more people are moving into the Motor City.

Hospital nancial strain threatens access to care

he Michigan Health & Hospital Associa tion exists to ad vance the health of indi viduals and communities, and we support our mem ber hospitals every day with that end in mind. If there is one resounding concern we’ve heard from hospitals this year, it’s that the nancial vice they are caught in — sandwiched between skyrocketing costs, and stagnant and inadequate reimburse ment — is pushing them to a breaking point.

Michigan communities are at risk of losing access to quality care if we don’t address the funding crisis that our hospitals face.

A Sept. 2 Modern Healthcare article detailed the struggles of hospitals nationwide:  Dwindling labor and delivery nursing sta s, lost in part to traveler agencies padding their record pro ts o the backs of caregivers and patients.

 Access to mental health beds is even worse than usual because of sta ng challenges and lack of emergency relief funds.

In Michigan, you can nd these same cir cumstances: We’ve lost roughly 1,700 sta ed hospital beds since 2020.

e American Hospital Association recent ly hosted a national call to sound the alarm about the nancial strain on hospitals and risks to patient access that are imminent if policymakers don’t act. Michigan-headquar tered (and MHA member) Trinity Health spoke during that call, outlining the severity of the nancial strain on their system and how it is a ecting their ability to provide the right care to the right people, at the right time — right here in Michigan.

Multiple factors have contributed to the drain on hospital resources: fewer workers, in creasingly sicker patients, and higher costs that cannot keep up with in ation. According to a new AHA report, the average length of a hospi tal stay rose almost 10 percent from 2019 to 2021. Compensation for direct jobs in nursing and residential care rose by about $200 million from 2019 to 2020, but the number of jobs fell by about 11,000. Hospital labor expenses per

patient also increased 19 percent. Health care reimbursement is unable to quickly respond to in ation since rates are negotiated in advance, presenting additional nancial challenges.

TAll these factors have led to devastating pressure on the hospitals we rely on for trauma care, cancer treatment, preventive services, health education and more. And unlike many service providers, hospitals don’t get to simply increase what they receive in payment.

Some short-term solutions — such as the $225 million appropriated by Michigan law makers for health care retention, recruitment and training — provided temporary relief but won’t x long-term problems. Unfortunately, that funding was a drop in the bucket for health care’s nancial challenges. A segment of MHA members reported in a recent survey spending $1.1 billion more on labor expenses in 2022 than 2020.

We know it’s not all about funding. It’s also about patient care and rebuilding the talent pipeline. To that end, the MHA is supporting e orts like ensuring licensed providers can practice to the full extent of their license and training, expanding nursing degree programs at community colleges, forming partnerships with workforce development agencies to im prove talent pipeline management and more. We’re also working to ensure all workers feel safe and supported despite rising cases of vio lence against our employees.

e U.S. is facing a major health care worker shortage. With Medicare bene ciaries in Michigan increasing over the past ve years to a total of 2.1 million people, Michigan needs more health care workers to serve the state’s aging population.

Bottom line: Michiganders deserve high-quality, accessible, a ordable health care services, and without nancial resources to ad equately provide that care, Michigan hospital services will be lost. As goes the local hospital, so goes the local economy. Health care is the largest private-sector employer in Michigan, and healthy communities — and nancially healthy hospitals — are directly tied to a strong economy. Young people and families won’t es tablish roots in a community that doesn’t have good health care. Businesses want their em ployees to get quality care locally so they can get back to work.

Michigan hospitals are not giving up on the ght to provide the care their communities need. But they need the support of policymak ers now more than ever.

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GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

THERE’S NO QUESTION THAT THE CITY’S POPULATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR ITS LONG-TERM ECONOMIC HEALTH.

BRIAN PETERS

Brian Peters is chief executive o cer of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

The city of Detroit’s census campaign hired community groups to go door-to-door to encourage participation in the decennial population count. A census canvasser is pictured in 2020 near Griggs Street and Fenkell Avenue. | CITY OF DETROIT VIA FLICKR

Family-friendly policies can help ease labor shortages

e state of Michigan is cur rently seeing an unprecedented economic resur gence. According to Bloomberg, the state experi enced its best economic recov ery in history over the last two years and ranked No. 1 nationwide based on things like measures of employment, personal income, home prices and stock market per formance of pub licly-traded com panies.

But with this economic boom has come a strong demand for labor coupled with an emerging threat to our continued success — a de cline in women’s workforce partic ipation.

U.S. Census data shows that while the size of Michigan’s adult male workforce has increased 0.7 percent since be fore the pandemic, labor force partic ipation for women has decreased 6.3 percent.

Women, especially women with children, are disproportionately im pacted by economic security issues that in uence their decisions to re main in or return to the workforce. And employers from every industry across the state have shared that a lack of child care resources is among the primary stressors to Michigan’s workforce. So, it is no surprise there are 147,400 fewer women in our state’s paid workforce than before the pandemic.

Fortunately, our state has a gover nor who is also a mom, a daughter and a working woman who prioritiz es creating equal opportunities for all Michiganders. Gov. Gretchen Whit mer understands that if we are to beat out global competition for talent and achieve true economic growth here in Michigan, we must create policies that provide intentional sup port to women and families.

Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company, recently emphasized the impact that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will have on their ability to at tract and retain talent. is e ect on employment is one reason why Gov. Whitmer, through aggressive legal and executive action, has made it her priority to protect access to the full range of reproductive health care options needed to provide vital economic security. e choices of whether or when to have a child are fundamental decisions that impact women, their families, their careers and their nancial futures, as well as our state’s employers and entire economy.

In addition to using every avail able resource to protect reproduc tive rights, the Whitmer administra tion has created bipartisan

initiatives that help women and all working people to enter and remain in the workforce and grow Michigan businesses.

e MI TriShare Child Care program, admin istered by the Michigan Wom en’s Commis sion, is an inno vative program that helps sup port families by splitting the cost of child care equally between employers, employees and the state, helping more businesses retain talent and more families get

back to work knowing their child is receiving high-quality care.

We are also providing a tui tion-free path to the high-wage,

have already applied. anks to an additional $6 million in wraparound funding from Whitmer and the Leg islature, many Reconnect students can overcome common barriers to degree completion with assistance for things like child care and trans portation costs.

high-demand industries where women are currently underrepre sented through Michigan Recon nect, where nearly 70,000 women

Whitmer has also been working with the Legislature and other state partners to expand eligibility for Michigan’s child care subsidy. Now, a family of four with an income of up to $55,500 can qualify for free or lowcost child care through the Child De velopment and Care Program. In less than two minutes, families can know if they are eligible for by visiting

greatstarttoquality.org/calculator. A record $1.4 billion investment earlier this year included $700 mil lion in stabilization grants for nearly 6,000 child care businesses and pro vided up to $1,000 bonuses for 38,000 child care professionals. And, Whit mer launched Caring for MI Future — a $100 million strategy to open 1,000 new child care programs by the end of 2024.

As we continue to prioritize Michi gan’s economic recovery, we must continue to innovate and implement more family-friendly policies and in vestments that create opportunity for all Michiganders. In doing so, we can continue to move Michigan forward.

U LJO YFA brighter tomorrow starts here.

At Greenleaf Trust, we are here to help make the special moments happen. Our team is exclusively dedicated to providing the highest level of comprehensive wealth management services, trust administration, and retirement plan services. Client relationships begin at $2 million. security from generation to generation.

SUSAN CORBIN AND SABALA MANDAVA

Susan Corbin is director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

WOMEN, ESPECIALLY WOMEN WITH CHILDREN, ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY ECONOMIC SECURITY ISSUES THAT INFLUENCE THEIR DECISIONS TO REMAIN IN OR RETURN TO THE WORKFORCE.

Dr. Sabala Mandava is vice chair of Radiology at Henry Ford Health and chair of the Michigan Women’s Commission.

Good Cakes and Bakes looks to the future at new facility

Detroit bakery expanding shipping, wholesale capabilities at space on Meyers Road

JAY DAVIS

For Good Cakes and Bakes co-owner April Anderson, the even tual growth she expected is ahead of schedule.

“Where we’re at now, what we’re planning, we didn’t expect to hit until year 12 or 13,” said Anderson, who opened the bakery in 2013 with her wife, Michelle Anderson.

ose plans in clude opening a new facility — a 5,600-squarefoot space at 16180 Meyers Road in Detroit that will serve as Good Cakes and Bakes’ new head quarters and ful llment center for shipping and wholesale orders.

e space, planned to open in the spring, will also feature a teaching kitchen for baking classes.

e Meyers space, an abandoned building being reimagined by De troit-based Concetti design studio, includes an 1,800-square-foot kitch en, making it possible for Anderson to hit a goal of shipping out hun dreds of cakes a day. e company began o ering shipping at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

e kitchen at Good Cakes and Bakes’ retail location, at 19363 Liv ernois Ave., is just less than 750 square feet and will remain in oper ation.

“We found the (new) space in De cember (2021). In January we talked about what we’d do with the space,” Anderson said. “ e design is done. We’re waiting on the architectural renderings. We’re in the process of picking furniture and lighting. We’ll be shipping 300 cakes a day.

“We thought we’d have two to three more years before we outgrew our Livernois space. We started o shipping 20 cakes a day in October 2020. By anksgiving that year, we were shipping 75 cakes a day. Now we’re up to 100, and that’s only that low because we don’t have room for more. We’re playing Tetris in here. We’ll be able to get so much more done in the new space.”

Concetti CEO and principal de

signer Rachel Nelson called the ex pansion a great move for a business that’s developed a great reputation in metro Detroit. Nelson, whose company in 2020 also worked on the redesign of Good Cakes and Bakes’ Livernois space, said the move will completely change how Anderson’s business operates, as it will be able to add new revenue streams and have the ability to service more cus tomers. About 20 jobs will be added to the bakery’s current sta of 10 employees.

Anderson said she could not dis close the complete cost of the proj ect because it’s unknown. Equip ment for the new space is estimated at about $440,000.

Good Cakes and Bakes will add two new vans to its shipping eet. It

currently uses one large van for wholesale and a smaller vehicle for local corporate and residential de liveries. e vans, purchased through a partnership with Dodge Ram, cost about $18,000 each — a discount earned through a partner ship with the auto company.

“Being a former Chrysler employ ee myself, they reached out to us about a partnership. We did some social media partnerships last year during Pride Month and Black Busi ness Month,” Anderson said. “We’ll be able to o er delivery service more often. Right now, it’s just Fri day and Saturday. We’ll have it avail able Wednesday through Saturday.”

Fast growth over the past three years has helped speed up Ander son’s timeline. Good Cakes and

Bakes is projected to bring in $1.46 million in revenue this year, up from $1.25 million in 2021 and $815,000 in 2020. A strong wholesale pres ence has helped, too, with around 18 percent of revenue coming from its wholesale business. e bakery sells its products at a handful of markets, such as the Bodega Market in De troit’s Brush Park and Western Mar ket in Ferndale, and it’s in talks to have items placed in the Rivertown and Woodward Corner Meijer stores as part of a pilot program.

Anderson is also working on deals with a Detroit sports team and one of the Detroit 3 automakers.

Wholesale and shipping is the fu ture for her business, according to Anderson. She doesn’t have plans to open more retail spaces, only to ex

pand the company’s e-commerce presence. e entrepreneur thinks about covering the country, talking of possible ful llment centers in Texas to cover the southwest region and New York for the East Coast.

“Economically, it’s better for us to do online orders and shipping as far as costs,” Anderson said. “I do see us in the next four or ve years having at least one more ful llment center in a central location.

“I don’t think the growth going for ward will be as fast as the last couple of years. It’ll be steady. We’ve had nice, steady growth since we opened. But with the new space, this could be the start of something major for us.”

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

DUSTIN WALSH

Troy-based U.S. Medical Manage ment LLC has changed its name to HarmonyCares after an acquisition by a Nashville private equity rm.

Rubicon Partners led the acquisi tion, along with other equity rms, to buy a majority stake in the manage ment service organization in Decem ber 2021 from St. Louis-based public company Centene Corp. Terms of that deal were not disclosed, but Centene acquired a 68 percent ma jority stake in USMM in 2013. It’s un clear whether Centene held that stake or changed it before selling it to Rubicon.

e newly named entity employs roughly 500 and is the parent compa ny to Visiting Physicians Association,

Pinnacle Senior Care and Grace Hos pice, among other home-based pri mary care companies. VPA is a house-call based primary care physi cians organization that operates in 11 states.

“ e name change from USMM to HarmonyCares solidi es that we are one organization with various divi sions who work in perfect harmony: providing customized care to patients wherever they are in their health care

journey,” the organization said in a press release. “HarmonyCares is unique to health care, as we provide everything under one roof, in one company: physician care in the home, supported with nursing, therapy, hos pice, plus in-home labs — and you never have to leave your home.”

Rubicon Partners and Harmony Cares leadership unveiled the new name at an event in Troy ursday morning.

However, the company has shrunk in recent years and faced challenges with federal oversight.

In 2012, the rm employed nearly 2,000 nationally with a revenue of $162 million. It’s unclear what its rev enue is currently.

In October 2021, VPA and USMM agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle

Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh after buyout

federal allegations the organizations sought repayment from Medicare for unnecessary lab tests.

e U.S. Department of Justice said VPA and USMM received mil lions of dollars from Medicare be tween Jan. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2015, for diagnostic lab testing that the DOJ deemed “not reasonable and neces sary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury.”

e DOJ participated in ve law suits against VPA and USMM, all of which were part of the settlement.

One suit, led in U.S. District Court in Detroit in 2018, alleged VPA proto cols forced physicians and nurses to order unnecessary tests for patients.

Troy-based U.S. Medical Management LLC is changing its name after an acquisition by a Nashville private equity rm. GOOGLE MAPS

Good Cakes and Bakes will open a new ful llment center next spring at 16180 Meyers in Detroit. The 5,600-square-foot space will serve as the company’s headquarters and will o er baking classes. FRANCO

Michigan to study nuclear energy as coal- red power plants close

DAVID EGGERT

LANSING — Michigan will spend $250,000 to hire an outside consult ing company to study the feasibility of nuclear energy amid lawmakers’ concerns that the state is not ade quately prepared for the transition away from coal- red power plants to natural gas and renewables.

Funding for the study is allotted in the budget that takes e ect Oct. 1. A policy bill, which speci es what the rm should consider while doing the study, unanimously cleared the Sen ate Energy and Technology Commit tee on Tuesday and is likely to receive nal Senate approval this week be fore going to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

e Democratic governor has been working to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant in Van Buren County. It closed in May for decommissioning by its new owner, Jupiter, Fla.-based Holtec International, about 50 years after opening.

“I’m a huge supporter of nuclear energy. I believe in it because it’s reli able, because it’s emissions-free, be cause of the massive power it gener ates,” said the sponsor, Republican Rep. Graham Filler of Clinton Coun ty.

e study, which must be nished within 18 months of the law’s e ec tive date, will provide a clearing house of information, he said.

“When there is further investment or someone wants to build a plant or put Palisades back online or what have you, they can take that study and say, ‘Here’s a nonbiased, very

clear, informational study on what nuclear energy looks like in the state of Michigan,” Filler said. “Let’s avoid the fear factor. Here’s what you need to know.”

At the end, Palisades accounted for 4.4 percent of electricity generat ed in Michigan. Two nuclear plants that are still operating, DTE Energy Co.’s Fermi facility in Monroe County and American Electric Power’s Cook facility in Berrien County, now ac count for 22 percent of in-state elec tric generation.

e Michigan Public Service Com mission will hire the contractor. e study will have to consider the pros and cons of nuclear energy, includ ing the economic and environmental impacts and ways to maximize the use of in-state workers and Michi gan-made products to build facili ties.

e report must evaluate and make recommendations about de sign characteristics, environmental and ecological e ects, land and siting criteria, safety criteria, engineering and cost-related criteria, and small modular reactor capability. It must assess factors including workforce training, the local and state tax bases, supply chains, job creation and envi ronmental justice.

Also to be considered are development timelines, coordination with clean-energy technologies, a review of studies that have assessed the po tential ability of nuclear to support an energy transition, an analysis of case studies where nuclear has been supported and adopted, and an as

sessment and recommendation of policies to support or accelerate nu clear generation or to improve its cost e ectiveness.

Legislators also want the study’s authors to seek feedback from stake holders, including the current or past owners and operators of Michigan nuclear facilities.

Opponents of the legislation in clude the Sierra Club’s state chapter along with anti-nuclear activists who want to close the Fermi plant and prevent the construction of a new unit on the same site.

“After 60 years, the nuclear power industry remains heavily dependent on subsidies, faces costly and unre solved waste disposal challenges, and leaves a long trail of ongoing en vironmental liabilities, from uranium mining contaminants to water pollu tion,” Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group based in Washing ton, D.C., wrote in a report that was submitted to the House Energy Com mittee in May.

Proponents include the Michigan Chemistry Council, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan Con servative Energy Forum and Indiana Michigan Power Co.

“I’m remarkably worried that we’re not creating enough baseload,” Filler said, adding that the power needed to signi cantly expand elec tric vehicles “doesn’t somehow get magically get created. at needs to be part of the baseload.”

Contact: david.eggert@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @DavidEggert00

DIA gets $5M from foundation of late American Axle co-founder

A $5 million gift from the founda tion of Mort Harris, the late co-founder of American Axle & Manufacturing, and his wife to the Detroit Institute of Arts will fund a new collection focused on automo tive, industrial, and decorative de sign.

e gift from the Mort and Bri gitte Harrison Foundation will fund the hire of the Mort Harris Curator of Automotive, Industrial and Decorative Design and the acquisition of concept drawings, mod els, paintings, prints and other works that have an emphasis on Detroit’s place in the industrial narrative, the DIA said in a release.

e new collection will highlight the design, technological and func tional ingenuity that birthed the Detroit and American automotive industries and build on the muse um’s existing American and Euro pean industrial and decorative de sign holdings.

It will also explore the many fac ets of modern life shaped by car de sign, including the natural and built environments, work and leisure, and art and commerce, the DIA said.

e museum plans to launch the new collection with 91 automotive drawings donated separately by Ju lie Hyde-Edwards. She and her late husband Robert Edwards spent de

cades studying and advocating on behalf of Detroit car designers to amass the collection, it said in a re lease.

e DIA’s recent special exhibi tion, “Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950–2020,” which opened in November 2020 and was extended before closing this past June, included pieces from the Ed wards’ collection.

“Mort’s leadership and generosity helped shape so many institutions in Detroit over his lifetime,” DIA Director Salvador Sa lort-Pons said in the re lease.

“ is gift is enhanced by the extraordinary col lection of works donated by Julie-Hyde Edwards, who with Robert Edwards tirelessly worked to preserve and document these fragile artworks to make it possible for future genera tions to experience and fall in love with the work of these Detroit art ists.”

Harris, who helped build auto motive supplier American Axle from General Motors’ spun-o powertrain operations, died last year at the age of 101.

A decorated WWII pilot, Harris donated tens of millions of dollars to countless nonpro ts in South east Michigan, including the DIA, Wayne State University and Henry Ford Health.

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

Legal industry veteran Ira Ja e joins Honigman law rm

DUSTIN WALSH

Longtime metro Detroit lawyer and family o ce executive Ira Ja e has joined law rm Honigman LLP under the title of distinguished counsel.

Ja e, 83, will serve as an adviser to the leadership of Honigman and also assist clients with family nanc es and legal structure.

“Ira and his experience will help us,” said CEO David Foltyn. “ is was not a business play, so to speak. We’re not counting on any speci c new client coming on board. It’s about bringing aboard someone with immense experience we’ve known throughout our careers and there are lots of situations where cli

ents could use his wisdom.”

Foltyn called Ja e a consigliere that will pull from his nearly 60 years

of legal experience.

Ja e retired from South eld-based Ja e Raitt Heuer & Weiss, the law rm he founded in 1968, at the end of 2020. He also spent more than 10 years as the president and CEO of e Fisher Group, which handles the nancial a airs of the Max Fisher family. He retired from that role in 2019.

Earlier this month, the Ja e law rm announced it entered into an agreement to merge with large Mid west law rm Taft Stellinius & Hol lister LLP in a deal set to close on Dec. 31. e merged rm will have more than 800 employees and Ja e’s storied rm will eventually change its name to include the Taft brand ing.

After his retirement from the law firm, Jaffe founded Ira Jaffe Con sulting LLC, where he consults high-net-worth individuals on suc cession, estate and business plan ning. That business will continue separately from his role at Honig man.

Jaffe has also sat on various cor porate and nonprofit boards throughout the years, including The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Fam ily Foundation, Cranbrook Educa tional Community, Cranbrook In stitute of Science, McGregor Fund, The Parade Company and the De troit Zoological Society. He cur rently serves on the advisory boards of Beyond Basics, eLab Ventures, Michigan Capital Advisors and as

board chair for Redico.

“People probably think I’m crazy, but when someone says you’re go ing to work tomorrow, I get a big smile on my face and get excited about it,” Ja e said. “It’s a great op portunity for me. I know so many of their clients from the community and business transactions. I’ll be do ing my work through the Honigman o ce and from my standpoint, I’m going to have fun.”

Honigman has a long history of hiring storied legal veterans as dis tinguished counsel. Prior to his death in 2021, former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin also served in the role.

Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh

Ira Ja e, newly hired distinguished counsel for Detroit-based Honigman LLP. | HONIGMAN LLP

DTE Energy Co. operates the Fermi 2 nuclear plant in Monroe County on the shores of Lake Erie. | DTE ENERGY

SHERRI WELCH

Harris

Duane Lloyd Bohnstedt (1924-2016), Chevrolet Corvette, 1964. Watercolor on board. | DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS, GIFT OF ROBERT EDWARDS AND JULIE HYDE-EDWARDS.

As Detroit looks to build technology hubs, collaboration becomes key

BY NICK MANES AND KIRK PINHO

A potential model for the future of innovation in Detroit can be found on an island in New York’s East River that used to house a prison and a smallpox hospital.

e Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, part of the Cornell Tech campus of Cornell University on Roosevelt Island, was created with an ambitious goal of linking academia and business and creating 500 new companies a year.

As Detroit’s under-development “innovations districts” including Michigan Central and the District Detroit’s UM Innovation Center move forward, it’s a prominent example that academic o cials, billionaire real estate developers and startup tech stakeholders are looking to as they seek to make Southeast Michigan a tech hub.

With a focus on “radical experimentation at the intersection of research, education, and entrepreneurship,” Cornell Tech is currently creating about 90 companies annually, according to Fernando Gomez-Baquero, director of runway and spinouts at the institute, a signi cant number but far from the 500 mark.

e reason for such an ambitious goal is quite simple, Gomez-Baquero told an audience at Detroit Homecoming earlier this month. And such

a goal should be top of mind for those working on similar innovation campus projects around Detroit, he said.

“It’s not just about us educating students, teaching them how to be entrepreneurs, and how to be great at entrepreneurship,” Gomez-Baquero said. “It’s about us creating an economic engine for the city of New York. And that’s what I believe is the right model, and actually the model that we want to see replicated (in Detroit) as well.”

Going beyond traditional models of academia is one of the driving forces behind university pushes for innovation districts.

Executives working at universities opening such facilities need to recognize “that we’re not here in the purest academic missions,” said Lance Collins, the vice president and executive director of the newly opened Virginia Tech Innovation Campus outside of

IN THIS PACKAGE

A dramatically di erent Detroit story

When Detroit Homecoming launched in 2014, Detroit was in bankruptcy. e city had an emergency manager, and the national press was brutal.

 Detroit works to sell itself as a hub for design PAGE 30

 Detroit Homecoming IX in photos PAGE 35

As Mayor Mike Duggan noted in his remarks to Homecoming “expats” earlier this month, the original Detroit Homecoming pitch to former Detroiters to “come home” for a couple of days in 2014 was to play to the guilt — come help your sad, bankrupt city.

Mary KRAMER

Less than a decade later, the city’s narrative is dramatically di erent.

Our agenda this month for the 9th annual Detroit Homecoming focused on two major investments in innovation centers in downtown Detroit, about a mile apart. We heard from experts about how Detroit could — and should — become a ntech hub. We heard about efforts to ensure this “new” Detroit is equitable, with opportunities for legacy Detroiters and how companies here could still have room to name Black and brown executives to the C-suite. We heard from D’Wayne Edwards, who moved his footwear design school to Detroit from Portland and is training Black and brown designers.

We toured the riverfront, did a curated tour of the auto show oor, went to the “auto show prom” and rode down the Belle Isle slide. We attended the Detroit Opera’s fall season opener, the remarkable “ e Valkyries,” directed by Yuval Sharon, a Homecoming speaker this year who e New York Times opined last week has made Detroit an “opera destination.”

As one expat put it in a post-event survey: “Experiences are always a highlight as they allow you to actually see and experience what’s going on vs. just being told about it. I think this is really important as one can listen to a talk anywhere, but you can only see and experience the city when in the D.”

e reason to come “home” has shifted to a sense of pride — and just a little bit of Fear of Missing Out.

Homecoming’s goal from the beginning has been to re-engage former Detroiters in the city’s revitalization and nd their own ways to support it, through nonpro t contributions, commercial investments or helping entrepreneurs nd new customers. Over the next year, as we approach Year 10, we’ll be updating the tally of outcomes that can be linked to the Homecoming experience. We’re condent that the aggregate total is well over $700 million.

Such outcomes would not be possible without the philanthropic and corporate support of foundations and corporations that include the New York-based Ford Foundation and those closer to home: William Davidson, Kresge, W.K. Kellogg, General Motors, Knight, Skillman, DTE Energy, Rocket Companies, area universities and many more. Special thanks to Colleen Robar, overall producer since 2014.

But it’s hard to put a dollar value on one of the best outcomes of all: e more than 800 Detroit Homecoming alumni who are part of a powerful and organic marketing e ort, especially in an era of social media: word-of-mouth. e buzz about Detroit keeps building.

Mary

The Cornell Tech campus on New York’s Roosevelt Island is viewed as a model for innovation districts in Detroit. MAX TOUHEY homeowner city for rst time in decade PAGE 28

Dr. Lance Collins Sr. (left), vice president and executive director, Virginia Tech Innovation Campus; Fernando Gomez-Baquero, director of runway and spinouts, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech; and Josh Sirefman, CEO, Michigan Central, during “Detroit’s Innovation Future” panel at Detroit Homecoming IX.

NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT

Community

Working together to drive progress

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Our Hispanic-Latino Business Councils across the country are focused on understanding the needs of our clients so we can better serve them.

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Our Better Money Habits® platform is available in Spanish, Mejores Hábitos Financieros,® to help people build financial know-how and make informed, confident decisions.

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Learn more at bankofamerica.com/detroit

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What would you like the power to do?

INNOVATIONS

Washington, D.C.

“We’re really here as part of an economic incentive mission of trying to grow the ... tech ecosystem,” Collins said at Detroit Homecoming. “So to me, you have to a djust your measurements ... (for) how we should be thinking about success.”

Britany A olter-Caine, executive director of Michigan’s University Research Corridor, and Bruce Katz, founding director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, argued similarly in an opinion piece in Crain’s earlier this year.

“Innovation districts often aim to increase incomes and wealth for a broad swath of residents through supplier diversity, workforce and talent development and a ordable homeownership,” the duo wrote.

e proposed University of Michigan Detroit Center for Innovation, Ford’s Michigan Central development in Corktown and the critical mass on ntech that Dan Gilbert’s Rocket Companies have in the city’s central business district all o er opportunities for the development of innovation districts.

But those who are already developing innovation districts, or tech startup growth more generally, say collaboration is key.

TechTown Detroit, a startup incubator part of Wayne State University dat-

ing back to 2004, has o ered some of the services that are generally part of an innovation campus. But, as a general rule, “more is better,” Ned Staebler, TechTown’s president and CEO, said of the in-development projects.

“ e reality is that in a real ecosystem, there isn’t just one core. So (Ford’s) train station can get its own center of gravity,” Staebler told Crain’s. “To make it a true ecosystem, we have to have interplay between those various hubs and nodes. It’s so important ... that people don’t build silos.”

Partnership was key for Cornell Tech, Gomez-Baquero said, with expertise in entrepreneurship that the partnership with Technion-Israel Institution of Technology an important asset.

Big plans on drawing board

Many of the speci cs of what might go on at Detroit’s three burgeoning campuses are either unclear or only just coming into focus.

With regards to the DCI, being developed by Detroit native and New York real estate developer Stephen Ross and Detroit’s Ilitch family and set to contain a $300 million, 200,000-square-foot University of Michigan facility focused on academic programs and research related to advanced technology, little is known beyond the real estate dealings at this point.

Earlier this year, Related and Olympia unveiled a series of revived visions

Welcome back to the great city of Detroit!

The Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation is proud to support the Detroit Homecoming and its efforts to reconnect and re-engage people in the city's rebirth.

The Michigan Central Station during a tour as part of the 2022 Detroit Homecoming IX in Detroit on Sept. 14.

| NIC ANTAYA / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

A rendering of Virginia Tech’s planned innovation campus, on which ground was broken in Alexandria, Va., in September 2021. | VIRGINIA TECH

A rendering of the proposed Detroit Center for Innovation. | DISTRICT DETROIT

for new and redeveloped buildings; for years, the District Detroit project as it was originally proposed in July 2014 lagged behind expectations, particu larly with regard to housing, although some apartments have come online in the former Hotel Eddystone in the last year and construction began earlier this year on turning the United Artists Building into about 150 apartments.

With the DCI proposed as another anchor for the district — the rst is the $862.9 million Little Caesars Arena for the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pis tons — the Related and Olympia team envision a new hotel to the unused land south of the arena, new o ce and retail space on the Woodward-fronting surface parking lots for Comerica Park, more commercial development along Columbia Street and a ordable and market-rate residential space along Park Avenue.

Ross and Illitch earlier this year re ceived a $100 million earmark from the state for the development of their cam pus.

O cials at UM did not respond to requests for comment from Crain’s for this report seeking details around pro gramming and how the university views its role in growing the Southeast Michigan startup technology space.

Staebler with TechTown Detroit said he was unsurprised that university o cials were keeping such details close to the vest.

“I think the good news is there’s a recognition by all those parties that you can’t just parachute into Detroit

—Ned Staebler, president and CEO, TechTown

and save it. You actually have to be committed over the long term,” said Staebler, adding that he’s been in close contact with many of the groups devel oping the various campuses. “And I think that’s part of why it’s taking so long for them to publicly say all the stu they’re doing. ey want to make sure they’re doing it right.”

UM’s Innovation Partnerships, which is responsible for the institu tion’s technology transfer and licens ing e orts, does track startup growth from the university, however.

In 2021, Innovation Partnerships re

“TO MAKE IT A TRUE ECOSYSTEM, WE HAVE TO HAVE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THOSE VARIOUS HUBS AND NODES. IT’S SO IMPORTANT ... THAT PEOPLE DON’T BUILD SILOS.”

INNOVATIONS

ported 23 startups growing from the university and generating $42.9 million in revenue, 287 technology license or option agreements and more than 2,000 jobs created since the year 2000.

A general vision for the DCI consists of providing “a space for the university to engage with industry, nonpro t and community partners to develop the most relevant academic programs and identify research opportunities of mu tual interest and bene t,” former UM President Mark Schlissel said last De cember.

Meanwhile, just a couple of miles to the southwest of the proposed DCI, Ford Motor Co. and other partners are moving forward with the Michigan Central campus, centered on the reno vated Michigan Central Station that the Dearborn automaker is turning into a facility for much of its mobility technol ogy work.

Joshua Sirefman, who was tapped earlier this year as CEO of Michigan Central Innovation District, told the Homecoming crowd that stakeholders in the project — Ford, new and estab lished tech companies, academia, philanthropy, government and civic organizations — are focused on “the intersection of mobility and society.”

e idea, according to Sirefman, is to go beyond just testing or simulating technology.

“ ere are very few places where ev

erything is focused entirely on how to have good solutions meet the real world in a meaningful way and accom plish meaningful objectives,” he said.

Ford’s nearly $1 billion investment, as well as the broader Michigan Central innovation district is already having a clear impact on the rapidly changing Corktown and Southwest neighbor hoods, beyond Detroit’s central busi ness districts.

e jolt that Ford’s investment has had in Corktown and broader South west Detroit has been felt in the real es tate market, where prices for property have soared and a raft of new develop ments have started construction — a new boutique hotel, apartments, town homes and other projects, to name a

few — or are in varying stages of the development pipeline.

Among them: e Godfrey Hotel, nearly 200 housing units nearby by the same development team, and even just this past week, a ground-breaking cere mony for a $22.82 million apartment project at Bagley and 16th streets in the shadow of the train station.

Sirefman said the community aspect beyond the grounds of the train station is critical to the success of the project.

“So, fundamentally, our DNA is about partnerships. We have to lever age literally everybody else to get to what we need to do,” said Sirefman. “We’re matching … emerging compa nies, emerging technologies, estab lished companies. And all working to

gether to sort of gure out how do we nd speci c solutions.”

Detroit can focus on its growing n tech industry epitomized by Rocket Companies as it seeks to grow as a tech hub, said Mike Cagney, co-founder and former CEO of lender SoFi.

“I think you’ve got all the ingredients to make a successful one, including an emerging venture scene,” Cagney said in a conversation at Detroit Homecom ing. “So the capital is coming here. You have a lot of people that want to invest in the city and into the residents of the city. I think that’s super important.”

What’s needed?

While o cials at large institutions like Ford and the University of Michi gan sort out the speci cs of their edg ling campuses, those working in the eld of helping grow startups and broader technology “ecosystems,” say they have some items on their wish lists.

Staebler at TechTown said that greater connectivity between the dis parate campuses, and a focus on phys ical infrastructure should be the next piece of the puzzle. Speci cally, a focus on transit and more everyday ameni ties — such as restaurants, co ee shops and dry cleaners — are needed in De troit neighborhoods to both assist with greater equity in the city’s push to be a tech hub, and attract the type of skilled workers such endeavors require.

Amanda Lewan, the co-founder and CEO of Bamboo Detroit, a start

up co-working space with locations in Detroit and Royal Oak, also point ed to the need for collaboration for success.

“I hope that any new innovation space or program takes a collaborative and supportive role, while inviting in new resources such as capital or accel erator programs,” Lewan said in an email. “I love to see our region lean into what makes us unique: mobility, cy bersecurity, and B2B (software as a service) and are beginning to thrive here.”

Contact: nmanes@crain.com (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

SUPPORTING IDEAS FROM DETROITERS WITH THE VISION, TENACITY, COURAGE, AND COMMITMENT TO SEE THEM THROUGH.

Willie Newman (left), CEO of HomePoint Financial, and Mike Cagney, founder of SoFi and Figure Technologies. Cagney said Detroit’s mortage industry and venture capital interest give it “all the ingredients” to become a ntech hub. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT

“WE’RE REALLY HERE AS PART OF AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE MISSION OF TRYING TO GROW THE ... TECH ECOSYSTEM.”

—Lance Collins, vice president and executive director, Virginia Tech Innovation Campus

Together we thrive.

General Motors proudly supports the tenacity of Detroit. From our history of innovation to the promise of our future, Detroiters know there’s nothing we can’t do, so long as we do it together. everybody in.

Lifting up Detroit’s technology talent, from the entry level to the C-suite

BY JAY DAVIS

Detroit’s diversity and talent can help the city leverage its advantages into becoming a tech hub, but it will take an e ort on inclusivity that encompasses jobs from the entry-level to the C-suite.

at was one message from native Detroiter and Atlanta-based Yardstick Management Managing Partner Ebbie Parsons on a Detroit Homecoming panel looking at developing talent in Detroit equitably.

Yardstick Management, a management consulting rm that Parsons helped establish in 2012, helped facilitate a plan that saw Net ix move $100 million in bank deposits to lenders that focus on helping Black-owned businesses and diversify its executive ranks.

He said cities such at Atlanta that have leveraged their diverse talent as a strength are attracting businesses and creating new tech hubs.

“Atlanta is basically the new Detroit. Detroit has a lot of history and phenomenal talent,” Parsons said. “Detroit has so much executive-level Black talent that is often just not tapped into. If it is, somebody is stealing it from Detroit. Companies are going where the talent is. ere’s no reason Detroit can’t be

that place.”

His company works with major tech companies including Amazon and Net ix as they set up operations in tech hubs. “ ey’re going to where the talent is, and that’s what Detroit has as well.”

“A signi cant part is understanding that the diverse talent is at every rung. When we talk about diversity in tech, we talk about ‘we need to create an internship program, we need to go nd this young talent.’”

“If you talk about diversity, and you’re a company, and your whole C-suite is a bunch of white guys looking at each other saying ‘We need diversity’ but you’re not looking at each other, you’re looking down ... you don’t drive that change.

“We’ve got to think about not just the K-12, not just the higher ed, but what about executives?” Parsons said.

In its work with Net ix on diversity, Parsons’ rm focused on diversifying its executive ranks. “It started with ‘We want to meet these up-and-comers,’ and we said, “No. We’re going to introduce you to people you can work for,” C-suite executives of color.

Skills over degrees

Developing talent equitably is the

challenge. A number of programs are aiming to address that, often by increasing skills rather than focusing on four-year degrees.

General Motors earlier this year announced it would put more of an emphasis on skills by dropping the fouryear degree requirements for some jobs. One GM executive says that move will help to diversify the talent pool.

GM Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tammy Golden on ursday announced a partnership with OneTen.org. OneTen works to connect Black applicants to well-paying job opportunities with no four-year degree requirement, through its career marketplace.

e organization comprises a coalition of chief executives and their companies pushing to upskill, hire and promote a million Black applicants who do not yet have four-year degrees into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement over the next 10 years.

“For a very long time, degrees have been made the priority and skills aren’t highlighted,” said Golden, a part of a panel at Detroit Homecoming on talent and innovation. “Partnering with OneTen will help (GM) better access the array of talent that’s out there, and it’ll help us reframe our talent strategy.

Partnerships like this are key. ey help us craft opportunities and open the door to more equitable opportunities.”

Looking to Detroit

Another strategy to develop homegrown tech talent is being taken by the Apple Developer Academy, a partnership between tech giant Apple Inc., Michigan State University and the Gilbert Family Foundation.

e academy, the rst in the U.S. after several such academies had been established overseas, graduated

its rst cohort of 90 students who learned app development skills last June.

Apple saw Detroit as the ideal place for the rst U.S. outpost for the academy, MSU President Samuel Stanley said as part of a Detroit Homecoming panel.

“Because of the infrastructure, the opportunity in Detroit and because of what’s happening in Detroit, the energy, made a di erence in that.”

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

Since

Check

Moderator Faye Nelson (left), Michigan director of W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Tammy Golden, executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion of General Motors Co.; Kerry Ebersole Singh, chief talent solutions and engagement o cer of Michigan Economic Development Corp.; expat Ebbie Parsons, managing partner of Yardstick Management; and Dr. Samuel Stanley, president of Michigan State University, on a panel discussing talent and innovation. | NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

BEST FOR THE WORLD

Our energy powers communities, so we’re passionate about making our public service personal. We’re grateful for our partners who inspire and drive progress in our communities. Together, we’re working toward a thriving Michigan with opportunities for all. Together, we will be Best for the World.

Detroit returnee’s startup wants to make privacy a standard

BY NICK MANES

A Detroit startup that seeks to make digital privacy into an employee-provided bene t has closed on a $4 million capital raise.

Hush, founded by veteran entrepreneur Mykolas Rambus, announced the new round Wednesday morning. e seed round for the company was led by Greycroft, a New York City- and Los Angeles-based venture capital rm with about $2 billion under management, according to Crunchbase.

Also investing in the round were Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Detroit Ventures and Annox Capital out of Birmingham.

e funding allows the company, which was founded last year, to further move toward commercialization in a sector that’s of increasing performance, Rambus told Crain’s.

“ is privacy space is very much up for grabs,” he said. “No one (company) owns it.”

Companies like LifeLock have been important, but “isn’t necessarily what consumers need,” Rambus said.

Citing federal data, the company’s news release notes that identity theft has grown by more than 100 percent, and incidents of unemployment fraud up more than 3,000 percent in recent years.

Hush was also recently named one

of three Michigan startups to receive a $100,000 grant from this year’s Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.

Hush uses proprietary AI technology for individuals and companies that aims to protect users’ digital footprints and show potential vulnerabilities, “ultimately helping them to identify issues and implement solutions before problems arise,” according to the release.

e ultimate goal, according to Rambus, is to o er Hush’s product to businesses and large enterprises that would then provide the service to employees, much like an employee bene t.

A nancial digital crime is one of the greatest risks to consumers, Rambus noted. And given companies’ increasing focus on creating welcoming environments for employees, targeting businesses who would ultimately o er the service only makes for a natural business model, according to the entrepreneur.

“ ere are many companies that have tried to address privacy in a direct-to-consumer manner, and I think that has its merits,” Rambus said. “But we think the way to really scale a business like this is through enterprises. rough … employers. Because so many companies talk about the fact that they want to help their employees live their best lives.”

Rambus was previously the CEO

of Wealth-X, a company he co-founded in 2010 to provide sales, marketing and compliance solutions to companies and nonpro ts targeting ultra-high-net-worth people. e company was later sold for more than $20 million and helped lead Rambus to start Hush, as Crain’s previously reported.

e executive declined to provide a valuation gure at which the $4 million seed round was raised, saying only that he considered it to be “fair.” Rambus added that he has not experienced the “compression” in startup valuations many have discussed amid broader macroeconomic challenges.

“Hush is revolutionizing the way individuals can take back control of their online identity,” Ian Sigalow, co-founder and managing partner at VC rm Greycroft, said “ eir unique AI technology provides digital privacy protection services at the scale both small and large companies need to protect their teams. .”

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Metro Detroit expat launches shared-services network for private colleges

BY SHERRI WELCH

Virginia-based Core Education Services PBC, founded by a Detroit expat, has launched a new network to provide shared services to small and mid-sized colleges and universities seeking to transform their business models.

Founded in 2019 by Livonia and Farmington native Rick Beyer, the public bene t corporation is launching its Core A liate Network with 10 member institutions, including Siena Heights University in Adrian.

It has spent the past few years working with colleges to build the infrastructure and hiring “best-in class” employees with broad expertise in higher education.

Other members of the network include: Greensboro College in North Carolina, seven private colleges from the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Regis College, a Roman Catholic university in Massachusetts.

Beyer, an alum of Olivet College southwest of Lansing, said other Midwestern colleges are also in the early stages of becoming members as they look for ways to adjust to the pressures the sector faces.

“ e higher education business model is under stress right now because of costs,...shifting demographics and changing consumer behaviors,” he said.

Students are looking for credentials and certi cates versus degrees, Beyer said. “ at is putting signicant pressure on higher education, and speci cally, small and midsized colleges.”

To transform their business models, colleges and universities need deep resources and talent to be able to execute on transformative strategies, he said.

“Core allows those small institutions to really enjoy the bene ts of a much larger institution. We can allocate substantial senior talent to each institution to help them transform without them having to take on full cost of that professional,” he said.

lins and Qualcomm in San Diego.

He migrated to higher education full time in 2010. He served as president of Wheeling Jesuit University and CEO of Lumerit Education, which was acquired by Pearson Education in 2019. He is past board chair of the Olivet College Board of Trustees and a past board member of American University in Washington, D.C., and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, where he is currently a senior fellow.

rough the memberships in the Core A liate Network, higher education institutions will have access to a range of operating services provided by Core’s sta of about 100, while saving money through economies of scale, Beyer said.

Members sign long-term contracts of four to six years and pay for the services they need, he said, after working with Core to develop a transformative plan that includes revenue growth, technology modernization and operational e ectiveness.

e functional support areas

Core o ers include: campus operations, compliance services, IT support, digital student marketing, certi cate programs, human resources, nancial aid administration, institutional research, marketing, admissions with call center support, fundraising as part of capital strategies services and certi cate programs aimed at workforce development.

Core has developed and curated more than 50 certi cate programs for members, Beyer said.

Although we’ve been around for 154 years, Wayne State University offers plenty of untraditional ways to earn a degree. Many of them are influenced by what Time magazine calls one of the world’s 50 greatest destinations: Detroit. An extension of our campus, Detroit’s an obvious advantage for living, working and playing. But it’s also a huge learning asset for our students. This is where they conduct research, learn hands-on through internships and launch exciting careers. And the effects are undeniable: an economic impact of $2.4 billion, research expenditures of more than $243 million and the 10th-largest employer in Detroit.

Thanks to the classroom known as the real world, Wayne State students and faculty help promote growth in communities just around the block and all around the world. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

wayne.edu TO WALLS

e bene t corporation is targeting colleges with 1,000-5,000 students, whose boards and leaders are ready for transformative change.

Transformation is more than just incremental change, Beyer said. It’s about how the organization operates: the speed, the service, the underlying student support, along with willingness to o er credentials and certi cates, along with other shifts.

With combined budgets of $457 million, initial members have access to the 35 functional competencies best-in-class institutions typically have, said Beyer, who spent nearly 20 years in executive roles at a number of technology companies including wireless sensor business TracerNET which he turned around before it was acquired by Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ — TRMB); Telenor Norcom Networks Corp. in Virginia; Troy-based Rockwell Col-

Siena Heights University, a Catholic University sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, is launching a series of certi cates and credentials with Core to help grow and diversify its revenue streams and leveraging Core as part of its technology assessment and modernization plans, Lee Johnson, senior vice president and treasurer, said in a release.

“None of it would be happening without the substantial economies of scale that Core provides,” he said.

Siena Heights operates degree completion centers in Dearborn, South eld, Benton Harbor, Monroe, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Jackson and online.

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

Mykolas Rambus

Rick Beyer

The William Davidson Foundation is a private family foundation that honors its founder and continues his lifelong commitment to philanthropy, advancing for future generations the economic, cultural and civic vitality of Southeast Michigan, the State of Israel, and the Jewish community.

Supporting the changemakers who are shaping our region, from generation to generation.

Grant Gilbert’s new venture aims to highlight Midwest creativity, energy

BY NICK MANES

e son of perhaps Detroit’s most prominent businessman is going public with a new business venture of his own.

Grant Gilbert — the 24-year-old son of mortgage and real estate tycoon Dan Gilbert and Jennifer Gilbert, an entrepreneur and philanthropist — said he’s in the process of launching Audetorium LLC, a new brand labeling itself as a multimedia company doing “storytelling of people, culture, and moments through various mediums,” including print and digital media, events and podcasting.

In doing so, the younger Gilbert, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, appears to be getting an assist from the ample infrastructure made available by his father’s significant business ventures, while also trying to forge his own path.

e nascent Audetorium venture — which is pre-revenue, Gilbert said — seeks to use its plans for global branding to market some of the unique cultural aspects of Midwest cities such as Detroit. And, ideally, change some perceptions about the region.

“Everyone says that when you come to Detroit and these other Midwestern cities ... your perception changes, and you feel the energy and the excitement,” the younger Gilbert

said. “But it’s not scalable to bring millions and millions of people here all the time to get them to change their mind on it,” he said. “But it is scalable — and a realistic goal of ours — to hopefully one day have millions of followers on social media, millions of unique clicks that we’re sort of giving people all over the world the experience of these Midwestern markets without them actually having to be here.”

e company, which Gilbert said remains very much in the planning stages, currently has nearly 6,100 followers on Instagram, and less than

20 each on its YouTube and Twitter pages.

To start, the new brand is focusing on “going deep” with quarterly print magazines that explore a particular part of the culture of cities like Detroit. Most recently, that’s translated into a nearly 100-page glossy publication focused on the legacy of roller skating culture in Detroit. e magazine includes pages of photos, as well as history on the area’s skating

Partnering for a Better Future

Like Detroit, Michigan State University values resilience, hard work and a commitment to solving problems. Together, we are empowering people to improve lives and build a better tomorrow. Spartans Will.

venues.

e topic speaks to the brand’s hopes to tap into a variety of mediums, including print and digital media, merchandising and potential brand partnerships, said Allen Largin, a co-founder of Audetorium as well as the creative and innovation director at Rock Ventures, an umbrella organization for several companies and initiatives tied to Dan Gilbert.

“We can go very deep and we know that there’s companies out there that maybe want to sponsor that content ... to be associated with it,” Largin told Crain’s. “So I think it’s aligning ourselves also with brands that want to be a part of the quarterly coverage (such as rollerskating) and go really, really deep because we’re a mighty team of four right now.”

Largin told Crain’s that the initial focus on roller skating stems from a partnership between RollerCade, a nearly 70-year-old, Black-owned skating rink in Southwest Detroit and Bedrock LLC, the Detroit-based real estate rm controlled by Dan Gilbert.

Bedrock operates the Monroe Street Midway, an outdoor skating and sports facility in downtown Detroit, sitting on land long slated for development that has been slow to materialize.

e idea, according to Largin, is to bring some of Detroit’s storied roller skating culture to the middle of downtown, where it’s largely been absent for decades.

“Bedrock always tries to connect with the community, and they thought we could do a very good job of telling a story,” Largin said of the publication, which includes history on the culture of the activity and proles of many participants.

As Grant Gilbert steps into some of the spotlight long occupied by his father in business and civic ventures, he said he’s increasingly cognizant of being part of that world while working on his own ventures.

Speaking Sept. 16 during a panel discussion during the Detroit Homecoming event, Gilbert said he had

some memory growing up as his father remade much of downtown Detroit, starting with what is now known as Rocket Mortgage moving about 1,700 employees there from Livonia in 2010.

Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock real estate rm now controls more than 100 properties around the city, including multiple o ce buildings, retail and residential facilities and parking.

During that Homecoming panel — which was attended by Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, his parents — Grant Gilbert recalled being taken on tours of some of those buildings, but joked that as a child at the time he was more interested in getting a slushy.

“I think that it took a while to really understand: One, what their plan and vision was, but also where we could play a part in it,” Gilbert said of growing up during that period of resurgence.

“So I think that (it’s) just continuing to do things with the values that (my parents) instilled in us,” he said. “With respect and humility and passion and always with the thought of impacting others. I think it’s sort of those overhanging values that ultimately I think will lead me and my siblings and hopefully grandchildren at some point to continue their legacy.”

Asked later by Crain’s how he’s approaching working on the Audetorium venture while also being under the umbrella of his father’s Rock Family of Companies, the younger Gilbert acknowledged it can be dicult to separate the two things.

“I would say I am very grateful for the opportunities and an exposure to conversations and companies and opportunities, frankly, with what comes with being his son,” Gilbert said. “I’m not going to lie when I think that it does have its advantages. But (my parents) always taught me and the rest of my siblings, you can’t control the cards that you were dealt ... and (it’s) what you do with the opportunity.”

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Grant Gilbert (left) and Allen Largin co-founded Audetorium, a multimedia company aiming to do storytelling in print and digital media, events and podcasting..

Audetorium has produced a publication focused on the legacy of roller skating culture in Detroit.

Detroit is no stranger to innovation. For centuries, it has been home to big ideas and braver people, willing to believe in a better future and then create it. This city musters hope, engineers change and creates opportunities within its community and around the world. Technology has always been a part of Detroit’s story. But, as we enter a new chapter, we see it at the forefront.

At Urban Science, we’re committed to Detroit and its future. We’re continually invested in education and expanding opportunities for those dedicated individuals who are brave enough to do the work and lead the way.

In this city, we all have a part in building a brighter tomorrow.

Detroit native Sharryl Cross nds her Truth in fashion

JAY DAVIS

After more than a decade of de signing pieces for some of the biggest names in fashion, Detroit native Sharryl Cross is having her own mo ment.

Cross returned home in 2020 after 13 years in New York working with brands including J Crew, Macy’s I.N.C., Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Elizabeth and James for Kohl’s and Juicy Cou ture. In April 2021, in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, she launched her own label — Truth, a contempo rary collection of dresses.

“In my heart, just like a lot of de signers, we all have the idea to start our own collection. For me, for a while, it felt so far from being a tangi ble thing,” said Cross, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in apparel and textile design from Michigan State University. “I was always fearful of doing it. inking back, I think a lot of times people think too big and broad at the beginning instead of thinking on a smaller scale and at tacking one step at a time. It was real ly something I couldn’t gure out even though it was my job every day.”

Cross now o ers 7-10 pieces on her website, including short and long dresses in black and white, green, shades of brown and multi-colored as well as a couple of blouses.

Cross would not disclose the start up costs nor revenue from her busi ness thus far.

Establishing a clothing line can cost anywhere from $500-$50,000, according to fashion development and production house e Evans Group. at includes running a web site, shipping, production and mar keting, Cross said. Clothing lines can bring in $24,000-$140,000 their rst year, according to a NerdWallet study.

Cross is set to make her startup costs back and then some.

She said she is in talks with an un disclosed retailer for a deal that could net her 70-100 times what she put into starting Truth. If everything goes according to plan, Cross’ pieces could be sold by the retailer in February.

“ at would be a dream come true — to have my pieces featured in a major retailer,” Cross said. “When I was in fourth grade, I wrote an essay on how I wanted to be a fashion de signer. at’s exactly what happened. Still to this day, I ask how I got here. When you nd your purpose and

know your purpose, the success you’ll have is inevitable.”

What Cross believes helped propel her business to new heights is her participation in the October 2021 Maison Black Manhattan to Motown fashion show in Detroit. e show, put on by Maison Black founder Tori Nichel, spotlighted a variety of Black designers, which is the mission of Maison Black — a curated online re tail space.

“ at played a big part in getting the line more exposure,” Cross said.

Long-term, Cross would like to have her pieces featured in a handful of retailers. Opening a brick-andmortar store in an option, she said, but with overhead costs she isn’t sure that would be a good t.

Cross, who is also an artist, does all her own design work, working out of her Canton Township home o ce creating all of her designs from scratch, whether it’s by physically painting the pieces or creating digital prints. e clothing is manufactured in India.

Before going to New York, Cross taught fashion art at the elementary school level and fashion at the high school level.

“In 2017, I became a freelancer be cause I wanted some time to myself and to work on my own projects,” she said. “I’d always take January through March o to explore my own ideas, paint, travel, just to do whatever I felt would inspire me. I used my own sav ings to start the line. It’s been a lot of work but it’s very rewarding.”

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

Models pose in Truth pieces designed by Detroit native Sharryl Cross.

Native Detroiter Sharryl Cross in April 2021 launched her own clothing line — Truth. | SHARRYL CROSS

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Detroit pitches for Final Four, but more hotel rooms key, boosters say

BY NICK MANES

Bigger events are on their way to Detroit — as long as more hotels continue to materialize, according to the region’s top tourism booster.

A panel discussion at the Detroit Homecoming event sought to shine a light on some of the positive headlines nationally about Detroit, still a relatively new thing after years of negative stereotypes.

e top executives of some Detroit’s leading arts and cultural organizations, sporting entities and the scion of the city’s most notable businessman agreed that the rich cultural history and overall “cool factor” are increasingly showing through to a broader audience.

But more infrastructure is needed, according to Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit, the region’s nonpro t tourism and convention bureau.

“If we can secure a few more hotel rooms, I believe that we’re going to be able to win, because that’s really the challenge for us,” Molinari said on Friday when asked whether Detroit will get the NCAA’s Final Four college basketball tournament in the coming years.

Some relief is on the way.

A long-planned 290-room hotel near Little Caesar’s Arena has begun the regulatory process for moving forward.

And while other hotels are on the way, questions remain about whether there will be enough for the NFL Draft, set to be held in Detroit in 2024.

Still, Molinari said the city is “analist” for the Final Four, something of a holy grail for tourism boosters, and there’s a team heading to Houston in the coming weeks to pitch Detroit for the event.

e hotel planned near LCA makes for a “step in the right direction,” said Molinari, “but we need a lot more.”

Beyond big-ticket sporting events, panelists pointed to the upcoming exhibit of Vincent Van Gogh paintings coming to the Detroit Institute of Arts — which 100 years ago became the rst museum in the U.S. to purchase a work by the painter — later this year as helping bolster the region’s reputation.

Joining Molinari on the panel to discuss the increasing glow of the national spotlight on the city were Sean Mann, CEO of Detroit City Football Club; Yuval Sharon, artistic director of the Detroit Opera; Salvador Salort-Pons, a director, president and CEO of the DIA; and Grant Gilbert, the 24-year-old son of billionaire mortgage and real estate tycoon Dan Gilbert.

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

From left, Yuval Sharon, Detroit Opera; Salvador Salort-Pons, Detroit Institute of Arts; Grant Gilbert, Audetorium; Sean Mann, Detroit City Football Club; Claude Molinari, Visit Detroit; and moderator Mary Kramer. | NICK MANES/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

A rendering of a proposed 14-story, 290-room hotel south of Little Caesars Arena.

Family brought two metro Detroit natives back to their roots

SHERRI WELCH

Motown Museum Chair and CEO Robin Terry and Ethan Davidson, a folk musician and director for the William Davidson Foundation, were immersed in careers in other places and initially declined the leadership roles they now hold in the city.

But the pull of family brought both metro Detroit natives back to their roots. And today, both are building on the visions of their elder family members.

Terry and Davidson re ected on their journeys in a conversation moderated by retired Fox-2 anchor Huel Perkins as part of Detroit Homecoming IX.

Terry initially wanted to be a tele vision anchor.

“My grandmother, Esther Gordy Edwards, always wanted me to be in volved with the museum, and it just wasn’t the thing I was passionate about,” Terry said.

She wasn’t completely absent from the museum: she had been involved with it since her grandmother found ed it in 1985, guiding visitors through its two historic houses on West Grand Boulevard during breaks from high school and college for seven years. And after graduating from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in telecommunications and lm, she joined the museum sta full time as its director of public relations.

But she left “the family business,” as she called it, in 1995 to join rst D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Inc.

in Troy and after taking a year o to have her son, San Diego-based Gable Group in a Detroit-based role.

She spent the next few years as di rector of public relations at the Col lege for Creative Studies and devel opment o cer for Focus: Hope before returning to Motown Museum to serve as deputy director in 2002 and taking on the board chair role af ter her grandmother had heart sur gery.

She became executive director of the museum in 2004 after spending 18 months working with Edwards to oversee museum operations and sta .

“It was divinely guided. ere’s no other way to say it,” Terry said Wednesday. “My grandmother had heart surgeries and wasn’t able to re turn to the business.”

ere was nothing she wouldn’t have done for her grandmother, who’d raised her since the age of 15, she said. But it was during a conver sation the two had on the way home from the hospital one day that every thing clicked.

“I grew to understand the power that Motown has, as a brand, as a sto ry, as a beacon, as an example, as a symbol of excellence of what it can do to empower other people. And once I made that connection, simi larly, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s my life,’” she said.

Today, Terry is leading the campus in a $55 million expansion plan that will add interactive exhibits, e Ford Motor Company eater, re cording studios, meeting spaces, a cafe and expanded retail and new programming space to the museum.

Davidson, son of the late billion aire William “Bill” Davidson, former owner of the Detroit Pistons, Detroit Shock, Tampa Bay Lightning and Guardian Industries, was a singer, musician and songwriter who toured the country and lived in Alaska for a time. He had also worked with the Detroit Pistons on and o .

His last tour ran for six straight years.

“My father knew that I was going to take some time o and said ‘Well, I want you to come back to Detroit and work for me,’” Davidson said.

But the younger Davidson resist ed.

His dad told him it was di erent this time. He was thinking about what came next and wanted to start a foundation that would invest in De troit, his home and the place he’d launched his business.

“I said, ‘I’ll be right there,’” Ethan Davidson said.

Today, he chairs the Detroit Opera board and serves on the boards of or ganizations including the Detroit in stitute of Arts and Motown Museum. And he leads the grants committee for the William Davidson Founda tion.

During the panel, Perkins asked Terry and Davidson about their rela tives’ legacies.

Women gured prominently in what each family built, the pair said.

A lot of the talent that rst came to Motown, including Marvin Gaye, came from an earlier record label established by her aunt and then folded to help

support Motown, Terry said.

When her little brother Berry Gordy wanted to get into the record business and start an independent label, Edwards knew he wouldn’t succeed on his own, Terry said. So Edwards said she’d run the business for two years so he could focus on the talent, and the rest is history.

“If it weren’t for the women in my great-uncle’s life, there would be no Motown,” Terry said.

Edwards also had the foresight to preserve the “Hitsville USA” house when her brother and the label moved to California, her grand daughter said.

“She somehow knew the story of the house and the people who’d been there would inspire people in the fu ture.”

Women also played a key role in his family businesses, operating them after men in the family died, Davidson said. And his father’s aunt was among the rst female attorneys probably in the state of Michigan 100 years ago when women just didn’t get law degrees.

Davidson said his grandmother, who ended up running a lot of fami ly-owned theaters, sold the Linwood eatre in Detroit to the Rev. C.L. Franklin, Aretha Franklin’s father, for his church.

Going back, “it was the women that were doing business and ... man aging businesses,” Davidson said.

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

Moderator Huel Perkins (left), retired FOX2 anchor, Robin Terry, CEO and chairwoman, Motown Museum, and Ethan Davidson, musician and philanthropist, William Davidson Foundation, converse during the program “Family Albums” during the 2022 Detroit Homecoming IX at The Icon in Detroit Sept. 14.

NIC ANTAYA/CRAIN’S

A rendering of part of the $55 million expansion plan for the Motown Museum.

Detroit sits at the intersection of muscle & brains.

Census data shows Detroit is a majority homeowner city for rst time in decade

e majority of Detroit residents own the homes they live in, new Cen sus data shows, the rst time in a de cade that Detroit has had more home owners than renters.

e shift comes as Detroit is chal lenging Census results that showed the city continued to lose population. e city of Detroit led a lawsuit last week against the U.S. Department of Com merce and U.S. Census Bureau after a monthslong battle to appeal a 2021 population estimate.

Kurt Metzger, the founder of Data Driven Detroit, said the news that De troit has more homeowners than rent ers “certainly adds another layer of complexity” to the challenge. e latest data, from the American Community Survey, also shows a large increase in the number of vacant units in the city.

At a Detroit Homecoming event, Mayor Mike Duggan touted the shift toward home ownership, saying the city had lost its “proud distinction” of being a primarily homeowner city fol lowing the Great Recession.

“We have reversed the trend,” he said. “For the rst time in many years, a majority of Detroiters are homeowners again. ... We’re very proud of the direc tion we’re going.”

Metzger said Census data showed Detroit’s homeownership peak was in 1970, when 60 percent of residents were homeowners. By 1990, it had fall en to 52.9 percent.

e city was long known as a place where home ownership was the norm, but foreclosures and population loss decimated that number and by 2012,

Census estimates show that 49.9 per cent of residents owned their own homes. By 2014, it had fallen to 46.3 percent of residents.

Now, data shows 51.3 percent of the homes in the city are owner-occupied. e increase comes on the tail of a num ber of trends, including the rehabilita tion of vacant homes in Detroit and ef forts to make renters homeowners.

In an email, Detroit spokesperson John Roach said Duggan had made in creasing home ownership a priority since he took o ce, creating the land bank and the Detroit Home Mortgage program. Foreclosure prevention ef forts have also been a priority, he said.

Roach said he didn’t know how a successful Census challenge might a ect the per centages.

Reynolds Farley, a retired sociolo gy professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, said there had been an upward trend since the city came out of bankruptcy. e shift in own ership is “a modest increase” from 2019, he said, when 47.8 percent of homes were owner-occupied.

“Ownership is going up, that’s a rea sonable thing to assume,” he said.

Metzger said for a city that was built on single-family housing, the rise is good news. It re ects continued opti mism in Detroit, he said, as median sales prices in the city hit $100,000 for the rst time ever and e orts by the

land bank and others to drive home ownership have been successful.

“I don’t think it’ll reverse,” he said. “Single family stock is becoming much more attractive.”

e numbers make a di erence, he said, because people who own their own homes are more likely to have a stake in their neighborhood and their city. Higher home ownership rates help strengthen a place, Metzger said.

It is also a major building block to creating generational wealth, Roach said.

All of that is true, said Darralyn Bowers, a broker with Bowers Realty

& Investments in Detroit. She said home ownership creates more neighborhood pride, as homeown ers have more of a long-term view of their community and are more likely to invest in their property.

Still, she’s not sure if the gures are correct. With low Census participation, Bowers said she’s “amazed” by the g ures, but doesn’t believe them. ere are still more renters than homeown ers in Detroit, she said.

“Even if it’s o , it’s a positive trend for the city,” she said. “ ere’s no downside for increased home owner ship in Detroit.”

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB

ARIELLE KASS

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan touted new data showing improving homeownership rates in Detroit after the Great Recession led the city to become majority-renter. .

NIC ANTAYA

CRAIN’S

“FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS, A MAJORITY OF DETROITERS ARE HOMEOWNERS AGAIN.”

—Mike Duggan, mayor, Detroit

Supporting Detroit’s Talent and Technology for an Equitable Future

At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we’re proud to have invested $222 million over the past 10 years in nonprofits working toward lifting up children and families in our Detroit community. Our employment equity investments, in particular, have helped our grantees and partners expand support for businesses owned by women and people of color and empower talented people to access quality jobs that can help them build career pathways and wealth.

Some exciting impacts: The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, managed by Detroit Development Fund, has now made more than $14 million in low interest loans to support small business owners in Detroit. Of those loans, 97% went to people of color and 55% to women. wkkf.org

Last year, Building Community Value hosted 49 participants in two cohorts of their Better Buildings, Better Blocks course, a nine-month property development training program that educates entrepreneurial Detroiters on the small-scale real estate development process.

Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center is raising Detroit’s profile and infrastructure in becoming the next global fashion hub. Last year, they facilitated 7,235 apprenticeship training hours, 4,557 on-the-job training hours, resulting in 11 promotions and 10 jobs created.

These results are amazing but could be even better with your support. Learn more about how you can help us support Detroit’s talent and technology in partnership with these grantees and more at http://wkkf.co/dhc22.

Detroit Office Fisher Building 3011 West Grand Blvd. Suite 321 48202

Detroit works to sell itself as a hub for design

BY ARIELLE KASS

Detroit does a really bad job of telling the world about all the design successes that come out of the city, Nate Wallace said.

“We see ourselves as the underdog,” said Wallace, the Detroit director of the Knight Foundation. “We don’t talk about all the things that are birthed in Detroit.”

At a Detroit Homecoming event, Wallace and others tried to spread the word as they discussed everything from sneaker design to car interiors and the way Detroit continues to nurture the design community.

“There’s more creativity here than any other place in the world,” said Allen Largin, the creative and innovation director for Rock Ventures. He lauded the city’s cost of living and easy commutes, saying “comfort gives you the breathing room to create, it gives you the head space for it.”

Diversity, natural talent and a strong work ethic help nurture creatives in the city said Crystal Windham, the executive director of global industrial design for General Motors.

Windham, the first Black woman in the role, said she wanted to continue creating opportunities for minorities to excel in that space. She was able to rise in the ranks, she said, because relatives who worked at GM found a Black woman working in design when she started at the company, so she had someone to emulate and look up to. The two, she said, are still in touch.

And Windham, prior to taking on her current role, worked as the director of car interiors for Chevy and Cadillac, helping to set the tone for the brands.

“I have time to make a difference in this pipeline,” Windham said. “My success is great, but it would be a shame if I didn’t have anyone following in my footsteps and making history.”

D’Wayne Edwards, a noted foot-

wear designer who founded the Pensole Lewis College of Business in Detroit, said he became rejuvenated by his ability to help teach and train young designers. Edwards, who grew up in California, said a guidance counselor told him a Black kid from Inglewood would never be a footwear designer.

He broke into the industry, he said, by putting sneaker sketches in LA Gear’s wooden suggestion box every day for six months until he got a call. He got a job at 19, with no college education. Eventually, he worked his way to Nike’s Jordan brand.

“That was really the pinnacle for me,” he said. Of the guidance counselor, Edwards said, “Mrs. Wilson-Jefferson, I always keep her close.”

The Pensole Lewis College of Business reopened a closed HBCU, creating new opportunities for design education in the city.

Most secondary education doesn’t center design, said Don Tuski, the president of the College for Creative Studies. He suggested more effort to add educational opportunities, including in shorter

blocks that are less than semester-long classes.

Largin, who started his design career at 15 by winning a program Edwards started, said the realization that people got paid to design was “insane.” He called the mentorship opportunity a “Willy Wonka experience,” saying that the fact that he wasn’t discouraged from a career in design made a big difference for him.

“Very few cities in America have a foundation of creativity, probably none bigger than Detroit,” Edwards said. “It’s strong here.”

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB

Crystal Windham (center), executive director, Global Industrial Design at GM, speaks during Design in the D at 2022 Detroit Homecoming IX at The Icon in Detroit on Sept. NICK HAGEN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT

“VERY FEW CITIES IN AMERICA HAVE A FOUNDATION OF CREATIVITY, PROBABLY NONE BIGGER THAN DETROIT. IT’S STRONG HERE.”

—D’Wayne Edwards, footwear designer

ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS

Comcast Corp. and Crain’s Content Studio hosted a roundtable with leaders helping to make Michigan a smarter, more connected state. The experts and moderator Lisa Rudy, Crain’s Detroit Business associate publisher, discussed the technology being installed on roads in vehicles and throughout cities and how businesses are partnering to help smart cities come to life.

Sam Chernak Senior Vice President of Connectivity and Complex Programs, Comcast

Mark de la Vergne Vice President of Project Development, Cavnue

Paul C. Ajegba Director, Michigan Department of Transportation

Mansour Sharha Innovation & Technology Director, City of Dearborn

Jeffrey Marston Vice President of Business Services - Heartland Region, Comcast

Michael Dawisha Chief Information Of cer, Genesee County

“We want to extend our transit opportunities to help bring people to jobs, to school. How do we continue to move the needle on this? Technology.”

- Paul C. Ajegba, Director, Michigan Department of Transportation

Kathryn Snorrason Managing Director, Michigan Of ce of Future Mobility and Electri cation

Public-Private Partnerships Advance Quest for Intelligent, Connected Future

By Julie Walker For Crain’s Content Studio

While legislation surrounding connected and electrified vehicles makes slow progress on Capitol Hill, states, manufacturers and technology companies are staying the course — developing technology-forward automobiles and communities that will save money, lives and energy.

With the most mobility-related patents in the country, Michigan is boldly configuring smart roads that run through cities fortified with the infrastructure to support smart and autonomous vehicles (AVs). The state has more than 600 miles of roadways equipped with cameras, sensors and significant advancements that allow for crucial testing of connected AVs.

In April, the Michigan Department of Transportation and Cavnue announced

De la Vergne and other thought leaders gathered recently for a roundtable discussion with Comcast and Crain’s Content Studio to explore mobility, connectivity and electrification efforts in Michigan.

DRIVING THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC AND CONNECTED CARS AND ROADS

“Michigan provides an ideal environment for the testing, development and implementation of electric-vehicle solutions,” said Kathryn Snorrason, managing director for the state’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.

One-third of battery production in the country happens in Michigan, which has at least nine EV battery manufacturing facilities. And earlier this year, the state

-Kathryn Snorrason, managing director for the state’s O ce of Future Mobility and Electri cation.

it would create a 25-mile connected and automated vehicle (CAV) lane on I-94 from Detroit to Ann Arbor, making it the first techenabled infrastructure in the country.

The future is autonomous, and the new CAV roadway symbolizes that future, said Mark de la Vergne, vice president of project development at Cavnue. Based in Silicon Valley with offices in Detroit, Cavnue partners with OEMs, autonomous mobility technology companies and public and private organizations to improve mobility.

“What we are doing… is building a corridor that will create a reliable experience,” said de la Vergne, former chief of mobility innovation for the City of Detroit.

Sam Chernak, senior vice president of connectivity and complex programs at Comcast, said automobiles and roadways equipped with new technology would help remove human folly and aggression from driving while simultaneously reducing environmental threats.

“A world where you’ve got that in the next billion cars is a better world,” Chernak said.

announced it would install the country’s first wireless EV-charging system along a 1-mile stretch of road near Michigan Central Station in Detroit.

In August, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a collaboration with Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin “to build America’s next iconic road trip route” along Lake Michigan. The EV Circuit Tour includes installing a network of EV chargers over 1,100 miles of drivable shoreline.

Snorrason said Michigan’s progressive policies, unique geography and robust ecosystem of public-private partnerships make the region an ideal proving ground for testing and deployments.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

BOLSTER MICHIGAN MOBILITY

The City of Dearborn has several other initiatives underway.

“One of the top things the new generation looks for is safety. Number two is new technological advancements, and number three is culture and diversity. We have made

“Michigan provides an ideal environment for the testing, development and implementation of electric-vehicle solutions.”

Mark de la Vergne (le ) and Michael Dawisha agree that automation advancements are necessary for society’s growth. Photo credit: Nick Hagen

Paul C. Ajegba (le ) said roads with sensors, cameras, electri cation and other enhancements would help reduce transit inequities. Je rey Marston said Comcast could help make such modernization a reality. Photo credit: Nick Hagen

e City of Dearborn is partnering with Comcast, Google and others to bring advanced technology to the city built on innovation, Mansour Sharha said. Photo credit: Nick Hagen

progress in the region, but I think we should be better from a technology perspective,” said Mansour Sharha, innovation and technology director for the city of Dearborn.

Toward this effort, the city is partnering with Comcast to convert 32 analog locations into fiber networks. In April, Comcast announced it would provide expanded city, community and campus support through Comcast Smart Solutions. The division offers connectivity and consulting services that fuel advanced lighting, building, public works, asset tracking and other solutions.

“I think what we’ve been able to do is prevent them from having to reinvent the wheel,” said Jeffrey Marston, vice president of business services for Comcast. “We can take some of the learnings we’ve had in other parts of our footprint and help apply those and share those learnings with governments and organizations trying to do the same thing.”

Comcast’s Chernak said there has been “a world of evolution” in interfaces such as fiber and products on the 5G spectrum that can handle high-speed connected vehicles.

to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve mobility, enhance public safety and attract and retain talent. Smart cities use information and telecommunication technologies, such as software and sensors like light detection and ranging (LiDAR), to help people, buildings, vehicles and more communicate and share data.

The MiNextCities program will help Dearborn “tap into its roots as a birthplace of innovation to fully realize the potential of next-generation smart city solutions,” Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said at the announcement.

Dearborn-headquartered Ford Motor Co. also has significant innovative undertakings in the state. Among them: The automaker is developing a 30-acre walkable innovation hub at Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown district that will include a novel mobility testing platform.

“The project is also a collaborative effort among public and private stakeholders to attract and retain highly skilled talent and high-growth companies while supporting the

connected roadways, autonomous vehicles and revolutionized transit systems will help save money, lives and the environment.

The “benefit to the public would exceed $800 billion a year in 2030” if the U.S. fully adopted AVs, according to McKinsey & Co. They would reduce the need for public parking, cut road congestion and commute times, reduce damage to the environment and lessen car crash fatalities that result from human error.

Michigan Department of Transportation Director Paul Ajegba said modernization efforts would also help eliminate transit inequities.

“We want to extend our transit opportunities to help bring people to jobs, to school,” Ajegba said. “How do we continue to move the needle on this? Technology.”

Michael Dawisha, chief information officer for Genesee County, said large-scale technological changes come with speed bumps but are essential to the advancement of society.

“I can walk from here to there, and I know what obstacles to avoid based on my eyes, my ears, touch,” Dawisha said. “Why wouldn’t cars use all the capabilities of technologies afforded to them? I think it’s important to think about building an infrastructure that gives us wide-ranging opportunities for a future that we can’t yet imagine.”

Comcast’s Marston said his company helps the public sector find the best paths forward so they can minimize obstacles. One of those paths, Chernak said, is through unique collaborations.

SMART MICHIGAN BY THE NUMBERS with and

Sharha said Dearborn is also installing cameras on public vehicles to improve traffic safety and working with Google to offer IT certifications to high schoolers, which will help strengthen the talent pool.

The city is also part of the new NextEnergy MiNextCities pilot. In June, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced that Dearborn, along with Flint and Marquette, would participate in its smart cities initiative

development of nearby neighborhoods and connecting communities,” Snorrason said.

TRANSPORTATION INNOVATION IMPROVES THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Becoming a smart city allows municipalities like Dearborn to become globally recognized hubs for talent, mobility innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, affordable housing, small business opportunities and community engagement. Likewise,

“We’re going to see new partnerships created in a profound way to make this thing actually happen,” Chernak said. “Comcast leaders understand that although much planning and strategizing still lies ahead, the future of mobility is set — and it’s autonomous.”

To view and share this report online, visit www.crainsdetroit.com/comcastbusiness-creating-a-connected-future

Source: Michigan Economic Development Corp.

CONNECTED AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES CAN:

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•

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Source: Mcity

“Comcast leaders understand that although much planning and strategizing still lies ahead, the future of mobility is set — and it’s autonomous.”

- Sam Chernak, Senior Vice President of Connectivity and Complex Programs, Comcast

Cavnue is working with the State of Michigan, City of Detroit, University of Michigan and Ford Motor Co. to develop a 25-mile connected-and-automated corridor between Downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor. e “future-proofed” roadway would allow for increased road safety and greater accessibility to transit. Credit: Cavnue

A look at the sights and sounds of Detroit Homecoming’s ninth edition through expats’ eyes. BY NIC ANTAYA

Tudo Pham, who met husband David Woessner at Detroit Homecoming III, brought their son, Jonas, to this year’s Homecoming. Left: Attendees were given an insider peek at the Detroit auto show, which included the world’s largest rubber duck.

Attendees check out a car during the Auto Show VIP Tour during the 2022 Detroit Homecoming IX at Huntington Place.

Detroit Homecoming attendees record a session on the nal day of the event. | NICK HAGEN/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II told his own “homecoming” story of returning to Michigan on the event’s opening night.

Jed Howbert, partner, Greatwater Opportunity Capital, speaks outside the Brainard Apartments during a tour.

From left: Rocket Companies’ Mark Hollis, expat Jules Pieri and Ethan Davidson at the opening dinner.

Sharryl Cross (see story, Page 22) chats with expat Arnie Corlin on a bus tour of real estate developments in Detroit.

New Economy Initiative Executive Director Wafa Dinaro at Detroit Homecoming.

From left: Detroit expats Michael and Betty Hawkins and Crain Communications CFO Bob Recchia.

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES IN CITY OF DETROIT JULY 2022/ 2021 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES IN MICHIGAN JULY 2022 WORLDWIDE EMPLOYEES JULY 2022TYPE OF BUSINESS

1 ROCKET COMPANIESINC. 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit48226 313-373-7990;rocketcompanies.com

2 STELLANTIS (FORMERLY FCA US LLC) 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills48326-2766 248-576-5741;stellantis.com

3 CITY OF DETROIT 2 Woodward Ave., Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Detroit48226 313-224-3700;detroitmi.gov

4 HENRY FORD HEALTH 1 Ford Place, Detroit48202 800-436-7936;henryford.com

5 U.S. GOVERNMENT 477 Michigan Ave., Detroit48226 313-226-4910;usa.gov

6 DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY DISTRICT 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Fisher Building, Detroit48202 313-240-4377;www.detroitk12.org

7 DETROIT MEDICAL CENTER 3990 John R, Detroit48201 313-745-5146;dmc.org

8 BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MICHIGAN/BLUE CARE NETWORK 600 E. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit48226 313-225-9000;bcbsm.com

9 ILITCH HOLDINGSINC. 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit48201 313-471-6600;ilitchcompanies.com

10 DTE ENERGYCO. One Energy Plaza, Detroit48226 313-235-4000;newlook.dteenergy.com

11 STATE OF MICHIGAN 3042 W. Grand Blvd., Cadillac Place, Suite 4-400, Detroit48202 313-456-4400;michigan.gov

12 U.S. POSTAL SERVICE 1401 W. Fort St., Detroit48233-9998 313-226-8678;usps.com

13 GENERAL MOTORSCO. 300 Renaissance Center, Detroit48265 313-667-1500;gm.com

14 ASCENSION MICHIGAN 28000 Dequindre Road, Warren48092 866-501-3627;ascension.org/michigan

15 MGM GRAND DETROITLLC 1777 Third St., Detroit48226 877-888-2121;www.mgmgranddetroit.com

16 WAYNE COUNTY 500 Griswold Ave., Detroit48226 313-224-5901;www.waynecounty.com

17 ALLY FINANCIALINC. Ally Detroit Center, Floor 10, 500 Woodward Ave., Detroit48226 866-710-4623;ally.com

18 DELOITTE 200 Renaissance Center, Suite 3900, Detroit48243-1895 313-396-3000;deloitte.com/us/en.html

19 MAGNA INTERNATIONAL OF AMERICAINC. 750 Tower Drive, Troy48098 248-631-1100;magna.com

20 DETROIT MANUFACTURING SYSTEMSLLC 12701 South eld Road, Building A, Detroit48223 313-243-0700;dmsna.com

21 AMAZON.COMINC. 150 West Je erson,

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

JayFarner vice chairman and CEO DanGilbert chairman and founder 14,109 18,000 14,10923,000FinTech platform company consisting of personal nance and consumer technology brands

MarkStewart COO, North America 10,861 9,263 44,010NA Automobile manufacturer

MikeDuggan mayor 8,942 8,563 8,9428,942City government

RobertRiney president and CEO 7,718 8,199 1 19,26632,754Health care system

NA 6,673 2 6,673 19,953 2 2,093,961 2 Federal government

NikolaiVitti superintendent 6,665 3 6,892 3 6,665 3 6,665 3 Public school system

BrittanyLavis CEO 6,415 1 7,301 1 7,294 1 7,294 1 Health care system

DanielLoepp president and CEO 5,469 5,355 9,26411,465Nonpro t mutual insurance company and subsidiary companies

ChristopherIlitch president and CEO 5,034 e 4,830 e NANA Food, sports and entertainment and real estate development industries

Gerardo (Jerry)Norcia chairman, president and CEO 4,794 e 4,645 10,941 e NA Energy company

GretchenWhitmer governor 3,556 3,559 44,017 4 NA State government

RichardMoreton district manager 3,300 e5 3,300 e 20,000 e5 640,000 e5 Postal service

MaryBarra chairman and CEO 3,278 6 4,658 53,918166,194Automobile manufacturer

JonathanNalli interim ministry market executive, Ascension Michigan 7 2,906 3,004 19,09619,096Health care system

DavidTsai president and COO 1,912 1,643 1,9121,912Hotel resort and casino

WarrenEvans county executive 1,774 1,834 2,2312,231County government

Je reyBrown CEO and director 1,538 1 1,507 1,819 1 10,500 1 Digital nancial services company

DavidParent Michigan managing principal 1,520 1,095 1,739345,000Part of a multinational professional services network. In the U.S., the subsidiaries of Deloitte audit, tax, advisory and consulting services

SwamyKotagiri CEO 1,427 1,182 10,525161,000Mobility technology

BruceSmith

AndyJassy

22 MCLAREN HEALTH CARE One McLaren Parkway, Grand Blanc48439 ce.Numberoffull-timeemployeesmayincludefull-timeequivalents.It Actual guresmayvary.NA=notavailableNOTES: e. Crain'sestimate. 1. AsofJanuary. 2. AsofJuly1,2021. 3. FiguresareFTEcountsfromtheCenterforEducationalPerformanceandInformation. 4. AsofMarch19. 5. AsofJuly2021. 6. Severallarge teamsfromDowntownDetroit'sRenaissanceCenterweremovedtotheWarrenTechCenter. 7. SucceededJosephCacchioneinAugust. 8. SucceededJe BezosasCEOinJuly2021. 9. Estimatebasedon numbersfromMWPVLInternationalInc. 10 Estimate from MWPVL International Inc. 11. Will step down as president when contract ends July 31, 2023. a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data

HOMECOMING HEROES

Recognizing grassroots “doers” making a difference in Detroit

Since its start in 2014, Detroit Homecoming has highlighted early-stage and entrepreneurial companies and nonprofits across Detroit. This year, as we have seen more philanthropic organizations infuse grants to individuals and smaller organizations with hyper-focused missions, Detroit Homecoming sought to recognize Homecoming Heroes: individuals and small organizations dedicated to improving our city but, until now, operating mostly under the radar. Through a summerlong nomination and selection process, we found exactly what we were looking for.

Congratulations to our inaugural Homecoming Heroes, who presented on stage during programming this year. Thank you to our foundation partners, who have generously contributed a matching grant for the first $3,000 raised for each Hero this year.

RAKISHA ODOM

Rakisha is Community Outreach Manager at Brilliant Detroit, a network of neighborhood hubs for young children and their families. Rakisha has been called the “Queen” of community outreach, holding monthly baby showers for new moms in the neighborhood and working with Detroit librarians on innovative programs that support young childrens’ learning at home, among other initiatives.

Learn more and help support Brilliant Detroit’s mission:

MOHAMMAD MUNTAKIM

Mohammad is a 2021 Cass Tech graduate – in fact, he was the valedictorian that year – and is currently studying public health at Wayne State University. Mohammad is the founder of Detroit Muslim Youth Council, built from his grassroots advocacy e ort to recognize Muslim holidays while at Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Learn more and help support Detroit Muslim Youth Council’s mission:

CHANELL SCOTT CONTRERAS

Chanell is Executive Director of ProsperUs Detroit, a business development and microlending initiative for entrepreneurs of color. Chanell, a former Crain’s 40 Under 40 winner, is a former small business owner herself and is driven by a deep commitment to increase economic equity in the city.

Learn more and help support ProsperUs Detroit’s mission:

Romulus Trade Center breaks ground

Promises new jobs, investment along Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor

ROMULUS, Mi . – Robert McCraight was not yet mayor of Romulus when Kansas City-based NorthPoint, the nation’s biggest industrial real estate developer, came sni ng around southeast Mi igan in 2018 looking for project sites.

McCraight, who was the city’s director of economic development and public services before becoming mayor in 2021, had – like many Romulus residents – been disappointed “year a er year” by various proposals that hadn’t panned out.

en he ipped the script, working alongside partners like the Detroit Regional Aerotropolis Development Corporation and Mi igan Economic Development Corporation, and hammered out a deal with NorthPoint.

e result, the Romulus Trade Center, is about to bring $130 million of investment, 750 to 1,000 construction jobs, 500 permanent full-time jobs, 2 million square feet of industrial and retail space to 171 acres of vacant land at Vining and Wi Roads, just across I-94 from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Northpoint executives, McCraight, and dozens of local, state and regional o cials broke ground Sept. 13 on the site.

“ e city, its residents and elected leadership had a vision for this property, and NorthPoint was able to deliver on that vision,” said Christopher Girdwood, CEO of the Detroit Region Aerotropolis partnership, bringing a highquality development to this important intersection in the Aerotropolis region.

FORGING A PARTNERSHIP

Both Mayor McCraight and Brent Miles, NorthPoint’s ief marketing o cer and a founding partner, were qui to admit that the Romulus-NorthPoint deal very nearly crashed and burned before takeo . To be successful, they needed to build a true partnership.

Miles began his remarks at the Sept. 13 groundbreaking with a surprise — an apology. “ is property has been sitting here a long time. It was promised to be many things over time,” Miles said.

At one point, the deal nearly unraveled, but NorthPoint — a leader in building huge Class A industrial projects — pivoted.

“I don’t think we heard what Romulus residents wanted initially, and we didn’t listen,” Miles said, and then repeated an o -used saying from his grandma: “God gave you two ears and one mouth and that ratio for a reason, so use it that way –and we didn’t. Not many times in life do you get a second ance, and we got a second ance here.”

McCraight gave credit to another NorthPoint project manager, Johnny Sweeney, for a phone call that put things ba on tra .

“Johnny called me and asked, ‘Why doesn’t Romulus like us? Can’t we just have a frank conversation?’” McCraight set up what turned out to be a great meeting that evolved into a relationship. “It became a win-win.”

Girdwood said the nal project will include

what the Romulus residents had asked for: a neighborhood commercial district with fast-casual dining, small o ce spaces, and incubators for startups along Wi , with the larger industrial buildings set ba from the road.

“And you put it all in this park-like setting with trails and trees and grass,” he said. “ at’s what residents wanted: a work, live, play atmosphere.”

AEROTROPOLIS GAINS TRACTION

e new Romulus Trade Center is one of several industrial/commercial projects undertaken by major national development rms recently along the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor.

In fact, the Romulus Trade Center is NorthPoint’s second foray into Romulus. eir Ecorse Commons Industrial Park opened in mid-2021 and four logistics businesses — LaserShip, Pitney Bowes and DHL — are already operating on the 68 acres adjacent to the

Earlier this year, Northpoint set up a local o ce in Romulus for its Great Lakes regional teams, said Marc Werner, a Northpoint project manager and regional vice president.

Girdwood said that seeing a major industrial developer su as Northpoint active here is a positive sign.

“If you look at Mi igan, it’s in a peninsula. Just from a distribution point, I think Indiana and Ohio along the I-80 corridor were getting a lot of the deal ow in the 1990s and 2000s, so we had to do some convincing to get NorthPoint to look our way,” Girdwood said.

Twenty years have now passed since the completion of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, whi had sparked hopes that an “Aerotropolis” district would emerge to fuel a wave of jobs and economic growth in towns like Romulus along the I-94 corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor. e growth may have been slower than hoped, but now, we are seeing more major national development interest in the area, Girdwood said.

Another example is the Dallas-based Hillwood Investment Properties – led by the Ross Perot family – who joined with Mi igan’s Sterling Group to buy the former 650-acre Pinnacle racetra site in Huron Township. ey plan to invest $40 million in the property, and already have built two Amazon warehouses, with a Home Depot building underway.

“ e reason this kind of development didn’t happen 20 years ago and is happening today is because of stories like the Romulus Trade Center,” Girdwood said.

General Motors Powertrain plant.

SPONSORED CONTENT

By Tom Walsh

The Romulus Trade Center broke ground Sept. 13, bringing $130 million of investment and more than 1,500 jobs to 171 acres of vacant land at Vining and Wick Roads, just across I-94 from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Photo Courtesy of NorthPoint

Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight shakes hands with NorthPoint Chief Marketing Of cer Brent Miles to celebrate the Romulus Trade Center groundbreaking. Photo Courtesy of NorthPoint

A rendering of the Romulus Trade Center. Photo Courtesy of NorthPoint

BY DAVID EGGERT AND RACHEL WATSON DEVELOPMENT

Chinese EV battery maker plans to build plant in West Michigan

applicant will be at the meeting. He declined to disclose other details.

A Chinese electric vehicle battery maker wants to build a multibil lion-dollar plant in West Michigan, o cials con rmed.

e yet-to-be-constructed factory would be located near Big Rapids, about 50 miles north of Grand Rap ids. e Detroit News rst reported the plan late Tuesday. It cited anony mous sources who said VW supplier Gotion Inc. could spend up to $3.6 billion while adding 500 jobs initially and possibly 2,000 within 10 years.

Local and state o cials are expect ed to designate the land as a Renais sance Zone, exempting the company from property taxes for decades. It was not immediately clear if the state would provide other incentives like a

grant from the new Michigan Strate gic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund.

Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman con rmed there is a spe cial meeting scheduled Sept. 26

when the applicant — which he would not con rm as Gotion but said is a Chinese battery manufacturer — will go before Green Township, Big Rapids Township and Mecosta County to apply for the tax break. e

“We’ve been working hard not to release any other information,” Chapman said.

Paul Bullock, Mecosta County controller/administrator, said in a statement: “In conjunction with our partners at Big Rapids Charter Town ship, Green Charter Township, MCDC, e Right Place, and MEDC, we’re actively working to make this extraordinary project a reality for Big Rapids. ... We look forward to sharing more about this once-in-a-century opportunity for Big Rapids area in the coming days.”

e Michigan Economic Develop ment Corp. is “actively working with our partners to attract a transforma tional investment at the site in Big Rapids, which could create genera

tional economic opportunity for resi dents, small businesses, and neigh boring communities throughout the region,” CEO Quentin Messer Jr. said in a statement.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy Co., which distributes electricity in Mecosta County and was approved less than a year ago to give a special economic development rate to very large businesses, also con rmed a major project is in the works.

“We are close to a potential part nership and transformation oppor tunity in the advanced manufactur ing eld in Big Rapids,” Consumers President and CEO Garrick Rochow said. “As transformations of the auto motive and other energy-intensive industries continue, we’re enabling the state’s manufacturing infrastruc ture to adapt, grow and thrive.”

Gotion, whose U.S. headquarters is in California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Gotion, reached last week in China, declined to com ment on the company’s reported plans in Michigan.

ACCOUNTING

RSM US

We are pleased to announce that James Wilson has been promoted to Assurance Senior Manager. He has approximately eight years of experience in public accounting providing professional services and business advice to a diversi ed base of clientele. James specializes in industrial products in the middle-market and is aligned with the audit practice in Michigan. Clients include privately held companies and employee bene t plans.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Doeren Mayhew Capital Advisors

Doeren Mayhew Capital Advisors, a middle-market investment bank, has promoted David Praet to Managing Director. Joining the rm in 2014 at its inception, David has helped lead buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions, as well as debt and equity capital raises and recapitalizations for a diverse range of private and public companies. He brings signi cant experience in the industrial manufacturing, automotive, transportation, distribution, ecommerce, nancial institutions and services sectors.

INSURANCE

KIG Insurance Group KIG is pleased to announce the addition of Kellie Lederer as a sales producer. Kellie joins KIG after spending 10 years in mortgage banking with Rocket Mortgage where she earned both Presidents Club & Triple Crown status. Matt Warsh, VP of KIG, said “We are thrilled to add Kellie to our team of salespeople, and we believe she will be a major asset to our agency. Kellie’s sales approach embodies the white glove service our clients have grown to love about our agency”.

Strobl Sharp PLLC strengthens its estate planning, bankruptcy, and corporate expertise with the addition of two attorneys, Paul Rzepka, Jr. and Anthony (Tony) Cimini. Paul brings a strong background in business law with his previous estate planning experience at Mitzel Law Corp, PLLC and his merger, acquisitions, and tax knowledge from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

e site being considered for the battery plant is a shovel-ready parcel at the intersection of 18 Mile Road and 220th Avenue, which is partly in Green Township and partly in Big Rapids Township. e Big Rapids Township Airport Industrial Park is on the south side of the road, and the Green Township portion of the site is already zoned industrial.

Truscott Rossman

Truscott Rossman

welcomes Mya Jolly as a senior account executive on the rm’s digital team. A strategist and creator, Mya takes pride in developing multi-format messaging that connects with the audiences her clients aim to reach. She brings sharp insight from her time as a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow, a Capitol Hill intern and a digital strategist in the Southeastern region. For opportunities at TR, visit www.truscottrossman.com.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Flexible Plan Investments, Ltd. Anna Kinsella has been promoted to National Sales Manager (NSM), and is responsible for leading the Sales team, creating processes, and ensuring quality service to build long-term relationships with advisers and their rms. She previously served as the FPI regional business consultant for the Southeast region. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University, an MBA in nancial management from Benedictine University, and over 15 years’ experience in nancial services.

LAW

Gallagher Sharp LLP

Gallagher Sharp is pleased to announce the addition of Associate Nancy M. Kama. As a member of the rm’s General Litigation and Transportation Practice Groups, she has a wide range of experience in personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death litigation. Her experience includes auto accidents, PIP, premises liability, and commercial transportation accidents involving the maritime industry. Nancy received her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Tony will focus on business bankruptcy and reorganization, tax law, and general litigation. In addition, he will handle banking and nance, commercial contracts, mergers & acquisitions, as well as real estate transactions. Strobl Sharp is a Southeast Michigan full-service law rm with specialties in business law, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, and estate and succession planning. Cimini

“A site in the Big Rapids area that for the past 25 years has been as sembled, developed and marketed for industrial development is being considered by one of the 10 largest advanced battery manufacturers in the world for a new battery produc tion facility,” Randy elen, presi dent and CEO of e Right Place, a regional economic development or ganization in Grand Rapids, said in a statement. “ e community has been prepared for an opportunity like this to materialize to utilize the infrastructure, airport, access to freeways and locally trained talent pool.”

He said “all parties involved un derstand there are still numerous processes and steps to be taken be fore this project becomes a certainty. We remain hopeful to announce more details soon on this project that would position the region at the cen ter of West Michigan’s growing mo bility and EV sector.”

About Gotion

Volkswagen made investments in Gotion in 2020 and 2021, raising its stake in the latter to 26.5 percent. VW is now the largest shareholder of Go tion.

Under a cooperation agreement the companies made in July 2021, Gotion will produce battery cells for VW in China and Gottingen, Germa ny. According to Korean market re search rm SNE Research, Gotion shipped 5.8 gigawatt hours of batter ies in the rst half of 2022, making it the fourth-largest EV battery maker in China.

In its rst-half 2022 report, Gotion said its net pro t rose 34 percent year to 64.6 million yuan ($9.1 million), while its revenue surged 143 percent to 8.6 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), ac cording to its nancial report.

— Yang Jian of Automotive News China contributed to this report.

ADVERTISING / PR / MARKETING

Strobl Sharp PLLC

Rzepka

LAW

Laura

Gotion Inc. plans to produce battery components at a new plant near Big Rapids. | GOTION INC.

Piquette will issue a request for proposals for the temporary electri cal system work next week and the RFP for the permanent electrical up grades within the next month and a half, trustee and past board president Steve Shotwell said Monday.

e Platform, whose owner Peter Cummings was chair of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra during Wood ward’s long stint as public relations director there, has been a very good neighbor, Woodward said.

e developer donated the ease ment behind Piquette to the muse um for possible use as a future site for HVAC equipment. And it has o ered to donate some electrical equipment, she said.

“ ey meet with us regularly to let us know how quickly they are moving forward and what to expect. I do think they’ve tried to hold o to give us as much time as they possibly could,” Woodward said.

e plant-turned-museum is lo cated in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junc tion area, once home to well-known car makers including Brush Motor Car Co., Cadillac, Dodge, Hupp, Packard and Regal, among others, and a junction for several railroads at the turn of the 20th century.

It’s located in the middle of two projects planned to turn historic buildings into housing: Studebaker and the nearby Fisher Body No. 21 plant slated for a $134 million hous ing, retail, commercial and co-work ing space development led by Black business leaders Gregory Jackson and Richard Hosey, and Kevin Le wand, the son of Mayor Mike Dug gan’s former top economic develop ment lieutenant, F. omas Lewand.

Electrical updates were already at the top of the museum’s list of plans, following a 2016 re sparked by threadbare wiring at the junction be tween Piquette and the Studebaker complex.

Piquette, which has a collection of more than 60 Model Ts and other his toric cars produced in the early 1900s by other automakers in the area, has a re suppression system but doesn’t have the power to operate it, Wood ward said. e electrical upgrades will enable that system to be turned on and to power a new passenger el evator, along with the historic freight elevator and heat and electricity.

“We can’t open our museum to the public without electricity,” she said.

e electrical upgrades are part of a larger, $8.5 million comprehensive plan that will, among other things, restore the o ce space behind the front door at Piquette to its original look and nearby space for museum o ces. at space was previously oc cupied by tenant General Linen & Uniform Service.

Other projects on the drawing board for the former plant include the addition of bathrooms on all three oors, classrooms for expand ed eld trips, installation of central ized heating and cooling systems, expanded building security systems, new programming, additional event spaces and paving the gravel lot across Piquette Avenue for parking.

“Even though we want to revital ize, this place will never be new: we want to keep things as authentic as possible,” Woodward said.

Saving Piquette

A group of Detroit historians, auto mobile enthusiasts and community volunteers teamed up with the Henry

Ford Heritage Association to purchase Piquette in 2000, saving it from demo lition. Supporters paid $300,000 for the building, formed the nonpro t Model-T Automotive Heritage Com plex Inc. to operate the museum and have spent the past 20+ years and $3 million in public and private contri butions to make incremental up grades to convert it into a public mu seum.

Brick on the exterior of the building has been restored, parts of the Doug las r ceiling and maple ooring have been replaced with the same types of wood, the roof has been repaired and windows throughout the 68,000-square-foot plant have been replaced and rebuilt where needed.

e museum opened for informal tours for insider enthusiasts around 2003-04 and to the public at large in 2010. But it didn’t attain the robust collection of historic cars it now has until 2017 when it bene ted from the long-term loan of a collection of rare “letter car” Ford models that led up to the Model T design from the estate of the late Ford auto dealer from Ohio, Larry Porter.

Today, it houses more than 60 an tique vehicles, including some on loan from board members. ey in clude the earliest Model Ts produced at Piquette (painted in Carmine Red, not black), a Model T re truck, a Model T “snowmobile,” commercial Model Ts used by a orist and Abso pure and early cars from other makers that set up shop in the neighborhood.

Visitors can see Henry Ford’s o ce, with a blueprint safe, vehicles on all three oors, short Model T lms in the museum’s theater and the secret room where Ford and his most trusted associates designed the rst Model T.

When you think about Detroit and its most iconic buildings, “this is our equivalent of Preservation Hall or In dependence Hall or the Alamo,” Woodward said.

While other automakers were mak ing cars for the wealthy, Henry Ford went the other direction, she said. e Model T was a ordable, durable, and it came with a simple, standardized toolkit that enabled owners to x their own cars. By the early 1920s, the Mod el T made up half of the cars on the planet, she said.

“ e reason that we drive on the side of the road that we drive on (to day) was led by a decision made by Henry Ford in this building,” Wood ward said.

Ford moved steering wheels to their current position on vehicles in the U.S. so that passengers could get right into the vehicle when you pulled up, and they wouldn’t have to negoti ate manure-strewn roads, she said.

Rising visitors

Piquette was listed on the U.S. Na tional Register of Historic Places in 2002 and designated as a Michigan State Historic Site the following year and as a U.S. National Historic Land mark in 2006. e United Nations Edu

cational, Scienti c and Cultural Orga nization placed it on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, (after France nominated it), pending completion of capital proj ects.

e museum saw a steady rise in vis itors, with numbers peaking at more than 31,000 in 2018 and 2019, as it hosted sporadic eld trips, Model T owner workshops, weddings and other events under the Edison-bulb-strewn ceilings each year, before they plum meted during the pandemic.

e museum lost $1.4 million in ad mission and event revenue across 2020 and 2021, Woodward said.

It entered this year with $90,000 de cit, even with a $60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, but expects to close the de cit by year’s end, she said, noting its current budget of just under $562,000 is generated almost entirely from earned revenue from ticket and museum store sales, event rentals and leases with tenants includ ing Antique Touring Co., Turner Resto ration LLC, Milwaukee Junction Col lective and Swanson Funeral Home, which is using its space for storage.

“If we can get to the point that we have the facilities and modern ameni ties that we need, we can be a very healthy nonpro t from a nancial standpoint,” Woodward said.

Strengthening fundraising

e museum’s board brought Woodward, former director of the

MSU Community Music School-De troit, on in February.

“In the three years prior to the pandemic, the museum experi enced signi cant growth in number of annual visitors and special events. While this progress (was) signi cant, we have a lot of work to do yet, to fully preserve this historic struc ture,” the museum’s chairman and CEO George Linker said in an emailed statement.

e board felt it was time for a professional administrator with fundraising and nonpro t manage ment experience, he said, which led to Woodward’s hiring to head up the museum.

“We are poised now for our next growth phase. Jill has been a con tributor to the Detroit community for many years, and has experience in fundraising, programming, and education, all areas we seek to ex pand at Piquette.”

Piquette is operating with about half the employees it had before the pandemic, including Woodward, an operations manager and former Union Street Owner Ginger Zaun er-Barris as events manager.

“We’re an American treasure that just is not well-known within our city or our region,” Woodward said. “You (have) had to be an insider to know about us. We want to change that.”

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

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum features an array of early Ford vehicles and Edison bulb lighting on the ceiling. | CYDNI ELLEDGE / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

The Piquette Plant is best-known for making Model Ts. | CYDNI ELLEDGE / CRAIN’S DETROIT

The 1919-1922 Model T Coupe Wood Frame at Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum. | CYDNI ELLEDGE / CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

exible workspaces, cafe and com munal dining areas, and a rooftop terrace with views around the city and stretching far into Canada.

A new branch is scheduled to open in the building in late October. Detroit, bank executives say, now makes for the headquarters of Hun tington’s commercial banking oper ations, which includes middle marking banking and the technolo gy nance operations.

e Woodward Avenue facility is “really an extension of the commit ment Huntington made to Detroit and the Southeast Michigan market over the past decade,” said Scott Kleinman, president of Hunting ton’s commercial banking opera tions.

“Even going back to 2008 and 2009, our company leaned in when others did not, and really developed an incredibly close partnership with the city and the entire communi ty. And I think the building is a natural exten sion of that,” Kleinman said.

e new build ing will make for a base of opera tions to about 800 employees in total, with about 200 of those being part of Huntington’s commercial bank, according to Kleinman, who has o ces in Columbus and Detroit.

“We are fortunate in Detroit to have some remarkable corporate leaders who are deeply invested in the success of our city and its people,” Mayor Mike Duggan said in a news release. “We are truly blessed to have Steve Steinour, Gary Torgow, and Sandy Pierce, who have been full partners in our city’s revitalization, especially at the neighborhood level. With Huntington’s opening today of

ATWATER

e capital improvements come a bit more than a year after Atwater launched a $100,000 brand update that included changes in packaging and a new logo.

“Our hope is to provide a beer for every occasion so (consumers) don’t have to look anywhere else,” McBrady said. “ at’s where bring ing in someone with technical brew ing ability, and having the right equipment to brew multiple prod ucts can make a big di erence.”

at technical expertise comes from Cordell DeMattei, who joined Atwater after serving as director of fermentation science at Central Michigan University since 2015. DeMattei will oversee brewing for Atwater.

“We’re excited about the hire for a number of reasons. (DeMattei) will focus on quality, safety, and all the things that go into running a manu facturing facility,” McBrady said. “(DeMattei) has also taught some of the best brewers in the state. Hope fully we can bring them into the pipeline.”

Coming down the pipeline, too, is more work with Detroit-based orga nizations. McBrady said to expect some exciting activation with the Detroit Tigers next year. Atwater partnered with the MLB team this season for a craft beer night, and has

the rst high-rise o ce tower to be built in Detroit in 30 years, we see an other level of their commitment.” Bank Chairman Gary Torgow’s ve adult children owned half of GPC Adams through an entity they own called Park Elizabeth Associ ates LLC, which is a member of GPC Adams, according to lings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Com mission.

e building is leased to Hunting ton at an initial annual lease rate of nearly $7 million, according to a reg ulatory ling.

Following the acquisition of TCF Bank in 2021, Huntington immedi ately experienced a surge in market share throughout Michigan, grow ing from $19.67 billion in deposits and 6.9 percent market share state wide in 2020 to $40.8 billion in de posits and 13 percent of the market share the following year, according to data from the Federal Deposit In surance Corp.

e bank, however, has lost ground in Michigan over the last year, as deposits in the state shrank by about 6.9 percent, or $2.8 billion.

Huntington’s market share also slid to about 12 percent, according to re cently released FDIC data.

A similar trend appears to be playing out in the Chicago market, where Huntington also expanded following the TCF acquisition, and the bank has seen its deposits com press by about 8 percent in that re gion, according to a Tuesday report in Crain’s Chicago Business, citing FDIC data.

A Huntington Bank spokesperson declined to comment on bank mar ket share data.

“We want to bring Detroit into our taproom, and we want the folks who come into our taproom to take some knowledge of Detroit with them when they leave,” McBrady said. “We’re trying to nd the right groups right now. March is International Women’s Month, so we’re trying to tie in the local community with that.”

e community work is possible in part because Atwater continues to run as an independent company, al though it is two years into being ac quired by Tenth and Blake Beer Co., the U.S. craft division of Molson Co ors Beverage Co., for an undisclosed price. McBrady, 34, has worked only under the Molson umbrella, but be lieves the larger brand trusts Atwa ter brass enough to police itself.

“I think the relationship with (Molson) is more them supporting us if we need it, but we’re still oper ating as a standalone business,” said McBrady, a 2022 Crain’s 40 under 40 honoree. “We need that exibility to be nimble.”

Still, Kleinman said the bank is “well-positioned,” even amid broad er economic uncertainty, and the new building will be a major driver for bringing new talent to the insti tution.

For the second quarter of this year, Huntington Bank’s publicly traded parent company Huntington Bancshares reported total pro t of $539 million, a 34 percent increase from the same period one year earlier.

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

mented in October 2019, was de signed to allow Molson Coors to in vest across its portfolio at a level to drive long-term, sustainable growth and operating e ciencies, accord ing to its website.

“We know craft beer brands like Atwater bring higher margins, high er revenue to distributors and retail ers, and we know consumers love it,” Agase said. “ e craft business is fundamentally a local one and that’s why we’re excited to have breweries like Atwater in our family.

“Atwater is one of the lon gest-standing breweries in the De troit area, and we have a great op portunity to establish ourselves as ‘the’ brewery of Detroit.”

As Atwater looks forward to its next 25 years, the focus is on owning the Detroit market, McBrady said, including a major event in a couple of years.

undisclosed plans in the works for that partnership. Tigers o cials did not respond to emails seeking com ment.

Atwater is also working to build a relationship with local nonpro t

groups. Each month in 2023, the brewery plans to work with a di er ent group and donate $1 from each pint of a featured beer sold at the Detroit taproom to that organiza tion.

McBrady declined to share sales and revenue information, but said Atwater’s sales have been consistent in 2022. Molson Coors Senior Direc tor of Corporate A airs Jennifer Martinez-Roth also declined to dis close nancial details.

Tenth and Blake President Je Agase on Tuesday said having prop erties such as Atwater Brewery in its portfolio is a part of Molson Coors’ revitalization plan. e plan, imple

“ e city is having a big renais sance right now, and we want to be there every step of the way,” Mc Brady said. “When the rest of the country sets its sights on the (NFL) Draft in 2023, we want to be the beer people drink, so when they go back home they continue to talk about (Atwater). We’re hyper-focused on the home market. Our big ambition is that every consumer who rolls through the city has an Atwater beer in their hand at some point.”

Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

Atwater Brewery in 2023 plans to work with nonpro ts to donate portions of beer sales to those groups, according to company president Katy McBrady. | ATWATER BREWERY

The new Huntington Bank headquarters in downtown Detroit on Woodward Avenue is “really an extension of the commitment Huntington made to Detroit and the Southeast Michigan market over the past decade,” said Scott Kleinman, president of Huntington’s commercial banking operations.| QUINN BANKS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESSKleinman

Thank you, Roger, for 30 years of dedication to a career that has touched the lives of so many. Known and respected throughout the state and nation as a passionate advocate and expert on aging services, your visionary leadership and commitment to serving older adults have created thoughtful, innovative opportunities for our residents and families, our board members, our employees, our donors, our volunteers, our business partners and the communities we serve. We are forever grateful to you for choosing a path that led you to Presbyterian Villages of Michigan!

Heartfelt congratulations on reaching such a remarkable milestone!

Embrace the possibilities Myers!

Presbyterian Villages of Michigan 26200 Lahser Road, 300 Southfield, Michigan 48033-7157

PVM President & CEO, Roger Myers, with The Thome Rivertown Neighborhood in the background

COVID-19 pandemic. It has more than 1,200 vehicles in the Detroit area and, this summer, secured authoriza tion for hosts to leave their cars in des ignated areas at Detroit Metro Airport for arriving and departing travelers.

Critics say the measures would up end that deal and, more broadly, un dercut Turo and other companies such as Getaround and RVshare by allowing new taxes on vehicle sharing.

“We’re paying sales tax on the ve hicles. We’re paying income tax on the earnings from the vehicles. And now they’re wanting to layer in an other tax,” said Bill Hu hine of Roch ester Hills.

He became a Turo host in 2018, listing his Scion tC to o set monthly payments and insurance so he could buy a convertible. It generated about triple his xed expenses. So he grad ually scaled up to 20 vehicles, ve of which he co-hosted for owners from elsewhere, and retired from his job as a media executive.

Hu hine, who said he has since sold his cars for a pro t as used-vehi cle prices skyrocketed, now advises other Turo hosts. He also plans to help investors position eets in cities around the country.

“ e thing that’s great about Turo is it gives anybody and everybody an opportunity to improve their nan cial situation,” he said. “ ey can im prove their nancial position by o setting their own vehicle expenses or, like me, building a business. It’s a great platform for that.”

e bills’ supporters, which in clude big car rental companies, say a state regulatory framework is needed to govern insurance, consumer pro tections, taxation and other issues.

Lisa Martini, a spokesperson for Missouri-based Enterprise Holdings — the owner of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car — said the “model” legislation took years to develop and has received substantial input from insurers, auto

makers, and consumer and safety ad vocates along with car rental, car-shar ing and peer-to-peer companies.

“ e proposed legislation is an agreed upon set of standards for an emerging segment of the car rental industry, bringing clarity to taxation rules by restating existing tax laws that have been in Michigan for de cades,” she said in a statement.

Some measures were approved by the Republican-led House Regulato ry Reform Committee in the spring and are pending in the full House.

e panel on Tuesday delayed taking testimony on a new bill that would authorize local governments to levy an excise tax on peer-to-peer vehicle sharing that they currently can assess on regular car rentals. Wayne County has a 2 percent tax to help pay o bonds for the construction of Comer ica Park and Ford Field.

Another bill, which was consid

ered Tuesday, would explicitly codi fy that hosts do not have to charge renters the state’s 6 percent use tax since they paid sales tax when they bought the cars. Car rental compa nies are exempt from paying sales tax on their eets if they levy it on customers.

Americans for Tax Reform, a con servative anti-tax group based in Washington, D.C., is urging that the legislation be rejected. President Gro ver Norquist sent a letter to House members calling the bills a tax hike.

“We encourage legislators to pro mote the innovation of new and emerging industries instead of bur dening them with taxes, fees and reg ulations that will only hurt taxpay ers,” he wrote, later adding: “If lawmakers feel tax burdens on tradi tional rental car companies are too high, we would welcome legislation to reduce those burdens rather than

impose them on di erent businesses and consumers.”

e sponsor of the main bill, the proposed Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Program Act, said he is not trying to kill a new entrant into Michigan’s transportation marketplace but rath er help it “prosper.”

“ ey’ve been kind of operating in the gray area for the last couple of years,” said Rep. Pat Outman, a Six Lakes Republican. “We really didn’t have any rules and regulations or sys tem of taxation that applied to them at all.”

He likened the e ort to how the state began regulating ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft under laws that took e ect in 2017. Hosts, he said, would not be “double taxed.”

“If you’re a large enough Turo par ticipant and you’re able to take ad vantage of the eet exemption, then you’ve got to charge what would be

the sales tax or the use tax through each transaction. But if you just use a regular vehicle and you’ve already paid sales tax on it, then there would be no (use) tax moving forward,” Outman said.

He is uncertain about whether both the House and Senate could pass the package before the end of the two-year term in December, say ing it may be “really, really close.”

Turo remains opposed.

One issue, for example, is a provi sion that would govern agreements with airports. e Wayne County Air port Authority in June approved a deal designating Turo pickups and returns for parking lots at Detroit Metro, the rst of its kind in Michi gan.

e bill’s detractors warn that it would jeopardize the agreement by requiring airport contracts to set forth the “same or reasonably simi lar” standards, regulations, proce dures, fees and access requirements for car-sharing services that apply to rental companies.

e airport access “gives custom ers another option. e more op tions, the happier the people are,” said Lavell Riddle of Detroit.

He began as an Uber and Lyft driv er roughly eight years ago, started his own black car service and last year became a Turo host based out of Dearborn. He lists six vehicles and drops them at the airport if requested by a customer. Once a guest lands and sends him the necessary insur ance documents, he can unlock their car from his phone.

Riddle worries the legislation would increase prices.

“ ere’s a lot of people that can’t a ord vehicles or a lot of people that live in downtown areas that don’t need a vehicle all the time,” Riddle said. “ ere is a huge need in metro Detroit for transit. To be able to o er a service to people looking to get a car for a day or a few hours or a week has been really rewarding.”

Contact: david.eggert@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @DavidEggert00

General Motors eyes redeveloped AMC property amid leasing spree

KIRK PINHO

General Motors Co. has undertak en a major warehouse and industrial leasing spree supporting electric and autonomous vehicle production at two area plants.

e Detroit-based automaker has inked one deal in Pontiac and is ex pected to be the incoming occupant of a major Detroit redevelopment project on the city's west side, Crain's has learned.

Dan Labes, executive managing director in the local o ces of New York City-based brokerage rm New mark, said General Motors has signed a lease for about 715,000 square feet of newly built space on 44.5 acres of Pontiac land formerly owned by defense contractor Wil liams International Co. LLC devel oped by Flint Development, based in Kansas City.

Newmark represented Flint Devel opment while the Royal Oak o ce of Chicago-based brokerage rm JLL represented GM.

Maria Raynal, director of corpo rate news relations for GM, said in an email that the building will be sup plemental "to support logistics and other EV work at (the) Orion" Assem bly plant but declined to elaborate on precisely what operations will be in

that space.

In addition, the Detroit-based auto maker is expected to be the tenant in the building or buildings totaling ap proximately 760,000 square feet that rise on the site of the former American Motors Corp. headquarters building on Plymouth Road in Detroit.

Raynal said that a lease for the AMC space "has not been nalized or signed, but ultimately we plan to use

it as supplemental space to support EV manufacturing at Factory Zero."

Raynal also declined to provide additional details on the speci c op erations that may go in the redevel oped AMC property.

Tim Conder, vice president of de velopment for NorthPoint Develop ment LLC, the developer of the AMC project, declined comment last week.

Sources said the Pontiac lease is

General Motors Co. is in talks to use the new building or buildings that rise in its place. Above, General Motors Co. has leased this new building in Pontiac totaling about 715,000 square feet to support its operations at the Orion Assembly plant, which produces electric vehicles. COSTAR GROUP

expected to provide space so GM can move operations currently housed in its Orion Assembly plant, which pro duces electric vehicles. e AMC property, if the deal comes to frui tion, would be for Factory Zero, GM's electric vehicle plant near I-75 and I-94 previously known as the De troit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.

In addition, a subsidiary of De troit-based James Group Inc. has

signed a lease for a 742,000-squarefoot warehouse in Wixom on the site of the former Ford Motor Co. Wixom As sembly Plant, where the company aims to store and ship car parts for GM.

In all, that marks at least 2.2 mil lion square feet of new space leased directly to GM or tied to the auto maker.

Earlier this month, Conder said at a Detroit Homecoming event that NorthPoint's purchase of the AMC site from the city is expected to close Oct. 6.

e hulking property at 14250 Plymouth Road closed 12 years ago. NorthPoint plans to construct either a pair of warehouse/light industrial buildings — one with 513,000 square feet and another with 215,000 square feet — or one such building totaling 761,000 square feet.

NorthPoint's plan was announced in December.

Some in the historic preservation community have been concerned about the plan to tear down the building's Art Deco-style tower; Conder has said that reusing por tions of the building — which is not on the National Register of Historic Places — is cost-prohibitive.

Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

Detroiter Lavell Riddle has 6 vehicles available for rent through Turo. Riddle has worked through the carsharing company for a year.

CYDNI ELLEDGE FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

At left, the former American Motors Corp. headquarters on Detroit’s west side is expected to be torn down and replaced with new industrial/warehouse space.

HOMES

But Chuck Cacchione, an associ ate broker and owner with RE/MAX Metropolitan in Shelby Township, said lower lumber prices and contin ued high demand for housing have kept builders working.

In Shelby Township, he said, new subdivisions are going in “all over the place.” Good school districts are a driving force for new buyers, he said, as are lower taxes in some of the more far- ung communities. And for residents who are tired of living on top of others in small spaces through the pandemic, a bigger footprint for a bigger house is an imperative — and harder to nd closer to the city.

“People’s general feeling is they’d rather be out a little ways and have a little room to breathe,” Cacchione said. “In Birmingham, Royal Oak, you struggle to get 3,000 square feet. (Here), you could easily get 5,000 to 6,000 square feet.”

e push out, he said, is going to continue.

“It’s still booming,” Cacchione said of the exurbs. “If you drive around those areas, you’ll see a lot of new construction. e whole area is hot.”

e builders’ signs are myriad: ere are suggestions from Oasis Homes to “Build Your New Oasis” in Lennox Township and calls from M/I Homes that it’s your “Final Opportu nity!” in a new subdivision in Lyon Township.

“COMING SOON” says Pulte Homes at one development nearby. “SORRY, I’M TAKEN” a sign in front of an under-construction home at another declares.

Rakesh Gangwani, who does land acquisition with RE/MAX Dream Properties in Northville, said he’s stayed busy as buyers prioritize more modern living spaces that they don’t have to renovate. New houses better match current preferences for space and layout, he said, and purchase prices still allow buyers to get more for their money than they would closer to Detroit.

Boji, with the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors, said workfrom-home options have left people less concerned about long commutes and more willing to prioritize having space and access to the outdoors. Further out, he said, buyers can nd new homes that t both their needs and their wants. Instead of buying a house that’s walking distance to a cof fee shop, Boji said, exurban purchas

ers can build a large patio where they can drink their co ee while watching the deer in their yard.

“ e geography of home building has shifted over the last two-and-ahalf years, with more single-family and multifamily construction occur ring in lower density markets,” Na tional Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement this month. “ is shift was rst caused by the initial impact of (the coronavirus pandemic) on housing demand, which favored low er density neighborhoods. e shift continued in recent months due to housing a ordability conditions that are causing both prospective renters and buyers to expand their geo graphic search for housing, aided by hybrid work patterns that allow for a combination of remote and o ce work.”

Scott Schwanke, the area president of M/I Homes in Michigan, said the “Final Opportunity” development, called Oak Ridge in Lyon Township, started selling a little over two years ago, with prices in the low to mid$500,000 range. Now, the last home is listed for $690,000 and a second phase of the project is being built out.

“If you have a premium home site in a great location, there’s always in terest in those,” he said. “It’s a sim pler way of life.”

Still, he said, paving roads, extend ing water lines and sanitary sewer and mitigating the e ect of building on wetlands can raise the costs on new construction, even if land values in the exurbs are lower than they are closer in. Schwanke said buyers are taking longer to make purchasing de cisions as costs go up, but since there are wait lists for many builders, the impact of the slowdown in deci sion-making hasn’t been felt.

And he said as people consider their future, a new home still fre quently factors into their vision.

“ ey’re looking for their dream,” he said. “Some people feel maybe they missed out. ... People are play ing catch-up on life.”

Still, Darian Neubecker, the chief operating o cer of Robertson Homes, said the uncertainty in the market — Will there be a recession?

Where will in ation go? And how high will interest rates get? — doesn’t create con dence for potential buy ers.

“ ere’s just a lot of noise in the system,” he said. “It doesn’t beget sales.”

Neubecker said markets like Lyon Township, Canton, Macomb Town

ship and Shelby Township continue to be busy, though less than they were before interest rates started in creasing. Market fundamentals are still strong, he said, and builders of fering interest rate buydowns can help keep new construction a ord able. Price, he said, is the biggest driver for buyers like those in a 96unit townhouse community in Lyon Township that Robertson is starting later this year.

ere’s also a matter of ease. ere are still farms being converted to neighborhoods; a planned develop ment at the former Erwin Orchards is in the pipeline and Big Red Orchard in Washington Township hopes to be sold for single-family home sites, too.

Exurbs, Neubecker said, is where there is still room to build a tradition al subdivision — as opposed to the teardowns necessary for most in ll development in inner-ring suburbs.

“How many homes are going to be built in these areas? It remains to be seen,” Boji said.

Much of Frank Moceri’s business in the outer-ring suburbs is repeat purchasers, the partner in Moceri Cos. said. Buyers he built colonials for decades ago are ready to down size into ranches or detached condo miniums, Moceri said, and want to stay in the areas they’d already moved out to. He said there’s urgency to get mortgages now, before rates rise further, among buyers.

Moceri has active projects in Clin ton Township, Oakland Township, Orion Township and Auburn Hills and said he can’t build fast enough. Rental properties in those areas are also increasing in popularity, he said, and 90 percent of his new product is for lease.

e rental units are resort-style townhomes and other housing, he said, and can go for $2,500 a month in the outer ring. ose products can be less to rent than the cost of a mort gage and property taxes, he said, and have more amenities, drawing ten ants.

e for-sale homes have access to green space and yards big enough for a pool. If people don’t have to go to a downtown o ce to work every day, Moceri said, they’re going to choose the suburbs.

“It’s a no-brainer — they can get twice the space for half the cost,” he said. “Everyone wants to have a white picket fence in the country. It’s the American Dream.”

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB

Contract that went awry puts Corvette supplier into Ch. 11

KURT NAGL

A Walled Lake-based supplier of tube assemblies and transmission parts in cluding on the Corvette has led for Chapter 11 bank ruptcy protection after an ill-fated deal struck just be fore the COVID-19 pan demic began.

Erin Industries Inc., a fami ly-owned supplier to the automotive and aerospace industries, was crushed by the material cost increas es and supply chain disruptions of the past two years, according to a pe tition led last week in U.S. Bank ruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.

Founded in 1975, the company “had a long history of pro tability” that reversed as the result of a “disas ter” deal with Nova Steel USA Inc., Steven Atwell, owner and president of Erin Industries, told Crain’s.

Now the company is hoping for debt relief and leverage to restructure unfavorable contracts by ling for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 bank ruptcy protection — an option de signed for smaller businesses that became available in 2020.

“We’re going to be able to work through this, and I think we’re going to survive. ... I know we’re going to survive,” Atwell said. “Chapter 11 gives us some leverage to renew our contracts and try to get some of these (price) increases through.”

Erin Industries is the latest in a string of recent bankruptcies in Michigan, where nancial woes are piling up on manufacturers and the weight of the pressure is falling on smaller companies. Machine shops and lower tier suppliers are increas ingly turning to Subchapter V — a cheaper way to go bankrupt, as it were — to keep the lights on.

Atwell said most of his customers, which include major automakers and suppliers, o ered price increases on steel, but not on other inputs, such as labor and fuel.

However, the real trouble started when the company signed a deal to manufacture equipment and lines for Nova, a Canadian steel maker with a base near Grand Rapids. Shortly after the deal closed, the pan demic hit and it became impossible

to procure parts to ful ll the contract, Atwell said.

“ e Debtor’s nancial condition rapidly went from stable to unstable, as a result of extra costs, loss es and extraordinary items due to the Nova contract,” according to the bankrupt cy petition, submitted on behalf of Erin Industries by Butzel Long attorney Max Newman.

By the time Erin Industries com pleted production of the equipment, Nova had already expedited pur chase of machines to keep its line go ing and refused to pay for the delayed equipment. It was the rst time the company had run into pro tability problems since Atwell’s father started it 40 years ago, Atwell said.

Nova could not be reached for comment last week.

Atwell said he doesn’t blame Nova for acting in its best interest.

“I don’t blame them. ... I'm not happy with them,” he said. “ ey had to produce parts.”

Nova is the largest creditor in the case, with $869,865 owed by Erin In dustries, according to court docu ments. Erin Industries said it has $4.8 million in assets and up to $10 mil lion in estimated liabilities.

e company employs 41 workers and functions mainly as a tier-two supplier. One if its most pro table pieces of business is its Corvette pro gram, according to the petition. It also supplies to GM, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, its website said.

Its revenue for 2022 is anticipated to fall nearly 20 percent from last year to $9 million. Atwell said the key to keeping a oat will be to retain sup pliers under better contracts. “We have to keep our customer base, which it looks like we’re going to be able to, and to get out of the debt that was created by the Nova disaster,.”

Filing for Subchapter V of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is less cost ly and time consuming than a tradi tional Chapter 11 ling. at makes it an attractive option for companies lacking liquidity and in need of a quicker solution, said Jim Morgan, attorney with Howard & Howard PLLC.

Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl

Erin Industries, a Walled Lake-based auto supplier, led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a deal signed just before the pandemic went south. CRAIN’S DETROIT

Morgan

Lawyer Kim James on Detroit’s legal marijuana regulations

When the Detroit City Council nally codi ed its recreational marijuana codes, it was Kim James who drafted the language. She’s worked in code enforcement for the city most of her career. Now as the director of the o ce of marijuana ventures and entrepreneurship, James must stand up those codes and get recreational dispensaries licensed. But the city itself is behind, as most of the state’s industry has been selling weed for nearly three years.

 How did marijuana regulating land on your plate?

After the MMMA (Michigan Medical Marihuana Act) passed in 2008, during the mortgage crisis, all these pop-ups or illegal commercial establishments started showing up. About 300 of them by 2014, 2015. Marijuana sales had been legalized for caregivers but no commercial facilities were legal. (Detroit) Mayor (Mike) Duggan encouraged us to regulate them responsibly because we knew commercial use was coming. So we were tasked with creating a caregiver center model and worked to get these pop-ups licensed, while also closing some. The commercial facilities act (the Medical Marihuana Facilities Act of 2016) came online and we went to work. We then turned to adult use as voters passed that legislation in 2018.

 What is your role in this new department in the city?

We’re part of the civil rights and inclusion department in the city. The (recreational marijuana) code requires when someone submits a license application, it must go to a multi-department committee for review ... I chair that committee. The committee is made up of many departments in the city and we submit a recommendation to the building department, which issues the license, on whether we think the license should be approved. We also have social equity programming we’ve rolled out and we oversee its implementation.

 What was your office’s role in the new ordinances for recreation marijuana sales?

I drafted all the ordinances. Before this role, I was a lawyer for the city. So I worked directly with (then) Counsel

RUMBLINGS

A POPULAR EAST SIDE Detroit diner has hit the market.

A listing from Detroit-based O’Connor Real Estate lists Rose’s Fine Food & Wine for sale. e business, in a 960-square-foot space at 10551 E. Je erson Ave., has an asking price of $600,000.

e building and business, established in 2014 by cousins Molly Mitchell and Lucy Carnaghi, are for sale, according to the listing. Also included is restaurant equipment, furniture and Rose’s liquor license, according to the listing. e building, in the city’s East Village neighborhood, was built in 1964.

“ e space was brought to life with thoughtful, creative details and updates, including a new roof (2020) and furnace (2019), tin ceiling, oor tiles and an iconic color palette,” the

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Member (James) Tate. We worked for basically a year, every Friday for three hours we would do these Zoom meetings about what would go in the ordinance. That ordinance passed in November 2020. But a lawsuit challenged that ordinance. So we revised it last year to create the equity program we have now. It was introduced by President Pro Tem Tate and passed in April. We’ve been challenged, legally, again, but we think this ordinance is good.

 Marijuana prices have collapsed in recent months. Do you worry standing up new companies in Detroit is now going to be difficult?

I do have worries, but not necessarily about that. While supply has increased, demand has also increased. There is not a lack of buyers. I don’t know the reasons the market has happened this way, though. There are a lot of illegal operations, growers who aren’t licensed. That’s a state issue, but it does detract from legal licenses. We’ve seen it happen in California. It’s too expensive and overtaken by competitors who aren’t licensed. I think the market will take care of itself. I’m not so worried about that. We have a robust licensing program and we’re able to issue all the licenses we have.

 The city began accepting dispensary licenses on Sept. 1. What’s happening now?

We have two types of licensing. An unlimited license for growers, transporters, etc.. We’ve been licensing them since since April. That’s going well. We have an electronic process for that. The limited licensing program, for retailers and consumption lounges, just opened on Sept. 1. The applications period is open for 30 days. So after that 30

days, they’ll be scored and licenses will be issued. That’s extremely exciting for me. We worked so hard getting these laws into place. To me, I have succeeded as a lawyer in getting the program ready. But implementation and getting licenses out is a whole other endeavor. But we’re ready for it.

 What lessons have you learned about creating an entirely new industry?

It’s an ongoing lesson. We’re always learning and trying to retool. We use a lot of electronic platforms for processing. We’re doing a lot of back-end changes for us to review things. Those are the things I care about. I am a Six-Sigma, lean-processing person. But we’re also dealing with and are up against city bureaucracy. Things take a long time to change or improve. My lessons are about how aggressive to be when you’re trying to make a change.

I’m constantly looking for process improvements and this process has allowed a lot of opportunity. We’re also learning about the social equity program. We have a lot of social equity students and we work hard to meet them where they are — realizing that people that may be interested in this industry, may have no idea how to run a business. So helping them understand what it takes to have such a business has been a learning experience.

listing reads. “ e newly-landscaped outdoor area received equal attention, from raised beds and beautiful landscaping to a new wooden fence surrounding a gravel dining patio with picnic tables and bright pink umbrellas.”

Rose’s is known for its breakfasts, sandwiches and extensive wine selection. Rose’s also o ers a monthly natural wine club. e listing comes about a month after Rose’s expanded its offerings with a rotating dinner menu.

Mitchell told Crain's that she is working on some new, undisclosed projects that make it di cult for her to "juggle the restaurant."

Mitchell, who has a long history in the restaurant business, began o ering employees a starting wage of at least $15 an hour during the COVID-19 pandemic. up for sale BY| DUSTIN WALSH

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