Crain's Detroit Business Oct. 11, 2021, issue by Crain's Detroit Business

THE CONVERSATION: lda Byrd-Hill looks to spread word on tech training. PAGE 22

CANNABIS: These towns

are where weed is concentrating PAGE 8

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I OCTOBER 11, 2021

STEELY SQUEEZE Record prices for steel cause pain for Michigan manufacturers

•BY KURT NAGL

“I love this industry. That’s why it’s a real crying shame what’s going on now,” says AlphaUSA President and CEO Chuck Dardas.

See STEEL on Page 17

Staffing woes leave those in dire need waiting Long haulers: Rural hospital patients hampered by ambulance service shortage

Group-home beds go unused as agencies struggle to pay enough to lure workers

BY DUSTIN WALSH

BY SHERRI WELCH

Heart attack patients rushed to War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie are quickly stabilized and prepared for transfer to a hospital with a heart catheterization lab. The Upper Peninsula hospital, like most in rural Michigan, is not equipped to handle interventional cardiac or neurological care. But right now War Memorial is

short-staffed — only 36 of its 49 licensed beds are open because of staffing — and it’s near capacity with 33 patients filling beds last week. Patient transfers are more critical now than ever. Yet the ambulances aren’t coming. Nursing managers are calling upwards of 20 ambulance services See AMBULANCES on Page 20

NEWSPAPER

War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie has struggled to get transport for patients. | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Only half of the 100 residential treatment beds at Vista Maria’s Dearborn campus are full. Yet 20 girls, many a danger to themselves or others, are on a waiting list to get in. And providers aren’t sure where those girls and other children waiting to get into residential treatment are referred until they have a

bed and staff to take them in. Like other employers, human-service providers of residential care and treatment for children are facing staffing shortages. But they are limited in their ability to compete for employees, given the need to pay more than the state reimburses and the tough nature of the jobs they seek to fill. See GROUP HOMES on Page 21

NIC ANTAYA/SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

HUCK DARDAS, PRESIDENT AND CEO of AlphaUSA, thought steel prices would have come back down to earth by now, but big domestic steel companies have another idea. In the past year, the spot price of steel has more than tripled. That has led to upward of $10 million in losses for Livonia-based AlphaUSA, which supplies fastener assemblies and stampings to major automakers. What was considered a temporary pain point and anomaly has grown into a potential threat for survival, as Dardas sees it. “It’s purely opportunism by the steel industry,” he said of the soaring prices. “It’s not just inflationary to us, it’s hyperinflationary. It’s a tax on us that we can’t afford.” Manufacturers better get over the sticker shock, said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. It’s the best of days for the Ohio-based steel giant, which hauled in a record $795 million profit in the second quarter, joining fellow domestic steel companies capitalizing on unprecedented demand.

NEED TO KNOW

COURT BEAT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT  WHITMER ORDER RESTORES PREVAILING WAGE

 CHIP SHORTAGE TAKES AN OMINOUS TURN

THE NEWS: LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday that Michigan will pay higher “prevailing” wages on state construction projects, three years after Republican legislators repealed a long-standing law that required better pay. The Democratic governor said the cancellation of the law does not preclude her from implementing a prevailing wage policy for state contracts, which requires paying the local wage and benefit rate — usually union scale. Nonunion contractors appear likely to sue.”

THE NEWS: The amount of time that automakers and other companies need to wait for chip orders to get filled rose yet again in September. The gap between putting in a semiconductor order and taking delivery, known as the lead time in the industry, rose another five days in September to an average of 21.7 weeks, according to research by Susquehanna Financial Group.

WHY IT MATTERS: The ban on prevailing wage was passed through a ballot initiative that enabled lawmakers to rescind the law in 2018 despite then-Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s opposition. Critics said the policy increases costs for taxpayers, while supporters said eliminating the law made Michigan a less attractive place for tradespeople.

 KELLOGG CEREAL PLANT WORKERS GO ON STRIKE THE NEWS: Around 1,400 workers at Kellogg Co.’s U.S. cereal plants walked off the job this week, saying negotiations with the Battle Creekbased company over pay and benefits are at an impasse. The company said it was preparing to restart production using “salaried employees

and third-party resources,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. WHY IT MATTERS: A summer of labor unrest at U.S. food manufacturers has stretched into fall, as pandemic-weary workers continue to strike for better pay.

 GM AIMS TO DOUBLE REVENUE WITH EVS, SERVICES

WHY IT MATTERS: The numbers signal that semiconductor shortages will continue to hamper the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Piston, Spartan among 18 charged with health fraud  Eighteen former National Basketball Association players were accused of defrauding the league’s health care plan out of $3.9 million by making fake claims for medical and dental expenses. Among the eighteen are former Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum and former MSU Spartan guard Shannon Brown. Other former players charged include Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles and Glen Davis. Prosecutors said Terrence Williams, the 11th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, orchestrated the plan and provided fake letters justifying medical services that weren’t performed. Williams received kickbacks totaling at least $230,000, according to an indictment made public in Manhattan federal court Thursday. The defendants are all charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. In addition, Williams is charged with aggravated identity theft for impersonating someone who processed benefit plan claims.

 DSO HOLDS FIRST FULL-CAPACITY CONCERT

THE NEWS: General Motors Co. plans to double its revenue by 2030 as the Detroit-based automaker expands its electric-vehicle lineup, builds out an autonomous ride-sharing business offered by Cruise LLC and pushes into subscription-based services in its cars. GM plans to reach that ambitious growth target while also expanding margins even as it shifts toward electric vehicles, the company said in a presentation to investors.

THE NEWS: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra held its first full-capacity concert at Orchestra Hall since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s symphonic poems describing the stunning fountains and graceful pines of Rome was performed Thursday under the leadership of music director Jader Bignamini.

WHY IT MATTERS: The plan marks a new phase for CEO Mary Barra, who spent the first four years of her tenure in the top job closing down unprofitable operations and exiting the money-losing European market.

WHY IT MATTERS: The orchestra last performed for a full-capacity, indoor audience in March 2020 shortly before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued stay-at-home orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Will Bynum played for the Pistons for six years. | ASSOCIATED PRESS

FOR SALE OR LEASE

160,000 SF

UP TO

ENTIRE BUILDING AVAILABLE DENNIS KATEFF 248-644-7600 DKATEFF@KOJAIAN.COM

KOJAIAN.COM 2 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

AJ WEINER 248-581-3335 AJ.WEINER@AM.JLL.COM

PREMIER CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS | 27500 DRAKE ROAD | FARMINGTON HILLS, MI • • •

CLASS A CONDITION FORMAL AND INFORMAL TRAINING ROOMS/AREAS PARTITIONED WORK SPACES

• • •

CAFETERIA WITH SEATING COURTYARD WITH TABLES BUILDING/MONUMENT SIGNAGE

REAL ESTATE

ENTERTAINMENT

Millions paid in rent relief, but many still wait Thousands of tenants, landlords seek aid BY ARIELLE KASS

5-11 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon-11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Additional hours will be available for scheduled private parties. “The people in that area have the money and time to do something, and they want to get out and do something fun,” Brown said. “Living in Michigan, the weather stinks for half the year, so there’s plenty of time to get out and do it. The atmosphere is what drew me to the game. I think that’ll be the case for a lot of other people.”

Michigan is spending millions of dollars in federal funds to keep the lights on for renters and pay landlords to keep them in their homes, but census data shows nearly twothirds of metro Detroit residents are still behind on rent or mortgage, and are worried about being evicted or foreclosed on in the next two months. The state allocated $425 million through the end of September through its COVID Emergency Rental Assistance program, 68 percent of the $622 million in rental relief dollars that were provided by the federal government from the package passed last December. Of that, more than $235 million was sent to 36,000 households to pay for rent and utility assistance, according to data from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. But thousands of people are still seeking help, and after the August expiration of the Dewar eviction moratorium that prohibited landlords from evicting tenants, many in metro Detroit are concerned about their prospects going forward. The census survey, conducted between Sept. 15 and Sept. 27, shows 64 percent of metro Detroit residents are not current on payments for their homes and consider eviction or foreclosure somewhat or very likely. Even with a large margin of error — it’s nearly 16 percent — the figures show the continuing struggle as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “We are definitely still looking at a potential tsunami of evictions,” said Margaret Dewar, a professor emerita in urban and regional planning at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. “We do face a major potential crisis.” MSHDA did not make someone available after repeated requests to talk about the state’s plan for continuing to distribute rental relief, or its successes to this point. Data from the agency from mid-September shows Wayne County had the most need — with nearly 30,000 applications for rental assistance — and the lowest percentage of processed applications, at 30 percent. The next-greatest need was Oakland County, where 73 percent of requests from 6,413 households had been processed; in Macomb County, 45 percent of 5,744 requests had been considered. In a press release, MSHDA said by obligating more that 65 percent of the funds it received, the state may be eligible for additional federal funding.

See FOWLING on Page 19

See RENTAL AID on Page 18

A rendering shows what a section of the soon-to-be-opened Ypsi Ann Arbor Fowling Warehouse will look like. | SCOTT BROWN

‘THEY WANT TO GET OUT AND DO SOMETHING FUN’ Fowling Warehouse eyes expansion as it adds 3rd Michigan location BY JAY DAVIS

A lot of people turn their passion into a business venture, but Royal Oak resident Scott Brown is taking that to the next level. After close to 30 years in the advertising industry, Brown is set to open a Fowling Warehouse location in Ypsilanti after reaching a franchising deal with the Hamtramck-based company. Brown, 60, was introduced to the game that is part football/part bowling (and rhymes with bowling) in 2014 at a party and quickly became a fan. The original Fowling Warehouse, established by Chris Hutt, opened in December 2014, with Brown getting a spot on a lane the first weekend it opened. Brown since then has played regularly, participating in a variety of leagues and tournaments, even getting several of his family and friends interested. “I just love the game. I think I’m pretty good at it, too. My daughterin-law, though, kills me now,” Brown said. “I saw (Hutt) in a TV story, went and planted myself at the Hamtramck location. I just thought it was a really good business with not a lot of overhead. It seemed like something that could be really successful.” Brown began looking into the franchising opportunity on June 2, 2018 — the day after his last day with Mindshare, a global media agency that had offices in Dearborn.

“I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A REALLY GOOD BUSINESS WITH NOT A LOT OF OVERHEAD. IT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL.” — Scott Brown, Fowling Warehouse

Atmosphere is the draw Brown said he first looked at establishing a Fowling Warehouse locally in Lansing and Lake Orion. He also researched Indianapolis prior to finding the Ypsilanti space. The Ypsilanti location will be the sixth for the franchise, joining spots in Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Cincinnati and the flagship Hamtramck location — all of which have opened in the last nearly seven years. Hutt said the game was born in 2001 at the Indianapolis 500,

Patrons of the original Fowling Warehouse in Hamtramck play the game, which includes elements of football and bowling. | MELISSA FRANCESE VIA FACEBOOK

where he and some friends played during a tailgate. The Ypsilanti location, which has no set opening date yet as renovations continue, will feature 20 indoor fowling lanes. No food will be offered, but players can bring in their own or order delivery. Brown will help connect guests with local catering companies, too. Two bars will be on site with about 100 beers available, including 18 beers on tap, and a variety of liquor. Areas for guests to relax and entertain are located near each lane. The Ypsi Ann Arbor Fowling Warehouse initially will operate

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

Our new Commercial Banking office has landed in Clinton Township!

REAL ESTATE INSIDER

The former Andiamo restaurant location in Dearborn is expected to get new life as a food hall, cigar bar and co-working space. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

Kent Takacs SVP, Commercial Group Manager

586.327.1315 KTakacs@ibcp.com

19176 Hall Rd. | Suite 150 | Clinton Twp, MI 48038 | IndependentBank.com

COMING TO

BIRMING

HAM

MapleBates

Luxury retail space available Supporting a more walkable, vibrant and beautiful Birmingham

FOR LEASING INFORMATION, CONTACT

ANGELA THOMAS (248) 359-3838

ERICA DUNLAP (248) 359-3808

www.signatureassociates.com

CRAIN’S

DETROIT

Tap into Detroit. Get the Crain’s app experience.

4 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

Smorgasbord of uses on the menu for former Dearborn Andiamo A smorgasbord of uses is next on the menu for the former Andiamo restaurant space in Dearborn. A group of investors paid $2.6 million cash for Kirk the 24,000-squarePINHO foot property in February and expects to begin construction in the next two months or so converting it into the Boardwalk Eateries, which would be a 10-stall food hall across 15,000 square feet; a 6,000-squarefoot coworking space in the former banquet space; and a cigar bar and bar taking up the remaining 3,000 square feet. Ali Moubarak, one of the investors on the $1.6 million to $2 million effort, said the food hall is expected to have seating for over 300 people along with two bars. The other investors are Aboudi Beydoun, a real estate developer and investor who is also involved in the oil industry; and Karl Makky and Tony Duhani, the owners of The Avenue American Bistro in Warren who will manage the food hall, which is being designed by Philadelphia-based Ed Eimer Design Studio LLC, Moubarak said. “He’s kind of known as the food hall expert, he has done over 50 of them,” Moubarak said of Eimer. Moubarak said three users of the 10 food hall stalls are lined up: A chicken restaurant, a smoothie shop and a restaurant with an Asian fusion concept. Beydoun told The Arab American News in February that the investment group is looking to hire locally. An auction for the Andiamo equipment and furniture concluded last week and the space is expected to be cleared out within the next week or so, Moubarak said. The Detroit Free Press reported last month that the auction was being run by Madalyn Auctions and Equipment. Joe Vicari Restaurant Group, which operates the Andiamo restaurants in Michigan, said in February that it was closing following a 17-year run, citing $3 million in loses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 60 fulland part-time employees had the option to take employment at another Vicari location. The Dearborn location annually made more than $1

million from catering, but posted just $30,000 for catering in 2020, Vicari told Crain’s in February. According to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, the building was built in 1963 and sits on nearly 1.6 acres at 21400 Michigan Ave.

Warren Rose named to position on Mi Bank board Warren Rose, the CEO of Bloomfield Hillsbased Edward Rose & Sons, has been appointed to the new position of lead director for Bloomfield Hills-based Rose Mi Bancorp, which is the holding company for Mi Bank. Edward Rose & Sons is one of the largest multifamily firms in the country. The National Mulitfamily Housing Council ranks it as the eighth largest owner with a shade over 67,000 units under ownership, up from 65,600 last year, when it was ranked seventh largest owner. Rob Farr, chairman of the board and CEO of Mi Bank, said Rose’s “business experience, including past involvement as a board member of Fidelity Bank for over 30 years, as well as his involvement in the community, make him an ideal fit for this role.” Farr said in an email he and Rose will work closely together “to ensure the board is fulfilling all its responsibilities” and that the lead director role is “often used by financial institutions when the chairperson is a member of the management team.” “As you can imagine, the responsibilities of the chairman and the board have become even more complex over recent years as the landscape for financial service companies have changed,” Farr said. Rose will serve a two-year term. Mi Bank was founded in 2019 focusing on businesses with less than $25 million in revenue. (Mary Kramer, vice president and director of special projects for Crain Communications Inc., the parent company of Crain’s Detroit Business, also serves on the Mi Bank board.)

Former Secure-24 vacates Southfield headquarters One of the Southfield Town Center’s towers has lost its largest tenant in what may be a case of bad timing. NTT Communications Corp., the Tokyo-based parent company of the cloud services provider formerly known as Secure-24, has abandoned its roughly 100,000-square-foot headquarters in the 4000 Town Center high-rise off the Lodge Freeway and put the space up for sublease plus a small 9,000-square-foot outpost in Auburn Hills at 3250 University Drive. The Southfield lease was signed in September 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into the gears of office markets around the world and caused companies to rethink their space needs as remote work became the norm for many. Broker Steven Badgero, associate vice president in the Southfield office of Colliers International Inc. who represents NTT, confirmed that the sublease space is NTT’s new headquarters and that it went on the market last month. A listing on the Colliers website says the asking rate is $19 per square foot per year for the space, which is on the second through eighth floors. An email was sent to NTT’s general email account as well as a spokesperson seeking information on why the space is being abandoned. It is not clear if the company is moving employees to another space or going remote. Steve Morris, a longtime broker focused on tenant representation who heads Farmington Hills-based Axis Advisors LLC, said it was unique that NTT decided to give up its entire headquarters. NTT acquired Secure-24, which was founded in 2001, in 2018, when it had about 600 employees. It is far from the only large company in Oakland County to shed office space in the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, Crain’s reported that others include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which had 118,000 square feet in Southfield up for sublease, and Delphi Technologies, which had 102,000 square feet in Troy up for sublease. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

DEVELOPMENT

How Detroit sold Lear on building plant, creating 450 jobs in city Automotive seating supplier using site of former Cadillac Stamping Plant, plans 2022 opening BY KURT NAGL

Lear Corp. said it plans to open its new plant at the site of the former Cadillac Stamping Plant in Detroit by mid-2022 and create 450 new jobs. At a ceremonial groundbreaking eventlast week, the Southfield-based automotive seating supplier provided more details about its previously reported just-in-time seating plant to supply General Motors Co.’s parts for electric vehicles being built at Factory Zero in Hamtramck. The supplier will occupy twothirds of a new 684,000-square-foot industrial building being developed at 9501 Conner St. by Riverside, Mo.based NorthPoint Development LLC at a cost of $48 million, according to a news release from the city. A second phase of the project will provide room for another tenant and hundreds more jobs, the city said. Mayor Mike Duggan said during the event that he met with NorthPoint executives three or four years ago and convinced them to redevelop the site. He said that when GM committed to manufacturing EVs in Hamtramck, CEO Mary Barra and President Mark Reuss promised him they would think of Detroit first for potential supplier sites. “They made Nicole (Sherard-Freeman) and me a promise,” Duggan said. “Every time they picked a parts supplier, they would call us first. Most of the time, I know who the parts supplier is before the parts supplier does, so we can get a chance to pitch them on a site.” Sherard-Freeman, who heads up the city’s workforce and job training initia-

“WE SOLD LEAR ON MAKING IT EASY TO DO BUSINESS IN AND WITH THE CITY OF DETROIT, AND WE SOLD THEM ON BEING INCLUSIVE AND BEING INVENTIVE AND ON DOING BUSINESS THE RIGHT WAY.” — Nicole Sherard-Freeman, Group Executive for Jobs, Economy and Detroit At Work

Frank Orsini, executive vice president and president of seating for Lear Corp., speaks alongside Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the former Cadillac Stamping Plant site. | CITY OF DETROIT FLICKR

tives, said having a site ready for development helped attract Lear to the city. Site preparedness has become a central economic development issue since Michigan lost out on massive EV investments announced by Ford Motor Co. last week. “Lear didn’t have to choose Detroit, but they did,” Sherard-Freeman said. “We sold Lear on having the land and the facility ready on the timeline that they asked for. We sold Lear on making it easy to do business

in and with the city of Detroit, and we sold them on being inclusive and being inventive and on doing business the right way.” Lear declined to say how much the jobs will pay or whether they will be union jobs. Frank Orsini, executive vice president and president of seating for Lear, said the jobs will be salaried and a mix of direct and indirect hires. “We have a long standing relationship with the unions we work with,” a Lear spokesperson said in an email.

“We are not to the point of discussions and we cannot comment any further.” Detroit residents will be given preference for the jobs, and Detroit at Work will handle recruiting ahead of the plant’s launch. The project is being supported by an $18.4 million Brownfield TIF plan recently approved by the city and an approximately $4 million Industrial Facilities Exemption tax incentive. Also, a $1 million grant for environ-

mental cleanup and on-site stormwater detention will come from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy via Wayne County. Lear declined to say how much it is investing in the plant. The project is not subject to the community benefits threshold because it is less than $75 million in value, city spokesman John Roach said. At least 51 percent of workers constructing the building must be Detroit residents. Lear said the plant will be among the most energy-efficient of its footprint. “As one of Michigan’s largest employers, Lear is excited to be opening a new state-of-the-art facility in the city of Detroit where we have had a manufacturing presence for many years,” Ray Scott, Lear president and CEO, said in the release. Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl

FINANCE

Real estate software firm InvestNext raises $4.3M BY NICK MANES

A software firm focused on the real estate investment space, and backed by Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert, has closed on a venture capital financing round totaling $4.3 million. Executives at Detroit-based InvestNext Inc. say its software aims to streamline the real estate investment sector, simplifying raising and managing capital for property deals. Co-founder Kevin Heras said the goal is to serve as a one-stop shop where investors and fund managers can keep track all pertinent details and documents involved in real estate investment. “The way that the typical investments are done in (the re al estate) space is just very piecemeal, it’s very not transparent,” Heras told Crain’s in an interview. The funding round was led by Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners and had participation from Detroit Venture Partners, Gilbert’s venture capital firm, which previously led a $600,000 seed round into the company in February. Detroit-based ID Ventures, which also participated in the seed round, also joined this latest round. Also joining the latest round was Whitecap Venture Partners out of Toronto and Grand Rapids-based Grand

Ventures. “InvestNext’s success is exciting but not surprising,” Kate Hernandez, a partner at Detroit Venture Partners, said in a statement. “Their investment platHeras form’s customizable portals, turn-key fundraising, and automated distributions are drawing syndicators and investors who realize their capital can go further when they outsmart tedious work and excessive overhead.” The raise earlier this year wasn’t specifically needed at the time, Heras said, but helped to quickly scale the relatively new firm, and got the company under the umbrella of VC firms like DVP. The company has seen significant growth since that time and is now approaching $1 million in recurring annual revenue. The company’s platform now has more than 18,000 active investors across more than 1,200 funds and syndications, and has facilitated more than $4.4 billion in transactions, according to a news release. Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

The mission of the Michigan State Medical Society is to improve the lives of physicians so they may best care for the people they serve.

he Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is a professional society representing more than 15,000 physicians and medical students in Michigan. Incorporated on June 5, 1866, MSMS is a non-profit, membership organization of physicians, graduates completing residency programs, and medical school students. MSMS is the state affiliate of the American Medical Association

MSMS Core Values: Advocate on behalf of physicians and their patients Provide leadership Promote quality health care Demonstrate ethical behavior

When physicians join MSMS, they gain the resources, education, and clout they need to remain leaders of the health care team and advocates for their patients. Currently MSMS is at the forefront of a new passage in Michigan health care. Health care is at a crossroads— the status quo threatens everyone, including patients, payers and physicians. We know things need to change. We seek a more cohesive system down the road, and we are defining how to get there.

For more information visit msms.org.

MSMS is the physician’s voice, the physician’s strength and the profession’s best advocate during medicine’s most turbulent times. OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 5

EDITORIAL

he consternation over Ford Motor Co.’s decision to drive its $11 billion electric-vehicle investment project south down I-75 actually could be good for Michigan. Consider it a catalyst — a wake-up call, if you will, on what needs to be done to attract and retain high-tech manufacturing here in the future. Some of that planning already is underway. We’re hoping Ford’s bombshell announcement last week puts those ideas into overdrive and finally forces cooperation in a region famous for its fragmented and border-obsessed approach to economic development. Not every project will land in Michigan IT’S NOT TOO or stay here. Not every automotive inLATE TO USE expansion THIS MOMENT AS dustry outside our borders represents a local failA TURNING ure. As Michigan EcoPOINT. nomic Development Corp. CEO Quentin Messer noted last week, Ford’s upward trajectory benefits the health of its home state, regardless of where it’s growing. But there is much Michigan can do. Here’s what’s in our control: The ability to identify, purchase, prepare and market massive tracts of “shovel-ready” land. Coordination between lawmakers and utility companies to develop reasonable rate incentives for electric service. Continued discussions over the role of tax credits. Here’s what’s not: The weather. Some manufacturers prefer the South for the same reason people do — a moderate climate. Somewhere in between: Population trends — and whether Michigan can supply the trained, educated workforce needed to keep mega-plants running. Meanwhile, we are encouraged by these concrete steps:  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, economic developers and industry groups are pushing for the creation of a $100 million fund for industrial development on large tracts of land. The money would pay for assembling property as well as planning, engineering, traffic studies, and infrastructure and utility improvements. It’s not much compared to what’s been spent down south

— Tennessee, for example, has poured $222 million into preparing its Memphis area megasite for Ford, according to the Associated Press — but it’s a start.  The Detroit Regional Partnership, the 11-county economic development organization for Southeast Michigan, is working on creating its own catalogue of 200 build-ready industrial sites within its region. The sites will be classified as Verified Industrial Properties or VIP.  Executives at DTE Energy Co. and Consumers Energy Co. are talking with MEDC officials about how to better coordinate direct marketing of large-scale industrial sites, particularly for future battery plant projects that require a high volume of electricity. It’s not too late to use this moment as a turning point. Michigan remains highly competitive in the EV space. Whitmer’s office noted last week that Ford has announced nearly $2.5 billion in new investment in Michigan facilities since December 2019, largely centered on the development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But there are signs partisan sniping could slow the momentum once again, just days after hope of a unified response. On Tuesday, the governor sent a letter to Republican and Democratic legislative leaders making a vague call for giving the MEDC “more resources” to compete for new job investments. She did not specifically mention the $100 million industrial development fund. Instead, the letter called for additional investment in transportation, underground and high-speed internet infrastructure with “billions more federal dollars from forthcoming federal legislation.” Sen. Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, was not impressed. In his statement of response, he cited the governor’s ongoing efforts to shut down Enbridge Energy Co.’s Line 5 underwater oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac and block construction of a $500 million tunnel under Lake Michigan to house a new pipeline. “All economic development and infrastructure conversations ring noticeably hollow as long as it is the governor’s intention to shut down Line 5,” Shirkey wrote. So there it is. Progress or politics? It’s up to Michigan leaders to decide. Until then, manufacturers will be moving forward, looking for friendlier places to land.

The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance has a 1,600-acre tract of farm land near the I-69 and I-94 interchange in Calhoun County that it has been marketing for a decade.

MATTHEW HATCHER/BLOOMBERG

We know what ‘shovel ready’ means. Now what?

President Joe Biden speaks Tuesday at the Operating Engineers Local 324’s state headquarters and heavy equipment training facility in Howell.

COMMENTARY

In Howell, Biden avoids the Line 5 elephant in the room

n the day before President Joe Biden toured the Operating Engineers Local 324’s heavy equipment training facility in Howell, the government of Canada sent a strong message across Lake Huron that pleased the union and displeased the president’s top political allies in Michigan. In an extraordinary move that has major implications for the North American economy, Canada’s foreign minister invoked a 1977 treaty to prevent Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel from shutting down Enbridge Energy Co.’s controversial Line 5 oil pipeline. Whitmer and Nessel have been on a mission to stop the flow of crude oil through the underwater pipeline at the bottom of one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world — a crusade that plays well politically with the environmentalist wing of the Democratic Party that wants rid the world of burning hydrocarbons for energy. That crusade does not play well with the organized labor wing of Whitmer, Nessel and Biden's Democratic Party as unions with jobs at stake worry that shutting down the existing pipeline endangers Enbridge's plan to construct a $500 million tunnel through the bedrock of Lake Michigan to house a new pipeline. That crusade does not play well with the organized labor wing of Whitmer, Nessel and Biden’s Democratic Party. The Operating Engineers Local 324 union has been steadfastly behind the tunnel project because it means years of work for their members who operate cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment in the aboveand below-ground infrastructure business. Local 324’s leadership has been aligned with Enbridge, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and just about every other U.S. business interest group that wants to preserve the flow of sweet crude oil from western Canada to the population centers in Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and beyond. The Operating Engineers and the Laborers

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited for length or clarity. Send letters to Crain’s Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, or email crainsdetroit@crain.com. Please include your complete name, city from which you are writing and a phone number for fact-checking purposes. 6 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

Chad

LIVENGOOD

International Union of North America — another union whose members stand to gain work from the Line 5 tunnel project — were recent sponsors of the Michigan Republican Party’s Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, underscoring how aligned these unions are with the GOP on this issue. This is a major issue of national importance for both countries. Line 5’s crude oil capacity amounts to 42 percent of the 1.3 million-barrel daily refining capacity at eight refineries in three U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The National Propane Gas Association says 55 percent of Michigan’s annual propane supply — or 269 million gallons in 2017 — comes from Line 5’s natural gas liquids. To date, Whitmer, Nessel and the legions of opponents to Line 5 have not proposed any alternative for transporting these energy sources to market. Instead, they’ve portrayed the pipeline to the benefit of Canada when, in fact, anyone who doesn’t have natural gas at their home or business is very dependent upon it for heating. On Tuesday, the president of the United States was standing in the headquarters of the labor union with the most at stake in this high-stakes battle over Line 5. And he said nothing about it. It’s unclear if Local 324’s leadership brought up the proverbial elephant in the room with the president privately. “We had the opportunity to speak with the president on a number of items, but would prefer to keep those conversations private,” union spokesman Dan McKernan said. See LIVENGOOD on Page 18

Sound off: Crain’s considers longer opinion pieces from guest writers on issues of interest to business readers. Email ideas to Managing Editor Michael Lee at malee@crain.com.

OTHER VOICES

Crony capitalist deals for big business should not drive Michigan BY MICHAEL LAFAIVE AND JASON HAYES

electricity rates if the right customer were to ask for that favor. And, to be fair to Ford, what company could afford to refuse? We’ve seen the same sort of deal offered to other large, energy-intensive businesses. A company that can pay lower electricity rates can trim costs and offer both jobs and lower prices on the products it produces. But lowering costs on one group of customers is kind of like squeezing a balloon. You can compress one section, but another will swell to accommodate the increased pressure. When special rates are offered to one company, the remaining costs in the system are apportioned to Michigan’s

other small business and residential electricity customers. Forcing Michigan residents to pay higher taxes and higher electricity rates to ensure companies like Ford will build, or keep, their plants here means the little guy ends up subsidizing the production of cars, batteries, polysilicon or some other products. The best approach to economic development is one of a fair field and no favors. Reduce utility and tax costs across the board, provide first-rate public infrastructure and lighten the regulatory load. That’s a proven strategy that would help many businesses — a lot more than the one getting all the media attention right now.

S:7.5"

We make it our business to help you with yours.

S:9.5"

The hubbub surrounding Ford Motor Co.’s plans to build battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky has lawmakers in Michigan worried that they’re falling Michael LaFaive behind. Opportunists are using is the senior Ford’s announcedirector of fiscal ment as an excuse policy at the Mackinac Center to promote failed for Public Policy, corporate welfare policies. Even a research and Gov. Gretchen educational Whitmer has institute in called on the LegMidland. islature to spend more on business subsidies. Yet the location of a new battery plant should tell people very little about what they ought to do to encourage economic growth. If the decision about a Jason Hayes is plant location is the Mackinac Center for Public allowed to have any impact at all, Policy’s director of environmental it should be limited to encouraging policy. free-market policies that would lower electricity rates. Some lawmakers think the Ford news is evidence that the state needs to offer more business subsidies. The recently proposed Senate Bill 615 would give out $300 million to business projects selected by state administrators. It does so by redirecting workers’ income taxes from the state treasury to the owners of these companies. This has been tried before and evidence shows it to be an ineffective strategy. The Promoting Employment Access Across Kansas program is structured similarly to the program SB 615 would create. In 2014, its performance was studied in depth by economist Nathan Jensen. He used a database of employment and sales changes, known as the National Establishment Time Series, to track jobs at firms subsidized by the PEAK program. He then compared those firms to similar firms that had not been subsidized. He concluded that PEAK firms were no more likely to create jobs than those that did not receive subsidies. He’s not the only one to find that state business subsidies fail to generate the economic growth sponsors claim they will. The Mackinac Center used the same jobs database to track the impact of about 2,300 incentive deals across nine program or program areas, going back to 1983. We found no impact in five areas and an explicitly negative impact in another. In three, we found positive employment changes compared to similar firms that were not subsidized, but they came at a huge cost of incentives offered. Lawmakers want business subsidies to change their economic outlooks, but even the most generous programs fail to operate at the scale necessary to make a dent in state economies. For instance, even if the Ford project were to generate all the jobs in the original announcement — deals often fail to live up to initial ex-

pectations — it would account for just to locate the battery plants outside of 1.1 percent of the jobs created in Ken- its home state. At 7.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, tucky and Tennessee in 2020. More public attention should be paid to the Michigan’s electricity rates are about 25 percent higher reasons for why than electricity 98.9 percent of THE BEST APPROACH TO rates in Kentucky the jobs were creand Tennessee, ated, not 1.1 per- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT which are 5.6 and cent of them. 5.7 cents, respecStill, if lawmak- IS ONE OF A FAIR FIELD tively. Farley also ers want to learn AND NO FAVORS. explained that something from Ford’s announcements, they ought to “making batteries consumes five focus on a policy issue they can do times the electricity of a traditional something about. Ford’s CEO, Jim auto plant.” Farley, specifically cited Kentucky and Michigan’s big monopoly utilities Tennessee’s lower electricity rates as a immediately responded with soothkey factor in the company’s decision ing assurances that they can tweak

Conﬁ dence comes with every card.®

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we understand finding the right health care coverage for your employees can be no simple task. Which is why we make it easier on them — and you. We do it by giving them the personal attention your employees deserve and the help they need to make smart choices when it comes to enrollment and finding the right health care. Our robust data helps provide actionable insights to maximize benefit value for your employees while minimizing costs for you. It all adds up to smarter, better health care. See what Blue Cross can do for your business.

Learn more at bcbsm.com/employers

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

BCB144280_Crains_Detroit_Business_6-21_Insert_F1.indd 1

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 7 6/10/21 12:57 PM

CANNABIS

Michigan’s largest cannabis retail towns reflect history, culture — and strategy

CANNABIS, CONCENTRATED Retail cannabis outlets have exploded in some Michigan towns.

LUME CANNABIS

BY ANNALISE FRANK As cannabis-friendly outposts pop

Top cannabis cities

up across Michigan, the three cities to have garnered the most recreational business licenses are Ann Arbor, Bay City and Battle Creek. The trio of localities, disparate in region and ranging in population size from Bay City’s 33,000 to Ann Arbor’s 120,000, are part of a small web of around 370 municipalities where cannabis retail storefronts can set up shop. Why is the map of Michigan’s cannabis retail landscape so spotty? The reasons are myriad. Once a city decides to buy in, what happens next is influenced by its track record — or lack thereof — on accepting the much-older medical marijuana industry, as well as its population mix and its proximity to state borders, for example.

The top 23 Michigan cities with the most active recreational cannabis business licenses.

8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

City

Ann Arbor Bay City Battle Creek Lansing Kalamazoo Big Rapids Muskegon Grand Rapids Adrian Burton Flint Jackson

Number of licenses

24 22 20 16 14 12 12 12 8 8 8 8

City

River Rouge Marquette Lapeer Ypsilanti Kalkaska Coldwater Hazel Park Manistee Buchanan Morenci Portage

Number of licenses

7 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5

SOURCES: MICHIGAN MARIJUANA REGULATORY AGENCY LICENSING DATABASE AND LICENSEE MAP; FIGURES COMPRISE ALL ACTIVE LICENSEES FOR ADULT-USE CANNABIS RETAIL STORES, INCLUDING CURRENTLY OPEN STORES AS WELL AS SOME WHO MAY NOT YET HAVE OPENED OR MAY BE CLOSED FOR VARIOUS REASONS

Crain’s determined the top 23 cities for cannabis retail, zeroing in on the larger recreational cannabis industry. Ann Arbor, with the University of Michigan and a long history of supporting cannabis, tops Crain’s list of cities with the most active recreational cannabis business licenses: 24. Bay City has 22, followed by 20 in Battle Creek, 16 in Lansing and 14 in Kalamazoo. The city in metro Detroit with the most is River Rouge, which has seven. But medical provisioning centers have retained a chunk of the market, too: Medical sales totaled $40.1 million in August, according to the most recent state data available, while adult-use sales totaled $125.5 million for the same month. See CONCENTRATE on Page 10

Stepping up when it matters most Last year, we committed $1.25 billion over five years to build on our long-standing work in support of driving racial equality and economic opportunity. To date, we’ve directly funded or invested nearly $400 million of this commitment, in addition to other ways we continue to make an impact in our communities. Our actions include: •

$36 million to 21 Minority Deposit Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) banks that support minority-owned businesses. This is in addition to our approximately $100 million in deposits to MDIs and our existing $1.8 billion CDFI portfolio.

•

$300 million to 100 equity funds to provide capital to diverse entrepreneurs and small business owners

•

$10 million grant to fund the Center for Black Entrepreneurship (CBE), in partnership with Spelman and Morehouse colleges

•

$25 million to 21 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and community colleges in support of job skilling and placement

•

Establishing new partnerships and coalitions focused on building skills and creating job opportunities for people of color

•

$60 million to increase access to capital and career opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) affordable housing developers

•

33 million+ masks, more than 272,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and 8 million gloves to communities in need

•

$1.35 million in grants to support mental health initiatives for young people of color

•

$25 million founding partnership in the Smithsonian’s new initiative on race, Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past

These are just some examples of how we’re working with community partners, business leaders, experts and academics across the public and private sectors to continue to drive progress. At Bank of America, we call this a nice start.

Matt Elliott President, Bank of America Detroit

What would you like the power to do?® Go to bankofamerica.com/detroit to learn more. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

MARQUETTE: 7

CONCENTRATE

From Page 8

Sales in the adult-use, or recreational, market have jumped 112 percent over the past year, from $59.2 million in August 2020 to $125.5 million the same month this year. Monthly sales first broke $100 million in April. While hundreds of cities allow some portion of the cannabis industry — whether it’s growing and processing, the more public-facing retail option or both — there are also 1,400 localities, nearly 80 percent of the state’s 1,773, that took action to block the new industry from their borders. Local governments can decide to opt out under state law. Those that do allow it got shares of a bucket of $10 million in tax revenue for fiscal 2020, the state reported in March.

Saturation points There’s much to watch in Michigan’s industry as cannabis companies continue to expand, grabbing at vacant land in the cities they’re allowed to enter. Mergers and acMains quisitions have also heated up, with one of Michigan’s leading brands, Gage Growth Corp., set to be acquired by TerrAscend Corp. and another big player, Skymint Inc., agreeing to buy 3Fifteen Cannabis. As retailers flock to certain cities, they are becoming saturated, said Douglas Mains, a partner at Detroit-based Honigman LLP who helped draft recreational and medical cannabis legislation. “I think that (saturation) discourages some,” Mains said. “But I think where the industry is at, it’s more of a numbers game, depending on what the long-term plan for the business is. ... There’s kind of a rush to be the business that has the most retail outlets ... That makes you more attractive when we’re talking about M&A activity, that makes it easier for you to maybe think about doing an IPO.” The state’s cannabis market was worth a whopping $3.2 billion as of last year — though around two-thirds of that amount is attributed to the nonretail market, including illegal sales and legal home grows, an Anderson Economic Group study commissioned by the Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association found. As of that time, the state had 400 medical retailers and 300 adult-use ones. Painting a picture of where cannabis storefronts are more prevalent in Michigan is not an exact science, though. The state doesn’t have data available that shows how many medical and recreational retailers are open at a given time — it changes too often as stores close shop abruptly, lag in their opening timelines or close for

remodeling, for example, according to Marijuana Regulatory Agency spokesman David Harns. Many stores also offer both medical and adult-use products. So for this list, Crain’s referenced a combination of tools: a state map and a searchable licensing database. The figures are the best option, according to experts, but they aren’t perfect. They show active licenses, which does include all businesses that are open selling marijuana. But a license could also be active while a store is still working toward opening, or after it’s shuttered.

BIG RAPIDS:12

CITIES WITH THE MOST RETAIL POT LICENSES

Experienced or green? Where cannabis goes depends on the cities’ histories, Mains said. “A lot of the municipalities on that list of the top 20 or so, in terms of retail facilities, places like Lansing, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Flint, are places where they’ve had cannabis businesses, specifically retail, for a long time,” he said. “Even predating when (Michigan’s medical cannabis licensing act) went into effect.” Places that allowed cannabis retailers to sell back when they floated in a gray regulatory area — between when medical cannabis was legalized on a small scale in 2008 and when 2016 laws finally clarified the confusion around provisioning centers — had a head start in learning about the industry, Mains said. They could assuage or deal with the usual concerns about odor, noise or criminality. Other municipalities were “starting from scratch.” Cities that decide to let in cannabis can create their own preferences, to a certain extent, on what kind of businesses they’ll allow. That has made the industry quite litigious, with lawsuits cropping up in places such as Berkley and Detroit. But Mains doesn’t think the regulatory red tape factors much into which cities have become cannabis powerhouses. “Businesses in this space are just used to that at this point, dealing with regulations that are stringent and ever-evolving,” he said. “It’s more just availability of licenses, and also real estate.” Lume Cannabis Co. does not adjust its strategy based on how tough cities’ application processes are, said Doug Hellyar, president and chief operating officer for the major Michigan operator. Lume opened its 25th store on Sept. 29 in Manistique in the Upper Peninsula and is aiming for 100 stores in the state by 2024. “We will open a location anywhere we can,” Hellyar said. “That’s been the strategy from the outset ... A low percentage (of Michigan cities) have opted in, so a lot of the population in Michigan does not have ready access to cannabis.”

10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

BIG RAPIDS: 12

BAY CITY: 22

MUSKEGON: 12

FLINT: 8 GRAND RAPIDS: 12

BURTON: 8

LANSING: 16

KALAMAZOO: 14

RIVER ROUGE: 7 BATTLE CREEK: 20

SOURCE: MICHIGAN MARIJUANA REGULATORY AGENCY LICENSING DATABASE AND LICENSEE MAP

Cannabis trail College towns, unsurprisingly, garner high cannabis retail density, said Michelle Donovan, senior counsel for Detroit-based Clark Hill PLC with a specialization in cannabis licensing, regulations and other issues. She pointed to Ann Arbor as well as Kalamazoo and Adrian — not just home to Adrian College but also near the border with Ohio, which has approved only medical cannabis. From the beginning, some smaller cities saw cannabis as an opportunity to create needed new economic activity, said Ann Arbor-based cannabis attorney Travis Copenhaver with Vicente Sederberg LLP. Copenhaver mentioned Bay City, whose rules allow 50 retailers in the municipality with a population of 33,000. Lansing, with a population of more than 117,000, will let in up to 28. Tiny Vassar with less than 3,000 residents has four active license holders, and is allowing one recreational retailer per medical license holder.

JACKSON: 8

ANN ARBOR: 24

ADRIAN: 8

While Michigan’s cannabis industry is undoubtedly surging, Donovan said there’s still a distinct lack of availability compared with demand. “You’re good if you’re in a college town, for sure. It doesn’t make it accessible for, you know, somebody who might live in northern Macomb County ... where are they going to go?” Donovan said. Delivery can bridge some of those gaps — Lapeer County dispensary Pure Lapeer, for instance, delivers 60 miles from its store and that includes much of Macomb County. For those venturing up north, Donovan said, for the most part availability becomes sparse after Bay City. But going into the U.P., there are two more college towns: Houghton, home to Michigan Technological University, has three active adult-use retail licensees, and Marquette, with Northern Michigan University, has seven, according to the state’s database. Going northeast from metro Detroit into the Thumb area, though,

retail peters out quickly. Port Huron approved cannabis retail, but no businesses have opened there yet, according to Donovan and the state. Donovan said, too, that when she looks at a map she sees an opportunity for tourism: A throughline across the state on I-94, with pot hot spots Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky,” she said, referencing the tourist road trip path across distilleries. “So it’s kind of like Michigan could be the cannabis trail, so to speak ... and you could go all the way to the edge of the state, rounding out with Benton Harbor. And what we really should be looking at, as far as tourism and capitalizing on it like Colorado and California and (Las) Vegas, is Michigan could be a destination because we have so many options, as far as retail.” Contact: afrank@crain.com; (313) 446-0416; @annalise_frank

REAL ESTATE

Ally Financial leases three more floors in its namesake skyscraper downtown About 250 employees from Troy office to move to Detroit offices BY KIRK PINHO

Miller’s Bar in Dearborn is up for sale as the owners eye retirement. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

81-year-old Miller’s Bar in Dearborn up for sale BY KIRK PINHO

The iconic Miller’s Bar in Dearborn known for its hamburgers has hit the market for sale. The specific asking price is not disclosed for the building at 23700 Michigan Ave. owned by Dennis and Mark Miller, the third generation of Millers to own the bar and restaurant over the last eight-plus decades. However, Ali Charara, an agent with Century 21 Curran & Oberski, which has offices in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Northville, said the asking price is more than $4 million. The sale includes the business, trademarks, a 50- to 60-person banquet area, equipment, four apartments above the building plus a salon all owned by the Millers, Charara said. “The two brothers are ready for retirement now,” Charara said. “They have been holding off on selling because of the pandemic, but the bar is getting back to its normal business and things are picking back up.” Charara said revenue dropped 30 percent to 35 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic but is now at about 95 percent of what it was prior to the global health crisis that prompted the state to shut down bars and restaurants to indoor service for a long stretch of time.

Whoever comes along to purchase the property, Charara said the Millers would prefer they continue operating similar to what it is now. “They would like the legacy to live on. It’s been 81 years and I’m sure there is value in that legacy itself,” Charara said, noting that the bar currently employs six people. He also noted that the Millers would likely stay on board “until new ownership takes over and gets into cruise control.” A listing for the property says it is 2,500 square feet. The Miller’s website says George Miller started the bar in 1941 as a “shot and a beer joint” and Dennis and Mark Miller’s dad later added the food menu. The Miller’s Bar claim to fame, however, is its seven-ounce hamburgers, of which the website says “several hundred each day” are served. Miller’s burgers are consistently ranked among the best hamburgers in the region and the country, getting honors from WDIV Local 4, Hour Magazine, Thrillist and GQ, among others. Hillary Clinton stopped there during the 2016 presidential campaign season.

Ally Financial Inc. is taking more space in the downtown Detroit skyscraper that bears its name. A spokesperson for the financial services company said it is adding three floors to its footprint in the Ally Detroit Center building, formerly One Detroit Center, at 500 Woodward Ave. which is owned by Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based Bedrock LLC real estate company. Ally didn’t disclose precise details about the space addition and Bedrock declined to, although CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.based real estate information service, says Ally currently occupies 317,000 square feet on the third through 10th floors, the 14th through 20th floors and the 24th floor. A typical floor in the building is about 25,600 square feet, CoStar says, meaning that Ally would be adding close to 77,000 square feet. “Approximately 250 employees from our Troy office will transition to the newly added space by the end of January 2022, and the additional capacity will be used to accommodate growth we are forecasting in the region,” Jillian Palash, director of corporate communications, said in an email to Crain’s on Monday afternoon. According to CoStar, Ally Financial takes about 43,000 square feet in the Troy Technology Park building at 1960 Technology Drive in a lease that expires in December. It is

Ally Detroit Center in downtown Detroit. | COSTAR GROUP INC.

the largest tenant in that 83,800-square-foot building. The newly added space is something of an anomaly during the COVID-19 pandemic as many companies have kept their employees working at home and have shrunk office footprints or eliminated them entirely, giving space up for sublease. One notable exception to that is Plante Moran. The accounting, tax advisory, real estate and wealth management firm shuttered its owned 125,000-square-foot office at 27400 Northwestern Highway in the Victor Center building, put it up for sale for an undisclosed price and leased an additional eight floors in

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

N E W P R I C E TA G !

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

Challenges are everywhere. So are solutions.

For more information, please contact: Justin Hadley, Area President Justin_Hadley@ajg.com 248.758.1175

the Southfield Town Center in addition to the four it already takes, bringing its footprint there to 192,600 square feet, up from 50,200. Gilbert paid $100 million for Ally Detroit Center and its 2,070-space parking deck in 2015 and lured Ally Financial, the bank that was at one time General Motors Acceptance Corp., there from the Renaissance Center. That kept the company from relocating to the suburbs as it had considered. Ally Financial had been mulling space in the 2.2 millionsquare-foot Southfield Town Center, as well as build-to-suit.

F E AT U R E D LISTINGS

780 VAUGHAN ROAD

1016 LAKE PARK DIVE

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

BIRMINGHAM

H O M E F E AT U R E S

5 BEDROOM | 8 BATH | 10,000+ SQ. FT.

4 BEDROOM | 4.2 BATH | 6,208 SQ. FT.

• PRIVATE ESTATE NESTLED ON 3.5+ ACRES

• PRIVATE CORNER LOT

• WINE CELLAR

• MAIN LEVEL MASTER SUITE WITH TERRACE

• CUSTOM FINISHES

• AU PAIR SUITE

• 4 ADDITIONAL BEDROOMS WITH ENSUITE

• HOME THEATER

• EXERCISE AREA

• ELEVATOR

• MASTER SUITE

BATHROOM/WALK IN CLOSETS • AWARD-WINNING KITCHEN DESIGN • MANY FORMAL LIVING SPACES • HOME ELEVATOR • 2 FULL LAUNDRY ROOMS • 4-CAR GARAGE

TO LEARN MORE, VISIT ASHLEYCRAIN.COM OR EMAIL ACRAIN@HALLANDHUNTER.COM

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 11

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

HEALTH CARE

MANAGING MISINFORMATION Doctors try to convince pregnant women to get COVID-19 vaccine as numbers lag BY JAY GREENE

Pregnant women, those breastfeeding and those thinking about becoming pregnant should become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to recommendations from medical societies and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But misinformation and unfounded suspicion of miscarriages, fertility problems and birth defects is keeping vaccination rates at less than half the 55 percent national average for all ages, two Michigan obstetricians tell Crain’s. More than 156,000 pregnant women nationally have so far been vaccinated with no evidence of increased birth defects, stillbirths, infertility and other problems for the fetus or mother, the CDC and medical experts say. “Every specialty organization in medicine is advocating for pregnant, lactating and women who want to become pregnant to receive the vaccine, regardless of whatever point they are in their pregnancy, because the risk of COVID is far greater to them,” said Dr. Jody Jones, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Canton Township with the Ann Arbor-based IHA medical group. Jones, who also is co-chair of the Michigan Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health and a district chair-

Jones

Sager

elect with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the last two COVID-19 surges this year have affected a younger population more than the first two in 2020. “Those are typically women of reproductive age. The other concern is that people go to different sites on social media and they hear information that is really misinformation,” Jones said. “Really, it’s all-out lies about things that have no basis in medicine, and they get scared.” Jones said she and other obstetricians tell their patients that the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines are safe for reproductive age women. The CDC data from the V-Safe pregnancy registry did not find an increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 pregnant women who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Typically, miscarriage occurs in about 11 percent to 16 percent of

12 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

pregnancies. The CDC said it found miscarriage rates after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine were around 13 percent. “CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a statement. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.” However, ACOG notes the J&J vaccine has been linked, in rare instances, to blood clots and that “pregnant, lactating, and postpartum people aged less than 50 years should be aware of the rare risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome” when taking the J&J vaccine. “With shared decisionmaking about the vaccine and rare side effect of TTS, patients can receive the J&J vaccine,” Jones said. But largely because of misinformation or failure to correctly weigh risks, only 31 percent of pregnant women had chosen to be vaccinated as of Sept. 18, according to CDC data. Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the state does not track numbers of pregnant

women infected or hospitalized with COVID-19. While about 33 percent of IHA patients have been fully vaccinated, none of the fully vaccinated mothers have been admitted with COVID-19 at Trinity St. Joseph Mercy Health in Ann Arbor, said IHA, adding it had no data on Trinity’s other seven hospitals in Michigan. Jones said none of her patients who have been vaccinated have been hospitalized. IHA has had a small number or pregnant women hospitalized. “We have had COVID-positive (unvaccinated pregnant) patients who have had to be in the ICU or step down unit because they’re having respiratory complications from their disease,” Jones said. Dr. Casey Sager, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula with OSF St. Francis Healthcare, said some pregnant women in her four-member obstetrical group have been infected, but none has been hospitalized. “We’ve had multiple infected patients, but they have been managed on an outpatient basis,” Sager said. “We watch them carefully because they are known to be at increased risk for blood clots. If they do, we would either recommend potentially Lovenox, which is a blood thinner (that helps to prevent blood clots), or a baby aspirin to help decrease the clotting potential.”

As of Sept. 27, the CDC said more than 125,000 pregnant women have contracted COVID-19 with 161 deaths and about 22,000 hospitalizations, although weekly numbers have declined since the vaccine became available earlier this year. More than 200 have lost their pregnancies. Sager said contracting COVID-19 is dangerous for pregnant women, especially in later stages of pregnancy when fetal growth and hypertension is closely monitored. “Some of the dangers we see (in the UP) is missing appointments because of exposure to COVID and the quarantine associated with it,” Sager said. “Depending on a woman’s gestation, they’re more frequent towards the end of pregnancy. And so when you take a patient who would normally be monitored, and they have a two-week quarantine, that can put them out from the regularly scheduled visit.” Jones and Sager have ramped up telemedicine visits again because of the latest COVID-19 surge. “We are seeing increased number of infections and quarantining,” Sager said. “We are encouraging phone or video all the time with (high-risk) patients.” Sager said a growing number of pregnant women have been getting vaccinated, many after they deliver. See VACCINE on Page 16

ALIGN WITH TODAY’S MOVERS, SHAKERS AND FUTURE NEWSMAKERS

Among 2021’s class of go-getters are tomorrow’s Newsmakers of the Year—like 40 under Forty alumni Dan Gilbert, Jennifer Granholm, Mike Duggan, Fran Parker and Dug Song. Be part of welcoming them to Crain’s illustrious “40s club.”

Secure a spot in the celebration limelight with an event sponsorship. Multiple opportunities are still available, with benefits ranging from speaking at the event to branding on awards, lanyards, signage and more.

Contact Senior Event Producer Shelby Jones at shelby.jones@crain.com to learn more.

EXPERIENCE SPONSOR

Detroit Opera House NOV. 4 | 6 - 8 P.M.

SUPPORTING SPONSOR

THE BOOK:

EXCLUSIVE DATA AND INSIGHT

FOR METRO DETROIT BUSINESS LEADERS When it comes to Detroit business, leaders rely on Crain’s: 57% of our readers are in top management, while 36% occupy the C-suite. And 90% of them reference The Book year-round.

Be in the go-to resource for metro Detroit business leaders. Advertise in The Book. Contact Associate Publisher Lisa Rudy at lrudy@crain.com to learn more. Secure ad space by NOV. 24 | Publishes DEC. 20 Digital and display. Premium placements are available. Source: “Crain’s Detroit Business Audience Study,” Signet Research Inc., 2019.

$0s sponsor full split.indd 1

10/8/21 11:16 AM

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FORUM

SPONSORED CONTENT

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FORUM

CANNABIS SPONSORED BY NEW STANDARD

CREATING A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR CANNABIS CONSUMERS IS KEY

You walk into a dispensary, and the first time, you’re overwhelmed to a large extent. It’s our job to make sure that anyone who walks in is instantly greeted by a person who is not trying to sell them anything, but who is ready to educate them and answer their questions about cannabis products. After spending time on the board of directors with the Shinola brand, where great culture, excellent customer service, and a comfortable environment are a part of the retail experience, I knew that was the answer for elevating

We got you.

addition, the cannabis industry contributes an estimated $100 million monthly to the state economy, with recreational cannabis sales expected to hit over $1 billion in the next year.

The cannabis industry has reached the end of its prohibition in cities across the U.S., making it the first genuinely new industry in decades. With this new industry comes the ability for innovation, development, and growth at record speeds. How does a cannabis company set a new standard? Culture, culture, culture. Business executives, soccer moms, and cannabis connoisseurs all co-exist when shopping or learning about cannabis products. Creating a culture that makes them all feel welcome must be a part of the framework for any cannabis organization to succeed.

Connoisseur or just curious?

• According to Leafly’s 2021 jobs report, Michigan added 77,000 full-time cannabis jobs in 2020. Legal cannabis now supports 321,000 full-time jobs in America. Howard Luckoff is co-founder and CEO of New Standard, a vertically integrated cannabis company, which includes an interest in nine cannabis provisioning centers. Previously, Luckoff practiced law for a number of Detroit-based firms. the cannabis industry. Each New Standard retail location was designed with that culture in mind. It’s a space to interact and learn from our budtenders about the versatility of cannabis. In an economy defined by shortages of labor and supplies, one sector continues to grow: the cannabis industry. • Like many cannabis retailers, most of New Standard’s locations are in small communities, adding dozens of jobs to local economies. In

The cannabis industry has also created the innovation of cannabis agriculture. New Standard has several cultivation facilities in Michigan, allowing them to grow, produce and sell their own product. In addition, farm to flower provides cannabis retailers the assurance that plant flowers and leaves are rigorously tested to be free of pesticides and other contaminants. All of this ensures that, along with an enjoyable retail experience, customers are assured they are buying the purest product. New Standard has current locations in Ann Arbor, Grand Haven, Hazel Park, Edmore, Muskegon, Nunica, Sand Lake, and Saugatuck. To learn more, visit anewstandard.com.

Ann Arbor Edmore Exit 9 Grand Haven

Hazel Park Park Place Sand Lake Saugatuk

anewstandard.com

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 15

REAL ESTATE

Developer targets second phase of West Village development First phase of The Coe opened four years ago; second phase would be substantially larger “OUR PRIMARY PRIORITY IN THIS IS TO MAKE SURE WE DO RIGHT BY THE CURRENT RESIDENTS WHO LIVE THERE AND DO RIGHT BY THE LARGER NEIGHBORHOOD.”

BY KIRK PINHO

Four years after opening the first $4 million phase of The Coe, a joint venture between Detroit-based developer Woodborn Partners LLC and others have their eyes on a second phase next to it. The second phase would be substantially larger than the 12-unit first phase, with 16 studio apartments and 37 one-bedroom units in one building and five for-sale townhouse units in a second building for a total of 58 residences at the corner of Van Dyke Avenue and Coe Street in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood, according to documents submitted to the Historic District Commission. Woodborn Partners, led by Clifford Brown, expects to bring back the same team that worked on the first phase, Detroit-based Christian Hurttienne Architects and Detroit-based Sachse Construction. Peter Feinberg and Stephen Tobias are investors in the second phase of The Coe. The two men are general partners in Detroit-based North Coast Partners LLC, but North Coast is not affiliated with the second phase, Tobias said. Brown said construction should begin next year. As part of the project, the development team is requesting HDC per-

VACCINE

From Page 12

“(Vaccinations) is definitely the minority in our practice, although we are seeing now that we’re further out from the start of the rollout of the vaccine. We are seeing an increasing number of women that were vaccinated prior to pregnancy that are now becoming pregnant versus women that are getting vaccinated during their pregnancy,” she said.

Doctors urge vaccination Pregnant women have been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine since the shots were first authorized last December, but it has only been in recent weeks that major medical organizations and federal agencies have given full endorsements of the vaccinations. In July, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine issued a statement recommending vaccines for pregnant individuals. Then on Aug. 11, as the delta variant began to drive a national surge in hospitalizations, the CDC recommended vaccination as the numbers of pregnant women critically ill with COVID-19 also started to increase significantly. The recommendation delay stemmed from a lack of strong data to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine in pregnant women. The three major clinical trials on the vaccines in the U.S., from Pfizer, Moderna and J&J, did not set out to enroll pregnant women, though some test volunteers became pregnant during the trials without problems. Sager said the most common reason pregnant women gave her for not becoming vaccinated was newness of the vaccine and that pregnant women weren’t included in the origi-

— Clifford Brown, Woodborn Partners

A rendering of the proposed second phase of The Coe development in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood.| CHRISTIAN HURTTIENNE ARCHITECTS

mission to tear down a pair of homes on the development site, one at 1514 Van Dyke and another next door at 1532 Van Dyke. The developers say that it is cost-prohibitive to renovate and/or move the homes, which

would cost $1.1 million for renovation, purchasing a new location for them and relocating them. In addition, the developers say SME Environmental performed a structural analysis of the homes

COVID-19 and pregnancy  COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant or might become pregnant in the future.  Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 compared with nonpregnant people. Pregnant women with COVID-19 are also more likely to give birth early.  Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. Data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.

vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.  Most newborns of women who had COVID-19 during pregnancy do not have COVID-19 when they are born.  Some newborns have tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after birth. It is not known if these newborns got the virus before, during or after birth. Antibodies from a vaccinated mother can be somewhat protective for newborns.  Most newborns who tested positive for COVID-19 had mild or no symptoms and recovered, although some newborns have developed severe COVID-19 illness.

 No evidence has been found that any

SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

nal studies. “Most think there aren’t enough studies. Most women who are pregnant aren’t going to be subjected to a study because they don’t want to risk having something go wrong and harming their infant,” Sager said. “Maternal instinct kicks in, and you do what you think is best for the baby. And that for a lot of women is not exposing the baby to something that is new and recently approved by the FDA.” When faced with hesitancy, Sager said she presents the facts and evidence about the vaccine’s safety. She said she doesn’t pressure women to get the vaccine to avoid adding stress that can create additional problems. “The more compelling argument is in the numbers. With 156,000 people getting the vaccines, those are good numbers. And those numbers get higher and higher, I think it will be even more difficult for patients to argue with it,” she said. But misinformation has been a

large barrier, Sager said. “In the UP, everyone knows someone who got the vaccine, and (the story goes) she got very sick, or she got the vaccine and then she ended up with preterm labor, or a number of other things,” said Sager, adding there is a percentage of women who will have those events happen regardless of taking the vaccine or not. “These things are normal. ... It is extremely difficult (to counter) because in a small area once someone has heard something from someone they note as a friend or a relative or reputable source, it’s hard to undo that message,” Sager said. Conversations obstetricians have with women now are typically longer and involve questions about whether they have been vaccinated or not. “When we hear lies people hear from social media we try and dismiss them. It’s our biggest challenge. They hear people are getting hospitalized after getting vaccination, so people who are on the fence about it say:

16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

showing “the structures are so fundamentally unsound that it isn’t even feasible to move them.” There will be assistance with moving for the current residents, Brown said. “‘Why would I get the vaccine if I’m going to get COVID anyway?’” Jones said. “Some say, ‘I might as well get COVID and then I will have natural immunity.’” But pregnant women should weigh the risks or reaction to the vaccines with actually getting COVID-19, Sager and Jones said. The CDC says 98 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations are unvaccinated people and the unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die than those vaccinated. “There are very few cases even of the delta variant breaking through the vaccine,” Jones said. “No vaccine is 100 percent effective, but we tell them the vaccine will decrease their chances of being hospitalized, or even die from it.” Jones said she has had some success in providing information to change women’s minds. But even some medical professionals are hesitant to get vaccinated. “Early on, I had a patient who was a physician herself, and she was very high risk,” Jones said. “She worked in the ICU. She saw a lot of COVID patients, and she was not going to get the vaccine at first. I looked her in the eye and I said, ‘Doctor, you’re not going to get the vaccine? You know how this vaccine works. Tell me how it’s going to hurt your baby.’ She had nothing to say. She ended up getting it, and she’s glad she did.”

Impacts of COVID Avoiding infection with coronavirus should be a top priority for pregnant women, Jones said. “In pregnancy, your pulmonary function is very different. You’re already low on oxygen because of the baby, and you’re having more difficulty breathing in and breathing out because you’ve got a pregnant uterus pushing up on your breathing mus-

“We spent the last year thinking through how to do this,” he said. “The thought is they come back to the building once it’s built.” He said North Coast owns property in the area that could accommodate the residents in the interim, or they could end up with a different landlord on a temporary basis. “Our primary priority in this is to make sure we do right by the current residents who live there and do right by the larger neighborhood,” Brown said. The second phase would be another new large development in the area, following the 92-unit Parker Durand, which is nearing completion at the intersection of its two namesake streets, as well as the first phase of The Coe. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB cle, the diaphragm,” Jones said. “COVID can certainly cause serious complications.” Jones said the biggest risk with COVID-19 for women is in the third trimester when they could develop respiratory complications or pneumonia. “What’s interesting about fetal circulation is that the fetus makes a different type of hemoglobin,” she said. “What happens is the mother’s oxygen gets shunted into the fetal bloodstream through the placenta and the fetus stays oxygenated. ... The bottom line is even when the mother’s oxygen level is low, the fetus is able to extract that oxygen to stay well.” But that puts the mother’s health at risk. As a result, the CDC has placed COVID-19 on the list of health conditions that increase the risk of severe disease. The CDC said they are significantly more likely than patients who are not pregnant to require intensive care, to be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, and to require mechanical ventilation. They also face a 70 percent increased risk of dying. For example, contracting COVID-19 can increase the risk of the mother developing a dangerous condition called pre-eclampsia, and raise the risk of preterm births, stillbirths, gestational diabetes and low birth weight. A study released in August from the University of California Irvine Health found that expectant mothers diagnosed with COVID-19 were 40 percent more likely to deliver prematurely (earlier than 37 weeks.) “Antibodies is another big reason to be vaccinated,” Jones said. “Especially for people who have been vaccinated against COVID, the antibodies can cross the placenta and be protective to the baby. This can offer some window of immunity against COVID for the newborn.”

STEEL

From Page 1

The way Goncalves sees it, after the industry’s crash last year from the pandemic — its most severe downturn since the Great Recession of 2007-09 — big steel is rebounding with a new way of doing business. And high prices are here to stay. “We cannot work out of a price tag that is basically a cost-plus,” Goncalves said. “That’s a business model that doesn’t work. So, we’re changing that. Be prepared. That’s the new reality.” Supply chain issues have become a household topic as the prices of all kinds of goods creep up and shortages persist with everything from cheese to lawn mower blades. In metro Detroit, growing stockpiles of microchip-less cars sitting in parking lots and fields are a reminder of the problem. For automakers, the soaring cost of commodiGoncalves ties took a back seat to the more urgent problem of not being able to buy computer microchips to make the hunks of steel move. But they are now being forced to confront the issue head on as they renegotiate next year’s supply contracts with steelmakers. Until this point, those hardest hit by soaring commodity prices have been smaller manufacturers such as AlphaUSA, a family-owned unionized shop with 135 employees and a projected revenue of $50 million. They lack the purchasing power of automakers — which typically buy direct from mills — and are forced to pay higher spot prices at domestic service centers. The average spot price per hundredweight of cold-rolled steel more than tripled year-over-year to $108.20 in September, according to data from the CRU Index. Hot-rolled coil prices nearly quadrupled with an average cost per hundredweight of $96.60 last month. Prices stagnated for most of 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic but began rising rapidly last fall. Because most suppliers locked in their contracts with automakers before steel prices spiked, they were left to eat the costs. Local manufacturers of all sizes have been impacted by the rising prices for raw goods, said John Walsh, president and CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, which counts nearly 1,700 companies as members. “It’s pervasive with all raw goods,

SOARING STEEL PRICES

likely to remain high at least through ing back Section 232, but eliminating the end of the year. protections completely would be a The average price per hundredweight of cold-rolled steel more than tripled “I think the mills are doing their death sentence for domestic steel. The year-over-year to $108.20 in September. The average price per hundredweight of damnedest right now to try to prop up solution, he said, is enacting a tarhot-rolled coil nearly quadrupled to $96.60 in that time period. pricing because they’re trying to get iff-rate quota to regulate imports. Cold-rolled steel Hot-rolled steel better contracts for 2022,” Gibbs said. “I think Section 232 has run its The ongoing microchip shortage course, so there’s no reason to contin$108.20 $120 has not dampened demand for steel. ue to insist on keeping Section 232,” he Suppliers continue to fulfill their con- said. “On the other hand, it would be 100 tracts for carmakers, which are expect- between naive and stupid to just reing production to increase next year. move Section 232 and say, ‘OK, now’s a 80 Despite that, Gibbs said he thinks free for all. You’re welcome to come $96.60 steel prices have reached a breaking here and destroy our market.’” 60 point. He predicts a much more comAt AlphaUSA, Dardas said the finanpetitive market in the coming months. cial losses have forced cost-cutting at 40 Just as lumber prices soared and de- the company. He said his automaker clined, steel will also stabilize, he said. clients are “working with us” on steel 20 “Some of this inflation will abate, costs, “but not at the magnitude that 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 particularly that related to commodity we’re incurring.” prices,” Gibbs said. The company has avoided layoffs SOURCE: CRU INDEX The Biden administration has also but is scrambling to stay “marginally but steel and fuel are rapidly becom- choices: Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel indicated a desire to ease the burden of profitable,” Dardas said. He’s holding ing the two biggest concerns I’m Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. and Nu- commodity costs on businesses, but his breath for more favorable pricing it’s a delicate dance for a president who and contracts next year. hearing with our membership,” cor Corp. “Our feeling about steel is that it is played up his coal and steel roots to “The continuance of this is very Walsh said. “I don’t want to get to a crisis situation. I don’t want to pre- being protected by the U.S. govern- win over blue-collar voters. U.S. Com- damaging,” he said. “You can’t withment in the interest of quote unquote merce Secretary Gina Raimondo has stand it forever.” dict that.” The Detroit 3 automakers — Ford national security, and so our feeling called the steel tariffs effective for preMotor Co., General Motors Co. and about it is, ‘Yeah, but who’s being serving jobs in the U.S. Contact: knagl@crain.com; Goncalves said he is not against roll- (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl Stellantis NV — declined to com- protected?’” said AlphaUSA Chairment on the impact of steel prices, as man Cate Strumbos, whose father did several large suppliers, including founded the company. “One industry BorgWarner Inc. While large OEMs is being protected, you know, one have frequently pointed to commod- unionized labor force is being proAdvertising Section ity costs as a strain on business in tected. What about all the rest of us?” While steelmakers didn’t hike earnings reports over the past year, they typically do not talk about pur- prices once tariffs were implemented, as some had expected, the panchasing strategies or negotiations. Goncalves, the man on the other demic may have provided an opporTo place your listing, contact Suzanne Janik at side of the tables for steel negotia- tunity to reset the playing field. 313-446-0455 / sjanik@crain.com tions, isn’t keeping his strategy a se- Emerging from the pandemic lockdown was a gradual process, but steel cret. “We haven’t had any costs pass mills were especially slow to reboot. through yet for the OEMs,” Goncalves That led to accusations of steelmaksaid. “For the smaller guys, yes, but ers purposely holding back producfor the car manufacturers, not yet. It’s tion to prop up prices. “They made really quick, decisive absolutely coming.” Following the $1.1 billion acquisi- decisions to take out capacity when tion of Dearborn Works owner AK the auto guys went down, but they LUXURY PROPERTIES Steel in 2019, and the $1.4 billion ac- didn’t really bring capacity back that quisition of ArcelorMittal the follow- quickly when the autos came back,” ing year, Cleveland-Cliffs has be- said Phil Gibbs, director, metals equicome one of the largest steelmakers ty research analyst with KeyBanc in North America. It is by far the larg- Capital Markets Inc. Despite high demand, U.S. Steel est steel supplier to the automotive indefinitely suspended steel producindustry. Automakers and suppliers can ex- tion at its Great Lakes Works plant on pect Cleveland-Cliffs to wield that Zug Island downriver last year after power for more lucrative contracts announcing in 2019 that it would next year, though Goncalves said wind down operations. A company price increases are a function of the spokesperson said last week that finmarket — purely a matter of supply ishing and rolling operations are still active and it is “premature to specuand demand. “What we’re doing now is basically late about the property’s future.” The spokesperson declined to catching up with a more realistic levcomment on steel prices but pointed el for pricing,” he said. Not so, Dardas argued. From the to a new $3 billion mill it is planning perspective of buyers, the price is be- to open at an undisclosed site by ing inflated by domestic steel com- 2024 as proof that the industry is repanies without penalty due to little sponding to customer demands. Goncalves also refuted the claim competition and the protection of Section 232 tariffs, enacted by the that the industry is fixing prices and Trump administration in 2018. With manipulating supply. He said Cleveforeign steel too costly to import, land-Cliffs is running its mills at full manufacturers are left with just a few capacity. Its mill in Ashland, Ky., was slated for closure by previous owners AK Steel, he said. Layoffs at its Dearborn Works plant last year were the result of closing a hot strip mill that was too narrow for functional use, but the rest of the plant is still running at capacity. Goncalves also pointed to $1.1 billion of recent expansion investments by the company, including the Toledo Direct Reduction plant, which SPACE AVAILABILE opened in 2020. “It has nothing to do with capacity,” he said. “We don’t have anything Outdoor Semi-Trailer to restart.”

CLASSIFIEDS

REAL ESTATE

MARKET PLACE

What’s to come A vibratory bowl feeder is pictured at AlphaUSA in Livonia on Sept. 28. | NIC ANTAYA/SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

High spot prices are a bargaining tool for steelmakers as they cut direct supply deals for next year, according to analysts. As a result, prices are

Storage Available

10 Mile / Dequindre / 75, Hazel Park Newly paved and striped Easy Access to Freeways Short or Long Term Call for rates and availability Mike 734-634-6558

SUBMIT YOUR AD TODAY

MAY 24, OCTOBER 11, 2021 2021 || CRAIN’S CRAIN’S DETROIT DETROIT BUSINESS BUSINESS || 67 17

RENTAL AID

From Page 3

If it comes, it will be used. Mia Harnos, the chief strategy and innovation officer for the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, said the group is close to spending all the money it was allocated by the state — and it has about 11,000 applications from residents seeking help that are still in the works. “We’re about three weeks out from completely spending it,” Harnos said. “The narrative is it’s not going fast enough, and we agree. The need is so great.” The money pays for up to a year’s worth of back rent, as well as three months of rent going forward. It can also be used to pay overdue utility bills, so tenants can continue to have heat or internet. Through Oct. 5, the nonprofit agency Wayne Metro had distributed $76.3 million and allocated $30.8 million more, including $8.1 million in payments to landlords that were in the process of being distributed. An additional $14.1 million of that total was earmarked for tenants who were eligible for relief and were going through the process to get help. While there are 16,595 households that received help, Harnos said the volume of applications is continuing to increase. “The requests are still greater than what we can potentially do every single day,” she said. “It’s definitely the end of the eviction moratorium that’s driving it.” At the United Community Housing Coalition, Executive Director Ted Phillips said more than 2,000 applicants received back rent or are in the

The building managed by Peter Yahiayan at La Salle and Davison Freeway in Detroit had 18 residents who weren’t paying rent. Utilities were almost shut off while Yahiayan awaited rental assistance money. | CONTRIBUTED

process of being paid. He has an additional 6,000 or so applications outstanding, though he suspects as many as a third of them might be duplicates. The group committed or spent $16 million by the end of September. UCHC is taking Detroit cases that are already in court, and the process to reach an agreement with landlords can sometimes be long, Phillips said. He said the 36th District Court is

again signing writs of eviction, and he’s worried what that will mean for residents. “We’re as busy as ever,” he said. Both Phillips and Harnos said they’re trying to hire more people to help with the backlog — 10 attorneys at UCHC and 70 people in a variety of roles at Wayne Metro. Wayne County also recognized the continued need, and late last month announced a $20 million fund for

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section

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

NONPROFIT

TECHNOLOGY

Mid-States Advisors

Community Housing Network

Notarize

Mid-States Advisors, a Birmingham-based middle market financial advisory firm, hires James Connor as Managing Director. Connor brings 40 years’ experience in C-level positions in corporate and advisory roles including 22 years as CEO or President of industrial and Fortune 500 companies. He will oversee and deliver a range of executive-level strategic, financial, and operational services for Mid-States’ clients including CFO services, M&A support, business valuations, and debt restructuring.

As Vice President of Real Estate, Shelley Brinkmann oversees all building, rehabilitation and property management at Community Housing Network. As part of that work, Shelley and her team identify and manage all grants and funding that allow CHN to develop housing across the state of Michigan. Shelley believes that being in inclusive communities and learning from individuals different from ourselves challenges our thinking and beliefs in positive ways to make us more compassionate human beings.

Notarize, a digital trust provider and the leading remote online notarization platform, has hired Kim Gaedeke as AVP, Gaedeke Head of Government Affairs and Casey Garber as Director of Auto Policy & Industry Relations to join its Public Affairs team. Kim joins Notarize following a nine-year career at the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Garber (LARA) to lead the company’s Government Affairs & Advocacy team. Casey joins Notarize following a seven-year career at the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to lead the company’s auto policy strategy.

NEW GIG? • Plaques • Crystal keepsakes • Frames • Other Promotional Items

18 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

C O N TA C T

PRODUCTS

Preserve your career change for years to come. Laura Picariello Reprints Sales Manager lpicariello@crain.com (732) 723-0569

residents outside Detroit to help keep tenants housed. That opened Sept. 27 and received 238 applications by midday Wednesday. The county wants to move quickly, going from application to payout in 21 days, said Khalil Rahal, Wayne County’s chief administrative officer. In addition to paying back rent, the county’s program will call utility companies and work directly with them on residents’ behalf. And for those who are transient, the county program will pay the first month’s rent on new units for renters, to get them housed. The program is also available to help new refugees get settled in homes. “We’re doing what we can to make it as easy as we can on the person who needs the resources,” Rahal said. “We’re trying to prevent homelessness here.” The faster money is distributed, the better it will be for residents and for the area, said Dewar, the University of Michigan professor. She said when people are worried about being evicted, they eat less and less healthily, and they cut back on other expenditures. Those most at risk are often the elderly or disabled, who have difficulty finding work that can help them pay their rent and other bills. The number of metro Detroit residents who are concerned about losing their homes, according to the census survey, is “shockingly high,” Dewar said. Between Detroit’s high poverty rate and a shortage of affordable housing, the pandemic could have lasting effects for people who lose their homes. And while thousands of people have applied for help and are await-

ing relief, Dewar said she’s concerned about the many residents who haven’t filled out applications at all. Peter Yahiayan, a property manager with Property Lovers LLC, said he’s applied on behalf of several tenants who haven’t been able to pay. Yahiayan manages a 35-unit building near La Salle Boulevard and the Davison Freeway in Detroit. He said 18 tenants were behind on rent. Yahiayan recently got a $60,000 payout on behalf of several residents from Wayne Metro, he said, and is awaiting payments for five or six more. The money is helping him stay afloat. He was at risk of defaulting on utility bills — the property had utility shut-off notices posted on the door, he said. And without tenants paying rent, he didn’t have the funds to turn the empty units he did have, to bring in people who could pay. “It was kind of a disastrous year,” he said. “There was a mountain of utility bills and property taxes.” Yahiayan used the bulk of the funds to pay for gas and electricity, he said. And though the money helped, the three months of rent going forward won’t be enough to cover all the tenants who still can’t pay through the colder months. Still, Yahiayan said he tries not to evict people in the winter. Even those who again fall behind may have a reprieve — and may be eligible for more rent relief money going forward. “We’re so far behind on reinvesting,” Yahiayan said. ... It’s kind of a disaster.” Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB

LIVENGOOD

From Page 6

At some point, though, Biden will probably have to get involved in this fight among different factions of the political coalition that put him in the White House. For Biden, threading that needle will be tough as Whitmer faces re-election next year and Republicans are already making it clear they will call into question Whitmer’s seriousness about infrastructure for obstructing progress on the Line 5 tunnel project. On Tuesday, before Air Force One landed in Lansing, Senate GOP Leader Mike Shirkey issued a statement responding to Whitmer’s new push for the Legislature to focus on economic development and infrastructure in the coming weeks and months. “I have had this conversation with the governor before,” the Jackson County Republican said. “All economic development and infrastructure conversations ring noticeably hollow as long as it is the governor’s intention to shut down Line 5.” Infrastructure in general is sure to be a theme of next year’s election, though Democrats are quick to note that Republicans have done little to nothing in terms of putting forth their own plans to fix the state’s roads. At his campaign kickoff last month, James Craig, the former Detroit police chief and presumed Republican front-runner for governor, was tossed a softball question about what is his plan for fixing the roads. Craig’s response made Whitmer’s team giddy.

The Line 5 pipeline runs under the Straits of Mackinac | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

“I didn’t say that’s one of my priorities,” Craig said. “However, I do think our roads do need to be fixed.” Infrastructure isn’t a priority, but the roads need to be fixed? Got it. “The 12 Republicans running for governor ... can’t even bring themselves to name infrastructure as a top policy priority,” Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said in a statement. Whitmer can hold up her $3.5 billion bonding plan that’s rebuilding freeways in this state as evidence that she’s fixing infrastructure. But Republicans and their rare allies in organized labor are asking why Whitmer would take out billions in new debt for taxpayers, but not accept a private company’s offer to pay for a major piece of infrastructure of importance to both the economies and diplomatic relations of the U.S. and Canada. At some point, the president himself is probably going to have to pick a side in this fight. Contact: clivengood@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @ChadLivengood

FOWLING

“The startup cost was enough that I needed help from other partners,” Brown said. “All of my partners, we all put our finances together. The fowling community is pretty tight.”

From Page 3

Room for growth “It’s a big space,” Brown said of the Fowling Warehouse Ypsi Ann Arbor site at 3050 Washtenaw Ave. that formerly housed a Farmer Jack supermarket. “When you do something like this, you look for room to grow. If we need more space, we can find it in the area we’re in.” Brad Chapman, Fowling Warehouse’s director of business development and franchising, has assisted Brown on his road to entrepreneurship. Chapman, 50, left a career in telecommunications infrastructure to join the Fowling Warehouse team. He was with Hutt’s group at the 2001 Indy 500. He said the property on which the Ypsilanti location sits has the necessary acreage for any possible expansion. The site’s 30,000 square feet is about the minimum needed for a Fowling Warehouse, Chapman said. “When we look at franchising, if the business is successful, we look for an expansion plan,” he said. “We look for something to increase the space available to our guests so they can fowl appropriately and have a great time.”

Franchise deal Brown and Chapman declined to disclose franchising details, how much Brown’s group has invested or any projected revenue figures .

Shooting for rebound

This 30,000 former Farmer Jack in Ypsilanti will be the home of the sixth Fowling Warehouse franchise. |SCOTT BROWN

Hutt

Chapman

The Fowling Warehouse website states that the cost of opening a franchise varies depending on size and location, along with other factors. Potential franchisees or any group must have a $500,000 net worth and $100,000 in liquid assets to qualify. The terms of each franchise agreement is five years, with a franchise

fee of $50,000 due upon full execution of the agreement. Options to renew for additional five-year terms are available, with a renewal fee of 15 percent of the initial franchise fee. Also included in franchise costs are monthly royalty fees of 5 percent of the total gross sales for the term of the agreement. There is also the possibility of an advertising fee of a maximum of 3 percent of gross sales for the term of the agreement. Brown has 22 partners in his venture, comprising members of the fowling community. He and two others in the group own more than 50 percent of the Ypsilanti business, which acts as a pair of LLCs: MMF Solid Assets and MMF Liquid Assets. Brown will manage the business.

Brown, Chapman and Hutt expect the Ypsilanti location and future franchises to be successful. While revenues for the existing locations have not returned to pre-pandemic levels despite restrictions being lifted, Chapman said he’s seeing more reservations being made at all five current locations as the holiday season approaches. “That’s a good indicator,” he said. “We’re expecting a good winter, and we’re thinking spring 2022 is when we should start to see the revenue streams get back on track.” During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapman and others on the Fowling Warehouse staff worked on a rebrand and new mission statement. Part of that rebrand is the introduction of a new logo and new signage at each location, Chapman said. The new logo will be on full display this winter, as the American Fowling Association national championships are set for Jan. 15 at the 30-lane Hamtramck location at 3901 Christopher St. Chapman sees the game continuing to grow as more people like Brown get hooked. “The culture behind fowling is amazing. Society is glued to their phones these days,” Chapman said. “What I loved about the Warehouse, you don’t see that. With open play,

you have to just go in and call ‘next game.’ There’s a level of enjoyment and interaction there that’s hard to match. It’s hard to find somebody who isn’t smiling. You get different cultures, backgrounds, ages and demographics interacting together. “... We’re still in the growth/startup phase. The goal is to share the game with the world. This is all still so cool to think we invented a new sport. Not a lot of people can say that.”

‘Quite the ride’ Chapman said the Fowling Warehouse is set for major expansion over the next two years. A Dallas location is in the construction phase, he said. A handful of others, which Chapman declined to disclose, are in the development phase. “The pipeline of potential franchisees in the vetting process is robust,” Chapman said. “We’re looking for big years in 2022 and 2023.” Hutt, a 52-year-old Ferndale resident, said growth was the goal from the start. “The reason we went for it in the first place is because everybody who came up to us, strangers, anybody, just loved it,” Hutt said. “We knew that if it were successful, we’d open more (locations). The thought of throwing footballs at bowling pins and having a couple beers sounds appealing to a lot of people. It’s not like our original location is on a busy road. We’re on a dead end street in a corner of Hamtramck. It’s been quite the ride.” Contact: jason.davis@crain.com (313) 446-1612; @JayDavis_1981

CIOS THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE GIVE GREAT

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2021 MICHIGANCIO ORBIE® WINNERS

Presented by MichiganCIO

Presented by Dell Technologies & VMware

Presented by Centric Consulting

Presented by Fortinet

Presented by HCL

ANDREW ROSENBERG HEALTHCARE

ELIZABETH KLEE CORPORATE

LESLEY MA LARGE CORPORATE

Presented by Pluralsight

MARK BAUGHMAN ENTERPRISE

BILL FANDRICH LARGE ENTERPRISE

ANITA KLOPFENSTEIN GLOBAL

MARCY KLEVORN LEADERSHIP

Presented by Onshore Outsourcing

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 19

AMBULANCES

COVID-19 has complicated matters further for the Sault Ste. Marie fire department. Chapman said due to the prevalence of the coronavirus in nursing homes, its ambulances have been busy transferring patients across the Upper Peninsula to hospitals like War Memorial. And making matters even worse at the moment: Two of its 14 firefighter paramedics are currently off duty after testing positive for COVID.

From Page 1

before a truck can be scheduled. Even then, the wait times are long, usually 24 hours or more. “It delays the specialty care that they need, since we can’t provide that level of care here at the local hospital,” War Memorial CEO David Jahn said. “This could have complications and potentially could lead to death. The sooner you can get a patient in to a cath lab the better and once they diagnose the level of blockage they can immediately put a stent in or bring the patient in for open heart surgery.” Jahn said War Memorial can receive an emergency helicopter more quickly than an ambulance — but insurance companies won’t pay for that unless a patient is in immediate danger of dying without it. There’s a shortage of available ambulances across the state for these types of transfers, and it’s leading to dangerous situations in rural Michigan’s health care industry. The shortage is driven partly by the ongoing labor shortage, but the full picture is more complicated, exacerbated by a patchwork of rules to protect territories for local ambulance services, as well as demand for paramedic skills outside of the flashing red lights of an emergency vehicle. “It’s getting really bad in rural areas of the state,” said Jahn. “We’re seeing more and more patients and many need to be transferred. But if you come to the ER and need to be transferred, we can’t guarantee that is going to happen because we don’t know if an ambulance will be available. Our doctors are having to tell patients’ families we don’t have the ability to treat their loved one here, but we also can’t get them an ambulance to take them where they could get appropriate care.”

Paramedic paucity War Memorial Hospital relies on Kinross EMS, located southwest in Chippewa County, and Sault Ste. Marie’s fire department, staffed with firefighters who are also licensed paramedics. However, the fire department is also short-staffed. There are 14 firefighter paramedics in the squadron with four open positions, leaving the department stretched thin to handle 911 calls and War Memorial’s patient transfer needs. “We have a transfer program, but our primary mission is to serve our community,” said Brian Chapman, city manager for Sault Ste. Marie. “We are obviously concerned about

Protectionist problems

Angela Madden, executive director of Michigan Association of Ambulance Services, says most EMTs are working 60 to 80 hours a week. | MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF AMBULANCE SERVICES

the quality of health in our community, but it’s just a numbers game. When we have our own local 911 calls that are happening at a regular pace, when we get transfer requests, we have to turn them down. We’re at this crossroads where we have to make real-time decisions whether we’ve got the manpower to facilitate transfers.” There are roughly 1,000 open paramedic and emergency medical technician positions in Michigan, according to the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services. Ambulance services are pushing more and more overtime on workers to stay on top of emergency demand, said Angela Madden, executive director of the advocacy group. “A typical work week is 36 to 56 hours, but in reality most EMTs and paramedics are working 60 to 80 hours per week,” Madden said. “Morale is low, and we’re losing more and more people at a time where fewer people are coming into the field.” Madden said ambulance services typically attract adrenaline junkies, sometimes former soldiers, excited by the idea of saving lives, but the job is often more monotonous. “It’s not all interfacing with an emergency helicopter and flippedover cars on the freeway; much of the work is the patient transfer piece or moving patients between facilities in the same town,” Madden said. “It’s not sexy and it’s not exciting. A lot of people realized they can go to school for two years (the same length of time it takes to get a paramedic license) and become a nurse and work in a private setting in a hospital and make more money than working in a 5-foot-by-8-foot box sitting on the side of the road.” Hospitals regularly recruit paramedics as emergency room techni-

Clinton Township-based Medstar, the largest ambulance service in the state with 945 employees and 155 trucks, has trained 103 new EMTs this year with another 30 in its current academy cohort. The provider, a nonprofit jointly owned by Ascension Health, Henry Ford Health System and McLaren, provides 911 service to nine counties in Southeast Michigan but is increasingly performing patient transfers all over the state. But its scope is limited by protectionist rules established by medical control authorities, which oversee local emergency response services. Those authorities, directed by a board of hospital and EMS administrators, license which EMS service can operate in a given geography. Those rules are designed to ensure citizens have access to emergency transportation at all times. They are also part of the problem with the bottleneck in patient transfers. Ambulance services can transfer patients only to or from a community in which they are licensed. Those licensed service providers are also usually required to maintain dedicated ambulances in a given community around the clock for 911 calls, said Kolby Miller, CEO of Medstar. Rural communities may not need

cians because they are licensed to intubate patients — a common procedure for severe COVID-19 patients — which is a higher skill level than some nursing categories, Madden said. That recruiting has been increased by the pandemic as hospitals have faced severe worker shortages as well. This hiring was originally spurred by the Affordable Care Act, which provided funding to emergency departments to hire paramedics, Madden said. “We have 29,000 licensed EMTs and paramedics in the state, but many of them are not practicing in an ambulance,” Madden said. “We have lots of paramedics in ERs and in security teams at large corporations now, which means fewer people are working the road to transfer patients or respond to a 911 call on any given day.” Jahn said War Memorial has tried to hire paramedics in its emergency department but has largely been unsuccessful. Sault Ste. Marie’s fire department relies heavi- “TEBIS DOLO COREMPELIT, ODIT ly on the EMT and paramedic certification pro- ULPA AUT AUT QUAE. GENDIA CORE gram at hometown Lake VERO CORION.” Superior State University to supply its workers, but — Name here, title or context the program was halted for several months during the pananother truck for 911 service, or the demic, Chapman said. demand doesn’t make it worth it for Chapman said the community a company like Medstar, but the has faced tough recruiting efforts transfer demand is there. due to its rural location. “We get called not infrequently to “We’re facing staffing shortages in go a long way away, sometimes all of our departments,” he said. “We north of the bridge,” Miller said. have a hard time recruiting any “The local provider isn’t available or open position, whether it’s a streets won’t do it, so we’re asked. But the employee at the department of pubmedical control authority is going to lic workers or a firefighter paramedask me if am going to be providing ic. Fact is people don’t want to get 911 service. If they approve me for into local government. Especially one truck, then I have an obligation when people can find easier jobs for for the 911 calls and can’t leave for more pay in the private sector.” any long-distance transfers. Some of

the system’s design is set up by the providers in the system to protect the market they want to protect. So unless I can be present all the time, I can’t service those transfers. This is a structural problem, not a staffing problem.” For instance, Medstar isn’t licensed in Grand Rapids or Saginaw, so therefore cannot perform a patient transfer between those two communities even if it has capacity and the need exists. Last year, War Memorial was unable to secure enough patient transports and petitioned the Michigan Bureau of Emergency Medical Services to allow for a downstate ambulance service to perform transfers. The state authorized one Medstar ambulance to provide transfer service from War Memorial for a few weeks. But other systems aren’t as lucky and are resorting to drastic measures, Jahn and Madden said. Some nursing managers when unable to secure a patient transfer are calling 911 and telling the EMS that a patient is in their waiting room and needs a transfer. EMS companies are legally required to respond to all 911 calls. War Memorial has not resorted to this tactic ... yet. “(The Bureau of EMS) told us legally, if we don’t get a response from our local EMS agencies that we should call 911 because the EMS agencies are required by law to respond to a 911 call,” Jahn said. “We have not resorted to that yet here at WMH, but we were told that we could do this. Because we need to keep good relationships with all of our local EMS agencies, since there are so few ambulance services in our area, we don’t want to use this tactic as it would only drive more of a wedge between the hospital and the EMS agencies.” Jahn hopes the state is able to revise rules for ambulance service in a statewide emergency like the pandemic. Madden wants EMS to become an essential service — currently ambulance services are paid for by insurance companies and users, not taxes. “EMS is still considered suppliers of transportation and not providers of health care,” Madden said. None of that is likely to happen soon to alleviate the troubles of War Memorial or other rural hospitals during the pandemic. “This problem has many folds in rural Michigan, and I just don’t know how we’re going to meet demand and make this work,” Jahn said. Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh

STATEMENT REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912, AS AMENDED BY THE ACTS OF MARCH 3, 1933, JULY 2, 1946 AND JUNE 11, 1960 (74 STAT. 208) SHOWING THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION OF: Crain’s Detroit Business, Publication No. 743370, published weekly, except no issues on 1/4/21, 7/5/21, nor 12/27/21, combined issues on 5/24/21 and 5/31/21 and 11/15/21 and 11/22/21, at Detroit, Michigan, for October 1, 2021. 5. Number of issues published annually, 47. 6. Annual subscription price $169.00. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Crain Communications Inc., 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Wayne County, MI 48207-2997. 8. Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business office of the publisher: Crain Communications, Inc., 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Wayne County, MI 48207-2997. 9. Full names and complete mailing address of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: KC Crain, Crain Communications Inc.,1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2997. Editor: Kelley Root, Crain Communications Inc.,1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2997. Managing Editor: Michael Lee, Crain Communications Inc., 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2997. 10. Owner (Do not leave blank. If the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the names and addresses of all stock holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation give the names and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, give its name and address as well as those of each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address.) Crain Communications Inc., 1155 Gratiot Avenue Detroit, MI 48207-2997. K.C. Crain, 1155 Gratiot Avenue Detroit, MI 48207-2997. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 15. Average number of copies of each issue of this publication sold or distributed through the mails or otherwise during the 12 months preceding the date shown above was: Total number of copies: 21,364; Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 0; Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors and counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 25; Mailed outside county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 18,850; Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 13; total paid distribution: 18,888; Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 1,965; Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 56; Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other clases through the USPS: 0; Total free or nominal rate distribution: 2,021; total distribution: 20,909; Copies not distributed: 456; Total: 21,364, Percent Paid: 90.33%. Actual number of single issue published nearest to filing date (Oct. 1, 2021); Total number of copies: 20,846; Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 0; Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS:18; Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541: 17,795; Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 11; Total paid distribution: 17,824; free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 2,676; Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0; Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 65; Total free or nominal rate distribution: 2,741; Total distribution: 20,565; Copies not distributed: 281; Total: 20,846; Percent Paid: 86.67%. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership, if the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the October 11, 2021 issue of this publication. 18. I certify that all information on this form is true and correct: KC Crain. Date: 9.-27-2021. 20 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

GROUP HOMES

enough staff,” Wollack said. “The state has no place to put them. We can’t take them.”

From Page 1

Exacerbating the staff shortages is a policy shift in Michigan this year to comply with federal requirements. Aimed at keeping more troubled youth in their family homes with added supports, the changes are lowering the total number of children coming through state and juvenile justice referrals to providers by referring only those with the most accute mental health issues for residential treatment. The higher percentages of youth with the most severe issues require one-to-one staffing, putting even more pressure on providers’ staffing issues. “The need for additional staff to care for youth suffering from acute mental health disorders, many of whom require a 1:1 (caregiver) ratio, is the main reason we currently have a wait list at Vista Maria,” President and CEO Angela Aufdemberge said. “We can’t take them in because we don’t have enough staff to fill those beds. ... I cannot recruit and train people fast enough to meet the needs of the children.” The staffing woes come with a human cost. Providers are questioning where the children in dire need of treatment are waiting to get into a residential site. Some say the state is referring them to youth crisis shelters for extended periods of time, but even those sites, which are designed for short-term stays, have limited beds. “We have to pay for it now or pay for it later,” said Kevin Roach, president and CEO of Methodist Children’s Home Society. “Costs to taxpayers, ER visits, we can talk about all of those, but the bigger cost is the cost to that child,” Roach said. Inadequate treatment, multiple placements that exacerbate trauma and failure to make needed investments are not contributing to a happy and healthy future for them, he said. “Paying for it later is going to come at a significantly higher cost.” The Michigan Health and Human Services Department recognizes the staffing challenges, and its Children’s Services Agency and others within the department are working daily to address the challenge, said Bob Wheaton, public information officer, in an email. Efforts include networking to share successful staffing strategies, such as shift premiums, bonuses and raises that are working to help attract caregivers. “In addition, we have adjusted ratio requirements in some cases to accommodate staffing issues,” Wheaton said. “This exception has to be approved with an understanding youth will still have adequate supervision and keep safe.” The department’s goal is to place children in the most family-like setting available appropriate to meet the child’s needs, he said. It is working with residential treatment providers to find suitable placement as close to children’s home communities as possible. “The department does contract with private agencies who offer temporary, short-term housing that MDHHS occasionally uses while it searches for a more long-term placement able to meet a child’s needs,” Wheaton said. Contrary to reports in other parts of the country and rumblings locally, “Children are not permitted to stay overnight in hotels or in state offices,” Wheaton said. “We are 100 percent committed to the well-being of (these) children and to providing them with appropriate care.”

Competing for employees

Only half of the 100 mental health treatment beds at Vista Maria’s Dearborn campus are full due to the staffing shortage group homes for children are seeing. | VISTA MARIA

Policy change Early this year, the state shifted to a placement approach that seeks to keep more troubled children in their homes with enhanced support services rather than sending them to residential treatment sites, in compliance with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act passed in 2018. Under the revised approach, only children with the most intensive mental health needs are removed from homes and placed in residential care. The change is bringing new staffing realities for residential treatment providers. For every child that comes into care, providers must maintain prescribed staffing levels based on the severity of their mental health issues. Typically, one staff member cares for four children. But children with more acute issues require their own dedicated caregiver, Aufdemberge said. “These are kids that are self-harming or a harm to others. To create a safe placement, they need one-to-one care.” In the past, five or six of the girls ages 11-18 in treatment at Vista Maria might have needed that level of care. But now, more than half of the girls on the agency’s waiting list require an individual caregiver, she said. For every child with the most severe mental health issues, Vista Maria has to hire 3.5 employees to provide 24-hour, seven-daya-week care. Vista Maria offers full health coverage, including dental and vision, an employee assistance program, and a referral bonus program for employees, along with competitive rates, it said. But it’s still struggling to recruit enough caregivers, given heightened levels of care needed for the girls coming to its campus through the judicial system and state referrals. “That, coupled with the labor shortage, makes it almost impossible to take young people right now into our programs,” Aufdemberge said. Before the pandemic about 990 children were in treatment and care at residential sites throughout the state; in September, that was down to 482, according to numbers shared by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said Judith Wollack, CEO of Wolverine Human Services. “The children we’re getting into care have much more significant issues than they’ve had in the past” and are much more destructive, she said, pointing to incidences of children breaking windows and tearing down fire alarms and security cameras. The issues children are dealing with “has a lot less to do with the pandemic and everything to do with the disintegration of society,” said Wollack, who’s worked for over 40 years with children. “There’s an increase in child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse ... all of that filters down to children.” Many of the children need psychiatric intervention, but hospitals do not have beds to take them, she said. Wolverine provides residential treat-

ment and care at sites in Detroit and Vassar, just outside of Frankenmuth. It’s operating at about 50-percent capacity with a total of 84 children and youth age 12-19 referred to it through the county, state or courts in its care. A large majority came through the juvenile justice system; the rest are awaiting foster placements, Wollack said. Operating on a $14 million budget this year, down from $35 million before the pandemic, Wolverine pays caregivers at its Vassar campus $12.50 an hour. In Detroit, where the cost of living is higher and competition is steeper, it’s paying $17 per hour. But the organization still hasn’t seen a significant number of people applying for open positions, Wollack said. “This is a hard job. ... Kids are spitting at you, cussing at you, threatening your life, (being) physically aggressive.” With unemployment benefits running out, Wolverine is hoping the number of employees in the market and compassionate enough to work with those kids will improve, she said. “As a nonprofit, we can’t raise our prices. We’re not Walmart. (And) we can’t reduce our staff.” The state has asked Wolverine to open up more emergency shelter beds for kids pulled out of their homes, “but we can’t because we don’t have

To compete with McDonald’s, Walmart, Amazon and other employers, many care providers have raised wages to $15 or higher for entry-level caregivers. But at that rate, they are losing money for every child they treat, given that state reimbursement rates aren’t covering those costs, they said. Fundraising has to make up the difference. The state pays residential treatment providers a per diem based on the level of care a child needs. Those levels have not been increased to account for COVID costs such as PPE, cleaning and hazard pay, Aufdemberge said. The reimbursements assume a rate of $12-$12.50 per hour, she said, far shy of the $15 or more providers are paying hourly to attract employees. “I lose money for every child I take into care. We can’t fundraise fast enough to get out of the hole,” Aufdemberge said. Vista Maria is projecting a $20 million budget this year, down from $25 million last year when it saw a $1 million loss. Vista Maria and other providers initially refused to sign new contracts with the state in April, she said. “The state asked us to do it in good faith and said it would make rate changes. But that has not happened yet.” The state’s 2022 budget includes a $2/hour reimbursement of hazard pay for employees. But that is not a permanent increase that addresses the more difficult cases organizations are facing or ongoing COVID-related expenses, Aufdemberge said. “It’s not a fix to the problem; it’s a Band-Aid.” The Michigan Health and Human Services Department “contracts with

private agencies at a rate commensurate with the service array they provide,” Wheaton said. “Each agency is entitled to determine what rate they pay their staff.” He did not comment on whether there is consideration to permanently increase the rates the state pays.

Increasing benefits Meanwhile, Methodist Children’s Home Society in Redford Township, an agency formed during the last major global pandemic over 100 years ago, has seen a less severe impact from the talent shortages, thanks to moves it made last year that helped improve retention and competitiveness. It’s been able to retain most of its staff and maintain services for 50 children on its campus, down only slightly from 55 last year. “I think we’re paying more and have stronger benefits,” Roach said, pointing to a $15-per-hour minimum wage, 401(k) with a 3 percent match, increased paid time off and two additional staff holidays instituted last fall at an added cost of about $500,000 annually paid for through increased fundraising. Methodist Children’s Home also provides health, dental and vision insurance with full coverage for families, and tuition reimbursement. The pandemic and “long-overdue reckoning on race and equity” spurred the nonprofit — named a Crain’s Best-Managed Nonprofit in 2020 — to look at compensation for its employees last fall, he said. “I recognized for our central caregiver staff, who were the essential employees, yet the lowest paid ... we had to confront that as an organization.” “The turnover of direct care staff has a direct impact on the health, safety and well-being of children in care.” Contact: swelch@crain.com (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

DELTA DENTAL BUILDS HEALTHY, SMART, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES FOR ALL. Delta Dental of Michigan | www.deltadentalmi.com | www.vibrantcommunities.com

OCTOBER 11, 2021 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 21

THE CONVERSATION

Ida Byrd-Hill guarantees IT education and good-paying job, or you don’t pay Automation Workz Institute Inc: A previous career in finance and economics helped lead Ida Byrd-Hill, the CEO and founder of Detroitbased Automation Workz Institute to her current role running a technology-training organization. The institute, which launched in January 2020 and primarily teaches IT and networking, operates on an income-share agreement model in which a student repays tuition once they've landed a higher-paying job. In addition, the institute acts as a consultant for many companies to help address talent needs and diversify the workforce. | BY NICK MANES There are a fair bit of options, such as community colleges, for those seeking IT certificates. What makes Automation Workz unique? Yeah, but they all assume that we have some prior knowledge. What happens when we don’t have any prior knowledge? I never thought about it. If I could create a post-secondary institution that’s going to take high technology for those individuals who don’t have prior knowledge, and that’s how we landed on Automation Workz. Now what we did is that I reached out to partners because I just always believed to do things with partners — they make life easier. And I always wanted individuals to learn the Cisco Systems way of doing the business of networking. If you know anything about Cisco, Cisco is very rigorous, and usually is not your first option when you go and do technology training. It’s usually your second or your third. What would happen if I made it your first? If I could build a system and take people from no prior knowledge, and instead of putting them in an entry-level position, skip them by the entry-level position and put them in an intermediate position. Is that doable? What did you learn? Everyone told me that I was crazy, but I’m a trainer. I know how to train. I can teach any complicated subject to a fifth-grader. So I used those skills to create Automation Workz Institute. We do networking and cybersecurity training, and we are mainly focused on individuals that are 25-45 years of age. And from very basic to intermediate level. Now we have been blessed to have some great success. Our highest job offer we’ve received so far has been $117,000, and we placed that person in Atlanta. The second one was $105,000, that person was placed in Arlington, Va. Your institution uses a somewhat unique form of payment known as an

income-share agreement. Explain how that works for students?

has grown. And then we turn around and look at every piece of their operation to say, where can we place diversity or where is diversity lacking?

Pretty much they are a loan, but they have a different caveat than a traditional loan. Most traditional loans pay schools tuition upfront and the candidate gets no guarantee of anything. They just go through training and hope for the best. But with the income share agreement, what we do is that we give people a guarantee we’re going to help them get a better life. And if they don’t make a threshold (income) of $30,000 or more, we’re going to waive their tuition. I’m a business person. I really don’t want to waive the tuition. So whatever is necessary to get you employed and get you in a job that is way above the minimum wage, so that we can earn our tuition. And so it has worked for us. It has done a very, very great job of getting people there, but we still do have one barrier that’s outstanding.

What have you found? So what we discovered is that a lot of that those problems are happening in HR. Because HR is one of the few departments in the corporation that never gets an audit. Well they should. Because HR defines the culture. It defines the policies and procedures, and right now, labor is your biggest asset and your biggest expense. The company recently closed on a round of $10 million in financing from Blair, an educational finance company. What does that capital do for the company? It allows us to scale across the country. While we are headquartered in Detroit, we do have students in other places. Right now we have a lot of students coming out of Baltimore, we have a few students in Atlanta, and just recently we’ve been getting some students coming out of Philadelphia. So it allows us to be able to scale (and) to be able to just go out and just full-scale recruit students, and be able to help them with their tuition set-up and be able to come to our school for learning.

What is that barrier? That is jobs. We still have a difficult time finding jobs for our learners. And it’s not because the jobs are not available. A lot of the employers are still not comfortable hiring diverse candidates. And so we struggle with that intensely. We didn’t realize how much the struggle happened until the protests of June 2020 of last year. And so being a former headhunter, I whipped out a tool I had not used in 20 years, called the diversity culture audit. And what that tool does is that we go in and we interview the top executives of the corporations to kind of get a sense of what their mindset is, or what their thought patterns are, how their company

Ida Byrd-Hill, CEO, Automation Workz Institute

What are the reactions you tend to hear on income-share agreements, which is largely backward to how our traditional educational finance model operates? First of all, people think that you’re lying, because it just sounds way too good to be true. So that’s the first reaction ... and when they sit down and read through the paperwork to see that it really is legitimate, that we are going to keep our promise that we’re going to give the money back if you don’t make it.

READ ALL THE CONVERSATIONS AT CRAINSDETROIT.COM/THECONVERSATION

Italian restaurant, nightclub headed for former HopCat space

Pastaio co-owners Joanna and Pasquale Lamarra will open a new location in Royal Oak this fall. | JOANNA LAMARRA

“I thought I would just be lending a hand with ideas of what they could do with the space, but I truly fell in love with the area,” said Lamarra, who co-owns Pastaio with his wife,

22 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | OCTOBER 11, 2021

Joanna. “I brought a crew up from Florida and said, ‘Let’s do a concept here that does well in Florida.’ Due to the location and size, it should be great.”

REPORTERS

Jason Davis, small and emerging businesses. (313) 446-1612 or Jason.davis@crain.com Annalise Frank, city of Detroit. (313) 446-0416 or afrank@crain.com Arielle Kass, residential real estate, (313) 446-6774 or arielle.kass@crain.com Nick Manes, finance and technology. (313) 446-1626 or nmanes@crain.com Kurt Nagl, manufacturing. (313) 446-0337 or knagl@crain.com Kirk Pinho, senior reporter, real estate. (313) 446-0412 or kpinho@crain.com Dustin Walsh, senior reporter, health care. (313) 446-6042 or dwalsh@crain.com Sherri Welch, senior reporter, nonprofits and philanthropy. (313) 446-1694 or swelch@crain.com MEMBERSHIPS

CLASSIC $169/yr. (Can/Mex: $210, International: $340), ENHANCED $399/yr. (Can/Mex: $499, International: $799), PREMIER $1,299/yr. (Can/Mex/International: $1,299). To become a member visit www.crainsdetroit.com/ membership or call (877) 824-9374 Group and Corporate Membership Sales Deb Harper, (313) 446-1623 or dharper@crain.com ADVERTISING/MARKETING

Sales Inquiries (313) 446-6032; FAX (313) 393-0997 Director of Events and Program Content Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or kbull@crain.com Managing Director, Marketing and Events Jill Heise Senior Account Executives Maria Marcantonio, John Petty Advertising Sales Lindsey Apostol, Ainsley Burgess, Sharon Mulroy, Mark Polcyn People on the Move Manager Debora Stein, (917) 226-5470, dstein@crain.com Marketing Manager Lynn Zott, lzott@crain.com or (313) 446-6762 Senior Art Director Sylvia Kolaski Media Services Manager Nicole Spell (212) 210-0230 or nspell@crain.com Classified Sales and Sales Support Suzanne Janik CUSTOMER SERVICE

RUMBLINGS

AN OUT-OF-STATE RESTAURATEUR is bringing his brand of Italian food and nightlife to metro Detroit. Florida restaurateur Pasquale Lamarra is set to open his third Pastaio location later this fall in Royal Oak in the space formerly occupied by HopCat. HopCat closed its location at 208 Fifth Ave. in 2020 shortly before the Grand Rapids-based company filed for bankruptcy. Lamarra’s Pastaio location in Port St. Lucie, Fla., was also previously a HopCat that closed after less than three years in business. Innovo Development Group, a Kalamazoo-based developer that partnered with HopCat on its Royal Oak and Port St. Lucie locations, contacted Lamarra about taking a look at the downtown Royal Oak space.

crainsdetroit.com

Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain Publisher KC Crain Group Publisher Jim Kirk, (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Associate Publisher Lisa Rudy, (313) 446-6032 or lrudy@crain.com Executive Editor Kelley Root, (313) 446-0319 or kelley.root@crain.com Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com Digital Editor for Audience Elizabeth Couch, (313) 446-0419 or elizabeth.couch@crain.com Digital Portfolio Manager Tim Simpson, (313) 446-6788 or tsimpson@crain.com News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 or bvalone@crain.com Senior Editor Chad Livengood, (313) 446-1654 or clivengood@crain.com Special Projects Editor Amy Elliott Bragg, (313) 446-1646 or abragg@crain.com Design and Copy Editor Beth Jachman, (313) 446-0356 or bjachman@crain.com Research and Data Editor Sonya Hill, (313) 446-0402 or shill@crain.com Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

He said he’s investing close to $1 million into the Royal Oak spot. Lamarra plans to use all three floors of the 15,000-square-foot space. Pastaio will operate on the ground floor. A nightclub, 00 bar, will take up space on the second level. The third level, Lamarra said, will be part restaurant, part entertainment space with live music and late-night entertainment. The restaurant will offer brick-oven pizza and pasta that guests can watch being prepared. Pasta dishes range from $7.95 to $22.95. Lamarra plans to hire about 70 employees. The opening date isn’t set in stone, Lamarra said, but he said he believes the project could be complete by mid-November.

Single copy purchases, publication information, or membership inquiries: (877) 824-9374 or customerservice@crainsdetroit.com Reprints: Laura Picariello (732) 723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com Crain’s Detroit Business is published by Crain Communications Inc.

Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain CEO KC Crain Senior Executive Vice President Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; (313) 446-6000 Cable address: TWX 248-221-5122 AUTNEW DET CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992 is published weekly, except no issues on 1/4/21, 7/5/21 nor 12/27/21, combined issues on 5/24/21 and 5/31/21, 11/15/21 and 11/22/21, by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732. Periodicals postage paid at Detroit, MI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 07925, Detroit, MI 48207-9732. GST # 136760444. Printed in U.S.A. Contents copyright 2021 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited.

THE EVENT PRESENTING SPONSOR

THURSDAY, NOV. 18 4 – 7 P.M. Garden Theater in Midtown

CELEBRATE MICHIGAN’S LEADING WOMEN Every five years, Crain’s Detroit Business honors 100 of Michigan’s most influential women leaders. Honorees include trailblazing entrepreneurs, elected officials, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, chairs of national foundations and other prominent figures. Join us for a keynote conversation with area executives and a presentation of this year’s luminaries, followed by a networking happy hour.

For more information and to register, visit crainsdetroit.com/influential-women.

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE a speaking opportunity, branding on awards, lanyards, signage and promotions, premium advertising in Crain’s and more. Benefits vary based on investment. TO SPONSOR OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Senior Event Producer Shelby Jones at shelby.jones@crain.com to learn more.

MIW SPONSORSHIP full pg.indd 1

10/8/21 9:08 AM

T:10"

T:14"

Slow upload speeds? You’re not a bad music producer. You might just need better internet. AT&T Business Fiber® can help solve video conference issues with 25x faster upload speeds than cable.* Get AT&T Business Fiber® no bundles, no annual term commitment & quick install

Ltd avail. In select areas. Check elig at att.com/businessfast. *Comparison of wired Internet 1000 upload connection speed vs Comcast and Spectrum 1GIG svc with uploads of 35Mbps.