Crain's Detroit Business, Nov. 9, 2020, issue by Crain's Detroit Business

NEXT PLAY: Lions great Calvin Johnson’s marijuana business is catching his attention now.

THE CONVERSATION: Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. PAGE 26

PAGE 3

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I NOVEMBER 9, 2020

MANUFACTURING

ELECTION 2020

CASH FLOW

7 months into pandemic, supply chain issues remain

Shortages still span a wide array of goods

POLITICIANS POURED $375 MILLION INTO MICHIGAN RACES. DID IT MATTER?

BILL OXFORD VIA ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

BY DUSTIN WALSH

BY NICK MANES | That feeling of being unable to

watch an NFL football game or local news without being bombarded with political commercials the last several months wasn’t just a feeling. Political advertising hit an all-time record in Michigan in the run-up to last week’s election. An Election Day report from the Lansing-based money-in-politics watchdog organization Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN) found that the $375 million spent on just television, cable and radio advertising in the state outpaced the total spending of $324 million in the 2018 midterm elections.

NEWSPAPER

That political spending means a windfall for local television networks, which stand to receive about $151.1 million in revenue from political ad spending this year, according to data from Advertising Analytics and analyzed by MCFN. Of that money about $125 million comes from just two races: the presidential race between incumbent President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, as well as the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Gary Peters and GOP challenger, Detroit businessman John James. See SPENDING on Page 24

LON HORWEDEL

TV stations clean up, but money doesn’t equal victory

Q&A: GOP fundraiser Ron Weiser on money in politics, affordable housing in Ann Arbor and his health. PAGE 24

2020

VETERANS

THEIR STORIES, PAGES 15-20

For Belinda Kusibab, a trip to the home improvement store is a treasure hunt. The owner of Romeo-based Queen Bee Soiree scours the lumber aisles in search of 1-inch thick square edge whitewood boards across the metro region’s Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. She uses the thin boards to make square pallet boards for ever-popular painting parties. But more often than not, her search is futile. Lumber is part of a long list of products that remain in short supply more than seven months after the COVID-19 pandemic tossed supply chains off course. From lumber yards to manufacturers, demand continues to outstrip supply in an economy that ruptured then nearly recovered in record time. “The most popular medium people like to paint on is wood,” Kusibab said. “I’m now forced to find the materials before I can schedule a class where before I could book a class and find the wood just about anywhere.” Access to the common boards is important to her business. Kusibab charges $45 a head for her wood-painting courses, compared to just $35 a head for a canvas class. At Mans Lumber in Trenton, lumber deliveries remain erratic. “It’s a mess,” said Chris Mans, co-owner and vice president of sales. “When everything shut down in March ... That’s when lumber yards and box stores prepare for the year. But none of us knew what the hell was going to happen and we were caught unexpectedly with overwhelming demand and limited supply.” Mans employs 135 across lumber yards in Canton, Trenton and Ann Arbor. It also operates a showroom in Birmingham. See SUPPLY on Page 25

NEED TO KNOW

HIGHER EDUCATION

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT ` LOGISTICS AI FIRM LLAMASOFT SOLD FOR $1.5B

` WMU CALLS IT QUITS WITH COOLEY LAW SCHOOL

THE NEWS: Another Ann Arbor technology company has found itself an exit with a larger Silicon Valley company. San Mateo, Calif.-based Coupa Software Inc. (NASDAQ: COUP) announced Monday that it has acquired LLamasoft Inc., an AI business for supply chain management for approximately $1.5 billion in a mixture of cash and stock.

THE NEWS: Western Michigan University and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School will end their affiliation effective November 2023, the schools announced Thursday. WMU’s board of trustees voted unanimously to terminate the agreements made with the law school in 2013, setting forth a three-year process of severing ties.

WHY IT MATTERS: Monday’s announcement of the deal to acquire LLamasoft is not the only high-profile exit for an Ann Arbor startup in recent years. Duo Security Inc., an Ann Arbor-based cybersecurity company, was acquired by Cisco Inc. for $2.35 billion in October 2018.

` COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO RISE THE NEWS: Michigan set several new single-day highs in new COVID-19 cases as the virus continued to spread more rapidly in the state. As of Thursday, the seven-day rolling average of new cases reached a new high of 3,798. Hospitalizations stood at about half of the peak reached in mid-April, but were disproportionately higher outstate. WHY IT MATTERS: Health care leaders said they are concerned that unless residents take precautionary measures seriously, deaths will spike as well.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Liza Estlund Olson will serve as acting director effective immediately until a replacement for Gray is found. WHY IT MATTERS: Gray was appointed head of the UIA in July 2019, after the agency struggled to recover from the wreckage wrought by an internal computer program that incorrectly accused 40,000 unemployment benefits recipients of fraud between 2013 and 2015. The agency has since been stung by criticism over slow processing of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

` TCF CENTER BOSS TO HEAD UP VISITORS BUREAU WHY IT MATTERS: Cooley is facing major headwinds as demand for legal education drops. Cooley moved classes fully online this fall due to COVID-19, and the pandemic disruption happened as the school was downsizing. It closed its Auburn Hills campus and announced in August it would merge its Grand Rapids campus to its base in Lansing, where its administrative offices are located.

` UNEMPLOYMENT AGENCY DIRECTOR RESIGNS THE NEWS: Steve Gray, the director of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency, resigned Thursday.

THE NEWS: Claude Molinari, general manager for TCF Center in downtown Detroit, will succeed Larry Alexander as head of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. In the new role, Molinari will also oversee the direction of the Detroit Sports Commission — a DMCVB subsidiary — which is responsible for securing amateur sports for the region. WHY IT MATTERS: Alexander plans to retire at the end of 2020 after 22 years with the tourism and event organization. He will continue as chair of the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, created to operate TCF Center, through 2022.

UM tells students to stay home until spring ` The University of Michigan is moving more classes online and largely shutting down residence halls this winter as COVID-19 cases rise on campus and throughout the state. In addition to canceling winter semester on-campus housing contracts for undergraduates, the university will implement mandatory weekly testing for anybody who comes to campus, the university announced Friday. “This was a very difficult decision we had to make to support health and safety, and we apologize for the disruption it will cause,” President Mark Schlissel said in a letter to faculty and staff. “I join all of you in wishing that our winter term could be normal, and we could enjoy the transition into spring free of the anxieties of this pandemic.” Students who need to remain on campus for their health and wellness can request to do so, and dorms will be one person per room. Anyone coming to campus must test negative for the virus first and will encounter a “strict, no-tolerance approach” to enforcing the policy.

B LE 1 I L A , 202 A V T A The University of Michigan has decided to ask undergraduates to S stay home for the winter semester.

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FINANCE

Biotech entrepreneur Sooch takes her latest firm public

PEOPLE

GROWING GAME PLAN

BY NICK MANES

Mina Sooch, a veteran biotechnology executive and investor, has taken her latest endeavor to the public markets using a reverse merger strategy. Ocuphire Pharma Inc., a clinical-stage company based in Farmington Hills and focused on treating eye disorders with four different drugs currently in trials, has completed a previously announced deal to merge with Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqCM: REXN) of Rockville, Md. The combined company will operate under the name Ocuphire Pharma (NASDAQ: OCUP) and trading began Friday morning. As a result of the merger with Sooch Rexahn, Ocuphire shareholders own about 86.6 percent of the company’s shares. Upon the closing of the merger on Thursday evening, there are just over 7 million shares of the company’s common stock outstanding. Additionally, Ocuphire closed on $21.15 million in financing led by Altium Capital Management, a health care investment firm in New York City. In total, the company has raised nearly $30 million, Sooch told Crain’s in an interview, adding that Michigan angel groups have helped the company to a great extent. Sooch will serve as president and CEO of the combined company. Ocuphire’s lead drug called Nyxol is a once-daily eye drop aimed at improving vision performance, particularly for night vision disturbances. See OCUPHIRE on Page 21

Calvin Johnson and former teammate Rob Sims own a marijuana processing facility in Webberville. | PRIMITIV

Calvin Johnson talks marijuana, Hall of Fame and Detroit Lions BY KURT NAGL

Calvin Johnson, who retired in 2016, spent all nine years of his professional career with the Detroit Lions.

Nowadays it’s a new type of grind for Calvin Johnson, a likely Hall of Fame entrant who left NFL stardom early much to the disappointment of the Detroit Lions. Johnson, who retired in 2016, spent all nine years of his professional career with the franchise and is widely regard as one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. The 35-year-old is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time in 2021 alongside superstars Peyton Manning and Michael Vick. To be a first ballot inductee “would be dope,” Johnson said, but he’s got other business to attend to: marijuana.

Johnson does not miss the body aches of professional football, or the heartache of being a Lion, he does miss the brotherhood. “There’s a core group of guys I spent my whole career with,” Johnson said. “We were great when we played together. Building that camaraderie off the field is what we’re trying to do.” In a recent interview with Crain’s in downtown Birmingham, where the Georgia native makes his primary home, Johnson said he probably had a little more gas left in the tank when he walked away from football, but in reality, it was more of a limp.

Johnson has funneled around $2 million into a cultivation and processing enterprise in Webberville, a small community about 20 miles east of Lansing. It began operating a year ago and now reaps a 100-pound harvest around every 22 days. His first retail location, a medical and recreational marijuana dispensary in Niles in southwest Michigan, is expected to open by December — right in time for “a nice Christmas gift” — and another location in Lansing is not far behind. He and Rob Sims, business partner and fellow former Lion, have big ambitions of growing their marijuana business throughout the state and bringing former teammates into the fold. As much as

See JOHNSON on Page 21

NONPROFITS

Six months in, ISAIC attracting national attention, business BY SHERRI WELCH

Just six months after opening, the Detroit-based Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center is attracting national attention and business. The nonprofit sewn goods training institute is finalizing a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to produce personal protection equipment and has been named as the pilot site for testing robotic technology to automate production of isolation gowns, as part of a project team led by Siemens AG’s technology group in Berkley, Calif. At the same time, it’s secured contracts with garment companies from both coasts and is preparing to launch an on-demand, custom T-shirt line that will provide another level of training for employees, along with revenue to support its mission.

“Our job as an institute is to bring advanced technologies, to train on them (and) to scale those competitive technologies broadly in the U.S. (and in) Detroit as a hub,” said ISAIC CEO Jen Guarino. The new interest and business “affirms that our mission is welltimed and there is a valid need for an institute that can help to pilot advanced manufacturing in the apparel industry.”

PPE production

The Detroit-based Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center is making T-shirts from 100-percent recycled material for Chicago-based Everywhere. | ISAIC

ISAIC launched production in a 12,000-square-foot space in Carhartt’s Detroit building in late March, sewing isolation gowns rather than the garments it had planned initially. It subcontracted with a dozen others,, including the Empowerment Plan, to help to fill orders for a com-

bined 99,000 isolation gowns and contracts totaling $600,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and Detroit Medical Center. It’s still making isolation gowns for the state, Detroit Medical Center and Beaumont Health, Guarino said. Separately, the Quicken Loans Community Fund purchased a disposable mask production line and installed it at ISAIC. The Defense Logistics Agency within the U.S. Department of Defense heard about those efforts and approached ISAIC about making isolation gowns, she said, as part of the larger Operation Warp Speed effort to ensure a national stockpile of PPE and COVID-19 vaccines. ISAIC is working on a contract with the DOD for that production. See ISAIC on Page 22

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

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A rendering of the proposed $9.2 million Kercheval South development in Detroit’s Islandview neighborhood. | IDS

New residential development with a twist in Islandview neighborhood Aamir Farooqi’s plan to meet an unwritten-but-w idely-accepted requirement for affordable housing in a new Detroit residential Kirk development is PINHO somewhat unique in the city. Farooqi, who heads up Detroit-based developer Banyan Investments LLC along with Scott Ord, is working on the Kercheval South project at 7410 Kercheval St. between Sheridan and Townsend streets, which would bring a three-story building with 24 apartments to the Islandview neighborhood near Belle Isle. Banyan is seeking a 10-year tax abatement on the project from Detroit City Council. But because that’s not considered a “direct subsidy” like CDBG and HOME funds are, for example, Banyan is not required to make 20 percent of those new units affordable under the city’s inclusionary housing rules, said Donald Rencher, director of the city’s Housing and Revitalization Department. “City Council has an unwritten rule that if you do receive an abatement and you’re trying to do residential, 20 percent of the units have to be affordable at 80 percent (of Area Median Income) or below,” Rencher said. “I’ve seen developers try to do all different kinds of variations of that. Because there is no rule, it’s what’s most palatable to you.” So instead of putting 20 percent of those 24 units in the new 35,700-square-foot, $9.2 million building, he wants to put them in three houses in the surrounding area that he already owns instead of the new building itself, which would also have about 9,000 square feet of commercial space.

Farooqi said he couldn’t make the numbers work financially including deeply affordable housing in the Kercheval South project. If that sounds familiar, that’s because Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC has an agreement with the city that stipulates 20 percent of its residential portfolio be geared at those making 80 percent or less of the AMI (more on that shortly), but it doesn’t require that 20 percent of the units in each of Bedrock’s buildings meet those requirements. Instead, Bedrock is allowed to put the affordable units elsewhere in its portfolio or finance renovations of existing affordable housing buildings it doesn’t own. That happened with Cathedral Tower in Midtown. The AMI includes suburban Detroit, and is $62,800 for a family of two and $78,500 for a four-person household, according to the state.

“EIGHTY PERCENT OF AMI IS AS UNAFFORDABLE AS ASKING A SINGLE MOTHER TO RENT A MANSION IN BLOOMFIELD HILLS. IT WOULD JUST BE THUMBING MY NOSE AT HER.” — Aamir Farooqi, Banyan Investments LLC

But the inclusion of suburban Detroit for determining what housing is affordable in Detroit is often criticized because the suburban household incomes skew upward the city’s household income. “Eighty percent of AMI is as unaffordable as asking a single mother to rent a mansion in Bloomfield Hills,” Farooqi said. “It would just be thumbing my nose at her.” Instead, Farooqi’s plan is to put the affordable housing in three separate

properties he owns nearby: a single-family house at 2430 Canton St. at 75 percent AMI; a duplex at 3235 Canton St. at 60 percent AMI; and a duplex at 2548 Helen St. at 70 percent AMI. Seventy-five percent of AMI is $47,100 for a family of two and $58,875 for a family of four; 70 percent is $43,960 for a family of two and $54,950 for a family of four; and 60 percent is $37,680 for a family of two and 47,100 for a family of four. “If I make them available at 80 percent of AMI, they are going to be the young bankers at Quicken Loans and the young attorneys at Miller Canfield, and I will not have done anything to address affordable housing ... Now they are deeply affordable, and someone who needs those houses can actually rent one of those and live in it because they’ll be suitable,” Farooqi said. So far, that plan sits well with HRD. “As it’s presented to me, I like it,” Rencher told me last week. “For me, I’m all about trying to get the units and they are all in the same general proximity to each other.” The new Kercheval building would have 16 one-bedroom units with about 685 square feet and eight two-bedroom units with about 1,000 square feet. Farooqi has developed condominiums in the area, and continues to work on his proposed Stone Soap Building project on the east Detroit riverfront, which was announced in 2017 but hasn’t yet started construction. As a side note, the Kercheval South building rendering includes a mural. If the mural looks familiar, that’s because it’s the mural that’s on a Gratiot Avenue building near Eastern Market. Farooqi said it’s a placeholder for expected art on the side of the Kercheval building. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

REAL ESTATE

Affordable housing gets boost as Ann Arbor voters OK new tax Millage would raise about $130 million to develop between 1,250 and 1,500 units BY KIRK PINHO

A new property tax in Ann Arbor will raise $6.55 million its first year, 2021, and run through 2041. The goal is to create 1,250 to 1,500 units of affordable housing. Ann Arbor voters overwhelmingly approved a new property tax to pay for affordable housing in last week’s general election. Unofficial results on the Washtenaw County Clerk’s website show that with all 150 precincts reporting, 73.5 percent (44,896 votes) were in favor of Proposal C — a 20-year, one-mill property tax — while 26.5 percent (16,198 votes) were against. Of the “yes” votes, there were 38,310 absentee and 6,586 in-person, while there were 12,459 “no” absentee votes and 3,739 in-person. The funding would be for the “construction, maintenance and acquisition” of housing for those making 60 percent or less than the federally designated Area Median Income. In Washtenaw County, the AMI for a one-person household is $71,100; for a two-person household, $81,200; for a three-person household, $91,400; and a four-person household, $101,500. That makes 60 percent $42,660 for one person; $48,720 for a two-person

The vacant property known as the Y Lot at 350 S. Fifth Ave. in downtown Ann Arbor is one of those targeted by the city for new mixed-income development that includes affordable housing. | LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

household; $54,840 for a three-person household; and $60,900 for a four-person. Mayor Christopher Taylor, one of the proponents of the plan, says the city has a fair amount of housing geared toward those making 30 percent or less than AMI, so the new funding — which would amount to approximately $130 million over 20

years — would be targeted at those making 30 percent to 60 percent of AMI. Eighty percent of the $130 million is required to go toward the housing, while the rest is for support services for residents of the housing. The millage “coincides with an increased municipal focus on affordability and affordable housing and

actually doing something about it,” Taylor said Wednesday morning. “The past two years, we have made a fairly close assessment of cityowned parcels to determine their suitability for affordable housing ... we now have funds to support building on those parcels. I would expect that these two things together give us a great deal of flexibility and ability to move forward with actually building housing,” Taylor said. Like cities across the country, Ann Arbor has struggled with an affordable housing crisis in recent years. Ann Arbor’s includes the need to create about 2,800 units of new, permanent affordable housing by 2035, or else risk economic stratification that one report warns could be irreversible. The 2015 study by Alexandria, Va.based CZB LLC, commissioned by the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, says that the number of people in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti paying more than half of their income for housing more than doubled from 2,200 to 4,404 between 2000 and 2012, and it increased 74 percent for those paying more than 30 percent of their income, from 7,288 to 12,646. Experts generally say people should spend no more than 30 per-

cent of their income on housing costs. Partners for Affordable Housing — a group of organizations that pushed for the ballot initiative — says Washtenaw County has lost about 800 affordable housing units since the CZB study was done due to the expiration of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Taylor said ideally the city would come up with site plans and find developers to build the developments. “If we are able to go to the market with a fully entitled project that we have approved, that pencils out, and all it takes is some capital and willingness to accept the ROI the project indicates, you can pull your permits from go,” Taylor said. In Kalamazoo County, voters appear to have shot down a 0.75-mill, eight-year tax increase from 2021 to 2028 to fund “rental subsidies, permanent housing and related support services.” It would have raised $6.375 million its first year, according to the ballot language. Unofficial election results say that 58,195 votes (52.4 percent) voted against it while 52,910 (47.6 percent) voted in favor. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

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COMMENTARY

Fairgrounds could be a win-win, if city will play ball

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ‘s months-long push for public mask-wearing has not put a dent in her approval rating, which has hovered near 60 percent for much of the coronavirus pandemic. | MICHIGAN GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Making election about Whitmer, COVID didn’t work for Trump

e called her “that woman from Michigan.” He told the vice president not to take her phone calls during the worst public health crisis in a century. And he didn’t discourage supporters from cheering for her imprisonment during airport tarmac campaign rallies across the state, even after a gang of would-be domestic terrorists plotted to kidnap and “try” her for treason resulting in a likely death sentence. At every turn of 2020, President Donald Trump clashed with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, pushing responsibility of the coronavirus pandemic response onto her and other governors, dismissing her pleas for medical supplies and trying to convince voters in the waning days of the campaign that she still had them in a lockdown. It didn’t work. The contrast of Trump’s approach to the threat of COVID-19 to Whitmer’s management of the pandemic largely backfired among a bloc of COVID-concerned voters who helped seal his defeat in Michigan last Tuesday. “Trump’s response AT EVERY TURN to COVID is appalling,” said Susan OF 2020, Browder, 65, a retired educator and lifelong PRESIDENT voter DONALD TRUMP Republican from Higgins Lake in Roscommon County. CLASHED WITH “It was one of the maMICHIGAN GOV. jor factors in how I voted. His whole beGRETCHEN havior was a major WHITMER. factor.” Browder, who didn’t vote for Whitmer, said she saw in the governor a leader putting the health and welfare of the state’s 10 million residents ahead of Trump’s priority on preserving a high-riding stock market and low unemployment. “Trump was attacking Gretchen and got everyone else up in arms when she was just trying to do the right thing,” said Browder,

Chad

LIVENGOOD

who has a heart condition and worries about contracting COVID-19. “We all wanted a reassuring dad and what we got was a crazy guy ranting.” In interviews with voters and public polling before Election Day, an undercurrent of Joe Biden’s support rested with voters who said they were fed up with Trump’s seemingly relentless attacks on Whitmer, the science of mask wearing and the doctors in the trenches of disease control — even after he too contracted the virus and had to be hospitalized. This was somewhat predictable given Whitmer has continued to maintain a high job approval rating near 60 percent, which is historic for any governor, much less one saddled with a pandemic and recession. In the final pre-election poll Lansing-based Glengariff Group Inc. conducted for The Detroit News and WDIV (Channel 4), voter approval of Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic was 22 percentage points higher than Trump’s 39 percent approval rating. Marino Moutafis, the owner of Metro Detroit Acupuncture in West Bloomfield Township, said Trump’s “laissez-faire” approach to the pandemic in the spring and wrong claims that it would “disappear” clinched his vote for Biden. “He’s just not in it for the greater good of our communities or society in general — and it’s just 100 percent wrong,” Moutafis said of Trump. “It’s just an absolute disaster.” Whitmer has shrewdly capitalized on Trump’s attacks, raising money for her own re-election and contrasting the success Michigan had in flattening the infection during the spring lockdown with the explosion of new See ELECTION on Page 7

t’s the most exciting basketball gym in the country, as a banner outside of the building once proclaimed. Before the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to operations, anyone could come play pickup basketball at the Joe Dumars Fieldhouse. “It’s a classic, old-school pickup operation,” said Brian Siegel, a partner in the Fieldhouse, along with the gym’s namesake, former Detroit Pistons point guard Dumars. “We charge $10 for as long as you want to stay.” The gym saw 100,000 people a year. A big part of what makes the Fieldhouse so special is the building it’s in: Constructed in 1926 and with a 65-foot-high trussed steel roof, the Agricultural Building on the site of the former Michigan State Fairgrounds makes for a dramatic venue impossible to recreate. “You cannot find open-span buildings like that anymore, period,” Siegel said. “You couldn’t replace the steel infrastructure. They don’t build buildings like that anymore. … It’s just prohibitively expensive to build something like that.” The Fieldhouse opened in 2005. Just a few years later, in 2009, the state of Michigan pulled the plug on funding the Michigan State Fair after a 160-year run and evicted all the site’s tenants except for the Fieldhouse. It could have spelled doom for the basketball gym, but it didn’t. They kept their doors open. People kept coming in to play basketball. A decade passed. Then, in 2019, the state sold the land to the city of Detroit, and now the city plans to sell it to Hillwood Development LP and Sterling Group. The developers plan an industrial campus anchored by a much-heralded Amazon distribution facility that will create 1,200 jobs. Mayor Mike Duggan has said that the Agricultural Building, along with two other historic buildings on the Fairgrounds site, will likely have to be demolished. When the deal was announced, it was framed as an either/or bargain: Amazon will invest here, the jobs will come, but the buildings have to go. But nothing in the site plan suggests the buildings are in Amazon’s way. Creating jobs and economic opportunity at the Fairgrounds doesn’t have to be at odds with reusing the buildings. Tearing them down will be expensive — not only in demolition costs, but in the loss of tax credits that could be used

ELLIOTT BRAGG

to restore them. It’s harder to quantify lost opportunity, or the loss of community value, but those should be considered, too. It doesn’t even require imagination to come up with a viable use for the State Fair buildings. The Fieldhouse is already there.

Many uses Generations of Michiganders have fond State Fair memories. First held in Detroit on Woodward near Grand Circus Park in 1849, the Michigan State Fair connected Detroiters to the agricultural heart of Michigan and brought people from all over the state to ride the Ferris wheel, eat fair food and win blue ribbons in Detroit. The fair moved to its permanent home at Eight Mile and Woodward in 1905. The three buildings now at risk — the Agricultural Building, the Hertel Coliseum, and the Dairy Cattle Building — are the most visible remnants of the old State Fair. Built between 1922 and 1926, their white stucco exteriors and neoclassical design echo the “white city” aesthetic of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and they number among just a handful of surviving exhibition buildings nationwide. Throughout their existence, the large open buildings have been used for many things: they’ve hosted horse races, circuses, ice hockey, the Detroit Auto Show, Henry Ford’s 75th birthday party and countless concerts spanning a half-century of music history, from Count Basie to the Beastie Boys. The buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, which does not protect them from demolition, but does qualify them for federal historic tax credits. The proposed 3.8 million-square-foot Amazon development will take up about half of the acreage of the site and is part of the first phase of development. The city says the Amazon facility is expected to begin operations in 2022. See FAIRGROUNDS on Page 7

The Joe Dumars Fieldhouse at the former State Fairgrounds site. | AMY ELLIOTT BRAGG/CRAINS’S DETROIT BUSINESS

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 | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

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ELECTION

FAIRGROUNDS

From Page 6

cases in October after the Michigan Supreme Court tossed out the governor’s pandemic orders. She also blamed Trump's heated rhetoric for "stoking distrust, fomenting anger, and giving comfort" to the men who plotted to kidnap her. Trump touted the Supreme Court’s decision, even as the number of COVID infections and hospitalizations rose. “You don’t come into a state and attack someone with a 60 percent job approval rating,” said pollster Richard Czuba, president of the Glengariff Group. “And every time it seemed he attacked her, yes, the vitriol went up, but so did her poll numbers.” In many ways, Trump’s attacks on Whitmer resulted in helping propel her to the top of the pack of the nation’s Democratic governors — and put her in the mix to be Biden’s running mate. Last Tuesday showed that Republicans still have trouble winning statewide elections, and their hand-drawn legislative district maps face an existential threat from an independent redistricting commission that could reshape Michigan’s political landscape in 2022. As Republicans who control the Legislature plot a course forward amid a worsening public health crisis with COVID infections, Whitmer’s job approval ratings still dog them. Coronavirus infections are through the spring roof. Thursday’s rolling seven-day average of 3,798 new daily cases is more than double early April’s figure. And while hospitalizations (1,987 on Thursday) are still only half of the spring high of 3,910 on April 13, the majority of COVID-positive patients are in hospitals outside of Southeast Michigan — in largely Republican-dominated areas of the state. On Thursday, there were 1,139 COVID-positive patients in outstate hospitals — twice as many as there ever were in April. COVID-19 is no longer a Detroit problem. It’s a problem in Holland, where 35 COVID-positive patients were hospitalized Friday at Holland Hospital, acccounting for one-third of the current patients, said Robert Schwartz, a vice president at Holland Hospital. On Oct. 2, the day the Supreme Court ruled, there were two COVID patients there, according to state data. On Thursday, Whitmer reissued her call for the Legislature to pass a law mandating mask-wearing. Her new plea was met with dismissal from the incoming GOP House Speaker, Rep. Jason Wentworth of Clare, who called it a “press stunt” because there’s already an order from DHHS. Whitmer’s call for a mask law is an acknowledgment that public health orders from her Department of Health and Human Services don’t have the political force that an order from the governor or Legislature does. “I really think that having a bipartisan effort toward adopting and increasing compliance with these protocols if really crucial if we’re going to keep our economy engaged and keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed,” Whitmer said. The governor is even open to the Legislature passing a law authorizing her to issue a new order mandating mask-wearing — and thus removing lawmakers by one degree from any blowback. “That would be fine with me,” Whitmer said. “Whatever it takes to do what we need to do to get people masked up. I will be the person that people are unhappy with if that’s what it takes.”

But the fairgrounds buildings mostly lie in phase 3 of the development, according to the site map. This phase of the development, the city has said, will bring “auto parts suppliers or other job creators,” but there is no timeline for this phase of the development. It could be another decade. A new $7 million transit center is also planned for the site. Those plans are part of phase 1, and they are overlaid on a portion of the Dairy Cattle Building. But on a 100+-acre site, it’s hard to believe there aren’t 100 feet of wiggle room to keep the transit center clear of a 100-year-old building. For architect Michael Poris, it’s a disappointing reminder of an era he thought was over.

“I’m just kind of shocked that we’re just going backwards,” Poris said. “It’s very frustrating. We were fighting this kind of thing 25 years ago … 20 years ago … 15 years ago. I thought we had rounded that corner with all of the buildings being renovated downtown, and the Train Station.” Back in 2000, Poris’ firm, McIntosh Poris Associates, drew up a master plan for a Fairgrounds redevelopment on behalf of Joseph Nederlander, who had a 50-year lease with the state to create an entertainment complex on the site. The project fell apart, but Poris thinks the buildings are in good condition and ought to be “tactically preserved” for the time being. “They are in great shape. Ninety-nine percent of the vacant buildings in the city are (in worse shape) than this,” Poris said. “(These are) longspan steel structures that honestly

don’t look like there’s anything wrong with them.” Poris said that by the time phase 3 rolls around, we might be glad to have kept the buildings: We could have concerts or sports again at the Coliseum, or someone could decide to create one of Detroit’s coolest office spaces in the Dairy Cattle Building. But we don’t have to figure that out now, while the more urgent work of developing the Amazon site is underway. And while we wait, we could have 10 more years of basketball at the Fieldhouse. In 2005, Siegel and Dumars invested $1 million to adapt the Agricultural Building for their gym. At the same time, a more modest vision for a recreation campus on the Fairgrounds site was coming together: an old barn had been renovated for the Detroit Equestrian Center, and there were plans for a

golf center. Those plans were scratched when the state ended funding for the fair and sent those tenants packing. But it shows the potential that has existed in these buildings all along. In the final terms of the sale, the city agreed to conduct a feasibility study of whether the buildings might be preserved or relocated. That’s good. Meanwhile, the Fieldhouse has four years left on its lease. Siegel says they want to stay. “We would love to engage with the city and the developers to find a winwin situation for everyone, preserving the building and the recreational resource to the community, particularly the youth” Siegel said. “Joe and I have our hearts in it, believe in it. … We support the creation of jobs in the community and don’t want to get in the way of development, but we’d be heartbroken if this were to go away.”

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Contact: clivengood@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @ChadLivengood NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 7

CRAIN’S MICHIGAN BUSINESS: FLINT

The Ferris Wheel building in Flint.

New act for Diplomat co-founder Phil Hagerman leads plan to acquire specialty medical practices across the country BY TOM HENDERSON

Phil Hagerman has embarked on a new act: an ambitious plan to acquire specialty medical practices across the country. Hagerman is the co-founder and former CEO of Flint-based Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., whose sale for $300 million to OptumRx, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, the Minnesota-based health care giant, was announced last December. Hagerman is making the acquisitions through his Flint-based investment firm, Skypoint Ventures, and its lead portfolio company, Forum Health Enterprises. Hagerman is the majority shareholder of Forum Health and assumed the title of CEO in November 2019. In 2011, Hagerman co-founded Chicago-based Power2Practice LLC, a software-as-aservice company that manages electronic medical records. In February 2019, Hagerman formed Forum Health through the mergers of Power2Practice, which had grown its business to 1,000 physicians nationwide, with two health care practices — Chicago-based Agenixs; the medical practice of Paul Savage, M.D., the co-founder of Power2Practice; and Whole Health Medical Group of West Jordan, Utah.

8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Phil Hagerman, CEO of Forum Health, in front of the company call center in the Dryden Building. | FORUM HEALTH

B term tic a that with tive ture nipu diet life c adie sity Th er a cine A cent con with trea lem F tive thre nine Flor tem Life a pr ber, holi S.C.

POLITICS TO PAGES Building a bookstore in the teeth of a pandemic PAGE 10

Genusee sets its sights on the circular economy Startup recycles plastic to make eyeglasses

KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

BY TOM HENDERSON

Both practices focus on what is termed integrative medicine, a holistic approach to patient health care that combines traditional medicine with what was often called “alternative medicine,” including acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic manipulation, relaxation techniques, dietary and herbal approaches and life coaches to help control such maladies as diabetes, fibromyalgia, obesity and heart disease. The techniques are gaining broader acceptance in mainstream medicine as a way to improve outcomes. According to Forum, about 60 percent of Americans have one chronic condition and 40 percent have two, with about $3.3 trillion spent on treating chronic health care problems in the U.S. each year. Forum will only buy integrative-medical practices. It has bought three practices this year and now has nine practices, in Illinois, Maryland, Florida and South Carolina. In September, Forum Health acquired LifeStream Health Centre & Med Spa, a practice in Coppell, Texas. In October, it bought Wellness by Design, a holistic medical clinic in Greenville, S.C., both for an undisclosed amount. See HAGERMAN on Page 12

` Phil Hagerman leads plan to acquire specialty medical practices across the country. THIS PAGE

` Startup recycles plastic to make eyeglasses. THIS PAGE ` How a videographer became a branding entrepreneur in the COVID-19 pandemic. PAGE 10 ` Former police officer builds scale in security business. PAGE 10

“OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, THE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE PRACTICE HAS BECOME MORE COMMON THROUGHOUT THE NATION, WITH PHYSICIANS REALLY FOCUSED ON HEALING THE WHOLE PATIENT.” — Tom Shehab, physician and managing partner, Arboretum Ventures LLC

Genusee, a startup in Flint that recycles plastic water bottles into stylish eyeglasses, has got the kind of angel funding most startups can only fantasize about, cashing checks from investors with a geographic range from Silicon Valley to New York City, from a co-founder of Tesla to a financial adviser to Barack Obama. Investors say they like that the company is green; that it is a goodnews story in a city known for bad that makes it a perfect fit for those looking for social-impact investing; and that its founder, Ali Rose VanOverbeke,is a savvy CEO who has kept costs under control while bringing her product to a receptive market, with brand-name global retailers stocking her brand. She says she surpassed her goal for a recently concluded seed round of funding and will soon start raising a Series A round of between $2 million and $5 million. She declined to say how much she raised in that seed round. She finished that seed round with an investment of an undisclosed amount from Invest Detroit in October. “Ali Rose is an incredibly smart entrepreneur,” said Robert Wolf, the founder of 32Advisors, a family office in New York and a co-founder of 100K Ventures, a national group of high-profile investors who took their name from the 100K Ideas nonprofit in the Ferris Wheel Building in downtown Flint that helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into for-profit companies. He was an adviser to Obama when he was president and is on the board of directors of the Obama Foundation. His family office has invested in Genusee and so have some of his partners in 100K Ventures, whose cofounders include Victor Cruz, a former Super Bowl champion who is now an analyst for ESPN; Draymond Green, a Flint native and former Michigan State University basketball player who has won three NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors; Soledad O’Brien, a national TV news anchor and producer; Michael Strahan, a former Super Bowl champion who is a host on Good Morning America; Reshman Saujani, the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code; and Frank Thomas, a Hall of Fame baseball player.

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See GENUSEE on Page 12

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 9

FOCUS | FLINT

Refocusing How a videographer became a branding entrepreneur in the COVID-19 pandemic BY TOM HENDERSON

Egypt Otis is the owner of the Comma Bookstore & Social Hub. | COMMA BOOKSTORE

From politics to pages Building a bookstore in the teeth of a pandemic BY TOM HENDERSON

store & Social Hub, a store at the south end of Buckham Alley and W. Second Coronavirus had the effect on Street, half a block from the main Egypt Otis of turning her into a differ- downtown drag of Saginaw Street. Buckham is a popular gathering spot, ent kind of community activist. A native of Flint and a graduate with retailers, outdoor dining and with a degree in political science and drinking and an annual festival. The delay allowed her and her government from the University of Michigan-Flint, Otis had been a long- partner, Dorian Jackson, to build in time activist in the Flint area and some bookcases and counters. It also allowed her to do a GoFundWayne County. In Flint she had worked for Planned Parenthood and Me campaign to augment her savthe Community Foundation of Great- ings, which far exceeded her imaginaer Flint; was a union representative tion. for Local 951 of the United Food “I thought I might get $800 and Commercial Workers; and an out- ended up getting more than $11,000,” reach specialist with the Flint Health she said. “People still continue to doCoalition. In Wayne County she was nate to my GoFundMe page. If not for an advocate for victims of domestic them, I wouldn’t be open.” and sexual violence for the nonprofit Otis hired her first employee soon First Step; and she has served on the after opening. “Business has been governor’s council on child abuse. surprisingly good. I can’t complain. She was And people working for “BUSINESS HAS BEEN have been buyKolehouse Strating online,” she egies, a political SURPRISINGLY GOOD. I said. Her webconsulting firm, site is commaCAN’T COMPLAIN. AND when the panbookstore.com. The store has demic hit and PEOPLE HAVE BEEN a focus on books her job was terBUYING ONLINE.” by Muslims, Afminated. “I was sud- — Egypt Otis rican Americans denly unemand Latinos, ployed. I was feeling very deflated though on a recent visit, “Too Much and unfulfilled,” she said. “The pan- and Never Enough,” a memoir by demic gave me the courage to do Mary Trump about her uncle, Donald something I probably never would Trump, was on prominent display. have done. I’m usually really pragPaintings and other artworks by matic, but COVID showed me noth- local artists adorn the walls and ing is certain. I said to my partner, ‘I shelves. Locally made jewelry is for think what I want to do is open a sale, as are grooming products bookstore.’ It’s what I wanted to do. I made by Jackson’s company, Nawant to leave my mark on the com- troil Grooming Co.; eyeglasses remunity.” cycled from plastic water bottles “As a Flint native, creating a busi- distributed around Flint, made by ness here is really important to me. A Genusee, a for-profit startup that is lot of time, people my age leave,” said housed in the nearby Ferris Wheel Otis, who is 29. Building incubator and has gained A friend told her there was a vacant national attention and financing storefront available for rent in an his- from wealthy investors from Silicon toric building that had once been a Valley to New York (see story, Page bookstore named Pages. Someone 9); and Flint-themed shirts and had recently rented the space and hats. was going to open a juice bar and Otis had planned to hold various sandwich shop, but things came to a events at the store, but COVID-19 put halt and the shop never opened. a damper on that. She did manage to Though she says, “I’m the kind of hold two socially distanced tribute person when I decide to do some- nights when actor Chadwick Bosething, I start doing it immediately,” man died, using a projector to show and while she moved quickly to get the movie “Black Panther” on a big her name on a lease in July, the pan- screen. demic delayed the store opening. Finally, on Sept. 8, she held her Contact: thenderson@crain.com grand opening of the Comma Book- (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2 10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Dan Bennett, a tenant at the Ferris Wheel business incubator and co-working space in downtown Flint, is part of a class of accidental entrepreneurs who survived the pandemic — and hope to thrive in its wake. Bennett didn’t physically get COVID-19, but his online marketing business was almost immediately shut down because of it. So, without much pause, he focused all his attention on a new business, 1 Minute Media, helping companies make short, professional videos to post to social media sites that let folks know what they are up to, how they’ve adapted to the coronavirus and how to get their products and services. The Plymouth Downtown Development Authority was one of the first to avail themselves of his services. Bennett was on a Zoom call with economic development officials from around the state in March as the coronavirus was hitting hard. Businesses were sending workers home, restaurants and bars were closing and officials were brainstorming about what they could do. Bennett offered his services, saying that he could help restaurants put out short videos on social media to let customers know they were still

Dan Bennett, founder of 1MinuteMedia in Flint. |1 MINUTE MEDIA

open for curbside service, how their menus might have been pared back, if they were making deliveries, hours of operation and so forth. Tony Bruscato, the director of the

Plymouth Downtown Development Authority, was on the call. “I called Dan after our Zoom call. He set up a time to come to Plymouth and I got five restaurant owners interested. He came on a Saturday and they each got half an hour with him to put together videos,” said Bruscato.

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More than moonlighting Former police officer builds scale in security business BY TOM HENDERSON

Dave Forystek was a retired Flint cop and was asked if he would be interested in providing security on a part-time basis at Flint Powers Catholic High School. He thought it would be a fine way to supplement his retirement. Fine, indeed. That was the summer of 2013, and he hired a few former fellow cops and beginning that school year offered round-the-clock security at the large school and campus. Today he employs about 250 at Premier Security Services Inc. and had revenue last year of $5.1 million. He says Premier would have easily surpassed that this year but for the pandemic. He says he will still do about $3 million this year. About 70 of his employees are retired local and state police and firefighters. Forystek, the son of a Flint cop, was a police officer in Flint from 1991-2011 and then was chief of police for two years in the village of Mayville in the Thumb. He still works as an officer part time in Vassar to keep his certifications active, helping out when needed on things like accident investigations. The Michigan School for the Deaf is right next to Flint Powers, and administrators asked him if he’d do security there, too. Gradually the business began adding other clients in the Flint area. By

“I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH WHAT THEY DID. THEY HAVE A HUGE AFFILIATION WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.” — Bret Griffin, president, Precision Vehicle Solutions LLC and Precision Vehicle Logistics LLC

2017, Forystek had grown the firm to $250,000 in revenue, thanks to landing a contract to provide security throughout the Flint Cultural Center, instead of each institution finding and hiring its own guards. And then came a big break which helped him grow revenue to $1.1 million in 2018 and to last year’s total. Bret Griffin is the president of Wayne-based Precision Vehicle Solutions LLC and Precision Vehicle Logistics LLC. Both companies provide transportation and storage services for new cars coming off General Motors’ and Ford assembly lines. The new cars and trucks are taken to storage lots, then later shipped by rail or truck to dealers around the country. The first of those companies operates in Flint to provide transportation and storage for area manufacturing plants. The other operates in Southeast Michigan. “At any given time, I might be sitting on inventory in Flint of $900 million in inventory,” he said. In 2017, 17 cars or trucks were stolen from storage lots in Flint. Griffin

had been told about Forystek and hired him. He didn’t suffer the loss of a single car the next two years. “I was so impressed with what they did,” said Griffin. “They have a huge affiliation with local law enforcement. You don’t want anything bad to happen, but if they do happen, you want the kind of services you get from him. I’ve been in this business 20 years and I’ve never had this kind of support from a security company. When I saw what they did in Flint, I hired them for the Detroit area, too.” Forystek has long known Phil Hagerman, the owner of the Ferris Wheel Building in downtown Flint and the Dryden Building next door, CEO of Skypoint Ventures, an investment firm, and former president of Diplomat Pharmacy. “Phil came to me one day and said, ‘I’ve heard about your company, that you’re growing. If you want to talk one day, let’s talk,’” recounted Forystek. He did. In 2018, he met with Hagerman and became the 100th person to go through the 100K Ideas accelerator that is part of the Ferris Wheel incubator in downtown Flint. While 100K Ideas is mostly at the service of would-be entrepreneurs looking for guidance and help with business plans and marketing, it is open to established business looking to grow as well. Forystek liked being active as a security guard in addition to being the business owner. He had himself assigned regularly to security work on

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FOCUS | FLINT

The restaurants were Compari’s, Maya’s Deli, Kilwin’s, Bigalora and Stella’s Black Dog Tavern. Over the next few weeks, their videos were seen by more than 15,000 viewers\. “We got good reviews from the restaurant owners,” said Bruscato. “Dan was easy to work with, and he did

a great job.” Bennett studied digital drafting at Lansing Community College, then from 1999-2004 had a series of drafting jobs. “I absolutely hated it. It was boring and demoralizing. I’d enter data points on a computer in a windowless room

behalf of clients. “I was working 50-60 hours a week,” he said. Much of it not behind his desk as president and CEO. “One of the conversations we had with him was, he was always working in the business. How could he work more on the business? Be a CEO. Build process and programs and not be a guard himself,” said Hagerman. Forystek said he took the advice to heart and it worked, though he still puts on the uniform and works security on occasion. “He was an incredible source of information,” said Forystek. It worked out for Hagerman, too. In June 2019, Premier Security took over the entire third floor of the Dryden Building, a building Hagerman owns next to the Ferris Wheel. Being downtown has made it easier to land nearby clients, which now includes the Flint Farmers’ Market a few blocks away and the Marketplace Apartments, a $19.5 million, 92-unit mixed-income apartment and townhouse complex that opened downtown at the beginning of this year. Forystek provides training for local police departments at his headquarters in a specially equipped room than can offer up various threat scenarios on a big flat-screen TV and test responses. “We have to train our own people, so we decided to create a new income stream in training,” he said. “You can see from the various videos that end up on TV there’s a need for better training.” He also holds classes for people who want a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

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for guys in the field,” he said. He wanted something more creative and found it at Owosso-based Hankerd Sportwear, a maker of T-shirts for special events and festivals and for touring bands to sell at gigs. From 2006-2013, Bennett was art department head and production manager. In 2014, he founded DnA Design Co. in Flint, a video production and digital media firm whose customers included General Motors, Mercury Marine, the University of Michigan and Mott Community College. One video he did for Mercury Marine was used to lobby the U.S. Congress for more support of the metal-casting industry. That morphed into Flint-based Cell Core Creative LLC in August 2019, which billed itself as an “authentic story development” company to help companies tell their stories online. Customers included Harley-Davidson, with Bennett making a commercial for the motorcycle-maker’s Lapeer dealership that appeared in local movie theaters, and Anheuser-Busch, for whom Bennett filmed videos about the company’s promotional activities at sports stadiums and arenas around the country. For example, Anheuser had a Bud Light venue outside the Detroit Lions’ Ford Field, where customers played Bud Light-themed cornhole games while having a beer or buying Bud souvenirs. Bennett also was hired by Westbrook Inc., Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s production company, to produce a video about an event last December at the Latinx Technology & Community Center in Flint. Their son Jaden, a rapper and actor, had become active in helping Flint solve its water crisis and had

David Forystek, president and CEO of Premier Security Services Inc. | TOM HENDERSON/ CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

“I WANTED TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE BIG DOGS WHO CAN PAY MY DAY RATE AND MICROBUSINESSES WHO CAN’T AFFORD ME.” — Dan Bennett, 1 Minute Media

helped fund the creation and distribution of several portable water-filtration systems called The Big Box. In March, with a number of gigs lined up in the coming months, the bottom fell out for Bennett. COVID hit and companies put marketing campaigns on hold. Bennett had two employees and took advantage of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program to keep them on the payroll, but when that program ended after 10 weeks, Bennett pulled the plug in August. “In eight days in March, I went from rockin’ and rolling to nothing,” he said. That’s when memories of a tech conference in Charleston, S.C., in July 2018 came back. The two-day conference was called SMAD-CON, “SMAD” standing for “social media all day,” and was designed to teach people and companies how to build their brands on social platforms. Bennett was there with a client and was intrigued by one speaker’s presentation and challenge: He invited the 250 or so in attendance to make a minute-long marketing video, post it and go for a modest prize. Only a few did, most seemingly intimidated by the challenge. With customers no longer willing to

pay his day rate of $1,850 for the foreseeable future, Bennett said he thought there might be a market for teaching entrepreneurs and businesses the basics of making high-quality video messages. The simplest videos can be made with a smartphone. More technical productions can be made using a portable sound and video recording system he makes available. “I wanted to bridge the gap between the big dogs who can pay my day rate and microbusinesses who can’t afford me,” he said. “Why not reach out to essential businesses ... and let people know they’re open?” He made a one-minute video as a beta trial in April and launched 1 Minute Media as a business in May. Bennett had one early investor he’d been discussing the business with. “He told me, ‘Dude, this can be digitized and scaled.’ He threw some money at me, enough to get a few months’ rent at the Ferris Wheel and build a website,” said Bennett. Bennett offers three payment options. The basic course costs $129 and includes 15 video lessons and email support. For $99 plus $21 a month, clients get 15 video lessons and in-person support from Bennett as they continue to post videos. The video lessons plus a year of editing help from Bennett is $288. He also offers group memberships at a discount of 20 percent. He has five members in the Ferris Wheel group, including the Ferris Wheel itself, and five group members in a media organization called Flint Beat. Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

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FOCUS | FLINT

GENUSEE

From Page 9

“We look to invest in underserved communities that have very smart entrepreneurs but don’t get a lot of attention from venture capitalists,” said Wolf. The investment in Genusee, the size of which wasn’t disclosed, was made this summer and was the second by 100K Ventures in a company housed in the Ferris Wheel Building. The first was last year in Kalm Clothing, a design and manufacturing company founded by Flint native Kiara Tyler. “Making glasses from plastic water bottles was just such a smart idea, and she’s creating jobs in Flint. It just checked every box for us,” said Wolf. A buzzword in impact and green investing is the circular economy — raw materials turn into products, which turn into waste materials, which are turned into products. VanOverbeke bills Genusee as the first circular economy eyewear. She is a 2008 graduate of the Roeper School in Birmingham and credits it with shaping her philosophy. “The Roeper School was founded by two Jews who fled the Nazis. The Roeper philosophy is centered around community. We, not I,” said VanOverbeke, who has honored the school by referring to the frames of her glasses on her website as “Roeper frames.” “The school challenged me at a young age to focus on social justice,” she said. After graduation, she headed to New York, where she was got her bachelor of fine arts in fashion and apparel design in 2014 from the prestigious Parsons School of Design. After graduation, she had a four-month fellowship in design at the Parsons Design Lab, a fellowship sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. and Conde Nast. Before and after graduation, she worked as a freelance stylist, working on photo shoots for a wide range of clients, including Glamour Magazine, Revlon and Elle Magazine. After her fellowship, she worked as a designer for Lane Bryant and then Joe Fresh, a

HAGERMAN

From Page 8

Hagerman said he is in due diligence on several practices and expects to buy two more by the end of the year, which will put it at a revenue run rate of $18 million. He said he expects to buy two more by the end of February, hopes to have 15 practices by end of the first quarter, 30 by the end of 2021 and 150 by the end of 2024. Forum Health will continue to offer electronic records management services to practices that aren’t owned by the company. Forum currently has 107 employees at its various practices, including 18 physicians and nurse practitioners. Hagerman said he expects to buy a practice in Detroit, one in the Grand Rapids area and perhaps one in Ann Arbor over the next six months. He said the plan is to grow through what he calls “densification,” buying several practices in what he defines as geographic hubs, including Atlanta-Greenville, S.C.-Charlotte, N.C.; Tampa-St. Petersburg; and San Diego-Los Angeles. The company was formerly based in Salt Lake City, but in January moved its headquarters, some of its management team and its call center to Flint. There are 10 employees in Flint now,

Flint-based Genusee makes fashion eyeglasses from recycled plastic water bottles. | GENUSEE

“MAKING GLASSES FROM PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES WAS JUST SUCH A SMART IDEA, AND SHE’S CREATING JOBS IN FLINT. IT JUST CHECKED EVERY BOX FOR US.” CEO Ali Rose VanOverbeke of Genusee, a company that makes eyeglasses from recycled plastic water bottles, at her manufacturing operation in the Ferris Wheel Building in Flint. | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

— Robert Wolf, the founder of 32Advisors

fashion brand and retail chain. From June through September 2017, VanOverbeke was in a business accelerator program at XRC Labs in New York, and followed that with 23 weeks in the first cohort of the Elaine Gold Launch Pad, a mentoring program of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for aspiring entrepreneurs, where they are, in the words of the Launch Pad website, “encouraged to embed sustainability, technology, and innovation (and) explore new business models and create value through new ways of designing, making, producing, selling, and storytelling.” Which leads us to Genusee. Van Overbeke got the idea for the company over Christmas break of 2016, when she spent two weeks as a volunteer for the Red Cross delivering water bottles in Flint. “Seeing this plastic waste stream was shocking to me. My design brain

said, ‘What can I do with this waste?’” She wrote a business plan on a PostIt note in January 2017 and formally launched the company in April 2018 after finishing the accelerator programs. A $20,000 grant from Elaine Gold allowed her to do prototyping on glasses before starting the company. A month before the formal launch, she got her first institutional funding, from ImpactAssets of Bethesda, Md. After launching, she raised $74,000 in a Kickstarter campaign and moved to Flint full time that May. VanOverbeke rented space in an optical lab in Flint, then a year ago moved into the Ferris Wheel Building, an incubator on Saginaw Street downtown, where she and her employees occupy the entire sixth floor, the operation growing from 400 square feet to 1,200 in less than a year. VanOverbeke buys plastic pellets

from local recyclers who have gathered the bottles and processed them and contracts with another local company that does injection molding to produce the three pieces the frames are made of. Each pair of glasses is made from 15 water bottles. Genusee employees then sand, tumble and buff those pieces in a process that takes six days to get the right look and feel. The pieces are fit together to make complete frames, with the lenses made by another supplier. Prices start at $99 for nonprescription glasses, readers, and single-vision prescription glasses. Progressive lenses are $295. They can be ordered online atgenusee.com and are sold on other websites. While most sales are via the Web, she has sold glasses at various popups, sells them at the Detroit is the New Black store on Woodward in Detroit,

and they are available at the recently opened new Comma bookstore up the street from the Ferris Wheel (see story, Page 10). Thanks partly to VanOverbeke’s fashion industry contacts, Genusee glasses are also sold by New Yorkbased Alex Mill; Philadelphia-based Anthropologie; and Shopbop, a subsidiary of Amazon. VanOverbeke said sales have sharply increased since the pandemic hit in March, whether that’s coincidental, people are at home spending more time shopping on the internet, or they’ve seen pieces on the company in the New York Times, Good Houskeeping, Elle and Vogue or caught her on her two appearances with David Muir on ABC’s “World News Tonight.”

which should double in coming months. Hagerman said Skypoint has funded growth so far but he expects to close soon on what he is calling a friends-and-family funding round of $4 million. He said he would long ago have hit that total but an investment office associated with a large health care firm that had committed on an investment of $2 million put that on hold when the pandemic hit. Hagerman said he was going to move the headquarters to Flint in any event, but the decision was made easier by downtown Flint’s designation as a federal Opportunity Zone, which should spur interest by institutional investors because of the tax benefits of companies in such zones. Opportunity Zones were created in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by the Congress. “We might go out for a bigger funding round in 2021, or we may be able to fund growth out of revenue,” said Hagerman. “If Phil Hagerman and his team are involved in this company, it increases the chances of the company’s success,” said Tom Shehab, a physician and managing partner at Ann Arbor-based Arboretum Ventures LLC, a health care venture-capital firm that last year raised its fifth fund, which at $250 million was the largest VC fund in state

history, eclipsing the $220 million that it raised in 2015. “Phil is a masterful orator and a visionary,” said Shehab, who said he has met with him as part of the due diligence in a possible investment. Shehab said Arboretum is not an investor in Forum but will continue to track the company’s progress. Nonetheless, he likes the company’s business model. “Over the last 15 years, the integrative medicine practice has become more common throughout the nation, with physicians really focused on healing the whole patient. Physicians who had patients for whom traditional care didn’t meet their needs. “Fifteen years ago, many were unsure or even dubious of the benefits of integrative medicine. It’s different now.”

Its business was hit hard when insurers began to aggressively direct the fulfillment of prescriptions to their own in-house specialty pharmacies. The sale to Optum was for $4 a share, a 73 percent decline in a year and came a month after the company warned it had substantial doubt it could stay afloat after a third quarter-loss of $177 million on revenue of $1.3 billion. In August 2019, while denying wrongdoing, the company settled a federal class-action lawsuit for $14.1 million that alleged the company had misled investors. Hagerman was the chairman emeritus at the time, having retired as CEO at the end of 2018. Hagerman and entities affiliated with him owned about 23 percent of Diplomat stock at the time the sale was announced. “I wasn’t doing well in retirement,” he joked about becoming the CEO of another growing company. Even without the new CEO title, Hagerman was hardly retired. He is CEO of Skypoint Ventures, founded in 2013. It has six portfolio companies. In 2015, he reopened the rehabbed Dryden Building in downtown Flint, a $6.8 million project. Built in 1902, it had originally been the home of the Duran-Dort Carriage Co., one of the companies that morphed into General Motors Co. It had sat empty for 20 years.

In 2017, Hagerman opened the Ferris Wheel Building next door to the Dryden. A seven-story art-deco icon when it was built in 1930, it had originally housed the Gainey Furniture Co., and later the Ferris Brothers Fur Co. After a $7.5 million renovation, it now operates as an incubator and co-working space for Flint entrepreneurs and is home to 100K Ideas, a nonprofit that gives coaching and mentoring advice to would-be entrepreneurs. In 2014, Hagerman launched the Hagerman Foundation, which he says has made about $18 million in grants to nearly 100 projects. In 2015, he donated $2 million to the University of Michigan-Flint to launch a new center dedicated to entrepreneurship. “If Phil is leading this, you know that he has analyzed it thoroughly, and sees a way to create consistent service and improve standards of care for patients,” said Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager of the Ann Arbor-based Renaissance Venture Capital Fund. “He demonstrated with Diplomat Pharmacy that he could scale his ideas, and he also proved that he would focus on bringing his team and the people of the city of Flint along with him. I can’t wait to hear how this develops.”

12 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

From neighborhood pharmacy to IPO Hagerman and his father, Dale, co-founded Diplomat as a neighborhood pharmacy that evolved into a major national provider of specialty pharmaceutical products for people with chronic conditions like cancer and hepatitis. It went public with a $175 million IPO in 2014 and at the time of the sale had about 1,400 employees.

Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

Monday, Nov. 16 | 4–5p.m. With emcee ASHLEY WILLIAMS Founder and CEO of Rizzarr Join us virtually for a special, celebratory gathering to honor Crain’s 20 in Their 20s & 40 Under 40 winners! These honorees have built fast-growing businesses, tackled community problems and responded swiftly in crisis. • Meet and celebrate Crain’s newest classes and participate in this jam-packed hour of fun and excitement • Learn from the winners, as they share their own stories of success and opportunity Crain’s 20 in Their 20s were revealed in the May 4, 2020 issue. Our 40 Under 40 Honorees were revealed in the Sept. 7, 2020 issue.

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CRAIN'S LIST | MICHIGAN VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES Ranked by 2019 revenue COMPANY NAME LOCATION CONTACT INFO

MAJORITY OWNER(S)

REVENUE ($000,000) 2019/2018

PERCENT CHANGE

LOCAL EMPLOYEES JAN. 2020/2019

PERCENT VETERANOWNED

BRANCH OF SERVICE

YEARS SERVED

TYPE OF BUSINESS

WOLVERINE PACKING CO.

Jim Bonahoom president

$1,324.0

4.7%

750 750

50.0%

Army

Wholesale meat packer and processor; wholesale meat, poultry and seafood distributor

POPULUS GROUP

Bobby Herrera CEO

$600.8

19%

155 134

51.0%

Army

HR services/staffing

BARRICK ENTERPRISES INC.

Robert Barrick president

$507.1

-11.5%

16 17

100.0%

Army

Petroleum retailer and wholesaler

MIDWEST STEEL INC.

Gary Broad chairman

$170.0

46.6%

110 106

95.1%

Army

Structural steel contractors

CHEMICO LLC

Leon Richardson CEO, chairman, president

$164.0

12.3%

108 281

100.0%

Marines

Chemical management and supply

PETOSKEY PLASTICS INC.

Paul Keiswetter chairman and CEO

$150.0

9 9

80.0%

Marines

Environmentally focused recycler and plastic film, bag, and resin manufacturer

AVIS FORD INC.

Walter Douglas Sr. chairman

$132.1

2.6%

104 NA

Army

Automobile dealership

JAMES GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC.

John A. James chairman

$122.0

2.5%

174 120

100.0%

Army

Logistics and supply chain solutions

LOAD ONE TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

John Elliott CEO

$114.0

-1.7%

573 582

75.0%

Army

Transportation and logistics solutions for customers.

MJC COMPANIES

Michael Chirco founder and president

$99.5

-14.3%

81 75

100.0%

Army

Real estate building, development and sales

BULLSEYE TELECOM INC.

William Oberlin chairman

$99.0

175 190

60.0%

Army

Provides secured communications, telecommunications networks and advanced technologies

PROGRESSIVE MECHANICAL INC.

Randy Hosler president

$81.7

107.9%

143 160

51.0%

Army

Mechanical, plumbing, process piping and fire protection contractor specializing in the management and construction of HVAC, mechanical process piping and plumbing systems for the commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal markets

MULTI-BANK SECURITIES INC.

David Maccagnone chairman and CEO

$76.1

65.8%

60 65

62.0%

Marines

A broker-dealer that serves the investment and funding needs of banks, credit unions, municipalities and other institutional clients.

TRILLAMED LLC

Frank Campanaro CEO

$75.0

7.1%

19 18

91.0%

Army

A distributor of medical, facility and new construction products

MCL JASCO INC.

Louis James president and CEO

$67.0

28%

162 162

100.0%

Army

Provider of supply chain management services, global logistics, energy efficiency program design and management services, quality and containment leadership, restoration services, engineering/economic analysis services, vegetation management and governmental restoration programs

ONSTAFF USA INC.

Patrick Allkins CEO

$41.0 1

NA NA

Navy

A recruiting consulting and testing firm with professional technical and temporary divisions

ARGENT INTERNATIONAL INC.

Frederic Perenic CEO/president

$38.6 1

-8%

NA NA

Marines

Designer and manufacturer of pressure sensitive adhesives and material composites for automotive, medical and industrial markets

DK SECURITY

John Kendall president and CEO

$36.7

3.5%

35 22

100.0%

Air Force

A provider of uniform security and investigative services

CMAC TRANSPORTATION LLC

David Christie CEO

$35.0 1

-12.5%

NA NA

Air Force

Logistics company

COMMONEO LLC

Robert Jones CEO

$33.9 1

182.7%

NA NA

Air Force

Payroll service

CONTRACT PROFESSIONALS INC.

Steve York chairman and CEO

$32.8

-2.1%

438 458

78.0%

Air Force

Staffing company

ELLIOTT TAPE INC.

Richard Elliott president and CEO

$31.9 1

-11.6%

NA NA

Army

Automotive tape supplier

IMPERIUM LOGISTICS LLC

A. Rocky Raczkowski president and founder

$30.5

6.4%

NA 86

100.0%

Army

Logistics, distribution and supply chain services primarily operating in the automotive, medical and defense sectors

CAPSONIC AUTOMOTIVE INC.

Gregory Liautaud owner and CEO

$28.5 1

NA NA

Army

Manufactures and distributes automotive products. Working with system and subsystem leaders across automotive, aerospace, military, medical and appliance

SUBURBAN BOLT AND SUPPLY CO.

Eric Peterson president

$25.0 1

150%

NA NA

Army

Industrial supplies distributor specializing in fasteners cutting tools, abrasives, safety products, PVF shop supplies, etc.

7 8 9

2535 Rivard,Detroit 48207 313-259-7500; www.wolverinepacking.com 3001 West Big Beaver Road, Ste. 400,Troy 48083 248-712-7900; www.populusgroup.com 4338 Delemere Blvd.,Royal Oak 48073 248-549-3737; www.barrickent.com 2525 E. Grand Blvd.,Detroit 48211 313-873-2220; www.midweststeel.com 25200 Telegraph, Suite 120,Southfield 48033 248-723-3263; www.thechemicogroup.com 1 Petoskey St.,Petoskey 49770 231-347-2602; www.petoskeyplastics.com 29200 Telegraph Road,Southfield 48034 248-355-7500; www.avisford.com 4335 W. Fort St.,Detroit 48209 313-841-0070; www.jamesgroupintl.com 13221 Inkster,Taylor 48180 734-947-9440; www.load1.com

46600 Romeo Plank Road, Suite 5,Macomb 48044 586-263-1203; www.mjccompanies.com 25925 Telegraph Road, Suite 210,Southfield 48033 248-784-2500; www.bullseyetelecom.com 10800 Galaxie,Ferndale 48220 248-399-4200; www.progressivemech.com

1000 Town Center, Suite 2300,Southfield 48075 800-967-9045; www.mbssecurities.com

30100 Telegraph, Suite 366,Bingham Farms 48025 248-433-0582; www.trillamed.com 7140 W. Fort St.,Detroit 48209 313-841-5000; www.mcljasco.com

2725 Airview Blvd.,Portage 49002 269-385-8321; onstaffusa.com 41016 Concept Drive P.O. Box 701007,Plymouth 48170 734-582-9888; www.argent-international.com

5160 Falcon View Ave. SE,Grand Rapids 49512 800-535-0646 ; www.dksecurity.com 20450 Sibley Road,Brownstown 48193 800-524-4255; www.cmactrans.com 50170 Schoenherr Road,Utica 48315 (248) 413-0190; www.commoneo.net 4141 W. Walton Blvd.,Waterford 48329 248-673-3800; www.cpijobs.com 1882 Pond Run ,Auburn Hills 48326 248-475-2017; www.egitape.com 700 E. Big Beaver Road, Ste F.,Troy 48083 (248) 250-9410; www.goimperium.com 3121 University Drive,Auburn Hills 48326 248-754-1100; www.capsonic.com

27670 Groesbeck Hwy. ,Roseville 48066 586-775-8894; suburbanbolt.com

$1,265.0

$505.0

$573.1

$116.0 1

$146.0

$147.0

$128.7

$119.0

$116.0

$98.0

$39.3 1

$45.9

$70.0

$52.3

$42.0

$35.5

$40.0 1

$12.0 1

$33.5

$36.1 1

$28.7

$10.0 1

SOURCE: NATIONAL VETERAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL | This list of veteran-owned businesses is an approximate compilation of the largest businesses in Michigan. Crain's collaborated with the National Veteran Business Development Council to compile the list. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. NA = not available. NOTES: 1. From National Veteran Business Development Council.

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Leaders wear many uniforms. The veterans featured in this section have distinguished themselves on the battlefield and in the boardroom, applying the skills they learned in service to our country to the organizations where they now work. And while they’ve earned honors in the military and laurels in their careers, these veterans may be most notable for what they’ve given back to their communities and how they’ve helped other veterans transition to civilian life and forge their own paths of success in business and beyond.

METHODOLOGY: The people featured in this Notable Veterans report were selected by a team of Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments, track record of success in the field, contributions to their community and mentorship of others, as outlined in a detailed nomination form. Notable Veterans was managed and written by Leslie D. Green. For questions about this special report, contact Amy Elliott Bragg at abragg@ crain.com. To learn more about Crain’s awards programs, visit crainsdetroit.com/ nominate.

KWESI BETSERAI

CHRIS BROWN

PONCE CLAY

GEORGE DONNINI

Title: Veterans Services Division Director, Wayne County

Title: Veteran Navigator, Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network

Title: Shareholder, Butzel Long

Rank and branch of service: Major, U.S. Army

Rank and branch of service: Specialist, U.S. Army

Title: Managing Attorney, Clay Law PLC; Principal Broker, Clay Realty Investment and Development

Latest degree earned: Master of Business Administration, American Military University

Kwesi Betserai spent much of his nearly 30 years in the Army training soldiers scheduled to deploy to the Middle East, Africa and Kosovo. In this time, he earned the respect of those under his command along with numerous awards, including the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal. “Major Betserai … truly understood what the mission was and strove 100 percent to complete it. His advice and guidance are still welcomed and carry the same level of dedication,” said Vida Frost, president of the Women’s Army Corps Veterans’ Association Wolverine Chapter 27. Now Betserai, who manages a $2 million to $3 million budget, works toward providing financial hardship and other support for more than 78,000 veterans. Since joining the county, he has worked toward improving client services through building upgrades and collaborations.

Latest degree earned: Master of Social Work, University of Michigan

Prior to pursuing a career in social work, Chris Brown served as a platoon leader and tank recovery vehicle driver for the 3rd Infantry in Germany and Texas. Now he serves as one of 19 Veteran Navigators for the state of Michigan. Brown helps veterans get the mental health treatment, food, education, and income and employment assistance they need. He also educates veterans and the general community on symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma and other mental health issues. “Chris Brown exemplifies the word ‘hero’ both in his prior service to our nation and now in his service to his community. He is able to identify veterans who are in need … and submits comprehensive data every quarter for our Veteran Navigator project,” said Brian Webb, veteran liaison and department analyst for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Rank and branch of service: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy Latest degree earned: Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration, University of Detroit Mercy

During his service, Ponce Clay led operations that resulted in the largest maritime drug seizure in the history of the Navy, provided guidance to more than 1,000 naval personnel, and interpreted and implemented existing and proposed laws, policies and procedures related to National Defense Authorizations and Congressional guidance. Since retiring from military service with numerous medals, Clay has “committed to improving the lives of others,” said State Representative Tenisha Yancey. His law firm helps veterans and their families apply for, access and appeal benefits; his realty company arms clients with “effective purchasing tools;” and his consulting firm, The Clay Group, works with veteran-owned businesses and nonprofits. Clay also represents more than 60 children through Juvenile Legal Services of Michigan, helps veterans become certified business owners through the Veteran Business Owners Roundtable and is a mentor to veterans who are transitioning from active duty as they apply for and attend law school.

Rank and branch of service: Captain and Judge Advocate, U.S. Marine Corps Latest degree earned: Juris Doctor, Duke University

At Camp Pendleton, George Donnini served as a legal assistant, criminal defense counsel and judge advocate and led a team of 40 in processing some 15,000 tax returns for active duty and retired service members. Now, Donnini serves as practice department chair at Butzel Long, where he handles cases involving mail and wire fraud, public corruption, antitrust, environmental, tax and SEC enforcement actions. His more high-profile auto cases include those involving Takata air bags, Volkswagen diesel emissions and the UAW public corruption probe. “George … leaves no stone unturned and is widely respected by lawyers on the same side and the adverse side of the cases he handles,” said David DuMouchel, Butzel shareholder and chair of its White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group.

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 15

SPOTLIGHT: CAROL ANN FAUSONE

A ‘PASSIONATE ADVOCATE’ FOR VETERANS’ RIGHTS Title: Chief Fix-It Officer, Legal Help for Veterans PLLC Rank and branch of service: Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force and Michigan Air National Guard Latest degree earned: Master of Science in Nursing, Madonna University

Carol Ann Fausone served as medical readiness officer, chief nurse, vice commander and commander for a medical squadron, where she was responsible for readying up to 1,000 members for deployment to Korea. In 2002, she was the first woman chosen for the rank of general in the history of the Michigan National Guard. She later became the first nurse, medical officer and woman to hold the post of assistant adjutant general for Veterans Affairs in Michigan. Now Fausone is “chief fix-it officer” at Legal Help for Veterans. Fausone is dogged in her pursuits, even if it means

making thousands of phone calls and sending thousands of emails to solve veterans’ problems. Fausone has helped secure more than $100 million in client benefits at LHFV, which helps veterans obtain disability, health care, hospice, death, burial or employment benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To further empower veterans, she authored 18 free eBooks. “Carol Ann is an accomplished and passionate advocate for veterans’ rights, strong health care, and nurses as leaders for change. She is the embodiment of leadership by example and alignment with the community, acting as both a trusted adviser and connector,” said Patricia Hurn, dean of the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Fausone is also a member of the board for the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care. She previously served as campaign chair for the University of Michigan School of Nursing and chair of the school’s Blue Ribbon panel. In 2019, UM honored Fausone and her husband James with its David B. Hermelin Award for fundraising volunteer leadership.

Thank you, INGRID

for your generous spirit and exemplary service! ANNE MERVENNE

INGRID TIGHE Executive Director, Birmingham Shopping District – City of Birmingham

CRAIN’S 2020 NOTABLE VETERAN

WWW. MERVENNE.COM 16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

JOHN GARDNER

SCOTT HIIPAKKA

Title: Manager of Veteran Initiatives and Diversity Recruiting Programs, Roush

Title: CEO, Michigan Israel Business Accelerator

Rank and branch of service: Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force Latest degree earned: Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership Management, Ashford University

During his 24-year career, John Gardner developed a diversity recruitment program, led a team that provided opportunities for pilots and engineers to join the Air Force and worked directly with candidates and their families. After retiring, Gardner developed and implemented the Veteran Hiring Team at Quicken Loans. Now at Roush, he works with veteran organizations and military installations to find career opportunities for honorably discharged vets. One of the beauties of his jobs is that if he can’t find a job for a potential veteran candidate, Roush allows him to share candidates with other companies because, Gardner said, “it’s all about helping a veteran find a place to excel.” Gardner’s commitment to veteran hiring has earned him honors on and off base. USAF awarded him the Langley Air Force Base Virginia Logistics Professional of the Year. And his work won Roush status as a Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency Certified Veteran Friendly Gold Level Employer.

Rank and branch of service: Colonel, U.S. Army; Land Component Commander, Michigan Army National Guard Latest degree earned: Master of Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College

Scott Hiipakka was serving with the 3rd Ranger Battalion when he left active duty in 1997. Two days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he re-upped, joining the Michigan Army National Guard and assuming command of the Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment Commander, 210 Military Police Battalion. Hiipakka is now responsible for the training and readiness of 8,000 military personnel. From March through July, he planned and executed Michigan’s National Guard response operations for COVID-19, flooding and civil disturbance missions. He has received numerous military honors, including the NATO medal, a Bronze Star and a Meritorious Service Medal, among others. Hiipakka also leads the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator, a nonprofit economic development organization that strives to advance the state’s innovative ecosystem through Israeli connections. He has developed and implemented a strategic plan, connected more than 2,000 stakeholders and created jobs.

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MCL JASCO A FAMILY OF VERTICALLY INTEGRATED SUPPLY CHAIN LOGISTICS COMPANIES

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DETROIT BUSINESS | 17

BRIAN LONG

DAVID MACCAGNONE

SPOTLIGHT: LOUIS JAMES

Title: President and CEO, Memorial Healthcare

APPLYING MILITARY DISCIPLINE TO LOGISTICS BUSINESS

Rank and branch of service: E-5 Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps

Title: Chairman and CEO, Multi-Bank Securities Inc.

Title: President and CEO, MCL JASCO companies

Brian Long wasn’t just responsible for keeping his platoon safe when deployed to places such as Libya and Egypt. His duty also included instilling in them traits like justice, dependability and taking initiative. He took each task seriously. Long puts that resolute nature to work at Memorial Healthcare as well. “Brian has been a fearless leader for our employees and community. As the health care industry and the world continue to navigate a global pandemic, Brian has leveraged his Marine experience to expertly guide our team and the public through these uncertain and challenging times,” said Greg Bontrager, chairman of Memorial Healthcare’s Board of Trustees. Long’s team has produced 70 percent revenue growth, to $177 million from $104 million, over eight years. He has also worked to make the health system a recognized center of excellence for neurology by conceiving and developing a $40 million Neurology, Orthopedic and Community Wellness Center, scheduled to open in 2021.

Rank and branch of service: Specialist 5 intelligence officer, U.S. Army Latest degree earned: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Mississippi Valley State

Louis James began learning about business at a young age. In the Army, he handled human resources, including onboarding and outboarding staff in the U.S. and in Vietnam. Fourteen years ago, James launched a supply-chain logistics company that served the automotive industry. He uses his military training to develop and maintain systems and protocols that maximize consistency and effectiveness. His work has paid off. MCL JASCO has expanded into serving energy efficiency and government contracting industries through five sister companies — SEEL LLC (Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics), an energy program management company that operates nine offices in five states; Jasco International, an automotive supply chain logistics company; QIC, an quality

inspection and containment company; Motor City International, a maintenance repair and operations company; and JamCam, a vegetation management company. Under James’ direction, MCL JASCO doubled revenue in five years to $77 million and earned numerous awards, including 2019 National Minority Supplier Development Council Supplier of the Year. Significant wins include stepping in when a client lost a vendor to bankruptcy. MCL not only ramped up work but also implemented technology that cut the time it took for customers to receive rebate checks. The company, which regularly recruits veterans, also offers ongoing supervisorial and management training programs and mentoring to all employees. James also serves in the community. In part, he’s a member of the Coleman Young Foundation board, director of the Minority Economic Resource Corp and vice president of the Wayne County Sheriff Youth and Senior Education Fund. “Over the years, he has not only provided financial support for our programs and initiatives, but he has also welcomed young people into his business to talk to them about their futures and the commitment and discipline they must have to lead a rewarding life,” said Charles Thomas, president and CEO of RESULTS Mentoring.

Latest degree earned: Doctor of Healthcare Administration, Central Michigan University

Rank and branch of service: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Latest degree earned: Bachelor of Science in Education, Oakland University

David Maccagnone left high school to join the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, where he fought in the Battle of Khe Sanh. After his tour of duty, he earned a degree and recommissioned. He received a Purple Heart, five Presidential Unit Citations and a Combat Action Ribbon. Ten years after his second honorable discharge, Maccagnone founded MultiBank, a registered broker-dealer, with $3,000. Over the years, Inc. magazine named MBS to its list of the fastest-growing, privately held companies six times. MBS also made Crain’s 2019 Fast 50 List and its Largest Veteran-Owned Business list. Last year, MBS, with nine offices across the country, executed $157 billion in fixed-income securities for clients. “Dave … is a visionary and a leader. His dedication to growing his business from the ground up and his customer-oriented approach is like no other,” said Aleksandra Miziolek, chair of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

Congratulations to Brig. General Carol Ann Fausone (ret.) for being recognized as one of

General Fausone continues to advocate for veterans and their families as the "chief fix it officer" navigating the VA system impacting disability and health care benefits on behalf of thousands of veterans across the nation for Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC.

www.legalhelpforveterans.com 18 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

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SPOTLIGHT: MICHAEL PALETTA

MEDICAL SERVICE IN THE MILITARY LEADS TO CAREER IN HOSPICE Title: Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, NorthStar Care Community Rank and branch of service: Colonel, Medical Service Corps, and Chief Flight Surgeon, U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard

Latest degree earned: Doctor of Medicine, Wayne State University

Michael Paletta commanded medical units in the U.S., Europe and Central America and served as chief of Flight Medicine for all coalition forces in Baghdad during the Iraq Campaign in 2007, where he led units that provided combat casualty care, aeromedical evacuation and helped train Iraqi doctors. Among other honors, he earned the Global War on Terror Service medal and Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

His m ed dra

In his role at NorthStar Care, a nonprofit hospice provider with member agencies throughout the country, Paletta has broad responsibilities. He advises on medical policies and procedures, is liaison to federal, state and local health agencies, leads quality improvement programs and recruits, evaluates and directs medical activity of 12 palliative care physicians and seven nurse practitioners. He also leads NorthStar’s participation in We Honor Veterans, a national program held in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs. “Dr. Paletta helps move the not-forprofit mission forward through his experience, knowledge and leadership gained in the medical and military fields,” said NorthStar President and CEO Bob Cahill. In 2018, Paletta became chair of the Hospice Medicine Council, part of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. This year he advised AAHPM on its pandemic response and communication.

LEON RICHARDSON

LAURA RIOS

Title: Founder, President and CEO, The Chemico Group

Title: Chief Veterans Services Officer, Macomb County

Rank and branch of service: Non-Commissioned Officer, U.S. Marine Corps

Rank and branch of service: 1st Sergeant, U.S. Air Force

Latest degree earned: Bachelor of Arts in Business, University of Maryland

Latest degree earned: Master of Business Administration, University of Phoenix

Leon Richardson commanded a team tasked with ensuring members of the military had access to some of the comforts of home, wherever they were deployed. His team handled logistics for securing and delivering everything from Coca-Cola to blue jeans. Now Richardson, who serves as co-chair for the GM Supplier Diversity Council, owns one of the largest minority- and veteran-owned chemical management companies in the U.S. Chemico employs more than 400 people and boasts more than $150 million in annual sales. The company has received numerous honors and 10 consecutive listings in Black Enterprise’s list of top 100 Black-owned companies. Chemico also commits financial and other support to organizations in need. “With the help of Mr. Leon Richardson, president of Chemico, we have continued to provide invaluable support to General Motors in a variety of efforts to support the advancement of diverse causes, including activities with DAPCEP, National Association of Black Suppliers, National Business League and Rainbow Push,” said Reginald Humphrey Sr., manager of Supplier Diversity for General Motors.

Laura Rios, who earned a plethora of military honors, spent the last half of her military career advising her unit commander on matters related to enlisted morale, welfare and conduct. She found gratification in helping those in her care establish and accomplish goals, ranging from healthy eating and fitness to improving personal interactions and getting the desired education. Today, Rios helps fellow veterans maximize benefits owed them and connects survivors with burial benefits. “As director of our Veterans Services, she has expanded access points in countless ways and continues to develop creative partnerships to ensure that those that have served our nation are treated to the dignity they have earned,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. To improve the support veterans receive, Rios co-founded and now chairs the Macomb Veterans Action Collaborative, a network of about 30 agencies that respond to the needs of veterans. She said her work allowed her to help a Vietnam veteran and his wife go from homelessness and without income to receiving VA service-connected disability, military retirement from the National Guard, Social Security disability and purchase a home.

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 19

SIDNEY TAYLOR

INGRID TIGHE

MICHAEL VERHULST

Title: President and CEO SET Consulting; Program Manager and Administrator, National Veteran Business Development Council

Title: Executive Director of the Birmingham Shopping District, City of Birmingham

Title: Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Rockford Construction

Rank and branch of service: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps Latest degree earned: Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Madonna University

Sid Taylor joined the Marines in 1968 during the Vietnam War and was quickly promoted. Twenty-one years later, he left a management role at General Motors and launched S.E.T. Steel. Under his leadership, the company grew into SET Enterprises, a $500 million full-service metal processing provider in four states with clients ranging from tier one automakers to steel mills and others. Taylor retired in 2010. The former chairman of the National Association of Black Automotive Suppliers Trade Association and Scholarship Fund uses his military and professional experience to counsel the National Veteran Business Development Council, a certification agency for veterans, and its members. As a board member and state manager, he developed and administers NVBDC’s state scholarship program, which provides $10,000 scholarships and laptops to one JROTC student in each state to invest in future leaders. Taylor also serves as member of the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.

Rank and branch of service: Captain, U.S. Army Latest degree earned: Master of Public Administration, University of Michigan

Ingrid Tighe led up to 60 soldiers with the 1st Infantry Division in Germany, Macedonia and Kosovo as part of NATO peacekeeping operations. When she led 40 troops with the 1st Cavalry Division in the combat zone of Baghdad, she worked alongside Iraqi National Guard soldiers and trained and mentored Iraq’s first class of female Army officers. In her current role, Tighe plans, organizes and coordinates programs that promote and grow business, social, cultural and community activities in downtown Birmingham. Under her direction, BSD has helped attract more than 50 new businesses in three years. Tighe, who is highly decorated, also advocates for veterans. She managed the development and implementation of veteran employment policies and initiatives for the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. “For the past five years, Ingrid has led Inforum’s ‘Next4Vets’ course, teaching … participants how to accelerate and advance their careers by successfully leveraging their military experience within a corporate setting,” said Anne Mervenne, CEO of Mervenne & Company.

S H A R E

Y O U R

Rank and branch of service: E3, U.S. Army

Michael Verhulst married young, started a family and then joined the military to grow as an individual. He served as a petroleum supply specialist in Nuremburg, Germany, and later became a door-gunner. Verhulst builds crucial business relationships and plays a key role in Rockford’s sales, business development, planning and construction services. He connects clients with strategic partners and aids them in overcoming construction hurdles. Using his military experience, Verhulst created Rockford’s veteran’s committee and serves as leader of its Veterans Day activities. He also advocates for veterans in the community. “During my time working with Mike, he has done an exceptional job speaking up on behalf of our veterans, minorities and disadvantaged groups throughout the community. And he continues to try to create fair playing fields for them or at least lift them up. Mike has made us all more informed, aware and conscious of intent and unintentional biases, which allows us to be better and to make this world a better place for all,” said Priority Health President and CEO Joan Budden.

C O M P A N Y ’ S

Men own 84.3 percent of veteran-owned firms, with women representing 15.2 percent of veteran business owners. There are 2.5 million businesses in the U.S. majority-owned by veterans, representing: 9.1 percent of all businesses. $1.4 trillion in revenue. 5 million employees, and $195 billion in payroll.

VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES BY INDUSTRY The top seven industries as a percentage of all veteran-owned businesses are: Professional/scientific/ technical services

12.2%

Other services

11.8%

Real estate

8.6%

Retail trade

8.1%

Administrative/support

8.0%

J O U R N E Y

For more information, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to

CRAINSDETROIT.COM/COMPANYMOVES

16.6%

Construction

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration

Feature your latest milestones, launches, partnerships, awards and more in Crain’s

20 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES BY THE NUMBERS

OCUPHIRE

From Page 3

The propagation room at the marijuana facility in Webberville. | PRIMITIV

JOHNSON

From Page 3

After nearly a decade of beating up his body for mostly losing seasons, it was the right play, he said. As it happens, cannabis was the only thing carrying him through. “After those games later in my career, my use would increase because it would be tougher and tougher to get out of bed,” Johnson said. “I don’t miss the pains … the sharp pains. The way things were cascading there, it was my time.” Johnson’s falling out with the Lions is well documented. He exited his contract early. The Lions demanded he return a signing bonus reportedly worth around $1 million. Strictly business, or nickel-and-diming? Each side has its opinion. On to new endeavors, Johnson is tired of dwelling on the dispute, though it’s far from water under the bridge. More on that later.

More than a pipe dream Johnson’s marijuana enterprise, called Primitiv, is starting to generate “significant revenue” and is “well on the way” to profitability, he said. Its grow operation in Webberville, where a staff of 15 works, supplies product to 60-70 medical and recreational stores around the state. The company is aiming to hire around 30 employees for its new Niles store. Johnson said he sees big growth in the recreational market and is looking to establish a presence in the Detroit area. “We have visions of growing throughout Detroit,” he said. “Obviously, you want to grow where you can make the most money and most benefit to the company. But at the same time, we don’t want to lose why we came into the business: to elevate the industry, the professionalism, the innovation and create products that people can be proud of for their health and wellness.” After retiring from football, Johnson was determined not to squander his fortunes, a phenomenon all too common among star athletes unfamiliar with how to manage wealth. He explored some business opportunities in Georgia but was drawn to Detroit. He started investing in real estate with Sims. The budding marijuana entrepreneurs also established Locker Room Consulting, a consultation firm that helps ex-pro athletes “transition to life after professional sports,” according to its website. Clients include former teammates from Georgia and Detroit, Johnson said. He’s working on a couple of new deals, including with a former Lion, on investment in the marijuana business, but he declined to give names. “Straight brothers. People we trust,”

he said. “They’re bringing funds and some business savvy as well.” As the business expands, people around him are realizing that the enterprise is more than just a pipe dream, Johnson said. He and Sims even entered a partnership last year with Harvard University to research the benefits of cannabinoid treatments in cancer patients. “It’s a crime that we don’t have research on this thing yet because of its schedule,” Johnson said, referring to marijuana’s federal classification as a controlled substance.

Staying positive While Johnson’s playing days are over, he doesn’t have a lot of down time. He’s adamant about being a hands-on business owner. “The main reason I’m in Detroit is the business,” he said. “If I want this thing to thrive, I have to be here to put my touch on it.” He usually finds some time to relax on Sundays, though. And yes, that means watching the Lions. “I love watching on Sundays, but it’s frustrating, you know, just seeing the level of … nah, nah, it’s the NFL, let me stop right there,” Johnson said. “I’ll watch. I can’t help it. I watch whatever’s on. I just want to see some good games, some close games ’til the fourth quarter.” He still hasn’t had contact with the front office since a bitter parting of ways. However, Johnson did talk with players over Zoom this past off-season after position coach Robert Prince, who has been with the Lions since 2014, asked him to. “If my receiver coach reaches out, if one of the receivers reach out, I have no problem, you know. I’m a wide-open book,” he said. Johnson’s main message to them was the importance of developing a strong mentality. “My biggest thing I tell them is to stack good days on top of good days,” he said. “Live in the moment. Focus on what you gotta do. It literally starts with a moment of meditation. Spend some time and think about, OK, what do I gotta do today … Just being able to do that allows you to focus on the moment, put your attention into what you’re doing, and OK, that day’s done, let’s do it again tomorrow. And when you look back, it’s nine years later, you’re done playing …” During his nine years in the NFL, Johnson amassed 11,619 yards with 731 receptions and 83 touchdowns — impressive stats that may earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame. “It’ll happen eventually. Whether it’s now or later, it’s awesome just to have the consideration,” he said. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen.” Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl

In the coming months Ocuphire plans to initiate two Phase 3 trials and two Phase 2 trials, and have data readouts expected throughout next year. “And we’re working on all of those, we’re either in phase three or phase two,” Sooch said. “And we look forward to continuing that work over the next few years, and working towards being able to submit a package to the FDA for potential approval.” Sooch said she’s confident that the latest round of financing provides Ocuphire with sufficient capital for its four planned trials, and notes that getting all four approvals is not mandatory for the company to be successful. “My philosophy is you should ... always raise more capital than you need — that you should raise capital in a way in which there’s an opportunity to deliver value back to your shareholders,” said Sooch. “You

over-finance companies, and you have to have an exit, or a market cap, that would be outsized in order to create those returns.” As Crain’s has previously reported, Sooch has been an integral part of the region’s biotech sector over the last decade. In January of 2014, she raised $12.5 million for ProNAi, a company that was producing a drug for treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Later that year, she set a state record at the time, raising a $59.5 million round of venture capital funding, which was at the time the largest VC round raised by a company in Michigan. Sooch was also president and CEO of Gemphire Therapeutics in Livonia, which has since changed its name to NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, but resigned for family reasons in May of 2017. Ocuphire formed in 2018 with the acquisition of the assets of Ocularis Pharma LLC, a dormant Chicago company that had been working on an eye drug. Sooch has previously told Crain’s

that she had been seeking out deals around the region for some time before deciding on Ocularis. “I started scouring the Midwest for unappreciated assets. Within a month I had 10 deals on my desk,” she said last year. “It’s all about networking.” Sooch has previously been named a member of Crain’s 40 under 40, a top woman in tech in Michigan and one of Crain’s Newsmakers of the Year in 2016. Now, with Ocuphire, she told Crain’s she believes the company is in a position for big things as well. “2021 is going to be a really important year for Ocuphire,” said Sooch, adding that the company’s various benchmarks toward full approvals will become abundantly clear. “We’ve worked hard to build a solid foundation, we’ve been productive every year. Every year, you can see huge milestones, and next year will be even more, and we look forward to delivering on those.” Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE 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 ADVERTISING / MARKETING

ADVERTISING / PR / MARKETING

NONPROFIT

TGI Direct

Siren

First Tee - Greater Detroit

TGI Direct, a communications and distribution company serving highly regulated industries, is pleased to welcome Amy Karbo as Vice President of Marketing. In this role, Amy serves on TGI’s leadership team and is accountable for the strategy and execution of strategic marketing, lead generation, and marketing communications within the organization. Amy was previously the Director of Community and Business Engagement at Destination Ann Arbor.

Siren, a strategic communication firm who strengthens companies and nonprofits through clear, powerful communication, announces Kristen Bujold’s promotion to Account Manager. With more than 10 years of experience, Kristen will lead client accounts, with a focus in media relations, guiding clients to media success through strong, strategic communication, while driving results. Additional responsibilities include social media strategy, crisis communication, and integrated marketing efforts.

First Tee - Greater Detroit, an initiative of The Children’s Foundation, announced that Mary Ann Lievois has been appointed Executive Director, effective October 5, 2020. Lievois will lead the organization and oversee all planning and day-to-day operations including programming featuring The First Tee’s nine core values and other golf learning activities in southeast Michigan. Lievois joins First Tee following a successful 35-year career in business development and relationship building.

NONPROFIT

CNS Healthcare

Michael K. Garrett remains president and CEO of CNS Healthcare, which recently merged with Northeast Integrated Healthcare. A private, non-profit, human services agency accredited by CARF, CNS became a federally designated Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in 2018 and has locations in Novi, Pontiac, Southfield, Waterford, and Detroit, Michigan. A Detroit native, his passion is his commitment to the underserved populations of Michigan, both in behavioral and physical health.

Sherry E. McRill, a limited licensed psychologist, joins CNS Healthcare as Chief Visionary Officer after serving as President & CEO of Northeast Integrated Healthcare (NIH) since 2014 and the VP for 23 years prior. NIH is an integrated behavioral health organization in NE Wayne and Macomb counties. At CNS, she will continue to identify opportunities to enhance patient access to care, eliminate redundancies and improve the overall function of behavioral health services in the Tri-County area.

NONPROFIT

CNS Healthcare Nancy M. Gandelot joins CNS Healthcare as the Chief Marketing and Outreach Officer after serving as Director of Communications, Development and Marketing at Northeast Integrated Health. Nancy brings over 20 years’ experience in marketing, fundraising and corporate development. Previously, she worked for Mercedes-Benz USA and the National Hockey League. She is a graduate of Indiana University where she continues to contribute by serving on the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council.

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 21

ISAIC

From Page 3

As a national institute for the trades, ISAIC would engage other garment makers from around the country, Guarino said. “What’s attractive to (DOD) is we represent the industry at large, not just our own company. They view it as keeping the supply chain healthy.”

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Page 41

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Page 1

Robotic tech pilot Last month, ISAIC was named as the pilot site to test the use of robotic technology Siemens has been developing in the production of isolation gowns. Siemens is leading the one-year pilot which also includes Sewbo Inc., Henderson Sewing Machine Co. and Bluewater Defense Inc. in Puerto Rico. Pennsylvania-based Advanced RobotCRAIN ’S DETROIT Bwhich USINESS ics for Manufacturing, receives funding from DOD, is helping to fund the pilot. “We were approached by one of the partners in the Siemens project about being a usage case facility. They really wanted a place they could trial this technology that was in a manufacturing environment,” Guarino said. Siemens and its partners had been

Page 1

The Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center is making an outerwear sweatshirt cape for Rhode Island-based Cleverhood. | ISAIC

JOB FRONT

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Systems (Stoneridge, Inc., Novi, Michigan) To place your listing, contact Suzanne Janik atEngineer 313-446-0455 :Design new Control Devices electronics products up to full production, inor email sjanik@crian.com cluding specification research & review, developing program timelines & reports, reviewing designs, drafting mechanical designs, preparing docuwww.crainsdetroit.com/classifieds

mentation packages, building preprod. prototypes, & transferring build to production. Req’s: Master’s in electrical eng., comp. eng., auto eng., or rel. tech. discipline & 2 yrs. exp. Apply by resume only to Christina Simpkins, HR Director, Stoneridge, Inc., 345 S. Mill Street, Lexington, Ohio 44904. Reference CY10217. An EOE/AAE.

REAL JOB FRONT ESTATE REAL ESTATE

Jen Guarino, CEO of ISAIC. | INDUSTRIAL SEWING AND INNOVATION CENTER

working on the development of automated garment-making technology for Harman Connected Services, Inc., has a position in Farmington Hills, MI: the past year and a half when the need Sr. Software Engineer in Test [HAR-MI20-SSEIT]. for PPE arose with COVID-19, said AGENTS/REALTORS Field Testing of vehicle protocols for compatibility; mobile devices wireless acJuan Aparicio, head of advanced mancess technologies GSM, EDGE, UMTS & LTE wireless technology; test moufacturing automation for Siemens bile applications services. Technology. Resume to Harman Connected Services, Attn: Mahesh GM, 2002 156th AveFor the most part, the production of nue, NE#200, Bellevue, WA 98007 & note Job ID# textiles and garments is still done by hand, making it very labor intensive, he said. “Anything you are wearing has been most likely done by humans and done overseas,” which creates a lot of inefficiencies, Aparicio said. POSITIONS AVAILABLE “If you are sewing jeans all day.. there’s a lot of turnover in the indusLUXURY PROPERTY vices, Inc., has a position in Farmington Hills, MI: try...it’s a task that is asking for automae Engineer in Test [HAR-MI20-SSEIT]. tion.” otocols for compatibility; mobile devices wireless acFOR SALE The goal of the pilot at ISAIC is to EDGE, UMTS & LTE wireless technology; test moprove out the concept of using the CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSE bile applicationswww.crainsdetroit.com/ services. technology to make isolation gowns ected Services, Attn: Mahesh GM, 2002 156th AvePROFITABLE/TURN-KEY but also how it can be used on the facclassifieds 0, Bellevue, WA 98007 & note Job ID# Core Commercial Real Estate, LLC tory floor, Aparicio said. BUSINESS WANTED 248.766.9804 corerealestate.llc “What are the ENTREPRENEUR operator skills needSUCCESSFUL ed? Where does the robot stop and SEEKING TO BUY BUSINESS IN the human start? ThoseMICHIGAN!!! are very important Creative Design Specialist SOUTHEAST inputs forBUYERS. our system. ” CASH PRICE RANGE times, technological UPOften TO 7 MILLION (APPROX). innovaBusiThe Creative Design Specialist will report to the Director, Events & ness be clean,profitable tionsneeds don’ttoengage end users and soon Marketing and will play a pivotal role in the production of videos for have the Guarino abilitiy tosaid. grow.. Manufacturenough, marketing initiatives across the organization. In addition, this creative ing, Distribution, Construction, “Siemens understands the Tech, imporETC. We are sales and marketing specialist will be skilled in design work in print and digital media. tance in that.” types who work closely with our emResponsible for working in collaboration with other members of the Successfully engaging the end user ployees SERIOUS INQUIRIES means successful innovation can be marketing and events team across six publications to conceptualize and ONLY. investmentopportunity08@ commercialized more broadly and execute design projects to support marketing and the promotional gmail.com more quickly, as well, she said. process of products and events. Preliminary work at ISAIC’s site has started with process review and preparing to move a robotics cell into its Visit crain.com/careers/ for more information Detroit factory, she said. The use of robotics/advanced manand available positions. ufacturing to make isolation gowns and, ultimately, garments is important POSITIONS AVAILABLE

B FRONT

VISIT OUR WEBSITE:

22 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

REAL ESTATE

MARKET PLACE

because it offers the ability to scale, which translates to having a more solid and reliable supply chain here in the U.S., one that is not reliant on the challenges of importing, Guarino said. “It makes it much more competitive, increases the speed, and the jobs it creates are higher level because it’s programming robotics.” Several of ISAIC’s employees will be involved in the pilot, which will position the nonprofit training institute as an expert and lead trainer on it, Guarino said.

Garment production Ramping up PPE production as quickly as it had to was great preparation for ISAIC and its employees, Guarino said. They learned to sew a single product — isolation gowns over and over again — and got very proficient and efficient at it. At the same time, they learned flexibility through cross-training. “Their competencies increased and those skills are transferable to other products,” she said. ISAIC is doing cut and sew work for TD Industrial Covers for automotive use and helping to train its staff to do the work, Guarino said. And it’s moving into garment production with work underway or launching soon for a number of clients and products, including: undisclosed work for Carhartt, sport team jerseys for Detroit-Owned Apparel, T-shirts made from 100-percent recycled material for Chicago-based Everywhere and an outerwear sweatshirt cape for Rhode Island-based Cleverhood. “Training people for apparel con-

struction is something we feel strongly about,” said Cleverhood Owner Susan Mocarski, in an email. In its nine years, the company has been challenged to find quality sewing contractors, she said. “ISAIC is a ray of light in a dwindling U.S. industry,” Mocarski said. ISAIC’s new business is the culmination of three years of conversations, Guarino said. “We started looking for brands aligned with responsible manufacturing,” with living wages for employees and sustainable processes and materials, she said. “As a result of our work (during) the pandemic, it really got the word out there about our work as a larger institute.”

Blank T-shirt line ISAIC is also launching a blank T-shirt line to teach employees how to handle a single-cell operation in which they do everything from start to finish, while also producing revenue to support the nonprofit training institute’s mission. The shirts will be made on-demand for business-to-business and business-to-consumer customers, to reduce waste. “This is market-driven,” Guarino said. “People want to be able to logo (T-shirts). We want to offer them a sustainable T they can order on demand.” The plan is to begin the custom T-shirt runs in mid-November for undisclosed customers, Guarino said, along with ISAIC-branded items that will be sold through a storefront it’s developing on its website. ISAIC is operating on a budget of more than $5 million for fiscal 2021 which began Oct. 1, Guarino said. It’s up to 30 employees — two thirds of them women and nearly half of them people of color. The nonprofit training institute plans to add nine more employees this year. “Part of the reason we chose Detroit as a our home is because we believe that by bringing innovation here it will attract the industry here, just like Silicon Valley,” Guarino said. “We believe Detroit has an opportunity to be seen as a hub for advanced manufacturing in garment apparel.” Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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Q&A

Ron Weiser

The Republican moneyman on fundraising, affordable housing in Ann Arbor and his health `BY KIRK PINHO | Ron Weiser is one of the country’s most

prominent Republican moneymen, most recently coming off running U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ fundraising efforts in Maine for her closely watched bid for reelection, which she handily won last week against Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon in spite of being vastly out fundraised. The former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, who founded Ann Arbor-based real estate company McKinley Cos., also led the state House Republican Campaign Committee and the Republican State Leadership Committee, which is devoted to creating and holding state legislatures Republican. Weiser, a former U.S. ambassador to Slovakia during President George W. Bush’s administration who earlier this year announced that he had pancreatic cancer, spoke with Crain’s Detroit Business last week about money in politics, his health and affordable housing in Ann Arbor, where he is a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. ` You were co-chair of fundraising for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, who just won reelection, despite being outraised by nearly five-fold in the last quarter, $39.3 million to $7.7 million. The more money you have, the less effective it becomes as you get toward the end of spending it because you can only say the same thing so many times. I think money’s less important today because there’s other ways to get your message out besides the mainstream media, which is very expensive. Hard money for television and radio buys a lot more time than soft money does. I think it’s almost 50 percent more. ` Why is that? Candidates get a discount from media, I think a 51 percent discount, which

means they get almost 50 percent more air time. ` So if there are a lot less expensive ways to message, why even do such substantial fundraising when you can do 30-second spots on YouTube, for example? Because you’re trying to get as broad of an audience as you can, and there’s still a lot of people who don’t pay a lot of attention to the Internet, which is getting clogged with (advertising). They pay more attention to the TV and radio. ` I assume you’re referring to older Americans. Would that mean that, at some point in time in the not too distant future, the bulk of campaign spending on advertising is going to be on these nontraditional formats

Michigan election results roundup Select results of last Tuesday’s general election in Michigan:

` PRESIDENT ` Democratic nominee Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump, with 50.6 percent of the vote, and a 146,120-vote margin as of Friday afternoon.

` SENATE ` Democratic incumbent Gary Peters defeated Republican challenger John James, with 49.8 percent of the vote, and an 84,315-vote margin as of Friday afternoon

` UNIVERSITY BOARDS ` Republican Terri Lynn Land and Democrat Shirley Stancato were set to win seats on the Wayne State University board of governors; Democrat Mark Bernstein and Republican Sarah Hubbard were set to win seats at University of Michigan; and Republican Pat O’Keefe and Democrat Rema Vassar were set to win seats at Michigan State University

` PROPOSAL 1 ` More than 84 percent of voters supported the proposal, which ensures that money from oil and gas royalties will continue to be funneled into state parks and state land.

` PROPOSAL 2 ` Around 90 percent of voters supported the proposal, which mandates a search warrant to access a person’s electronic data.

` PROPOSAL N ` The proposal allowing the city to issue $250 million in bonds to demolish vacant houses passed with about 70 percent of the vote, and an 89,300-vote margin.

` U.S. HOUSE RACES ` All 14 seats in Michigan were up for grabs, and they split down the middle between the two major parties. The Republican winners were Peter Meijer, Lisa McClain, Jack Bergman, Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar, Fred Upton, Tim Walberg. The Democratic winners were Debbie Dingell, Dan Kildee, Elissa Slotkin, Andy Levin, Haley Stevens, Rashida Tlaib and Brenda Lawrence. 24 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

like YouTube and Facebook? Yeah, I think that’s correct. I don’t know whether it’s going to be Twitter and Facebook and Google, because those things may change over time. I know the Congress is looking at changing their influence on the American public. We’ll see what’s going to happen with all this

SPENDING

From Page 1

In the James-Peters race, the candidates and allied groups spent more than $131 million on TV, digital and radio ads — eighth-most among Senate contests, according to data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG, according to a report by the Associated Press. Democrats poured at least $13 million more into advertising than Republicans did. The two Senate candidates — Peters emerged victorious last week by a vote margin of just over 1.5 percentage points — combined to raise nearly $80 million for their campaigns in the run-up to the election. Publicly available invoices show that the Peters campaign primarily worked with Fairfax, Va.-based Screen Strategies Media for its media buying. Invoices for the James campaign show that American Media and Advocacy Group in Alexandria, Va. served as the primary media buying organization. Cable news networks in the Metro Detroit area saw revenue boosts of about $39.5 million, while local radio stations saw about $12.8 million, according to the Advertising Analytics data. So with this spending free-for-all, who benefits? It’s pretty limited, according to Simon Schuster, executive

“I DO KNOW THAT THE NEW GENERATION CERTAINLY GETS MORE OF THEIR INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET THAN THEY DO FROM COMMERCIAL TV. WHAT THE SHIFT IS GOING TO BE, I’M TOO OLD TO FIGURE THAT OUT. YOU SHOULD ASK A 22-YEAR-OLD TO FIGURE THAT OUT; YOU SHOULD BE INTERVIEWING HIM.” director of the MCFN, noting that most of the big political media buying firms operate in the Washington, D.C., area. “Well, obviously, the winners are, you know, advertising agencies and broadcast advertisers,” Schuster said. “I think it’d be difficult to say that the winners were Michigan voters in that regard.” Indeed, the onslaught of political advertising this year — done through television and radio ads, direct mail, social media channels, and other means — was a turnoff for many voters, particularly ads seen as purposefully misleading or attacking an opponent. “Attack ads, those go straight into the trash,” Alexander Marrero, a Democratic voter from Troy, told Crain’s of the heap of mailers he found in his mailbox many days. “For the amount of money being spent, it’s not being well spent.” While the effectiveness of the political advertising is largely a matter of debate, there’s no question about the growing amount of money that’s poured into it. The top three recipients of campaign dollars during the 2020 cycle reaped over $1.42 billion, according to Open Secrets, a money-in-politics watchdog group affiliated with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics. The three media-buying companies — American Made Media Consultants, Assembly and Media Buy-

ing Analytics — are affiliated with the campaigns of Trump, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Biden, respectively. Ron Weiser, a longtime GOP fundraiser, Ann Arbor real estate magnate and member of the board of regents at the University of Michigan, says money in politics and large ad spends only matter to an extent. “The more money you have, the less effective it becomes as you get toward the end of spending it, because you can only say the same thing so many times,” Weiser told Crain’s. “I think money’s less important today because there are other ways to get your message out besides the mainstream media, which is very expensive.” Most recently Weiser was co-chair of fundraising for the re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who last week handily defeated challenger Sara Gideon by about 7.5 points, despite Gideon raising significantly more money. The sentiment espoused by Weiser also exists across the political aisle. “There’s a point of diminishing returns,” Adrienne Pickett, founder of The Guerrilla Politic LLC, said of the bombardment of political advertising and the money spent on it. The 3-year-old Canton Township-based political and media consulting business serves primarily down-ballot Democrats in the state,

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` Is there a different lens through which we should look at this when you put on your hat for the House Republican Campaign Committee and the Republican State Leadership Committee? No, not really. The difference with the RSLC is that the funds that they raised were used to help in local legislative races, which are much, much smaller than statewide senatorial races. That money can make a huge difference because it’s so hard to raise, and in Michigan, there are such huge limitations on what you can raise. Those kinds of organizations can play a big role in outcome, and who controls the legislative body in many of our states determines how the reapportionment after the census is going to take place. ` A couple nonpolitical ones: How’s your health been recently? I’m feeling fine. My cancer treatments are over and they were successful. It certainly appears that way. I think they killed it all.

LON HORWEDEL

stuff. I don’t know, I really don’t. I do know that the new generation certainly gets more of their information from the Internet than they do from commercial TV. What the shift is going to be, I’m too old to figure that out. You should ask a 22-year-old to figure that out; you should be interviewing him.

Big money in politics The election meant big revenue for metro Detroit’s network affiliate TV stations. Here is what advertising puchases this campaign season have added up to: ` WDIV-Channel 4: $54.3 million ` WJBK-Channel 2: $41.2 million ` WXYZ-Channel 7: $34.9 million ` WWJ-Channel 62: $16.3 million SOURCE: ADVERTISTING ANALYTICS VIA MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN FINANCE NETWORK

as well as nonprofits. Campaign finance records show that Pickett’s business worked with six different candidates during the 2020 cycle, with many seeking seats in the state Legislature. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring, right as campaign season was hitting full blast, candidates were mostly driven indoors and had to get creative with their outreach to voters. As one example, Pickett said she worked with candidates who did cooking classes on Zoom. Still, the increasing amount of money being spent to elect political candidates speaks to more systemic issues, noted Pickett, who said that especially once office seekers reach a general election, they’re typically inundated with campaign contributions. “(That money) has to be spent — that’s what it’s there for,” she said.

` What’s your take on Ann Arbor passing a millage to support affordable housing in the city on Election Day? It’s not surprising. The question is whether they know how to create affordable housing. They’ve never been very successful in doing it. I’m not sure how they plan to spend this money. You have a whole variety of ideas. I tried to help various times with affordable housing in Ann Arbor and wasn’t very successful, even though the company I founded was the biggest landlord in Ann Arbor. I think it’s important that people in our community can live there at prices they can afford, and not have to make the decision about whether they are going to be hungry or unable to do the basics of life. It’s not an easy thing. Government building housing, generally it costs twice as much as the private sector. Are they going to build a few hundred units? Maybe. I doubt they can do it effectively, but they might try. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB So what’s the solution? Comprehensive campaign finance reform that removes money from politics, according to Pickett. “Put me out of business,” she said, adding that reform “would really force people to be smart about how they are spending that money and who they are reaching and where they’re reaching them at.” Schuster with MCFN notes, however, that there are issues to address that go beyond just the sheer volume of money in politics, while acknowledging that the $375 million spent in Michigan this cycle is an “absurd amount” of money. The increasing reliance on social media, and the ways in which that can sway the electorate, must also be addressed, he said. “I think that what we need to be looking forward to is not just volume, but the nature in which we receive our advertisements, and how they are meant to sway us,” said Schuster. “Disinformation and misinformation breed on social media. And I think that the means and avenues by which that proliferates is only going to become more efficient and more nefarious moving forward.” Crain’s Detroit Business reporter Kirk Pinho contributed to this report Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes

Belinda Kusibab had to find an alternative for the whitewood boards she used for painting parties pre-COVID.

SUPPLY

From Page 1

The COVID-19 pandemic bore a warped economy. Federal stimulus checks and Americans stuck at home led to peak do-it-yourself projects and home repairs. Meanwhile, lumber mills remained offline for nearly two months in April and May. Lumber shortages and record high prices were the result. New home construction is down nearly 40 percent of historic highs in Michigan — compared to record growth nationally in July at 22.6 percent — but retail sales have more than made up for the drop, Mans said. “Everyone was home and staring out their windows at the deck that needs to be repaired,” said Mans, the fourth-generation owner of the 120-year-old business. “With a little money in their pockets, they went ahead and started doing all those projects they were ignoring.” President Donald Trump slapped a 20 percent tariff on Canadian softwood lumber, typically used to build homes, in 2017 and slowed the flow of wood into Midwest states like Michigan, exacerbating the lumber shortages since the start of the pandemic. The World Trade Organization in August ruled against the administration, though the tariffs remain. Wildfires across California, other parts of the Western U.S. and Canada also pinched supply, Mans said. “It is a perfect storm of madness,” Mans said. Business is booming thanks to COVID’s impact on buying habits, but it’s also made business often unmanageable as mills haven’t caught up, and possibly can’t catch up, with current demand. “Business is robust but it’s so cumbersome to operate with the COVID precautions and absenteeism,” Mans said. “In a regular year, we’d be really excited. It’s just so hard to be efficient right now. Until there is a slowdown or the mills can get caught up, it’s going to be a shit show until next year.” Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool is experiencing challenges as well. The appliance maker said last month that supply chain disruptions continue to plague its manufacturing of washing machines, re-

frigerators and kitchen mixers. Whirlpool’s time from order to delivery is now seven to eight weeks, opposed to one to two weeks pre-pandemic, CEO Marc Bitzer said in the company’s third quarter conference call on Oct. 22. “It comes from labor constraints ... (such as) social distancing measures, which is just to reduce the line pacing which you have in the factories and thus the output,” Bitzer said in the call. “It comes from supply and component shortages, who have to deal with the similar is-

“THE RELIABILITY OF OUR SUPPLIERS TO GET DELIVERIES ON TIME HAS BEEN A REAL PROBLEM.” — Chris Mans, Mans Lumber coowner and vice president of sales

sues in the factories. And it is increasing coming from logistic constraints. In particular, in the U.S., where it’s just — you have a couple of bottlenecks. So these are the fundamental constraints, which frankly are getting better every week. But ultimately, as long as COVID is around us, we have to be prepared for supply chain disruptions. And that’s just the nature of it.” Revenue in North America fell 1.6 percent in the quarter due to coronavirus-related supply constraints, despite a growing backlog. All of the COVID-19-related holdups demonstrate the precariousness of the global supply chain, said Hakan Yildiz, associate professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University. “Most companies are not vertically integrated and source their components and parts from all over the world,” Yildiz said. “There are many tiers to supply chains and specific lead times for how long it takes for all the necessary raw materials and components of a product to be assembled in to a final product and get transported and delivered. In normal times, everything runs smoothly and it’s all synchronized. When parts or all of the supply chain gets interrupted, especially at different times as the pandemic hit different parts of the world, supply gets disrupted.” Logistics shipping capacity is expected to make the issue of shortag-

| BELINDA KUSIBAB

es worse, at least in the near term, Yildiz said, as truckers become mercenaries of the road as demand continues to soar. Primary tender acceptance, the rate at which primary carriers accept previously bid contracts, is down in the U.S. to 78 percent last month, down from more than 90 percent in August, according to a recent report by Holland-based logistics software firm BluJay Solutions Ltd. That means more truckers are choosing more profitable contracts from shippers looking to spend a higher price to get their products to consumers quicker. “There is a trucking capacity tightness right now,” Yildiz said. “Truckers are rejecting orders because spot rates are more lucrative.” Mans believes the trucking issues are causing his lumber yard to miss deadlines for its own deliveries to customers. “The reliability of our suppliers to get deliveries on time has been a real problem,” Mans said. “A lot of back orders. Commodity products that should be no problem are becoming more difficult to procure. In the beginning of all this builders were real understanding. But now everyone is back at it and folks are not as understanding as they once were. If I tell you it’s going be there in two weeks and it doesn’t show up in four weeks, well, that’s not good for business.” It’s not as complicated for Kusibab. She’s adapting to the missing lumber by finding alternatives. Instead of whitewood, Kusibab is buying furring strips. They are rougher and not as pleasurable to paint, but usable. But she’s found a better solution. Due to COVID-19 interrupting her own sessions, which she held at her home, Kusibab now teaches several virtual classes where clients purchase their own equipment and materials. “COVID held me back for months, but it’s been a great learning curve,” she said. “Now, online, my customers feel like they are learning more because they can see more closely what I’m doing and I don’t have to bother finding the materials. They pay a class fee and I tell them what materials to get.” Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh

NOVEMBER 9, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 25

THE CONVERSATION

Eric Larson bracing for a two-year recovery for downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit Partnership: Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, started 2020 brimming with optimism. The greater downtown Detroit workforce was reaching up to 140,000 — twice as many workers as the city saw during the depths of the Great Recession a decade ago. The downtown building boom was continuing, along with real estate developments in surrounding neighborhoods, including the $37.5 million residential development his Larson Realty Group built at the former site of Tiger Stadium in Corktown. And then a global pandemic swept into town in March (or perhaps earlier), forcing major downtown employers to have their employees work from home, making an increasingly vibrant downtown feel like a ghost town again. Larson talked frankly about the state of downtown business activity during a recent interview on the Detroit Rising podcast with Crain’s Senior Editor Chad Livengood. This partial transcript has been edited for clarity. | BY CHAD LIVENGOOD ` Get us up to speed on where things are in downtown Detroit as it relates to a general reopening or sort of the state of doing business and working in downtown Detroit right now. I want to set a little bit of tone of coming into this pandemic and ultimately the overall sort of situation and challenges we find ourselves in. If you think back just a year ago, as we entered 2020, we were at an all-time high. We were at an all-time high in investment throughout the greater downtown. Our population had grown by 54 percent in the greater downtown. We had rents — both office and residential rents — that were as high as we’d seen in a couple of decades. We had a overall commercial real estate portfolio in the downtown that capped $2.2 billion, which was an all-time high in terms of taxable value market value. And we were seeing a real return of not only activity in the downtown, but general interest and increased belief in the comeback. Now, fast forward eight months — even though it feels like it’s been eight years — eight months into this pandemic, with a couple of months of shelter in place and now reduced (restaurant and retail patron) capacity. We’ve seen, thankfully, occupancy levels in the residential market have stayed fairly strong and the growth in our residential population has stayed fairly constant, but our rents, both retail and commercial, have dropped by over 10 percent, our visitor base has dropped by over 55 percent and ... many of the businesses, especially the larger businesses that make up some of the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s board leadership, have made the decision to continue this work-from-home process well into 2021, if not into the middle of the year. We probably have, on a good day, 15 to 20 percent of the work

of Quicken Loans Inc. or maybe less than that of General Motors Co.’s workforce is coming down every day?

Eric Larson, CEO, Downtown Detroit Partnership

population coming into the office in the greater downtown. We probably have, at best, 50 percent capacity in most of the restaurants and bars. It’s definitely a different environment than we found ourselves at the beginning of the year. ` I’ve had some people say to me downtown Detroit looks like pre-bankruptcy or maybe 2009 as far as the number of people on the street out and about just because there are so few people working downtown. When you say 15-20 percent, what was the pre-pandemic workforce? We had dropped to about 65,000 at our low and we had made our way back up to 85,000 to 90,000, depending on where you draw the borders in the downtown. It was closer to 125,000 to 140,000 in the greater downtown, again, depending on where exactly we draw the borders. So we had made great strides and great gains, but as you can tell from 15 to

20 percent occupancy levels that does have an impact on the way the streets feel, the way the downtown operates. As challenging as all this has been, we had a really spectacular summer from a weather perspective. A number of people took advantage of the public spaces — the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy saw a 200 percent increase in activity along the riverfront. The seven parks and public spaces we operate saw similar kinds of increase in activity, MOGO Detroit (bike share) saw all-time record ridership. People were definitely getting out and about. They just weren’t going into the office. ` Or necessarily always going into restaurants or retail stores as well. That’s right. ` Moving forward, how do these retailers and restaurants survive at these type of levels if just 15 percent

This pandemic has been unlike, obviously, anything I’ve seen in my lifetime, but it’s been unlike anything that we’ve had to prepare for. Everybody sort of recognized the slow and methodic decline pre-bankruptcy. This one, we went into thinking this was sort of a two-, three-, maybe four-month situation, and before we knew it we’d be back maybe not at that pre-pandemic level, but we’d be back to a bit of normalcy. And what has happened is it’s not only continued to extend out eight months. For all I know, as clear as my crystal ball is, it looks like it’s going to be well into early next year. Many of the smaller businesses went into this thinking, ‘OK, I can weather this. I’ll just dump my life savings. But I’ll keep myself afloat for the couple months that are going to be a struggle.’ Now, fast forward, what they found is it’s a lot longer and a lot more impactful. The national stats show as much as 70 percent of the single-location retailers — the smaller mom-and-pop restaurant and retail store owners — will never open again. That represents 7 percent of our workforce. And If you equate that to the city of Detroit, it has huge impact, especially since we were very much an entrepreneurial economy when it came to a lot of the stores and bars and restaurants. These aren’t major national chains that necessarily have a little bit more depth to weather this kind of a storm. ... Our best projections are this is a two-year recovery once we really come out of this and start moving forward. ... It would be irresponsible to suggest it’s anything but very, very, very challenging and very impactful to a lot of people’s lives and livelihoods.

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RUMBLINGS

Birmingham menswear store The Claymore Shop closing The Claymore Shop in Birmingham has outfitted business professionals, doctors and governors among others for 54 years, but that is soon coming to an end. The fine menswear shop will fit its last customer on Christmas Eve, according to owner Janice Benkert. The lease at 908 S. Adams Road is up and Benkert decided not to renew it. Benkert’s husband, Bob Benkert, opened The Claymore Shop in 1966; he died in 2016. “Really, it was about a year ago that I knew I would probably get out,” Janice Benkert said. “I just feel God has something else in mind for me to do.” Janice Benkert, married to Bob for 32 years, said an employee in the shop showed interest in purchasing

The Claymore Shop employee Curtis Williams rings up an order for a customer at the fine menswear shop in Birmingham. | JASON DAVIS/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

the business prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Then the shop closed for more than two months, Benkert said. She hoped business would pick up right where it left off, but that

26 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 9, 2020

hasn’t been the case. “(Our sales) have gone up, but we’re not where we thought we’d be,” Benkert said. “Hopefully, someone opens the shop back up and

calls it The Claymore Shop. We don’t know what’s going to happen right now. Our landlord is phenomenal. The vendors have been phenomenal, allowing us to cancel orders we haven’t needed. I have an obligation. I signed a lease. “I chose Christmas Eve as the last day to be open because that’s a time of new beginnings.” Over the years, The Claymore Shop became a Birmingham staple in various homes in the downtown area. The first was on North Old Woodward Avenue. Next, the store moved to a space on South Old Woodward near the Birmingham Theatre. The Claymore Shop has called its current location home for 20 years.

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Accelerating our commitment to affordable housing There’s a shortage of affordable housing in America, especially in communities of color. The impact of this health and humanitarian crisis has intensified the need for increased action. As part of our commitment to invest $1 billion over four years to advance racial equality and economic opportunity, Bank of America is accelerating our investment in development in neighborhoods of color — including right here in Detroit. We’re working side by side with nonprofits and community leaders to help revitalize neighborhoods, expanding on work we’ve had underway for many years. My teammates and I remain committed to addressing Detroit’s affordable housing gap and helping build the community in which we live and work.

Matt Elliott Detroit Market President

Building together Here in Detroit, we’re partnering with organizations that are expanding affordable housing options. They include: Neighborhood Service Organization National Faith Home Buyers Develop Detroit

To learn more, please visit bankofamerica.com/community

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

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