Crain's Detroit Business, Nov. 30, 2020, issue by Crain's Detroit Business

THE CONVERSATION

Community colleges bank on free tuition program for essential workers

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I NOVEMBER 30, 2020

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Jarc CEO Shaindle Braunstein on connecting with developmentally disabled adults. PAGE 22

BUSINESS OF MARIJUANA

BEYOND BUDDING One year in, Michigan recreational pot market keeps growing `BY DUSTIN WALSH | After a halting start and a pan-

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demic-fueled spike in sales, Michigan’s one-year-old recreational marijuana market is growing strong. Between Dec. 1 and Nov. 22, nearly $440 million of marijuana has been sold in the state on the “adultuse” market — also known as recreational marijuana, separate from the state’s longer-standing medical marijuana market. For the effort, the state and participating local municipalities have collected $73 million in excise and sales taxes from the market alone. See MARIJUANA on Page 21

HEALTH CARE

Can cold-storage giant aid in vaccine distribution? BY DUSTIN WALSH

In Perth Amboy, N.J., a forklift loads pallets of sushi-grade tuna and salmon fillets into a 35-degree Fahrenheit chamber. The room is dehumidified to prevent condensation from freezing machinery. The next set of doors leads to an “ultra-cold” freezer, routinely kept at 80 degrees below zero. It can go colder.

The freezer, part of Novi-based Lineage Logistics’ massive and growing cold food storage empire, can hold up to 600 pallets of tuna and salmon. Lineage is the largest cold storage warehousing and logistics firm in the world, boasting 1.9 billion cubic feet of storage in 14 countries. But Lineage may have a new market in mind. See LINEAGE on Page 21

DETROIT

Commercial demolitions grind to near halt Detroit shifts to razing blighted homes; advocates wonder what’s next BY ANNALISE FRANK

The city of Detroit is borrowing to spend an additional $250 million to knock down and secure vacant houses. None of that money will be spent to raze blighted commercial buildings left behind by a sea of absentee owners, population decline and changing economic tides. Three years ago, Mayor Mike Duggan said his administration aimed to

ramp up demolitions of nonresidential structures, doubling the yearly count from 150 to 300. But with a continuing focus on residential teardowns and funding cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic, that hasn’t happened, leaving advocates for neighborhood commercial corridors without answers to blight concerns. The city has paid for crews to tear down 48 commercial structures so

far in 2020, at a cost of nearly $1.8 million, according to a Crain’s analysis of public data records. With the end of the year approaching, that’s down from 137 total commercial demolitions in 2019 at a cost of $10 million, and just under 150 demolitions each in 2018 and 2017, totaling $7.6 million and $8.1 million, respectively. See DEMOLITION on Page 20

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NEED TO KNOW

SERVICES

THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT  RETAILERS OPTIMISTIC FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPING THE NEWS: Sales dipped for Michigan retailers in October from the previous month, with the state’s retail index dropping to 52.4 from 63.7 in September. Despite the sag, many retailers surveyed said they believe the holiday season will provide them with a boost. Forty-five percent said they believe sales will improve through January, while 37 percent expect a decline and 18 percent expect sales to remain the same. WHY IT MATTERS: Michigan business owners will face more challenges by way of the new three-week statewide order restricting in-person dining and at entertainment venues as COVID-19 cases continue to soar. The pandemic has forced many retailers to close, limit hours and trim staff, putting a historically high number of people out of work.

 DETROIT EXTENDS OUTDOOR DINING PROGRAM THE NEWS: With indoor dining barred through at least Dec. 8 due to COVID-19, Detroit restaurants and shops can apply and get a permit more quickly than usual to set up seating or retail space on the sidewalk, in street parking spaces and in parking lots. WHY IT MATTERS: Detroit business

nies such as Tesla, Uber and Lyft. In a Tuesday statement, Ford described Deering as “accomplished at using technology, data and analytics to anticipate customer needs and fulfill them with human-centered products and services.”

 HFHS, FORD INSTALLING FREEZERS FOR VACCINES owners have been able to do this since June, but summer permits expire Nov. 30. The program, termed Open Detroit, has been extended through April 1. Winter makes outside seating a bit more complicated, so the city also announced its rules for semi-enclosed outdoor dining structures such as igloos and tents.

 FORD TAPS NEW CMO FROM EBAY THE NEWS: Ford Motor Co. reached outside the auto industry for its next global chief marketing officer, installing former eBay North American CMO Suzy Deering in the position. Deering succeeds Joy Falotico, who left the role in October as part of a management overhaul orchestrated by new Ford CEO Jim Farley, who is a former marketer. WHY IT MATTERS: Her selection signals that Farley wants to give the role more heft, and that Ford plans to bolster its tech chops as it increasingly competes with Silicon Valley compa-

THE NEWS: Henry Ford Health System has acquired several specialized freezers to store coronavirus vaccines that require unusually low storage temperatures. The freezers will be installed in five of Henry Ford’s hospitals by Dec. 1. Ford Motor Co. has also ordered a dozen ultra-cold freezers to store vaccines globally when they become available in an effort to keep COVID-19 from disrupting its operations again, the company confirmed last week. WHY IT MATTERS: The state of Michigan is slated to receive several hundred thousand doses of the 6.4 million doses Pfizer says it will ship before the end of the year, enough to vaccinate 3.2 million people. Pfizer’s vaccines must be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius. The freezers are available commercially, but many of the units are on back order as states, local health departments, health care providers and businesses across the U.S. and around the world scramble to get them.

Oakland County offers free Shipt delivery for seniors  Oakland County is offering free grocery delivery for senior citizens through a partnership with Shipt. The service, which is being paid for with about $250,000 in federal CARES Act funds, will enable those 60 years old and up to avoid going out during the COVID-19 pandemic and flu season. Birmingham, Ala.-based Shipt will provide the delivery service, with 5,000 memberships available from the county. The memberships, which typically run $99 per year, entitle eligible Oakland County residents to free delivery on orders of more than $35. A $7 delivery fee is added for orders of less than $35. Shipt in October also partnered with the Macomb County Office of Senior Services for a similar program. The Oakland County free Shipt program is being paid for with federal CARES Act funds. | SHIPT

 ENBRIDGE SUES TO STOP LINE 5 SHUTDOWN THE NEWS: Enbridge Inc. has sued in federal court to halt Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order that would result in the shutdown of the company’s oil and natural gas liquids pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, the energy company said Tuesday.

WHY IT MATTERS: The lawsuit, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, says that Whitmer’s order that Enbridge stop operating Line 5 interferes with federal regulation of pipeline safety and is an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. Enbridge says a shutdown of Line 5 would result in a propane shortage and higher energy prices in Michigan.

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EDUCATION

NONPROFITS

Community colleges bank on free tuition program Essential workers must apply by Dec. 31 BY KURT NAGL

man Services is set to expire. Capuchin plans to reassess at that point, said Brother Faris Najor, director of volunteer services. Though there are restrictions and limitations on other indoor gatherings, the Nov. 15 order from the state health department makes an exception for gatherings at medical facilities, school and university cafeterias, shelters and soup kitchens, provided people of different families are spaced at least 6 feet apart. But the Capuchins and other nonprofits believe things are too close for comfort to invite volunteers in.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced learning off campuses and onto computer screens, community colleges in Michigan prepared for a run on cheaper credit hours. The opposite happened. Michigan’s 28 community colleges suffered enrollment declines this fall like the state’s four-year universities. That’s led to waves of layoffs and spending freezes likely to continue this winter as community colleges brace for another enrollment slide. They are being thrown a potential lifeline through the state’s $24 million “Futures for Frontliners” program, which offers free tuition to essential workers. More than 90,000 people have applied. As the Dec. 31 deadline approaches, community colleges are depending on those applicants to become enrolled students to avert more financial fallout. “Historically, if you look at enrollment patterns at community colleges, our enrollments go up and down with the economy,” said Mike Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association. “If you were to track enrollments with the unemployment rate, you would see that those two lines track almost identically. This year, however, when the pandemic hit, we did not see a corresponding increase. In fact, we saw a decrease in enrollment.” It hit Macomb Community College — one of the largest two-year college systems in the state — particularly hard. Fall enrollment there fell about 16 percent from last year to 16,736 students. Around 530 employees of the college, more than 30 percent of its total, were laid off in May. Most were adjunct professors and ancillary staff. Just fewer than 200 have since been recalled, and MCC is leaving 50 open positions unfilled.

See VOLUNTEER on Page 18

See COLLEGES on Page 17

Staff at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen prepare carryout lunches at the Meldrum meal site this summer. | TIM HINKLE/CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN

HELPING DURING COVID Fewer opportunities this year, but some nonprofits still seek volunteers BY SHERRI WELCH

Brother Faris Najor, director of volunteer services, Capuchin Francisans Province of St. Joseph.

It’s the time of year when many are moved to volunteer at local soup kitchens and homeless shelters, but opportunities to do that in person this year are dwindling. A growing number of nonprofits are turning away volunteers to keep them, clients and staff safe as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. The Capuchin Francisans Province of St. Joseph operates two Capuchin Soup Kitchen locations on Detroit’s east side and a services center that provides free food and clothing for those in need and holiday meal programs. It typically has eight volunteers dish out food and prepare carryouts at its Conner

“IT BREAKS MY HEART BECAUSE ESPECIALLY DURING THE HOLIDAYS, THE VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN SO AMAZING OVER THE YEARS.” — Brother Faris Najor, director of volunteer services, Capuchin Francisans Province of St. Joseph

Street soup kitchen. Earlier this month, it cut back to two volunteers at a time. On Tuesday, it suspended volunteerism through Dec. 8 when the most recent coronavirus-related order from the Michigan Department of Health and Hu-

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Detroit native finds niche in pandemic sanitizer market with Trip Wipes BY JASON DAVIS

Detroit native Doug Schwartz has impeccable timing. Late last year, Schwartz found the first retail customer for his Trip Wipes — individually packaged hand-sanitizing wipes. Schwartz sent Urban Outfitters 300 boxes, each containing 30 wipes, to be sold on the Urban Outfitters website. The product, made in the United States in a partnership with the National Foundation for Infectious Disease, sold out in one day, according to Schwartz.

“Then (Urban Outfitters) placed a purchase order the next day for 50 boxes for their stores,” said Schwartz, 48, who 10 years ago started candle company Detroit Wick. “That was our springboard.” How did Trip Wipes land a deal with Urban Outfitters, which has more than 200 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe? Schwartz said he simply called and emailed the lifestyle retailer more than 100 times over the course of a month. “I wouldn’t give up until they took my product,” he said.

In less than a year, Schwartz has seen his Eastern Market-headquartered business take off. The wipes, which are manufactured in New York, are now sold in more than 1,000 Urban Outfitters, Macy’s, Costco and Anthropologie stores as well as hotels. Schwartz recognizes the set of circumstances that may have helped push his business over the top. “Obviously, (the pandemic) this year was the gasoline on the fire,” he said.

Trip Wipes are alcohol free and sustainable, and offer a great fragrance, owner Doug Schwartz says.| TRIP WIPES

See WIPES on Page 18 NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

HEALTH CARE

WSU pediatricians barred from teaching students, admitting kids at DMC Children's BY JAY GREENE Colette Smiley, West Michigan Board David Tokarsky, Garber Linwood Scott Brown, Accenture Mary Dykema Matthew O'Bryan, KLA Mike Dykema, West MI Fleet Parts Olivia Jackson, Accenture

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Wayne State University plans to appeal a ruling in a legal battle with the Detroit Medical Center that has shut the health system’s children’s hospital to many of its faculty pediatricians. Thirteen pediatricians who have worked at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan for many years — some with rare subspecialties in pediatric HIV, primary immunodeficiency, nephrology, rheumatology and diabetes that are hard to find in any community — have been barred from admitting, treating and teaching medical students by the Detroit Medical Center and its owner Tenet Healthcare Corp of Dallas. Since Wayne State University School of Medicine lost its direct appeal to DMC over the summer and then in September Judge Brian Sullivan of Wayne County Circuit Court ruled that DMC was within its rights to ban the WSU faculty doctors from Children’s Hospital, dozens of children who the 13 pediatricians would have treated at the only pediatric hospital in Detroit have had to go elsewhere for care, said Dr. Mark Schweitzer, WSU vice president of health affairs and medical school dean. “Conceptually (Sullivan’s ruling) is off base. It is anticompetitive and ultimately hurts children because they have less access to qualified specialists,” said Schweitzer, who added he has never been involved in a situation like this in his 25-year career at more than a dozen hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. “I don’t know about legally, but from a moral point of view, UP and DMC have behaved immorally and have been vindictive,” Schweitzer said. “It is damaging to patient care and hurting the careers of many good physicians.” David French, WSU medical school’s attorney with Hall, Render Killian, Heath & Lyman in Troy, said an appeal will be filed with the Michigan Court of Appeals by Dec. 1. “The entire crux of the matter is (Sullivan) totally mischaracterized our claim.” French said. “He claimed WSU based (its case) on the clinical services agreement that DMC must allow admitting privileges at the hospital. We acknowledge DMC can designate who can teach” at Children’s Hospital. However, French said Wayne State sued on the basis that DMC cannot exclude doctors from teaching or admitting patients at Children’s simply because they are not members of University Pediatricians, a 220-member private group practice with which DMC contends it has an exclusive agreement to practice at Children’s. French also said that Sullivan ignored the lack of provisions in DMC’s medical staff bylaws that would allow admitting privileges to be revoked or suspended based on an exclusive contract with a competing medical group. “Wayne State doctors should have the ability to have decisions made on clinical privileges be made entirely on whether they are qualified,” he said. In a statement, DMC said the following: “Physicians who left (University Pediatricians) to join Wayne Pediatrics remain members of the Detroit Medical Center medical staff.” However, DMC has limited those privileges in one particular way. “Those physicians can care for patients at Children’s Hospital of Michigan for specialty services which are not part of the exclusive contract with University Pediatricians,” DMC said.

DMC Children’s Hospital

Gray

McGrath

French said DMC’s statement is vague and contradictory because several of the Wayne State pediatricians practice subspecialities that are not believed offered by UP doctors. “We have asked many times for a copy of the exclusive contract DMC has with UP and have not received it,” French said. “They have never told us what sort of privileges (practicing at Children’s) would entail. Despite our requests for clarification, we have not been told what areas are not covered by the exclusive contract.” Schweitzer said DMC Children’s Hospital has not excluded other private pediatricians and specialists who are not part of UP, including those from Henry Ford Medical Group. An official from Henry Ford confirmed that its pediatricians and other doctors continue to have privileges at Children’s. Herman Gray, M.D., chair of the pediatrics department at WSU’s medical school, said it is bad public policy to have the only pediatric hospital in Detroit exclude academic pediatricians from the medical staff. “If a UP doctor wants to consult one of our subspecialists, that can’t happen now because of the position UP and DMC took with exclusivity,” Gray said. “That is not good for the children of Detroit and Southeast Michigan.” One of the subspecialists, Dr. Eric McGrath, associate professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and prevention, is one of the WSU faculty doctors banned from practicing at Children’s. An infectious disease doctor specializing in pediatric HIV, McGrath is currently practicing at Wayne Pediatrics, located within the university’s multispecialty Wayne Health at 400 W. Mack Ave. He also moonlights at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Charter Township using his general DMC credentials. “We have lost valuable time not being able to admit our long-term patients there with these for-no-cause restrictions on our privileges,” said McGrath, who joined Wayne Pediatrics in June to remain a WSU faculty member, a position he was recruited more than 10 years ago. He resigned from UP but got a letter back saying he

was “terminated” from the group. “I have full pediatric privileges at DMC hospitals, but I received at letter from DMC’s CEO (Audrey Gregory) who told me I cannot admit Schweitzer patients or consult at Children’s Hospital,” said McGrath, adding he has not attempted to admit patients to Children’s out of fears he would be refused and the negative impact it could have on families. Since September, McGrath and fellow subspecialist Dr. Elizabeth Secord have been working at the Ryan White HIV clinic, called the Horizons Project, now temporarily housed within the Wayne Pediatrics clinic. “We emergently evacuated that clinic about one month ago” when Children’s Hospital management took down signs for the clinic and conducted an unauthorized search for federal grant documents, McGrath said. Of great concern to McGrath is that mothers of newborn pediatric patients have told Secord that UP and DMC officials have told patients they don’t know where Horizon’s clinic relocated. “This actually impacts infants born to mothers with HIV and their newborn management, which is critical to assuring that HIV is not passed on to those infants,” McGrath said. In January, McGrath said the Horizon’s HIV clinic will move to 50 E. Canfield, next door to the Wayne State STI (sexually transmitted infections) and TB (tuberculosis) clinics. “We need more room,” he said. Gray said what baffles him is that DMC and UP should have an obligation to the community to allow patients to see the best physicians available for special diseases and problems. “Some doctors have been at Children’s for 20 or 30 years,” Gray said. “They have a richness of experience that patients need. There is no medical reason or quality of care reason, or frankly financial reason, to prohibit us from seeing patients at Children’s.” DMC justified its position by stating in its statement that hospitals regularly enter into exclusive contracts to ensure “high quality coverage of critical patient care and teaching services.” It is unclear when DMC entered into an exclusive arrangement with UP, although DMC has been subsidizing UP’s financial losses for several years. Contact: jgreene@crain.com; 313-446-0325; @jaybgreene

CARING FOR KIDS SPONSORED CONTENT

Advocating for the health and wellness of children and families Host Larry Burns, President and CEO The Children’s Foundation

Advocating for the health & wellness of children and families

About this report: On this monthly radio program, The Children’s Foundation President and CEO Larry Burns talks to community, government and business leaders about issues related to children’s health and wellness. The hour-long show typically airs at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month on WJR 760AM. Here’s a summary of the show that aired November 24th; listen to the entire episode, and archived episodes, at yourchildrensfoundation.org/caring-for-kids.

Margaret Trimer, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana

Larry Burns: You recently became a trustee of the Jamie Daniels Foundation board. What are your thoughts about joining that board? Margaret Trimer: I’m truly honored and while I may not be a family member, it certainly didn’t take long to feel like a family member in the group. From a corporate perspective, the dental profession has to care about substance use disorder. We have to be part of the solution because over the years, dental practitioners have prescribed opioids for procedures like wisdom teeth extractions. Burns: You’re involved in many community-based organizations. Can you share the highlights of some of those? Trimer: Through our pillars of investment at Delta Dental, we build healthy, smart, vibrant communities. We invest in health: oral and overall health. “Smart” refers to education and workforce development and “vibrant” to economic development and making sure that our communities are places where our customers can succeed. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is an organization that is dear to me personally and to our company. We invested $5 million in the West Riverfront. That development will open in 2022. We’re looking at the Delta Dental Play Garden as a place where we can engage the

community in healthy activities and hold fundraisers like fun runs or “know your numbers” types of events to promote heart health as well as provide mobile dental clinics. It’s an all-out space. Burns: Where do you see Delta Dental’s efforts in Michigan and beyond in 2021? Trimer: Our purpose remains building healthy, smart, vibrant communities, and we are able to do that by selling dental benefit plans, taking care of our customers and growing. Michigan is our largest market and even though COVID has hurt the economy, we’re holding strong and we do expect to grow. We’ve given a lot of money back to our customers this year, because we know the year has been tough. We’ve given premium relief and rate freezes. We gave every practicing dentist in our three states—whether or not they participate with Delta Dental—a $1,000 credit to help with supplies and PPE. In 2021, we’re turning our attention to economic justice and making sure that we invest in underrepresented communities. We will be inclusive in that space. Burns: What else are you excited about? Trimer: We’re working with a venture capital fund out of Cincinnati called Lightship Capital. Their investments are very much focused on underrepresented entrepreneurs. We’re going to support entrepreneurial bootcamps and accelerator projects for this sector of the economy and help provide them with the tools for prosperity. It’s not just about profit. It’s not just about charity. We want to focus on community health and community wealth.

Renee Fluker, Founder and President, Midnight Golf Program

Larry Burns: Please give us an overview of the Midnight Golf Program. Renee Fluker: Midnight Golf started nearly 20 years ago. When I started the program, we had only 17 young people. As of today, we have over 3,200. This year, we had 700 high school seniors apply. When they applied, we had to meet over Zoom because of the pandemic. That was very hard because you can only have so many kids at one time. We took 200 students from 53 different high schools. Burns: Can you tell us about your kids who go on to college? Fluker: We follow our kids: I call them my children. We have three college success coaches. They follow our students with four touch points to make sure that they’re up to date with their financial aid and they’re doing okay in their classes. I still stay in contact with my first Midnight Golf student from 2001. She grew up in public housing and also was in foster care. We got her to go to Howard University. She got two degrees from Howard, came back to Wayne State and got a medical degree. Now she has a doctorate in nursing. I went to her wedding. Last year we had a big Christmas party with 800 past and present students. You see these kids networking and talking about what

they’re looking forward to in college—it’s amazing. We’re going to try to do it on Zoom this year. Burns: The Children’s Foundation is the affiliate for First Tee of Greater Detroit. I’m really excited about the possibility of things we can do together. Do you have any thoughts about that? Fluker: I hope First Tee gets the 11th graders so we can take them as 12th graders. They would get golf lessons, learn life skills, prepare for college and get help filling out their financial aid forms. Maybe we could follow that student all the way from First Tee through Midnight Golf. Also, Midnight Golf needs a home. It might be with First Tee. We’ve been all over and our offices are in a separate building too. We need a centralized location. If someone can help, they can go on our website at midnightgolf.org, or they can contact me directly at (248) 766-0126. Our office is (248) 792-9438. The area that we ideally want is at Palmer Park on the corner of Woodward and Seven Mile. Our students come from everywhere and they could take the bus there. Burns: Another partnership that we’re both involved with is The Rocket Mortgage Classic and their initiative to break down the digital divide in Detroit. Fluker: We want to support our college students and we’re trying to get everybody a laptop and access to the internet. We also have 60 mentors. We give them laptops to Zoom with the kids. Two of our mentors don’t have the internet. They can’t do Zoom unless they have internet service.

Chuck Hammond, President and CEO, Hammond & Associates

Larry Burns: What are some of your most exciting projects? Chuck Hammond: We’re working right now in Flint with an organization called the Friends of Berston, a group that helps care for a legendary athletic field house that serves as a community center. It fell on some hard times and recently reopened. They’re looking at a capital campaign to expand Berston into a cultural recreational and enrichment center on the north side of Flint. We’re working with Beyond Basics, a literacy program that helps students bring their reading skills to grade level. We hope to develop a partnership between Beyond Basic and First Tee. We’re helping the Detroit Historical Society prepare for its 100th anniversary campaign and we’ve had a multi-year relationship with Forgotten Harvest. Burns: One of our focus areas is nutrition and wellness. Forgotten Harvest is one of our key partners related to that. Hammond: The COVID crisis has brought basic human needs to the same level of prominence they had back during the Great Recession. The way Forgotten Harvest has responded to the food insecurity needs that have grown so dramatically since the start of the pandemic is amazing. Burns: What are you

seeing in nonprofits now? Hammond: In a word: uncertainty. However, it’s been pretty amazing the way nonprofits have pulled together and continued to do their absolute best to deliver services. For example, Howell-based LACASA helps victims and survivors of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault. In this pandemic world, they cannot see their clients and potential clients like they used to, so they found a way to continue to serve virtually and through schools and other prevention programs. I’m seeing nonprofits do their darndest to keep delivering services under some very trying circumstances. Burns: Do you have any pointers for either trustees or staff of nonprofits? Hammond: These are trying times. I think it’s incumbent upon nonprofit executives to find a way to keep their boards engaged. Define three or four key leaders on your board and make sure that you stay in front of them virtually, online or on the phone. Remember donors feel isolated like the rest of us, and many tend to be a little on the older side. Pick up the phone and call them and have a general conversation about life and your work at the nonprofit. They look forward to talking to people, particularly about something they care about. Burns: What would you like to close with? Hammond: We’re here to help. We’ve been serving the nonprofit community, primarily in Southeastern Michigan, for the last 20 years. We believe in it. Detroit has among the greatest nonprofit communities in the country.

DEVELOPMENT

With Godfrey hotel, a new path for community benefits Developers make voluntary agreement to address parking, workforce concerns BY ANNALISE FRANK

The developers behind a hotel planned in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood have agreed to make several community-centered commitments despite not meeting the project cost threshold to be legally required to do so. They’re doing it voluntarily, looking to lead by example when it comes to responding to neighborhood concerns. The city’s top planning official calls it a way to hold developers to a “higher standard.” But its voluntary nature also means it’s being done on the developer’s terms, so there are caveats. Farmington Hills-based Hunter Pasteur Homes and Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group LLC are building a $45 million-$50 million, seven-story boutique hotel, the 227room Godfrey Hotel, at 1401 Michigan Ave. The project, along a stretch of the thoroughfare lined with two-story brick storefronts, will undeniably change the landscape. The Godfrey developers have agreed, among other things, to make Detroiters 25 percent of the hotel’s workforce and respond to residents’ parking and traffic concerns. With a bigger development worth $75 million or more, the owners would be made legally accountable for certain commitments to mitigate negative impacts on neighbors

through an ordinance-mandated, City Council-approved Community Benefits Agreement that includes monetary investment in, for example, workforce programs. The Godfrey is sizable and it’s using public dollars, but it’s not quite pricey enough to trigger that mandate. All it’s required to do under the same ordinance is to vaguely “partner” with the city as it goes about its work. The Godfrey qualifies as a Tier 2 project, not a Tier 1. However, prompted by its community engagement consultant — Corktown native and former City Council member Sheila Cockrel — Hunter Pasteur nevertheless agreed it would enter into a limited version of a community benefits agreement. City Council unanimously approved the agreement Nov. 17, along with tax breaks: a $5.4 million abatement for Godfrey’s brownfield plan to clean up and demolish buildings on the contaminated property, and a $4.9 million commercial rehabilitation tax break. The community benefits deal is about solving residents’ concerns about parking — namely, not wanting the hotel’s required 170 parking spaces to be on-site in permanent surface parking around Corktown’s business district. “The parking concerns were pretty serious coming from residents,” said Katy Trudeau, deputy director of the

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A boutique hotel is expected to rise in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood at 1401 Michigan Ave. | NEUMANN/SMITH ARCHITECTURE/ELKUS MANFREDI ARCHITECTS

Detroit Planning and Development Department. Tom Allenson, a Corktown resident since 1983 and president of the Central Corktown Block Club, said he heard worries that the neighborhood’s street parking, which many residents use, may be taken up by the hotel and its first-floor dining. There were also concerns the development would affect traffic flow, and about the seven-story building fitting into the neighborhood. “Otherwise, it’s bringing investment to the neighborhood and jobs,” he said. “I think (the community benefits agreement) is a good start. But I don’t know, we haven’t seen enough of the project to know what that parking garage is going to look like ...” Under the deal, the development team must start building a parking garage on an off-site surface parking lot within 18 months of getting its building permit, erasing the need for the surface parking. Or, if it doesn’t start that construction, it needs to take a gravel lot at Church and Trumbull streets and either update it to meet city code or pay the city to do the work. There’s also a $4,000-perspot penalty for each of the necessary spaces not provided. The developers will also be required to do something with a second gravel parking lot at Leverette and Eighth streets: Start construction there on a separate mixed-use apartment project within three years, or also update that gravel lot to meet city code (namely: paving it over). They can avoid this if they finish construction of the approximately $10 million parking garage in the other lot within three years, according to the agreement. They also must, under the agreement, regularly update community members about the progress of the Godfrey project and parking. “We wanted to have a legal mechanism, and the developer was on board with this, by which to hold them accountable for an ultimate higher and better use, so we didn’t end up with sea of surface parking lots in Corktown forever,” Trudeau said. “We feel this is a way to utilize the (Community Benefits Ordinance) to get better development for

Corktown ... It’s a higher standard that, in this case, did require the developer to be willing to enter into a legal agreement with us.” While other developers have agreed to various terms with the city before, Trudeau said to her knowledge this is the first Tier 2 project to enter into a binding community benefits agreement voluntarily. There’s been pushback against the Community Benefits Ordinance itself for not offering enough protections. The law that passed in 2016 was the milder version of two choices. The other would have had a threshold of $15 million instead of $75 million, meaning many advocates would have preferred projects like the Godfrey be held to the same standard as projects like the FCA US LLC plants or Ford Motor Co.’s Corktown campus. Changes to beef up the law’s requirements and enforcement have been considered by City Council. A representative for Council President Pro Tem Mary Sheffield said in an email her office does not expect any proposed changes to get voted on until 2021. The Equitable Detroit Coalition and Detroit People’s Platform have been among those to criticize the ordinance. Linda Campbell, a member of the coalition, previously told Crain’s she wants to see more assurances for residents and more clawbacks and fines when the city negotiates economic development deals. The deal does not guarantee a parking garage gets built instead of surface parking lots — the onus is still on the company, since the negotiations here are not enshrined in the ordinance. Asked about the lack of guarantee, Trudeau said the city didn’t want a situation to arise where the developer couldn’t make its projects work financially, but was still allowed to operate a gravel parking lot. While the company could end up with surface lots, it’s “highly motivated to not do that, because the other project is the one that stands to generate significantly more revenue than some parking lots.” Hunter Pasteur also plans to eventually build apartment developments along the Corktown strip, starting

with a 180- to 200-unit building with a timeline likely a year behind the hotel’s. The development team wouldn’t be the same as that of the Godfrey and would require separate approvals. The Godfrey Hotel team made several other commitments in a letter also presented to City Council on Tuesday. It’s separate from the community benefits agreement. Hunter Pasteur partner Seth Herkowitz told Crain’s in an email that “from our perspective, the commitments made in the letter are binding” and were presented so they could be put in the record. The letter says the Godfrey will hire Detroiters as at least 25 percent of the hotel’s staff by the end of its second year in operation; that it will work with the city’s hiring and training program Detroit at Work; that it will do a traffic study; and it will make a plaque or historic marker showing the site was once home to the “oldest African American cab company, City Cab.” The hotel also says it’ll start non-tipped wages at $17 an hour. The various community concerns came out of six community meetings and six public hearings related to various city approvals, Herkowitz said. “... we’re doing this not because we’re trying to stand out,” said Randy Wertheimer, CEO of Hunter Pasteur. “We’re doing this because we want to raise the bar. We want everybody in Detroit to feel a sense of obligation to make sure that, you know, the Detroit middle class is as strong as ever. The only way to do that is to hire Detroiters.” Making a commitment that at least 25 percent of its hotel employees will be Detroiters is substantial compared with the alternative of no such commitment, as in the case of Amazon.com Inc.’s planned Michigan state fairgrounds facility. However, it’s also just half of the 51 percent Detroit workforce hour requirement applicable to major construction projects and now home demolitions under the $250 million blight bond-financed Proposal N. Contact: afrank@crain.com; (313) 446-0416; @annalise_frank

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COMMENTARY

Here’s what a ‘pause’ means, and who is affected

DANIEL SAAD

BY ROSALIE VICARI

EDITORIAL

Doing what’s right, not required, for community

evelopers often run afoul of neighbors in Detroit on projects that — however promising economically — threaten to displace or disrupt those who live nearby. Thus the city has a Community Benefits Ordinance, a codified-by-law effort to accommodate neighborhood concerns on issues such as parking, noise and local hiring. We have opposed requiring this ordinance of projects of a certain size as unnecessarily restrictive to commercial property owners. Developers need more incentives to invest in Detroit, not less. But when a developer goes beyond what the law requires in a good-faith effort to assuage neighborhood worries — as happened this week with a project in Corktown featured on Page 6 — it’s a example worthy of note. The project, reported this week by “WE’RE DOING Crain’s Annalise THIS BECAUSE Frank, involves a nearly $50 million, WE WANT TO boutique RAISE THE BAR.” seven-story hotel at 1401 Michigan Ave. along a — Randy Wertheimer, CEO of Hunter Pasteur stretch of the thoroughfare lined with two-story brick storefronts. The 227-room Godfrey Hotel is being developed by Farmington Hills-based Hunter Pasteur Homes and Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group LLC. The so-called “Tier 2” project is not big enough to trigger Community Benefits Ordinance requirements. Had it met the city’s threshold of $75 million or more, owners would be legally accountable for certain commitments to mitigate negative effects on neighbors. But the developers agreed to make several

of those commitments anyway as part of a legally binding agreement with the city. They include responding to residents’ parking and traffic concerns. In particular, the deal includes financial penalties if developers fail to construct a parking garage as promised. The developers have separately pledged to make Detroiters 25 percent of the hotel’s workforce. The agreement was prompted by the developers’ community engagement consultant, Corktown native and former City Council member Sheila Cockrel. City Council unanimously approved the plan Nov. 17, along with tax breaks totaling $10.3 million for the contaminated property. While other developers have agreed to various terms with the city, city officials say this is the first tier-two project to enter into a binding community benefits agreement voluntarily. “We’re doing this because we want to raise the bar,” Randy Wertheimer, CEO of Hunter Pasteur, told Crain’s. The Community Benefits Ordinance is a flawed means to a worthwhile end of ensuring accountability in economic development. Even proponents say it lacks teeth and is difficult to enforce legally. That’s why it’s promising to see developers step up to work with the city and the neighborhood on a custom, tailored approach that benefits all. We hope to see more of it going forward.

MORE ON WJR ` Listen to Crain’s Group Publisher Mary Kramer and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning at 6:15 a.m. Mondays on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

My husband, Joe, and I have been in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years. We own and operate over 20 restaurants in metro Detroit, including Andiamo and Joe Muer Seafood. We have endured many economic challenges, Rosalie Vicari is such as the recession of co-owner of the 2008. We have always Vicari worked hard to overcome Restaurant economic and social Group. trends to stay relevant in this business. Most recently however, we have faced our most difficult challenge. Last week Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a three week “pause” for dine-in service for restaurants. Such a simple word with such devastating implications. What exactly does a “pause” look like for people who work in the restaurant industry? I will break it down in the course of one day, so people can understand the gravity of what that word actually means to thousands of people who work in this industry. On Nov. 13, the Friday before the “pause” started, Joe Muer Seafood in Bloomfield Hills had three managers, 14 servers, seven server assistants, four bartenders, three hostesses, one head chef, one sous chef, eight line cooks, two prep cooks, four dishwashers — 47 people worked and 47 people got paid. One week later, Joe Muer Seafood had one manager, one head chef, one line cook and one server. Four people worked, and four people got paid. This is what a “pause” looks like. Forty-three fewer people worked, and 43 fewer people got paid. This is going to happen every day for the rest of the three-week “pause,” at every restaurant in Michigan, whether you are Joe Muer Seafood or American Coney Island. The loss of wages for the thousands of workers in the restaurant industry will devastate families and our economy. The thousands of restaurants workers flooding our unemployment system will devastate an already challenged unemployment system. The Joe Vicari Restaurant Group will sadly have to lay off almost 700 people. But it does not stop there. All of our vendors will be suffering too. Our meat and seafood vendors, produce vendors, bread vendors, coffee, liquor and wine vendors will all be met with purchase orders that are a fraction of what they normally are or with no purchase orders at all. This will lead to certain layoffs or furloughs in all the above industries. Cleaning and sanitation companies, valet companies, and live music performers will not be working, either. What is most heartbreaking is how this will affect the thousands of restaurant workers that now find themselves out of work again, after a three-month shutdown earlier this year. What makes this shutdown so crushing is there is not

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. 8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

a safety net for any of these workers. They will file for unemployment and, if lucky, receive a check for $362 per week. With that meager amount of money, they will need to pay their rent, car payments, utilities, groceries, doctor bills. And not only for themselves, but often for their children and other family members. And let’s be clear: Despite calling for a “three-week pause,” the governor repeatedly referred to “a rough few months ahead of us.” When she originally closed restaurants for dine-in service back in March, it was for two weeks. As we all remember too well, that two weeks lasted three months. But workers got help from the federal government, which greatly helped to ease their burden. This time, there is no federal money coming. There is no safety net for these workers. They are on their own, with $362 a week. What if three weeks turns into three months again? While I can totally respect that the governor is trying to keep Michiganders safe, I cannot understand the seemingly random way in which she is doing it. You cannot go into restaurants, into a controlled environment where we are all at 50 percent capacity, masks are worn when not at tables, tables are spaced out 6 feet apart, servers are masked and gloved. In all our restaurants, we installed temperature scanners that everyone must take prior to entering into the dining room. That was at a cost of $30,000 to our company. We did this because not only did we want to comply with the governor’s orders; we wanted to go beyond that in making people safe. And it worked. People were coming into not only our restaurants, but restaurants throughout the entire state, feeling comfortable and safe and enjoying the camaraderie of sharing a meal. Still, our dining rooms were ordered closed down. The Michigan Lodging and Restaurants Association states that slightly more than 4 OUR GOVERNOR percent of all COVID cases in the state can CLAIMS TO BE be traced back to FOLLOWING THE restaurants. Our governor claims to be fol- SCIENCE, BUT lowing the science, WHERE IS THE but where is the sciSCIENCE BEHIND ence behind this? Two thousand THIS? restaurants have already permanently closed in Michigan. It is predicted that if the “pause” last longer than three weeks, another 4,000 restaurants will be gone. Permanently. That’s 6,000 restaurants. Our governor will be responsible for these closures and the tens of thousands of people out of work. With all due respect, Madam G overnor, the people of the great state of Michigan are suffering under your leadership. You will never know what it’s like to live off of $362 a week. You will never know what it’s like to have to decide between paying your mortgage or feeding your family. These people are the backbone of our state. Restaurant employees work long hours, on nights and weekends and even holidays. And they now are hurting. Again. The question I have for you is: Why?

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

OTHER VOICES

Supporting minority-owned businesses helps more grow BY NDEDA LETSON

What does it mean to support minority-owned small businesses, and why is it important? M i n o r i ty-owned small businesses have true connections Ndeda Letson is to their commuvice president, nities. They need Midwest to be strong in orcommunity der for communidevelopment market manager ties to be strong. and Community Indeed, they play a foundational Reinvestment role in our econoAct officer for my by providing Citizens Bank. goods, services and employment. And they are transmitters of generational wealth. Yet, often overlooked is their critical role as beacons. They create inspiration, vibrancy and are culture bearers for minority communities. Minority-owned small businesses need to be bolstered in order to help other community members believe they can start and sustain successful businesses as well. That’s exactly what COVID-19 survivor Darnell Jackson, the owner of Motor City Preservation LLC in Detroit, is doing. Darnell recently won a $15,000 minority-owned small-business grant from Citizens. His company cleans up foreclosed and abandoned properties in Detroit. He’s going to use part of the $15,000 to buy new equipment, train people to do what he does and help them learn how to set up their own business. There’s plenty of need for what Darnell does. He has contracts with the Detroit Land Bank as well as the city of Detroit. His company preserved more than 600 homes in the past year and a half. During summers, he hires members of the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s basketball team, for which he is an assistant coach. Darnell’s business provides hope and aspiration as he restoratively uses his talents and skills to serve his community. This and similar grants from other companies and organizations are giving folks like Darnell working capital to hire and train more people in the community. And consider Yulanda Harris, owner of Harris Interior Design Studio, which does work in the Metro Detroit region. After spending 30 years in training and development, Yulanda was ready to launch two businesses at the start of 2020. Then COVID-19 hit, and everything came to a screeching halt. That everything included her plan to secure donated furnishings and work with rental property owners to turn their spaces into peaceful, transitional homes for domestic violence survivors. She knows about resilience and what it’s like to come from a place of abuse and find a place of peace and wants that for others. Yulanda also received one of the Citizens $15,000 grants. She will use it for her business and efforts to create transitional homes for abuse survivors. Yulanda is not running a nonprofit, but she wants to give back, just as Darnell does. It’s important that we support businesses such as these by buying their products and services. But we

MINORITY-OWNED SMALL BUSINESSES NEED TO BE BOLSTERED IN ORDER TO HELP OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS BELIEVE THEY CAN START AND SUSTAIN SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES AS WELL. also have to authentically promote them, introduce them to our networks and connect them with more resources to grow and thrive. There are mutually beneficial social and

Darnell Jackson, the owner of Motor City Preservation LLC in Detroit | MOTOR

economic value-adds when larger companies and governments make inclusive supply chains a priority. And banks need to help small businesses develop meaningful relationships with financial institutions so that they get the credit capital they need, augment and sustain their capacities and reinvest resources in their communities. As a Black woman and former small business owner, it’s important for me to work for a company that understands just how important minority-owned small businesses are and helps keep them open and thriving. I hope all of you will join in this effort as well.

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BEST-MANAGED NONPROFITS

RISING TO THE OCCASION C

‘Courageous’ leadership marked this year’s search for Best-Managed Nonprofit

rain’s Best-Managed Nonprofit program honors the best in leadership and financial stewardship in Southeast Michigan’s nonprofit community. Winners are selected after in-person interviews by a panel of nonprofit experts and undergo a financial review by the nonprofit practice group at Plante Moran PLLC.

This was not your average year by any stretch. But judges said were awed at how the nonprofits under consideration rose to the occasion and then some, pivoting, collaborating, being creative and innovative and through it all, being good stewards of the people they serve. “Nonprofits rose and continue to

rise,” said Kelley Kuhn, vice president and chief strategy officer, Michigan Nonprofit Association. This year’s contest asked nonprofits to share how they are adapting their operations to continue meeting their missions in the age of COVID-19. A record 29 nonprofits entered the contest. The competition was

especially tough this year, with judges sharing that they were humbled by how every nonprofit applicant responded to the pandemic and continued providing services despite it, and in many cases expanded and changed operationally. There are two winners this year: Methodist Children’s Home Society in the category of nonprofits of over

$3 million in revenue and Accounting Aid Society in the under $3 million in revenue category. They, and the four finalists, are profiled on Pages 10-14. The winners of this year’s Best-Managed Nonprofit Contest will share more on how they are navigating the pandemic during a January webinar in the new year.

WINNER, NONPROFIT OVER $3 MILLION REVENUE

2020 Best-Managed Nonprofits WINNER: Methodist Children’s Home Society. THIS PAGE WINNER: Accounting Aid PAGE 11 FINALIST: Cass Community Services PAGE 12 FINALIST: Lighthouse Michigan PAGE 12

FINALIST: On My Own Michigan PAGE 14

FINALIST: St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center PAGE 14

Program judges ` Allandra Bulger, executive director, Co.act Detroit ` Gary Dembs, president, Non-Profit Personnel Network ` Kelley Kuhn, vice president and chief strategy officer, Michigan Nonprofit Association ` Gerald Lindman, assistant professor, nonprofit leadership, Michigan State University ` Richard Martin, principal, Caleb LLC Family Transition Coordinator Danielle Funke (left), Residential Supervisor Joseph Cunningham and Transitional Living Supervisor Renee Williams outside of Methodist Children’s Home Society in Redford. | NIC ANTAYA FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Caring for staff, virtual readiness

Financial review was provided by the nonprofit practice group of Plante & Moran PLLC, led by partner John Bebes.

Methodist Children’s Home Society positioned to continue serving children in foster care BY SHERRI WELCH

During quiet moments, Methodist Children’s Home Society CEO Kevin Roach thinks about the three women who founded the agency in 1917 and what was on their minds as they figured out how to care for the children they took in and their staff. The Redford Township-based nonprofit opened its doors during the last major global pandemic, the Spanish Flu, to provide a home for children orphaned when their parents succumbed to the illness.

“It’s humbling to be here 100 years later, haunted by another global pandemic,” Roach said. “I stand on their shoulders ... (and) feel this incredible responsibility to make sure that 100 years from now, this agency is still taking care of children and families that need us.” During the first eight months of the pandemic, Methodist Children’s Home prevented major outbreaks among the children living on its campus and its staff, ensured children and families on campus and in the community could con-

10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

“IT’S HUMBLING TO BE HERE 100 YEARS LATER, HAUNTED BY ANOTHER GLOBAL PANDEMIC.” — Kevin Roach, CEO, Methodist Children’s Home Society

tinue to connect and receive therapy and took care of its staff to make sure their needs were met and they could care for others. It went even further, taking in children other agencies couldn’t

care for and offering space on its campus for other child welfare agencies should they need to quarantine children in their care. And when its diverse staff looked to management for answers on how it would respond to calls for racial justice amid the protests that followed George Floyd’s death, it began taking practical steps to do just that. It also instituted a minimum wage of $15 per hour for its caregivers and other essential employees. For all of those reasons, and more, Methodist Children’s Home

Society is Crain’s Best-Managed Nonprofit for 2020 with revenue of more than $3 million.

Caring for staff Methodist Children’s Home had to first care for its 160 employees if it was to look out for the children in its care and youth and families in the community, Roach said. “It’s that notion that if you take care of the caregivers, the rest will take care of itself,” he said. See HOME on Page 15

FOCUS | BEST-MANAGED NONPROFITS WINNER, NONPROFIT UNDER $3 MILLION REVENUE

Shifts to virtual tax model

Accounting Aid ensures stimulus, tax return dollars get to those in need BY SHERRI WELCH

Accounting Aid Society was a little more than halfway through its tax season when the pandemic forced it to shut down its tax sites. It had completed only about 11,000 of the 18,000 returns it typically prepares each year for low- and moderate-income residents in Southeast Michigan. “It was a critical time for our clients to be able to access refunds,” said Accounting Aid President Kathleen Hatke Aro. They count on the returns to pay bills, keep food on the table, buy necessities and make down payments on homes and cars, she said. Preparation of the returns also impacted their ability to quickly get a stimulus payment during the pandemic, given that the IRS initially used tax information to get the payments to people. “That’s why we said it’s not an option to just stop, to not do anything,” Aro said. The returns, which bring in as much as 10 percent of their annual income for many, became even more critical as Detroiters faced job losses, caregiver shortages and other economic concerns. See ACCOUNTING on Page 15

Chief Operating Officer Gabrielle Thomas (left), Director of Individual Tax Programs Matt Hetherwick, President Kathleen Aro, Senior VITA Program Manager Garylle Smith and Marketing and Communications Strategist Katie Migliazzo outside of Accounting Aid Society in Detroit. | NIC ANTAYA FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Our firm’s culture is collegial—

We applaud each other’s successes.

www.howardandhoward.com | 248.645.1483 Detroit, MI | Chicago, IL | Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA | Peoria, IL

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 11

FOCUS | BEST-MANAGED NONPROFITS FINALIST

Maintaining, and expanding Cass Community Services overcomes revenue gaps, volunteer losses during pandemic “IF WE STOP ... THERE’S NO ONE ELSE WHO’S GOING TO STEP UP.”

BY SHERRI WELCH

Despite the loss of volunteers, little or no personal protection equipment during the early days of the pandemic and a funding gap, Cass Community Social Services didn’t miss a beat this year. The Detroit nonprofit’s food, outreach, shelter, residential and medical programs all continued uninterrupted. “There are days that are frustrating and you just want to give up,” the nonprofit’s executive director, the Rev. Faith Fowler, said. “But if we stop ... there’s no one else who’s going to step up.” At the same time, Cass added programs like food deliveries to ensure those who couldn’t leave their homes or didn’t have transportation could eat and a new business line, Trading Places, to provide jobs for the developmentally disabled through clean-out services for homes and businesses. Cass, which operates on a $7.2 million budget, did it all despite the fact that it had to turn away the thousands of volunteers it relies on each year to keep them safe. When the area churches that participate in the annual rotating shelter withdrew over COVID fears, Cass took in the more than 50 people and families. It also began offering prepackaged, takeout meals and grocery box-

— the Rev. Faith Fowler, executive director, Cass Community Services

Brandon Carmichael and Chandra McDuffie pack food boxes at Cass Community Social Services. | CASS COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES

es from its World Building headquarters to ensure people in need could get food while maintaining social distancing for the clients and staff. For those who couldn’t leave their homes, Cass delivered meals and groceries through collaborations with donors including Ann Arbor Presbyterian Church, Birmingham First United Methodist Church and

Franklin Community Church, as well as many local restaurants. After securing a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan of $775,000, Cass was able to bring back eight of 20 employees furloughed when its day center closed. It redeployed those employees to fill the voids left by volunteer losses, from helping in the kitchen to build-

ing tiny homes, maintaining the grounds, coordinating donations and meeting heightened needs to clean and sanitize Cass’ emergency shelters. With the cancellation of its annual dinner, Cass faced the potential loss of about $150,000 typically raised through the event. It launched a call campaign that raised over $300,000

— more than any annual dinner in the agency’s 18-year history. That’s allowing it provide monthly bonuses for employees working during the worst of the pandemic. Essential employees keep people fed, clothed, gased and mail being delivered, Fowler said. “Without them, truly our economy and country would come to a halt. I’m not sure we realized that in quite the same way before.” While filling the day-to-day needs of the people it serves and making up for lost revenue, Cass has also kept an eye on the future. With the goal of raising money to fund a new facility that will permit social distancing for clients needing emergency shelter, it raised $180,000 through a second call campaign and submitted two Affordable Housing Program applications in a bid to secure $1.23 million. Its board members led the way in securing the PPE funding, participating in the call campaigns and creating a video of Cass’ current homeless shelters to help tell its story to donors and the community. Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

FINALIST

Crowdfunding to meet demand during pandemic Lighthouse steps up to shelter homeless, feed Oakland County’s hungry

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMING FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE OUTPACED THOSE COMING FOR SHELTER.

BY SHERRI WELCH

The number of people coming to Lighthouse Michigan for food and shelter climbed this year with job losses spurred by business closures. The initial surge began just as churches and synagogues that normally host a rotating shelter coordinated by Lighthouse closed for safety reasons. The nonprofit didn’t have a shelter of its own, but it couldn’t turn them away. So it converted space in a building on its Pontiac campus into a temporary shelter for the 30 people in the program. But the number of people seeking help continued to rise, and the need for noncongregate space grew with cases of COVID-19. Lighthouse realized it needed more space and more food. In March it launched a campaign on HandUp!, its crowd funding site, to raise money to put people up in local motels and purchase more food. By mid-November, the campaign had raised $3.38 million. As it raised money, Lighthouse, which is operating on a $4.68 million budget, began putting the homeless up in local motels so they’d have their own separate entries. Volunteer groups from local churches have lent hands, providing meals for the week. Currently, the program is housing 109 people from 52 households.

— Ryan Hertz, CEO, Lighthouse Michigan

Niccole Milton, a volunteer for Pontiac-based Lighthouse Michigan, delivers emergency food boxes. | LIGHTHOUSE MICHIGAN

Lighthouse has helped others move from sheltered living to apartments, CEO Ryan Hertz said. The number of people coming for food assistance outpaced those coming for shelter, Hertz said, given the statewide moratorium on evictions. Before the pandemic, Lighthouse typically provided food assistance to an average of 200-300 people per week. Since spring, it’s been provid-

12 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

ing food for 4,500-5,000 per week, Hertz said. It ramped up emergency food assistance with food from government programs, donated food and bulk food purchases and shifted the food it had been providing to a handful of pantries in Oakland County to prepacked boxes of perishable and nonperishable food, enough to feed a family for a week.

It set up a system where individuals can call and provide their information and family size, and teams of staff, board members and volunteers prepare a food box for them and place it in their car. Lacking adequate space to enable volunteers to safely pack food while social distancing, Lighthouse borrowed space from Oakland University until mid-July. Through its collabo-

ration with the university, Oakland Schools, the Pontiac Community Foundation and others, the COVID Response Network was created. Lighthouse moved its food sorting and distribution operation to a 35,000-square-foot leased warehouse in Waterford in mid-July when the university needed to prepare to reopen. Through partnerships with nearly 70 community and volunteer groups and companies, it has ramped up distribution of food boxes in the county to more than 2,000 households through home deliveries and pickup sites. It instituted a mininum wage of $15 per hour as of July 1. “We cannot fight for a living wage for all and work against economic disparity in our community if we are unable to do so for our own staff,” Hertz said. Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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FOCUS | BEST-MANAGED NONPROFITS FINALIST

Wraparound support, virtual programs

On My Own of Michigan shifts to help developmentally disabled clients during pandemic “THIS TRANSPARENCY HELPED US BETTER PREPARE OUR MEMBERS, WHO THRIVE ON ROUTINE, FOR THE VERY UNKNOWN FUTURE AHEAD OF US.”

BY SHERRI WELCH

Providing independent living programs and training for its clients with mild developmental disabilities was at the core of On My Own of Michigan’s mission. But when it became necessary to shelter in place, the small nonprofit shifted to help its clients make it through the pandemic with wraparound supports. It ordered groceries for those without transportation, dropped off medication for those who were too highrisk to leave their apartments and set up a two-way drop box in its lobby where clients could drop off bills and the checks they’d written to pay them or their pill boxes, so staff could check them to ensure everything was correct, and clients could pick them back up. The nonprofit also opened up a 24-7 emergency phone line so clients could call any time they were feeling overwhelmed and anxious. And it tapped volunteers to make weekly check-in calls with clients to stave off feelings of isolation. On My Own also stepped up communication to clients and families, sending frequent email updates on clients’ health, the plan it was developing to bring back in-person services, virtual programs for the coming week and how the organization was faring financially. “This transparency helped us better prepare our members, who thrive on routine, for the very unknown fu-

— Jennifer Roccanti, executive director, On My Own Michigan

On My Own of Michigan clients attend a socially distanced skill-building workshop outside. | ON MY OWN OF MICHIGAN

ture ahead of us,” said Executive Director Jennifer Roccanti. Despite uncertainty about clients’ willingness and ability to shift to online programs, the nonprofit moved forward, developing an online curriculum of skill-building workshops and social activities within two weeks of closing its Troy classrooms.

More than a dozen volunteers helped deliver virtual programs through Zoom. It offered five activities each week, like movie nights with pre-showing deliveries of popcorn, snacks and trivia games to clients; health experts talking with clients about COVID-19, coping strategies and next steps if they have critical

health issues; financial experts discussing money; bingo nights and pancake breakfasts. Between March and July, virtual programs drew 25 percent of the nonprofit’s clients, a figure impacted by lack of technology for about a fifth of clients and loss of the ever-popular bowling that before the pandemic

helped draw about 43 percent of clients to a quarter or more events each month. On My Own was able to pivot quickly and continue operating with all of its staff thanks to its earlier fiscal responsibility. Operating on an annual budget of $516,624, it had worked to build an operating reserve from nothing in 2017 to more than $200,000 — over five months of expenses — in 2020. Its board played the role of “supporter-in-chief,” providing both financial support and guidance on everything from operational plans and workplace flexibility to the need for staff support with words of affirmation and even snack deliveries. “As we all struggled, members and staff alike, to navigate our new world of home isolation and fear of a virus we could not see, we drew closer together to ensure that above all, our mental health remained intact,” Roccanti said. Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

FINALIST

Grants come through at just the right time

St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center uses remote, online efforts to graduate more students “THEY KNEW THEIR JOBS WERE LIKELY NOT TO COME BACK, SO THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME OFF TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATION.”

BY SHERRI WELCH

When schools shut down, afterschool tutoring for students in grades 1-5 and adult education programs at Detroit-based St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center shut down with them. The closures couldn’t have come at a worse time. Tutoring for young students became even more important when the schools closed, and adults who hadn’t graduated from high school faced an even more uncertain future with business closures, Executive Director Diane Renaud said. As it began planning how it could continue its programs remotely, the center made well-being calls to students and families and provided referrals for food, unemployment assistance and other help. Then it turned its attention to the education programs. It already had a small, online program in place for adult students. But demand spiked in the early weeks of the pandemic. “They knew their jobs were likely not to come back, so they took advantage of the time off to complete their education,” Renaud said. It was serendipitous that the center had applied for grants to expand

— Diane Renaud, executive director, St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center

Volunteer tutor Elie Sassine from Troy works with Cooper Mitchell, a second-grader from Detroit, on the “Brain Break” educational game. | ST. VINCENT AND SARAH FISHER CENTER

its online program before the pandemic. The grants came through at just the right time, quadrupling the number of “seats” in the online adult program from 30 to 120. But only a third of adult and young students had online access. So the center began looking for a way its volunteer educators and staff could use their own cell phones to do remote education and tutoring, without giving away their personal phone

14 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

numbers. After settling on Google Voice, the nonprofit was able to quickly activate its existing volunteer corps. It opened enrollment for adults and young students within a month of closing its centers. Soon, the registrations started coming in, and total online and remote enrollment in the adult education classes doubled to about 400 from 200 pre-pandemic. The center delivered cus-

tomized GED-prep workbooks to adult students and reopened its main site for pre-testing and GED testing by appointment, after the state’s initial stay-home orders were lifted. So far, seven graduated during the pandemic, and another 20 are on track to obtain their GED by year’s end. Enrollment in the online afterschool tutoring for students in grades

1-5 was only about half of the 40 signed up for the program before the pandemic, Renaud said, noting online schooling burnout made it tough to keep students in the program. Underpinning it all was an early decision made by the center’s board — thanks to several with international ties — to defer an investment in order to increase its operating reserves from two months to five, as they saw the pandemic moving toward the U.S. The center, which is operating on a $1.47 million budget, is maintaining that five months’ operating reserve, for now. “We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Renaud said. Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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Through town hall meetings and smaller support groups, employees were able to share losses they were grieving, whether the loss of routine, security or the loss of a loved one, Roach said. “That’s a really heavy thing if not processed and you don’t have that support system in place.” To help those with young children — a majority of the nonprofit’s staff — Methodist Children’s Home arranged onsite child care, implemented flexible work policies and established an employee assistance fund. Roach began sending daily memos to employees about the pandemic and how to best keep children and foster families safe during home visits and visits to campus. Management also provided regular updates on its pursuit of personal protection equipment to reassure staff their health and safety was top of mind, Roach said. “We pride ourselves on the level of transparency we afford our employees, but that accelerated significantly in these last nine months or so.” From mid-March to mid-June, Methodist Children’s Home also provided time-and-a-half appreciation pay for over a third of the agency’s employees who worked directly with the youth living on campus and were considered essential. “We were asking staff to make the ultimate sacrifice of showing up in the pandemic. We had to figure out what that looked like and how we could do it,” Roach said. And it set a $15/hour minimum hourly wage for its direct care and operations employees, all classified as “essential,” effective Oct. 1. During the first nine months of the pandemic, the nonprofit saw turnover of less than 10 employees, fewer than it typically sees, Roach said. To protect staff and the children age 5-18 living on campus, the nonprofit converted a building that had been used for children’s recreation into a seventh cottage to quarantine children who contracted the illness and prevent outbreaks. The dedicated space helped contain the spread when two of the children in its care came down with the illness. The organization was also prepared for a shift to telehealth. “We hit the ground running on day one,” thanks to a strategic plan that saw the shift coming, Roach said. Just over a year earlier, it had implemented a secure, virtual, after-care program for youth transitioning back into the community and their families. While limited in reach initially, the program gave it a platform to quickly build on so it could shift in mid-March to teletherapy and virtual visits between children and families.

Within a month, Accounting Aid Society pieced together several commercial software products to launch a secure, online, free tax preparation service for clients and resumed tax preparations. The online service was among the first approved nationally by the IRS as a volunteer income tax assistance program for low- to moderate-income households. After marketing the system to taxpayers and working to bridge digital and trust divides, Accounting Aid has completed more than 3,000 tax returns using the online system to date. That’s enabled it get over $3 million in tax returns to residents in the region. “When we survey our clients, 90 percent want to keep doing (taxes) this way going forward. They don’t have to do it in person, get on a bus or drive anywhere,” Aro said. “That’s a huge benefit, especially in Detroit, where there are transportation issues.” At the same time, Accounting Aid Society stepped in to meet a new need for stimulus payment assistance, helping local residents secure a total of $14 million in payments. It was a complicated process for people who hadn’t filed taxes or didn’t have a bank account, and providing stimulus payment assistance wasn’t part of Accounting Aid’s mission. But it was needed, Aro said. All of those reasons added up to judges naming Accounting Aid as Crain’s 2020 Best-Managed Nonprofit with revenue of under $3 million.

Racial justice response In the midst of it all, protests that followed the killing of George Floyd spurred staff to question how the nonprofit could work toward racial justice. The team was already diverse, Roach said, “but it’s not like we intentionally talked about what was going on around us.” The organization brought in small groups of staff members to talk about and process their own experiences of racial injustices and discrimination and hosted town halls to give employees a platform to hear from each other and ask questions. It’s using those conversations, training, employee book clubs and

Methodist Children’s Home Society CEO Kevin Roach |NIC ANTAYA FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

film series and exploring its vendor relationships to ensure vendors have shared values on race and diversity to become a more inclusive and antiracist agency.

Financial picture Methodist Children’s Home, which is operating on a $12.8 million budget, has a healthy endowment. But despite the loss of $150,000 from two canceled fundraisers, Roach said he took the hardline view on continuing to pass on an endowment distribution as it had since 2015. To make up for the fundraising loss, Methodist Children’s Home raised $500,000 through a spring appeal, donations, grants and additional funding for a dozen new children it took in when other agencies could not, Roach said. It has also offered to convert another building into quarantine space for other agencies that might need it. So far, that has not come to pass, Roach said. “We wanted to be there to help because we’re all in this together.” Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

Outreach amid cancellations Accounting Aid had 2,500 tax appointments on the books that needed to be canceled. Clients were also calling with concerns about how they could file their returns. To field those calls and cancel ap-

“WHEN WE SURVEY OUR CLIENTS, 90 PERCENT WANT TO KEEP DOING (TAXES) THIS WAY GOING FORWARD. THEY DON’T HAVE TO DO IT IN PERSON, GET ON A BUS OR DRIVE ANYWHERE.” — Kathleen Hatke Aro, president, Accounting Aid

pointments, it reprogrammed its phones, made sure staff had the equipment and services needed to operate from home and had the call center up and running by March 24, less than a week after its sites closed. Soon, calls with questions about CARES Act stimulus payments also began coming in. The nonprofit established three hotlines, one each for individuals and small businesses that also turned to the nonprofit for tax help, and one for stimulus payment questions. Staff who didn’t normally work the call center stepped in to help field calls. Accounting Aid held daily briefings to understand the issues and questions clients had and rewrote call center scripts every day in the beginning weeks to ensure clients were getting consistent, reliable information. It also established a resource page for clients on its website to help with stimulus payment questions. Through those calls, Accounting Aid saw an opportunity to gather feedback that could help it pivot. It began asking questions of the people who called: Did they have access to a computer, the internet, email and/or a smartphone? Many didn’t have regular internet or computers, but they had a smartphone, Aro said. Accounting Aid also asked if people would be receptive to doing their taxes online, either themselves with help from Accounting Aid or entirely through the nonprofit.

“We were hearing they weren’t sure. There was a lot of concern about doing anything electronically,” given fears over tax scams, systems getting hacked and cybersecurity crime, Aro said. “It took a lot to confirm with our clients who we were, to make sure they were comfortable with who we were and then try to walk them through the next steps.’”

New system launches To develop the new system in just weeks, staff led efforts to piece together the system with a secure platform to upload and download sensitive financial documents, another to prepare the returns and store them, and a secure signature platform. Every program had to be accessible from a smartphone. As an IRS-approved volunteer tax provider for low- and moderate-income households, Accounting Aid needed the federal agency’s approval of the new online system. It got it, becoming one of the earliest volunteer tax programs in the country to take tax preparation online. “They understood something had to change in terms of this program or there would be hundreds of thousands of people across the country who normally get their returns through (volunteer programs) and wouldn’t be able to get their returns,” Aro said. In all, Accounting Aid, which is operating on a $2.8 million budget for fiscal 2021, invested about $40,000 to put the system in place, Aro said. Accounting Aid won’t get to 18,000 returns this year because of the pandemic. But it’s done 14,000 and is pushing to get as many more finished this year as possible, Aro said. “It was such an amazing effort ... everyone pitched in and worked pretty much nonstop because of the importance to our clients.” Contact: swelch@crain.com; (313) 446-1694; @SherriWelch

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 15

CRAIN'S LIST | MICHIGAN BANKS Ranked by 2020 Michigan deposits inside market COMPANY NAME ADDRESS PHONE; WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE(S)

MICHIGAN DEPOSITS INSIDE MARKET ($000,000) JUNE 2020/2019

NUMBER OF MICHIGAN OFFICES INSIDE MARKET 2020

DEPOSITS OUTSIDE MARKET ($000,000) 2020

NUMBER OF OFFICES OUTSIDE MARKET 2020

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO.

John Carter Chase Michigan market president

$63,500.7

209

$1,641,153.3

4,770

COMERICA BANK

Michael Ritchie president, Michigan market

$35,491.6

190

$32,998.4

243

BANK OF AMERICA

Matthew Elliott Michigan market president and region executive

$29,285.4

$1,699,815.4

4,161

FIFTH THIRD BANK EASTERN MICHIGAN

David Girodat regional president, executive VP, Eastern Michigan

$21,631.5

192

$140,813.3

945

PNC BANK

Ric DeVore president for Detroit and Southeastern Michigan

$21,220.3

170

$316,865.7

2,154

TCF FINANCIAL CORP.

Thomas Shafer COO David Provost executive vice chair

$20,073.0

243

$19,347.0

279

HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK

Sandra Pierce senior executive VP, private client group and regional banking director and chair of Michigan

$19,670.4

289

$78,893.3

589

FLAGSTAR BANCORP INC.

Alessandro DiNello president and CEO

$17,183.7

114

$1,954.0

CITIZENS BANK

Richard Hampson state president, Michigan

$6,372.4

$139,418.0

959

INDEPENDENT BANK CORP.

William Kessel president and CEO

$3,560.6

$0.0

MERCANTILE BANK CORP.

Robert Kaminski Jr. president, and CEO

$3,271.7

$0.0

MACATAWA BANK CORP.

Ronald Haan president, CEO and director

$2,125.1

$0.0

KEYBANK N.A.

Ted Willett president, Michigan

$2,091.9

$138,126.3

1,078

LEVEL ONE BANCORP INC. 2

Patrick Fehring Jr. chairman, president and CEO

$1,833.5

$0.0

FIRST NATIONAL BANCSHARES INC. (FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF AMERICA)

Ken Foote CEO

$1,740.9

$0.0

ARBOR BANCORP (BANK OF ANN ARBOR)

Timothy Marshall president and CEO

$1,691.0

$0.0

CIBC BANK

Victor Dodig president and CEO Michael Capatides president and CEO, CIBC Bank USA and senior executive VP and group head, U.S. region

$1,633.3

$28,367.1

OLD NATIONAL BANK

Alex Strati Michigan region CEO

$1,602.7

$14,769.2

147

NORTHPOINTE BANCSHARES INC.

Charles Williams president and CEO

$1,518.3

$0.0

ISABELLA BANK CORP.

Jae Evans president and CEO

$1,441.2

$0.0

CHOICEONE FINANCIAL SERVICES INC.

Kelly Potes CEO and director

$1,332.2

$0.0

FIRST MERCHANTS BANK

Michael Rechin 3 president and CEO

$1,248.8

$9,749.4

112

FENTURA FINANCIAL INC. (THE STATE BANK)

Ronald Justice president and CEO

$1,022.0

$0.0

MACKINAC FINANCIAL CORP. (MBANK)

Paul Tobias chairman and CEO

$1,014.3

$218.3

HORIZON BANK

Craig Dwight CEO and chairman

$927.1

$3,505.8

8 9

611 Woodward Ave., Detroit 48226 313-256-8500; www.jpmorganchase.com 411 W. Lafayette, Detroit 48226 248-371-5000; www.comerica.com 2600 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48084 800-643-9600; www.bankofamerica.com One Woodward, Detroit 48226 313-230-9001; www.53.com

755 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48084 800-243-7274; www.pnc.com 333 West Fort St., Suite 1800, Detroit 48226 866-258-1807; ir.tcfbank.com

801 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 500, Troy 48084-4724 248-244-3541; www.huntington.com 5151 Corporate Drive , Troy 48098 248-312-2000; www.flagstar.com 27777 Franklin Road, Southfield 48034 248-226-7998; www.charterone.com 4200 East Beltline , Grand Rapids 49525 616-527-5820; www.independentbank.com 310 Leonard St. NW, Grand Rapids 49504 616-406-3000; www.mercbank.com 10753 Macatawa Drive, Holland 49424 616-820-1444; www.macatawabank.com 100 S. Main, P.O. Box 8612, Ann Arbor 48107 800-539-2968; www.keybank.com 32991 Hamilton Court , Farmington Hills 48334 248-737-0300; www.levelonebank.com

241 E. Saginaw, East Lansing 48823 800-968-3626; www.fnba.com

125 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor 48104 734-662-1600; www.bankofannarbor.com

34901 Woodward Ave., Ste. 200, Birmingham 48009 248-566-4700; us.cibc.com/en/home.html

2723 S. State St., Ann Arbor 48104 734-887-2600; www.oldnational.com 3333 Deposit Drive NE, Grand Rapids 49546 616-940-9400; www.northpointe.com 401 N. Main, Mt. Pleasant 48858 989-772-9471; www.isabellabank.com 109 E. Division, Sparta 49345 616-887-7366; www.choiceone.com

10 Washington St., Monroe 48161 800-205-3464; www.firstmerchants.com 175 N. Leroy, Fenton 48430 810-750-8725; www.fentura.com

130 S. Cedar St., Manistique 49854 888-343-8147; www.bankmbank.com

200 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48083 248-781-2584; www.horizonbank.com

$44,613.6

$28,994.2

$22,875.2

$16,757.1

$17,106.7

$18,175.2 1

$16,859.8

$13,026.1

$5,769.7

$2,978.9

$2,627.2

$1,667.9

$2,089.9

$1,243.8

$1,364.9

$1,458.2

$1,324.5

$1,412.7

$1,092.4

$1,283.8

$563.9

$796.4

$915.2

$788.3

SOURCE: FDIC | This list ranks banks and bank holding companies with a presence in Michigan. Figures are from the FDIC's deposit market reports, which are based on the branch/office deposits for all FDIC-insured institutions as of June 30. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Companies are listed with the address and top executive of their main metro Detroit office. Actual figures may vary. NA = not available NOTES: 1. Combined numbers for Chemical Bank and TCF Bank reported by FDIC as of June. 2. Acquired Ann Arbor Bancorp. in August 2019. 3. To retire effective Dec. 31. Will be succeeded by current COO and CFO, Mark Hardwick.

Want the full Excel version of this list — and every list? Become a Data Member: CrainsDetroit.com/data 16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

COLLEGES

From Page 3

“I guess you could criticize us for being primarily virtual. Given all the unknowns, we tried to err on the side of health and safety and had to make some decisions early on,” said James Sawyer, president of the college. “Even though our enrollment is down, I don’t feel bad about that. I think it was the right thing to do.” The college is working to revise its $140 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. Despite federal and state aid, significant reductions are expected to balance the budget. An injection of new students in January would help ease the pain. Around 1,100 essential workers eligible for the free tuition program have selected Macomb Community College as their preference, while 669 have so far enrolled for the winter term, according to the college. “It’s a population that’s often overlooked,” Sawyer said. “I, frankly, worry about reengaging some of those students who chose to stop out because of all the uncertainty and just concerns in general about COVID, and maybe they don’t like the virtual learning environment.” The target market for community colleges is high school graduates who have been out of school for several or more years. They are often on the fence about continuing their education, and mandatory remote learning — an indefinite reality for schools across Michigan — could keep them from enrolling. The Futures for Frontliners program was devised to sway them the other way. It’s unclear how effective it will be, but officials say they are pleased by the level of interest.

Cerny

Hawkins

Kavalhuna

Provenzano

Sawyer

Macomb Community College expects significant reductions to balance its budget for the next fiscal year. | MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Futures for Frontliners Michigan’s $24 million program offers free tuition to front-line or essential workers. Requirements are: ` Be a Michigan resident with high school diploma or equivalent ` Have not yet earned an associate or bachelor's degree ` Worked in an essential industry at least part time for 11 weeks from April 1 to June 30 ` Required to work at least some hours outside home ` Not in default on a federal student loan ` Apply by Dec. 31

How it works

` More details at michigan.gov/ Frontliners.

Around 60 percent of the 90,000 total applicants for the state program are eligible for free tuition, said Erica Quealy, communications director for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, which is administering the program with federal CARES Act money. The department said enrollment is tracked individually by college. Through the program, individuals who worked in what was deemed an “essential” industry at least part time for 11 of the 13 weeks between April 1 and June 30 are eligible to receive “last dollar” financial aid for a 60-credit associate’s degree or certification. They must enroll in at least six credit hours in 2021. The program fits into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s goal of raising Michigan’s higher education achievement rate from 43.7 percent of adults to 60 percent by 2030. The upside of a post-secondary education is an exponentially higher earnings potential; those with two-year degrees make $7,500 more per year than high school graduates, according to the state. Detroit resident Nathaniel Hawkins, 32, said he is sold on the idea of free college. As a Delta Air Lines employee at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, where he conducts temperature checks and health screens for employees, he is eligible for Futures for Frontliners. He said he studied at Mott Community College in Flint a decade ago but drifted away from school. “If I was a little more financially stable, I would have been able to go back, but that is not my current situation, so a program like this will help me pursue and finish my degree,” he said. Hawkins’ ideal career is working as a probation officer. Starting in January,

Fall enrollment Metro Detroit community colleges have seen enrollment fall off during the pandemic. For example, for the fall 2020 semester: Macomb Community College 16,736 (-16%) Oakland Community College 14,705 (-6%) Henry Ford College 11,800 (-3.5%) Schoolcraft College 8,340 (-14%)

he plans to study criminal justice at Wayne County Community College District, which is eager to add students through the program.

Enrollment slide WCCCD’s fall enrollment is down 9 percent from last year, and winter will probably look the same, said Brian Singleton, vice chancellor of student services. He said around 3,000 essential workers have inquired about enrolling at the college. “It’s been pretty difficult keeping students engaged and involved,” Singleton said. “I think that some students are just not built for online learning, so although we’re giving all the support they can handle, at some point it can get to be too much and I think that they would probably rather just wait.” That’s a thought process students cannot afford, said Henry Ford College President Russell Kavalhuna — and for that matter, neither can colleges or employers.

“We think this will help the entire state,” Kavalhuna said of the program. “We know before this pandemic, there was a skills gap that employers needed to have bridged.” Winter enrollment at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, which was around 12,000 students last year, is pacing to be down 21 percent from last year after a more modest dip this fall. The school reduced its $89 million operating budget by 3 percent and laid off 100 employees in May. The school has prioritized enrolling students through the free tuition program. Around 3,000 have expressed interest. Kavalhuna said he’s hoping at least a third of them sign up for classes, helping to stem what he considers an anomalous enrollment slide. Last year, the college saw its first enrollment increase in eight years. “The community college industry across the country is seeing a significant decrease in enrollment,” he said. “We are still a little bit unclear about what is causing that, but we have come to conclude that the coronavirus has dramatically affected individuals who would otherwise be in college and stopped them from having the gumption to actually enroll. We hope that this Future for Frontliners program starts to stem that.” Why the recession has failed to be a boon to community colleges could be explained by the uncertainty, Hansen said. Nobody knows what will happen with the economy post-pandemic, or when that will be. In previous downturns, the outlook was clearer. “When you don’t know what your economic future looks like … it’s really challenging to convince people that that’s the time that they need to go to school,” he said. Why students didn’t ditch universities to take online classes at community colleges and save money is a matter of messaging. “Bait and switch” would be a harsh description — everyone, administrators and students alike, had high hopes the pandemic could be controlled — but universities certainly led students to believe they would get some form of the college experience with their investment. “Universities, as late as August, were saying, ‘We’re gonna be open … We’ll just keep this bubble and everybody’ll be safe.’ Of course, that didn’t happen’” Hansen said. “What happened? Most of the universities moved to just online learning.”

Maintaining optimism Peter Provenzano, chancellor of Oakland Community College, said that dose of reality for students and parents

could benefit community colleges. “If universities come out like U of M and say, ‘Look, stay home this winter,’ that could change a lot of students’ minds,” he said. “We could see an uptick in enrollment because of that.” Fall headcount at OCC, which has multiple campuses in Oakland County, was 14,705, down about 6 percent from last year, though Provenzano said total

credit hours were down just 2.5 percent. A similar decline is expected for the winter semester. OCC laid off a couple dozen employees early in the pandemic but brought back all but five. Provenzano said he hopes the cuts are over. “When the economy turns around, and it will, employers are going to be hiring,” he said. Glenn Cerny, president of Schoolcraft College in Livonia, echoed the optimism and agreed that 2020 has been an anomaly. Fall enrollment at the college fell around 14 percent to 8,340. “That was not normal,” Cerny said. “There’s a lot of reasons. There was a lot of anxiety with our students taking remote classes, the rules constantly changing. I think there were just a lot of things up in the air.” Schoolcraft is preparing for a similar decline in winter enrollment. With 3,200 people expressing interest in Schoolcraft through Futures for Frontliners, up to 10 percent of the college’s enrollment could come from the state’s free tuition program. Cerny said he hopes for a better winter than fall, and normal enrollment levels a year from now. “We can live with that,” he said. “Fourteen percent decreases you can’t live with for very long.” Contact: knagl@crain.com; (313) 446-0337; @kurt_nagl

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Creative Design Specialist The Creative Design Specialist will report to the Director, Events & Marketing and will play a pivotal role in the production of videos for marketing initiatives across the organization. In addition, this creative specialist will be skilled in design work in print and digital media. Responsible for working in collaboration with other members of the marketing and events team across six publications to conceptualize and execute design projects to support marketing and the promotional process of products and events.

Visit crain.com/careers/ for more information and available positions.

Digital Specialist Crain’s Global Polymer Group is seeking a Digital Specialist who will own digital campaigns, webpage development, coordinating and producing virtual events, and provide metrics and analytics to the team. Reporting to the Director, Events & Marketing, and working closely on a with the Sales Directors, in support of the sales, marketing and events teams for the Group’s six brands: Plastics News, Rubber & Plastics News, Tire Business, European Rubber Journal, Urethanes Technology, Sustainable Plastics. This position will be in the Detroit office, although the organization is currently working remotely. Visit crain.com/careers/ for more information and available positions.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.crainsdetroit.com/classifieds NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 17

Nefer Ra Coleman helps distribute Thanksgiving meal boxes at the Capuchin Services Center on Nov. 23. | TIM HINKLE/CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN

VOLUNTEER

Meals on Wheels program this Thanksgiving, but turned it down. “Given our commitment to keep the community safe during this pandemic, we will not engage volunteers in the delivery of meals this year,” he said. “We believe the rise in COVID-19 cases and new mandates and guidelines from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services require this action.” Taylor said the agency looks forward to sharing future opportunities with Ford volunteers. To make up for the average 800 volunteers who typically help deliver the holiday meals each year, the agency said its contracted meal and transportation providers were preparing, packing and delivering 5,000 meals during Thanksgiving week. The shift included delivering frozen meals to the most fragile seniors ahead of the holiday and doing bulk deliveries rather than individual deliveries on Thanksgiving, said DiAnna Solomon, director of fund development, communications and advocacy for the Detroit Area Agency on Aging.

Ford Motor Company Fund is supporting the effort with a $45,000 grant and a convoy of Ford Transit vehicles and drivers that were to help with bulk meal deliveries on Thanksgiving. Southwest Detroit-based Trio Community Meals is preparing and delivering 2,000 frozen turkey dinners to individual seniors in their homes this week, along with sweet potato pies from Good Cakes and Bakes, Solomon said. On Thanksgiving Day, Trio and a second vendor, Precise Foods & Catering LLC, along with Ford drivers and two vendors that are donating two vans to help with deliveries — Advance Transportation and Bright Transportation — will do bulk deliveries of 3,000 hot meals to senior apartments and senior centers in Detroit and eight other cities in Wayne County. With 150 people in three rooms in its emergency and rotating shelters, Cass Community Social Services is also unable to welcome volunteers right now, said its executive director, the Rev. Faith Fowler. The Detroit nonprofit is working to secure additional space, though, so people in the shelter can spread out, she said. When it does, hopefully in the coming weeks, it will be looking for volunteers to help paint bedrooms. With the opportunity to volunteer at smaller soup kitchen and shelter programs not an option this holiday

season, volunteers are signing up with larger food and shelter nonprofits. Oak Park food rescue Forgotten Harvest has enough space to safely distance about 30 volunteers at a time for three-hour shifts to help sort food and pack food boxes, thanks to its lease of additional space in Royal Oak this summer. After struggling on and off throughout the pandemic to secure enough volunteers to help sort, pack and distribute food at pickup sites, it filled its November volunteer slots, marketing and communications director Christopher Ivey said. “But there are still December and January opportunities open.” Pontiac-based Lighthouse Michigan is also actively recruiting volunteers to help support its emergency food and shelter programs, its adopt-a-family effort and other programs. Like other nonprofits, it typically attracts large numbers of volunteers around the holidays and hopes to do the same this year, with some differences, President and CEO Ryan Hertz said. “We will not be able to accommodate as many volunteers at a time, due to our COVID-19 safety protocols,” he said. “Also, while we have had plenty of interest in volunteering with us, we anticipate that the pandemic will lead to many last-minute cancellations and other scheduling challenges.”

The Coalition on Temporary Shelter in Detroit is also short volunteers, Chief Development Officer Aisha Morrell-Ferguson said. The shelter usually sees an influx of volunteers around the holiday season, but this year has been different due to reservations related to COVID-19, she said in an email. “We really need their help this year more than usual ... we are limited in staff and rely heavily on the support of volunteers to help these opportunities to be available for families,” Morrell-Ferguson said. “Where we are unable to secure help, we are left with no alternative than to pay for help and resources to do so are extremely limited.” COTS is looking for volunteers to host donation drives for pajamas, socks, undergarments, diapers, wipes and other high-need items and up to six people at a time to help sort items received for holiday distribution. Personal protective equipment is provided, and social distancing and ventilation are maintained as best possible, Morrell-Ferguson said. Beginning Dec. 7, the nonprofit will also be looking for volunteers to help move furniture into the new apartments in its Peterboro Arms building and to help stage the apartments for the formerly homeless families moving in.

Detroit resident and native Doug Schwartz last year established his Trip Wipes line. | DOUG SCHWARTZ

creation of the sanitizer wipes. He said that on a trip in late 2018, he had on hand three different sanitizing products, all of which came with some issues: the gel smelled terrible, the spray dissipated before it hit the surface and with some wipes containers, too many come out at one time. Trip Wipes are alcohol free and sustainable, and offer a great fragrance, he said. Schwartz said revenues “have gotten to a pretty big number,” but declined to give a specific figure. He said his company has produced more than 13 million units this year. “At the time, there weren’t too many single-use hand sanitizing wipes, and definitely none that were well branded,” he said. “Our wipe speaks specifically to travel. Not only

are they good for travel, you can use them in the grocery store, in the gym, in a host of other places.” The product offers a variety of packages and products. Wipes run $17 for 30 to $197 for 360. Schwartz’s company also produces a hand-sanitizing gel as well as travel and home versions of a foam soap, along with liquid refills. The Trip Mitt, sold in packages of three, is ideal for travelers, Schwartz said. The mitt, saturated in alcohol and CDC compliant, allows a traveler to wipe down an entire area without making contact with the surface. The company also manufactures a shower sheet — an extra large, individually packaged saturated towel that can be used for personal hygiene. The idea behind the shower

sheet, Schwartz said, came as a way to give back. Schwartz has donated the sheets to groups that assist the homeless, such as NSO Homeless Recovery Services and the city of Detroit. “Giving money is great, but I wanted to give back with a product,” Schwartz said. “My idea was to activate (the sheets) and personally donate them. We’ve made 100,000 units and for every box sold, we donate a box. “Behind mental health and housing, personal hygiene is the next biggest barrier for someone trying to get back on their feet. It’s very important for us to give back.”

From Page 3

“We’re trying to mitigate the virus by having less bodies in the building(s),” Najor said. “It breaks my heart because especially during the holidays, the volunteers have been so amazing over the years.” Focus: Hope, however, is still looking for volunteers to help with its contactless senior holiday meal distribution this Thanksgiving. The Detroit-based organization typically sees an influx of volunteers during the holiday season, especially around its senior holiday food delivery program, which provides meals to 1,400 homebound seniors. But as of last Tuesday, Focus: Hope still needed volunteers for that effort, as well as its regular packing and delivery of more than 42,000 food boxes each month. “We’ve had some wonderful individuals and groups who have consistently volunteered to make sure all the seniors we serve can receive their monthly food boxes, but our volunteer numbers are still lower than ideal,” said Stephanie Maurice, director of annual giving and marketing. The Detroit Area Agency on Aging is among those turning away volunteers. In an email sent last week to Ford Motor Co. volunteers, President and CEO Ron Taylor thanked them for their offer to help with its Holiday

Morrell-Ferguson

Solomon

WIPES

From Page 3

“Who knows if it would’ve gotten to where it is? I think we would have, but there’s no question it would’ve taken longer. We were positioned to go at exactly the right time. “I’ve seen other people trying to make cheap sanitizers just to get into (the market). I created this with a well-rounded product in mind. I think that’s one of the huge reasons so many people buy and support. Sanitizing is something that’s going to be top of mind for the rest of time. We made this product with the right intention.” Schwartz credits his being a self-professed “germaphobe” for the

18 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

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

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DEMOLITION

From Page 1

From

LaJuan Counts, director of Detroit’s recently created demolition department, said the city had planned to carry out its commitment and demolish 300 commercial structures in fiscal year 2021, which ends June 30. Then the pandemic came, forcing budget cuts. In 2014, Detroit’s blight task force found there were more than 5,400 blighted commercial structures in the city, 83 percent of which were privately owned at the time. The city has torn down more than 750 structures since then, per public data, which would leave the total at more than 4,500 — though that’s not a perfect estimate because blight created since then, rehabs and private tear-downs would change that figure. As of July, 21,000 residences had been razed since 2014. Commercial properties account for 3 percent-5 percent of total demolitions, according to the city. Demolishing crumbling commercial buildings is more difficult, generally costing more and often requiring different funding streams. Detroit’s spending on commercial demolition was, overall, steadily increasing, from $1.6 million in Duggan’s first year as mayor, 2014, up to $10 million in 2019. But it’s still a drop in the bucket compared with the city’s nearly expended $265 million in federally funded home demolitions, and a total of $50 million in annual blight removal funding from the city. If a commercial building is to be demolished and it’s not an emergency, that funding has to come through separate Community Development Block Grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Counts.

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Detroit artist Chazz Miller works on a piece in an outdoor studio and gallery that Detroit Blight Busters created from a building that had previously been on the city’s demolition list with a caved-in roof in the Old Redford neighborhood. | ANNALISE FRANK/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

erty into use again, whether it’s through rehabilitation or demolition and new build, he said.

Calls for more city action

Demolition not a solution The pandemic, of course, also complicated city-level spending. The city cut $72 million total from its demolition budget for this fiscal year and last in an effort to make up for coronavirus-fueled revenue losses. So demolition has nearly ground to a halt, other than emergencies. But when money starts flowing again under the bond-funded, voter-approved Proposal N, all of it will be residential. “The residential has more impact on the actual residents, while commercial impacts the city in general,” Counts said. “If you’re living directly next door to a vacant structure, that’s going to have a more significant impact on your quality of life than a store four or five blocks over from you ... It’s such a huge issue across the board that you can’t eat the apple whole, you’ve gotta start somewhere.” Lisa Williams, executive director of New Beginnings Community Development Corp. in the Denby area, said economic development and business health ties directly to community — “it all matters and it’s all connected.” But she also said businesses follow other types of investment, like in housing, schools and parks. Gary Ringer, director of community economic development for the Joy-Southfield Community Development Corp., hasn’t seen a lot of commercial demolition in the area where his work focuses, along Joy Road near the Southfield Freeway. Ringer, also a firefighter, said he’s been “looking up and down our dilapidated and divested commercial corridor and wondering, ‘When is something going to change?’” Ringer said he couldn’t answer whether one was more important to

John and Alicia George are community advocates in Detroit’s Old Redford neighborhood. John is with Detroit Blight Busters, Alicia owns the temporarily closed Motor City Java. Both thnk commercial demolition should continue. | DISTRICT 1 DETROIT VIA FACEBOOK

tear down than the other. Joy-Southfield has a lot of commercial vacancy, but most of those buildings appear salvageable and many residents are also in need of better housing. One thing he’s staunch on, though, is that demolition isn’t a solution ei-

ther way. “What’s coupling with the demolitions?” he asked. “What’s going to happen to increase people looking for these commercial properties (to invest in them)?” It’s about putting a piece of prop-

Nearby business owners have been advocating for years to get city-owned vacant property in Detroit’s Old Redford neighborhood on Lahser Road just south of Grand River Avenue torn down. The structure pictured, 17205 Lahser Road, is a former newspaper building. | ANNALISE FRANK/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

20 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Of course, not every building is going to spur the spending needed to save it. One example sits languishing in the Old Redford neighborhood, near the intersection of Lahser Road and Grand River Avenue near the Redford Theatre. Trash lines the sidewalk of a multi-section, two-story building with a brick facade, windows open to the elements and fabric hanging down from them; two fenced lots next to and behind the building are overgrown with trees, greenery and trash, including a truck bed cap. The properties at 17203 and 17205 Lahser Road and 22040 Argus Ave. are city-owned. The building at 17205 Lahser was home to the Redford Printing Co. and Detroit Suburban Newspapers Inc., which went bankrupt in 1986, according to Detroit Free Press archives. Business owners on Lahser including Alicia George of Motor City Java House, now closed during the pandemic, have been advocating for years to get the building torn down. “I’m always conscious that this is not a file in a filing cabinet in a storage room. This is something that’s physical, tangible and we are witnessing this,” George said. “Even if you can’t demolish this, secure it, make it safe until something else is done ... “When you go into a district, you begin to kind of see what it feels like. Is it inviting? Is it cool? Is it different? And with the abandoned properties and buildings that’s over here, it’s like, it just makes it look ugly and not look inviting, and then the spirit and the energy is kind of on guard … It’s depressing, it’s not safe.”/ Community advocates in Old Redford like George, her husband John George of Detroit Blight Busters and artist Chazz Miller have been boarding up and beautifying vacant commercial buildings for years. They see art and building reuse as intrinsically linked, Miller said. And Alicia George said she wants to see the city take more action, too. “If you’re going to slow down the

demolition of abandoned commercial properties, especially the ones the city owns, then why not give the support, the resources, the dollars to give it to community organizations that would do that, that would secure it, keep it clean, enhance it as best they can?” she said. “But to just assume that the properties that are abandoned in this area, to assume that an organization like Detroit Blight Busters continues to absorb those costs without any help financially from the city, is not fair.” Nonprofit Detroit Blight Busters has spent $20 million in 32 years privately tearing down houses — as well as doing some commercial rehab and limited commercial tear-downs, in the absence of government intervention. Blight Busters kept what’s now The Platform LLC’s newly renovated Obama Building boarded up and secured for around 15 years. The name came from Miller’s portrait on the building of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. They also took a building with a collapsing roof from the city’s demolition list and turned it into an open-air gallery. Public-private investment is, actually, getting funneled to Old Redford under Duggan’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund. It targets 10 specific areas in the city. However, it appears unlikely to solve the blight problem. John George said he finds it unlikely anyone would undertake the pricey project of redeveloping the 17203 and 17205 Lahser properties, which he says he doesn’t think are salvageable. Even if the city were to demolish them, a developer would then need to build new, versus other sites where they could just fix other existing, nearby buildings that are also vacant for less money, John George said. The buildings also aren’t in the city’s pipeline for demolition, according to publicly available records. It’s likely they’re staying put, like thousands of others. And business closures and slumping revenue amid the pandemic could also mean even more vacant storefronts. Contact: afrank@crain.com; (313) 446-0416; @annalise_frank

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MARIJUANA

From Page 1

Sales late last year were initially muted as only a handful of marijuana dispensaries were licensed from the state as well as set up locally. The majority of which were in Ann Arbor as the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency worked to license more cannabis businesses. Sales were also held back by a majority of the state’s municipalities opting out of allowing adult-use sales — of note was Detroit, which just last week passed its ordinance allowing adult use sales. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing immediate concern whether the record-setting layoffs across the state in the spring would mute sales. Spoiler alert: They did not. Recreational cannabis sales rose to $5.8 million the week before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s shutdown order on March 24 from $1.8 million during the first full week in January. Sales dropped $1.2 million the following week as it’s likely consumers stocked up on product fearing their stores would close as the pandemic surged in the state. But federal stimulus checks, $1,200 payments to Americans to buoy the economy during pandemic closures, began to hit bank accounts the week ending on April 19, one day before the cannabis culture’s biggest holiday, 4/20. Recreational sales surged to $7.2 million during that week from $4.8 million a week prior. Coincidentally, many medicinal marijuana patients must have faced a sciatica flare-up as medical sales increased to more than $8.6 million for the week ending April 19, compared to less than $6 million the week prior. But the sales never came back down, largely thanks to the governor allowing dispensaries to remain open and the agency fast-tracking curbside pickup and delivery. Adult use sales topped $13.5 million for the week ending Nov. 22. “I think the team at the MRA, in terms of licensing, got things set up and quickly issued licenses,” said Andrew Brisbo, executive director of the

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Adult use recreational marijuana sales Dec. 2019-Sept. 2020 $60B

$59.7B

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agency and a Crain’s 2019 Newsmaker of the Year honoree. “We’ve seen a lot of extremely quick growth, in terms of sales. We weren’t really sure what to expect but sales really took off. Even during the early days of the pandemic, they went up and now leveled off but at a higher than expected number.” Ann Arbor-based C3 Industries opened four dispensaries, called High Profile, across the state during the coronavirus pandemic — in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Grant. “It’s been a surprisingly good year,” said Ankur Rungta, CEO of C3. “I could have seen a scenario where sales fell off during COVID, but they haven’t. Everyone has done a really nice job keeping the industry going.” C3 will finish 2020 with revenue of

LINEAGE

From Page 1

The company’s executives are discussing internally how the company could temporarily trade in its storage of fish and ice cream for a medical labgrown delicacy. The COVID-19 vaccine. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced this month its COVID-19 vaccine, to be manufactured in Kalamazoo, was 90 percent effective but there were hang-ups — the vaccine had to be stored at minus 96 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultra-cold storage requirements create big obstacles for the health care supply chain across the U.S. and may impact when and where the vaccine is available. Hospitals across the state have been scrambling to secure ultra-cold freezers to store the vaccine. The state’s emergency distribution system has identified 50 ultra-cold freezers in the state and has purchased nine for use regionally across the state, Lynn Sutfin, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said. Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System has purchased freezers for each of its five hospitals to accommodate the Pfizer vaccine, Rox Gatia II, the health system’s pharmacy director, said on a webinar earlier this month. Ford Motor Co. also said this week it

Lineage Logistics’ cold storage warehouses like this one in Woodbridge, N.J., could play a role in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. | LINEAGE LOGISTICS

had acquired freezers for vaccine storage for when its workers will be able to receive the vaccine. These can cost between $5,000 and $15,000, and it’s anticipated there will be months-long back orders and delays for the products. Any hiccup in the “cold chain” could prove disastrous for vaccine rollout, so opportunity exists for Lineage. “We are laser focused on food, that’s what we do,” said Brian Beattie, senior vice president of sales at Lineage Logistics. “But we do have capability and

expertise that could support with the distribution (of the vaccine). We have a world-class data science team and engineering team. If we were asked, we would certainly have interest and obviously do our part like we’ve done in the food industry during the pandemic.” Upwards of 90 percent of all refrigerated calories consumed in the U.S. pass through one of Lineage’s warehouses. The company has made more than 50 acquisitions in the past five years, including a $900 million deal to acquire competitor Emergent Cold in

about $30 million and consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margins of 45 percent, Rungta said. Rob Nusbaum, founding partner of Farmington-based marijuana cultivation and dispensary firm Pincanna, credits the state’s “best-in-class” regulatory environment for the success of the first year. “They (regulators) learned from the mistakes of other states and allowed the market to mature slowly,” Nusbaum said. “Michigan has, right now, a good balance of supply and demand for the industry to get off the ground. The supply is very low and that’s commanding high prices. That will ultimately even out as more suppliers come on line but the industry will be more stable by then.” Pincanna operates a cultivation faJune. It’s one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Coincidentally, Lineage Logistics is already operating in the pharmaceutical space. At another New Jersey warehouse, the firm stores blood plasma, Beattie said. “There are different process requirements than in the food industry,” Beattie said. “Really, it’s about documentation and good manufacturing practices from a compliance standpoint. We follow stringent compliance, and we’d expect those requirements to be the same for the vaccines.” Jessica Daley, vice president of strategic supplier engagement in pharmaceuticals for Charlotte, N.C.-based health care purchasing firm Premier Inc., said the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is the “single largest supply chain challenge” the global health care system has ever faced. The ultra-cold temperature requirement is unprecedented in vaccinations on a scale that need to reach hundreds of millions in the U.S. and billions worldwide to be effective. But whether governments and the health industry will require help from outside firms like Lineage remains unknown. Lineage is also able to transport the vaccine at the ultra-cold temps, Beattie said. “We don’t know when specific vaccines will hit the market or how much will be available,” Daley said. “Depending on how fast they can produce the vaccine, the traditional distribution of

cility in Kalkaska near Traverse City that produces 26,000 pounds of cannabis annually; a dispensary, also in Kalkaska; and is currently constructing another dispensary in Easy Lansing. The supply constraint is also dictated by the municipality constraint. Only 84 of the state’s 1,764 municipalities allow adult-use recreational marijuana sales. The limitation of available real estate has crimped the industry’s ability to grow, but Brisbo said that is slowly changing. “At the state level, we had the benefit of having to get (regulations in place) under a specific time, per the law,” Brisbo said. “The concept of legalized marijuana is still a divisive issue, but it’s becoming less so.” There are currently 191 adult-use recreational retail outlets open in the state. Nusbaum predicts 100 more will come to market in 2021. “Right now, we can’t produce it fast enough,” Nusbaum said. “Product at our cultivation facility stays on our shelves for 24 hours before it’s being distributed. We have at least another year before the market levels off.” C3 will invest in at least four more dispensary locations next year, in Kalamazoo, Muskegon Township, Flint and a second Grand Rapids location. Brisbo said the adult-use market will continue to swallow the state’s strong medical marijuana market in 2021. Earlier this month, the MRA rescinded a rule that limited recreational marijuana businesses to only existing medical marijuana operators. The result is new entrants into the market and more medical marijuana license holders allow that license to expire and focus solely on adult-use\. “With the removal of that restriction, I think we’ll get to a place where we’re sowing supply and more adequately meeting consumer demand in the areas where there is mature businesses,” Brisbo said. “As well as the development of new businesses and new products and, hopefully, more diversity in the industry.” Contact: dwalsh@crain.com; (313) 446-6042; @dustinpwalsh vaccines may be able to handle the load. But that’s a big if.” To alleviate some of the supply chain worries, Pfizer also began manufacturing dry ice. Health care systems’ ability to access dry ice will allow them to store the vaccines for much longer. But if production of the vaccine outstrips the health care industry’s ability to deliver the vaccine into a patient’s arm, an out-of-step supply chain could cause a firm like Lineage to have to step in, Daley said. “I don’t see early challenges but we really don’t know where the tipping point is,” Daley said. “There are plenty of all-hands-on-deck scenarios that can happen.” Only Pfizer’s vaccine requires ultra-cold temperatures. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine requires only regular refrigeratioN. Moderna’s vaccine requires freezer temperatures common with the storage and distribution of ice cream — about minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. (A typical home freezer stores food at around zero degrees.) But, if a problem arises, Lineage Logistics is prepared to help there, too. “We’re very mindful there are experts in the pharmaceutical industry,” Beattie said. “They have the expertise. But if there is additional need for help, we have capability.” Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 21

THE CONVERSATION

Jarc CEO Braunstein on connecting when pandemic throws a curveball JARC: When the pandemic struck, Bloomfield Hills-based Jarc, which operates 27 group homes for developmentally disabled adults, found itself facing a caregiver crisis. The more than 100 adults who live in Jarc homes could no longer go to jobs or day sites, given high-risk health conditions. Jarc needed to not only retain staff but add people to ensure adequate care. Administrative staff, including CEO Shaindle Braunstein, stepped in to provide care and supervision when needed. To keep clientsconnected to each other and their larger community, Jarc launched virtual programs. Through them, Braunstein has been able to share her love of baking, something that got her an invitation to appear on “The Great | BY SHERRI WELCH American Baking Show” in 2018. She opted to take the job at Jarc instead, but now has a show of her own. ` How has the pandemic impacted Jarc’s operations? As a residential provider, there’s no option to slow down or close down. Many of our people have underlying respiratory or cardiac issues. That makes them high-risk with COVID. We have so many people, now, who really are only sheltering in place because that’s the safest place for them to be. There was a house manager in every location before the pandemic. But if all six residents are there, there would be two adult staff. We posted ads, did drive-up interviewing in front of our office building and contact-free onboarding and training on Zoom. We’ve probably added close to 30 staff to the 190 we had prior to this. In rough numbers, I would say 10 replacements and 20 new. ` Has the caregiver crisis become more urgent during the pandemic? Absolutely. During the pandemic there is no option in many cases for people to return to family, especially older adults who are immune-compromised. And there is fear. Staff want to stay home, not necessarily go to work in a high-risk environment. What’s going to happen if there’s nobody there to care for that person? ` Given the ongoing caregiver shortage, how is Jarc retaining and attracting staff? Part of it is we are paying a premium. Part of the reason philanthropy is so critical is because it allows us to pay more than the government’s reimbursable, hourly rate does. While this is nowhere near the pay we would like it to be, it makes a big difference. We also provide affordable, comprehensive health care for employees. And we offer full-time employment for anyone who wants

it. We are retaining the bulk of our people in an industry where 70 percent turnover is not uncommon and have people who’ve been with us for 30 years. When people leave Jarc, they’re choosing to exit the profession, and that is the biggest danger. People are choosing to exit because they can go to Amazon and make $16 or $17 an hour. That’s something we need to address: how can we create caregiving as a career? ` Does Jarc have a plan B to cover any caregiver gaps? Our plan B is that every single member of our administrative team, including myself, are fully trained, meaning we’ve gone through the Oakland County mandated curriculum to be a direct-care worker for people with developmental disabilities. That’s about 55 hours of training. If something happens with staff, we don’t have the option to say “Good luck, figure it out.” We’re entrusted to care for people. ` And you and your administrative staff have had to step in to provide care in your group homes during the pandemic? Yes, we have. One Sunday, we had a house manager who was going to have to work overtime and was tired. I said, “I can help out.” You can hear in people’s voices when they are tired and need a break. When you’re in a home, it’s about providing for all the needs of the person. It could be about helping someone get dressed, getting something to eat. But it’s also about making sure they can participate in activities they want. In that house, there had been a little bit of a celebratory breakfast for a birthday. There was a light exercise class online with some of the other homes. Then

we had a discussion about what we’d do next. So we watched “Grease” and sang some songs. It was about making sure everybody was engaged.

Shaindle Braunstein, CEO, Jarc | JEFF AISEN

took the position at Jarc and it’s worked out well. I still feel like that was the best decision.

I hear you do a little baking in your spare time for fun. I always loved baking. In 2014, I started baking almost obsessively, bread, cookies and cakes, and feeding them to my family. I became one of those Food Networkobsessed people. It became this thing I did to relax after work. I would tell my husband, watching shows, “I can do that.” So my husband said to just apply. I applied and got an automatic email response: “Thank you for your application. Don’t call us; we’ll call you.” And then I got a phone call. It was someone from “The Great American Baking Show.” I had to send them photos of my bakes, was quizzed on the phone about baking and went through a Facetime interview with casting. Then I got a call asking if I was available for the entire month of August. But within 24 hours of that call, I got the call that I had been selected as CEO of Jarc. That was May 2018. It would have been a very cool thing to do, but it would have been a one-time thing. I

` But you’ve found another way to continue to bake with others? I feel like I have my own Youtube channel. We were looking for more hands-on activities for the people we serve. One of our community events we used to have often is a traditional Shabbat dinner with challah bread. Making that traditional bread with people virtually is a way of saying we can still have our Shabbat dinner, even though we aren’t together. We’ve now branched into cookies, brownies, pizza from scratch and in two weeks we’re making jelly doughnuts. The fact that I’m coming live from my kitchen has added a depth of relationship. I’ve been to all of their homes. I feel like in this way, they can come to my home.

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RUMBLINGS

Tracking COVID with sensors at Oakland University The first batch of BioButtons has arrived at Oakland University as cases of COVID-19 increase on campus and throughout Michigan. The university received 1,500 of the wearable devices for students and faculty and began distributing them at the beginning of last week, said David Stone, OU’S chief research officer. The devices, purchased from Denver-based BioIntelliSense for $90,000, are being used for early detection of the coronavirus by measuring temperature and vital signs. Funded through federal CARES Act money, they are being offered free of charge to OU students and employees. COVID-19 cases tied to OU remained in the single digits this fall until the last week in October, when 29 commuter students tested positive for the coronavirus, according to univer-

Oakland University purchased 1,500 BioButton devices from Denver-based BioIntelliSense for $90,000. | OAKLAND UNIVERSITY

22 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

sity data. The following week, OU had an outbreak on campus with 13 residential students testing positive along with 47 commuters. Nearly all classes at Oakland this fall have been online, although 1,700 students remain living on campus. Here’s how the BioButton works: The medical grade device about the size of a half-dollar sticks to the upper chest and connects via Bluetooth to a mobile phone app, which alerts users to potential symptoms of the coronavirus. Additionally, if someone wearing a BioButton tests positive for the virus, the app alerts other BioButton users who were in close proximity to that individual. A couple hundred of the devices have been claimed so far. Stone said he expects more to be distributed this week.

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