Crain's Detroit Business, Oct. 5, 2015 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

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CRAIN’S Readers first for 30 Years

DETROIT BUSINESS OCTOBER 5-11, 2015

For Ambassador Bridge owners, legal options to fight rival span have slowed to a trickle PAGE 3

Lesson from Homecoming: Reinvest in education By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

ll other things being equal, rebuilding a city is first and foremost about the talent pool.Detroit students, who may now be working their way through middle school math, or trying their hand at app development — or even dreaming big dreams about sports success — are at the center of it all. Those students, their big dreams, and the education they will need to get there emerged as the topic that resonated loudest among the many speakers and 350 attendees at the 2015 Detroit Homecoming. During event sessions last week, which sought to re-engage “expats,” many of whom grew up in the city or Detroit suburbs, through philanthropy, real estate investment or other tangible contributions to their hometowns, education took center stage. Detroit Homecoming is convened by Crain’s Detroit Business, but local civic and business leaders comprise a host committee to organize the event. The Downtown De troit Partnership is a nonprofit fiduciary partner. During a Friday’s session, Mark Reuss, executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain for General Motors Co., told attendees that Detroit’s recovery is doomed without a drastically improved

MotorCity Sound Board was the setting for Day 3 of Detroit Homecoming, where expats had a chance to network in between panel discussions. Photos by Aaron Eckels

3 pages of coverage inside 䡲 Stephen Ross announces the kickoff of the New York City-based Ross Initiative for Sports and Equality, aimed at combating racism through sports by creating a grassroots campaign on racial equality and civility for youth, Page 20. For a video on the effort and Crain’s interview with Ross on other topics, ranging from football to philanthropy, see detroithomecoming.com.

䡲 News highlights and photos from three days of speakers, panel discussions, tours and entertainment, Pages 20-22

䡲 More coverage online: Videos of Homecoming sessions; more stories, blogs and photos, detroithomecoming.com

䡲 Twitter: #dethomecoming Jules Pieri, CEO and Co-founder of The Grommet, and Warren Ligan, CFO of eSilicon Corp., were among the expats who attended the second Detroit Homecoming.

SEE EDUCATION, PAGE 20

DDA aims to reclaim Paradise RFP plans test waters for redevelopment of former cultural district By Kirk Pinho kpinho@crain.com

Paradise Valley, downtown Detroit’s lower-east-side jazz hot spot and thriving commercial enclave for the city’s black community, played its last notes in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The sounds of pianos and up-

right bass guitars, of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, were replaced by those of bulldozers clearing land for the construction of I-75. But the new Paradise Valley, a tree-lined pocket of downtown formerly known as Harmonie Park, could become a fresh cultural hot spot in the core of the central busi-

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ness district. In the 11 years since the Down town Development Authority started spending $14.4 million on infrastructure improvements and buying property in the area — officially known as the Paradise Valley Enter tainment and Cultural District — investor and developer interest in Detroit real estate has spiked, particularly in the past three or four years. Now, the DDA is putting seven properties — five buildings totaling about 94,000 square feet and two surface parking lots — through the request-for-proposal process to test the waters for mixed-use redevelopment. In those buildings already are businesses such as La Casa de La Habana , a cigar and martini bar; the Arts League of Michigan; the Harmonie

NATALIE BRODA

Rodrick Miller, CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., said he was on the job just two weeks last year when he took his first call inquiring about redevelopment in Paradise Valley; that interest has remained steady. Park Studios recording studio; and a pair of architecture firms, Hamilton Anderson Associates and Spalding DeDecker. “It already has a foundation and a pulse that can be further enhanced by a variety of additional artistic venues, including space for

exhibits, performing arts, art studios, galleries, etc. sprinkled amongst coffee shops, eateries and a mixture of all different kinds of residential experiences,” said Matt Lester, founder and CEO of BloomSEE PARADISE, PAGE 19

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MICHIGAN

BRIEFS Kellogg swallows Egypt cereal maker for $50M Not content to fill cereal bowls with Frosted Flakes and Special K in much of the world, Kellogg Co. boosted its presence in Africa with its purchase last week of Egyptian company Mass Food Group for $50 million, The Associated Press reported. Founded in 1996, Cairobased Mass Food has annual sales of $18 million and 600 employees. Battle Creek-based Kellogg is seeking growth in emerging markets as demand for its breakfast foods in the U.S. and elsewhere weakens. Last month, Kellogg said it was starting a joint venture with food company Tolaram Africa to create snacks and breakfast foods to sell in West Africa. It also has paid $450 million to buy a 50 percent stake in Multipro, which distributes food in Nigeria and Ghana, and bought a majority stake in Bisco Misr, an Egyptian biscuit maker.

To swing deal,this golf resort will be ‘next to’Chicago When is Benton Harbor a suburb of Chicago? When a Michigan de-

veloper is raising $18 million from investors in China and India for a $30 million waterfront resort and golf course project. Edgewater Resources LLC in St. Joseph sought to turn a former Whirlpool Corp. factory in Benton Harbor into the resort and golf course, resulting in the unusual mode of funding, MiBiz reported. In return for their investment, the foreign nationals used a federal program to seek a permanent U.S. green card. The challenge for Edgewater principal Ron Schults and partners: Many potential overseas investors see Michigan as flyover country. But that lack of awareness was a plus for Edgewater, which sold its project as being in a Chicago outgrowth. “At least people know about Chicago, even though it’s still in the Midwest … so that helped us a lot,” Schults said.

Record-breaking summer for Grand Rapids tourism As visitors to ArtPrize stream into downtown Grand Rapids for the competition’s seventh iteration (which ends Oct. 11), they only add to the good news for the city’s

lion in 2014 and has a lifetime contribution of $1.2 billion. The Montcalm County town of Greenville proudly bore the mantle of “Refrigerator Capital of the World” before globalization trends brought economic decline. But a new addition to an aluminum wheel factory of Chinese auto supplier Dicastal North America has residents buzzing again, MLive.com reported. The addition is part of a $140 million investment by Dicastal in new equipment to manufacture and finish aluminum wheels for U.S. automakers. Dicastal plans to hire 300 or more workers in the next three years and fire up a foundry to cast lightweight wheels in 2016. Cadillac-based AAR Mobility Systems has been awarded a maximum $372.5 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense for completion of specialized shipping and storage containers, shelters and accessories by Oct. 30, 2016. The vacation rental marketplace Flipkey.com has recognized the allure of the Lake Michigan shore by listing Ludington amid the nation’s “32 Top Trending Vacation Rental Destinations.” The website cited the Ludington area’s 500 percent growth

tourism-based businesses. According to Experience Grand Rapids, the agency that markets the region, the greater Grand Rapids area witnessed record levels of visitors this summer, the sixth in a row that summer tourism has been up. Hotel occupancy in July stood at a record 81.2 percent and was on pace to be nearly 13 percent ahead of 2014, officials told MiBiz. Gerald R. Ford International Airport reported that July was its busiest month ever.

MICH-CELLANEOUS Nearly three years after being named the youngest company president at Walker-based retail chain Meijer Inc., James Kevin “J.K.” Symancyk is leaving to take the helm of Katy, Texas-based retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors. Symancyk, 43, officially becomes Academy’s CEO Nov. 2. Mercy Health Muskegon received the green light from Livonia-based corporate parent Trinity Health to proceed with a $271.2 million expansion and renovation that would consolidate inpatient medical care at a single campus, MiBiz reported. Mercy Health Muskegon will begin seeking state certificate-of-need approval. Construction is to start in 2016. The foundations headed by the family of Grand Rapids-based Amway co-founder Rich DeVos have been ranked at No. 20 nationally on the annual list of Forbes’ 50 Top Givers. According to the list at Forbes.com, the family gave $94 mil-

INSIDE THIS ISSUE CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CAPITOL BRIEFINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CLASSIFIED ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 DEALS & DETAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 MARY KRAMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 OTHER VOICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 RUMBLINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 WEEK ON THE WEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

COMPANY INDEX: SEE PAGE 22 in demand between the first halves of 2014 and ’15. Pigeon Hill Brewing Co.’s LMFAO Stout is here to stay. The ownership group of the Muskegon brewery announced it has reached an agreement with attorneys representing the music duo LMFAO to keep the name of its beer, MLive.com reported. An attorney representing the act sent a cease-and-desist letter to the brewery in August over possible trademark issues. Pigeon Hill’s beer is named as a derivative for “Let Me Fetch an Oatmeal.”

OMISSIONS In the Sept. 28 feature about Southeast Michigan’s most connected businesspeople, the following information was omitted: Florine Mark is a member of the board of directors of the Inforum Center for Leadership. David Baker Lewis is a member of the leadership committee for the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. He chairs the audit subcommittee.

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LLamasoft grows into record VC investment IT company emerges from sideline status By Tom Henderson thenderson@crain.com

Ann Arbor-based LLamasoft Inc. has come a long, long way since its status from 2004 to 2009 as a night and weekend sideline for Don Hicks, its founder, president and CEO. Its winding path led last week to what is thought to be the largest venture capital investment ever in a Michigan information technology

company. From 2005 to 2010, Hicks was CEO of another Ann Arbor company, a biotech called DNA Software Inc. In 2004, he had put up a barebones website for some supply chain software he’d bought at a discount and had formed a company around it called LLamasoft. Until 2010, “I ran DNA full time and did the supply chain business on the side,” Hicks said recently. “I’d do that nights and weekends. I figured someone would buy a copy of the tool now and then.” To his surprise, the business

began taking off — slowly at first, then more dramatically in 2009. A year later, he decided to make LLamasoft his day job. Last week, he did a lot more than sell “a copy of the tool now and then.” He sold an equity stake in the company for $50 million to affiliates of New York City-based Goldman, Sachs & Co. in what is thought to be the largest single round of venture capital funding in Michigan for a nonmedical company. The largest single VC round ever in the state was the $59.5 million raised last year by Plymouth Town-

ship-based ProNAi Therapeutics Inc., a drug company that went public in July. Earlier this month came the announcement of the largest VC investment in a medical device company in Michigan: $39.5 million for Plymouth Township-based Delphi nus Medical Technologies Inc. , which uses ultrasound to detect breast cancer. Hicks told Crain’s the new funding will be used for acquisitions and further product development. He SEE LLAMASOFT, PAGE 18

“I think he definitely has the potential to create new law in this case. It’s just not necessarily to his advantage.”

Winners in visa lottery. Three foreign-born employees of LLamasoft Inc. recently received visas, which allow them to stay in this country, Page 18

Majority share in PuroSystems extends Signal Troy-based company gains nationwide presence

Richard McLellan, McLellan Law Offices PLLC

By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

The owners of Troy-based S i g n a l R e s t o r a t i o n Services have acquired a majority share in Florida-based PuroSystems Inc. for an undisclosed

national bridge agreement that floundered in the state Legislature a few years ago. “I think he definitely has the potential to create new law in this case. It’s just not necessarily to his advantage.” Timothy Mullins, chairman of the government law section at Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton PC in Troy, also noted the bridge company was persistent but unlikely to prevail in the Washington court case. But then, having the stronger legal argument may not be the point. “The company has spent an awful lot of

amount. PuroSystems — which operates 234 franchised locations in the U.S., including four in Southeast Michigan and 35 in Canada under the PuroClean brand — recorded $94 million in revenue last year. The deal gives Signal a nationwide presence and international operations in Canada, positioning it to grow internationally, Signal’s coowner and co-CEO, Mark Mark Davis: Deal will help Signal grow Davis, said last week. Tamarac, Fla.-based Puro- globally. Systems, which employs 1,500 systemwide with 34 at its corporate office, provides cleanup and rebuilding services to residents following fire, flood and other disasters. Signal provides the same services for commercial and industrial clients. The Troy-based company said it is on track to exceed $55 million in revenue this year. That’s important for global customers like Johnson Controls Inc. that have requested the company have a presence in Europe, he said. “We signed a master service agreement with Johnson Controls, and the first question they

SEE BRIDGES, PAGE 19

SEE SIGNAL, PAGE 16

DUSTIN WALSH

Timothy Mullins of Giarmarco,Mullins & Horton PC: Compare what Manuel “Matty”Moroun has spent in court to what the AmbassadorBridge brings in,“then probably every year he can delay things it’s still a profitable venture.”

Troubled waters over bridges Out of more than dozen cases, only two pending in new span plans By Chad Halcom chalcom@crain.com

A long trawl of litigation may be nearly over for Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun and the Detroit International Bridge Co. , while the courts’ attention drifts downriver soon, to the planned Gordie Howe International Bridge. Of the dozen-plus lawsuits to crop up

since 2009 involving Moroun, his bridge company, various government agencies and neighboring landowners, only two cases are still pending — and U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer dismissed most of one last week. An appeal in the same lawsuit, still awaits oral arguments Oct. 19 at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., and another 2013 lawsuit in Washington is still pending. “This guy (Moroun) never gives up,” said Richard McLellan, owner of McLellan Law Offices PLLC in Lansing, who had consulted on a previous version of the inter-

MUST READS OF THE WEEK 39 years on the books

Why marshes matter

Raymond Wojtowicz looks back on nearly four decades of highs, lows as Wayne County treasurer, Page 4

In this week’s Looking Back commemorating Crain’s 30th anniversary, a look at how a U.S. Supreme Court decision preserved wetlands and slowed development, Page 17

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‘Time to pass the torch,’ says retiring Wayne County treasurer Q&A: RAYMOND WOJTOWICZ, WAYNE COUNTY TREASURER

fter 39 years, Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtow icz is retiring Dec. 1. The 86-year-old lifetime resident of Hamtramck said the decision to retire “did not come lightly, but I feel that the time has come for me to pass the torch.” The Democrat was last elected in 2012. He is leaving his term early, as it extends until next year. An interim treasurer will be appointed soon by a panel of county leaders. Former Wayne County Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski said he plans to pursue the position and expects to have considerable competition. Wojtowicz has seen the county and Detroit go through extensive and historic changes. Reporter Marti Benedetti sat down with the treasurer to talk about what he sees as his greatest accomplishments and disappointments while in office, significant changes in the county and city, and what he envisions in the next 20 years for the 43 communities (townships and cities) in the state’s largest county. What did you do before becoming county treasurer?

I was employed in the aerospace industry (Curtiss-Wright and the nowdefunct Grumman Aircraft) working on the non-destructive testing of materials. Politically speaking, I was civic-minded to the extent of being an officer of several civic organizations in Hamtramck. In the middle of the 1960s, there was a common interest I had with some friends to establish a community college for Wayne County. I was taking part in this discussion and was successful in being elected a trustee of Wayne County Community College. I also was mayor of Hamtramck from 1970 to 1973. When I took the mayor job, I resigned from being a community college trustee because some might have thought it was a conflict of interest. Why did you run for treasurer?

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In 1976, people were not happy with a lot of those in state or federal positions. I wanted to help people. At first, I was encouraged to seek the office of county commissioner. Then I was advised to seek another office — why not run for county treasurer? Running for that post was a lot of sweat equity. The population was much different than it is today. Candidates knocked on doors or met people on the streets. It was safe; it’s a different style of campaigning today. What was the climate in the county and Detroit when you were elected in 1976?

In 1976, Wayne County’s cities were

MARTI BENEDETTI

Wayne County Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz, who has seen the county and Detroit go through extensive and historic changes, is retiring Dec. 1. vibrant. Even Highland Park was vibrant at that time. We were an auto center and a supplier for the federal Department of Defense. People wanted to have their own home, yet there was insufficient housing in Detroit. So there was migration to neighboring cities. People still shopped at J.L. Hudson on Woodward. Hart Plaza was not around. The skyline was different. (The Renaissance Center opened in 1976.) The population of Detroit was well over a million people. In 1976, there was a culture where people trusted people and spoke to their neighbors. There was opportunity for employment at many levels. The culture in the county’s cities was friendly. There were no cul-de-sacs, so you had people walking, sitting on the front steps or on their porches in the summertime, conversing. School buses were rare in the county, so children often walked to school. What are some highs and lows of your years as treasurer?

Once I got into office, I realized the county road commission had better accounting tools than the county treasurer’s office. It was so antiquated that you could envision a cartoon showing somebody with a ledger and a quill writing down assets and liabilities with a bare lightbulb shining overhead. I was stunned and surprised to see how out of date the office was, but it gave us a mission internally to see what progress could be made. In my early years in office, the county gained population; the city lost it. Property values of the county’s cities were rising on a scale significantly every year, but Detroit was flat-lining. In 2008, when most counties had a recession, Wayne County had a depression. What have been your biggest ac complishments?

The development and implementation of the Property Tax Administration system. This has become a one-stop shop for employees to access and record delinquent property tax information. The implementation of a massive database increased the efficiency and accountability of nearly every function within the office. Secondly, the development of an auction website a couple of years ago, which allows the office to run

the property auctions in-house with our own database. Previously, we used contractors. This effort has saved and will continue to save the county between $500,000 and $1 million annually. In 2012, there was controversy over your receiving a $15,000 annual bonus for several years. This led to Gov. Rick Snyder getting rid of it for all county treasurers. How do you feel about the situation?

No comment on this topic. What do you see happening in the county and Detroit in the next 20 years?

I see technology expanding in many ways like it is now. The emphasis on downtown Detroit is at its peak now, and developers should look at what I call the semi-circle — east to west Grand Boulevard, north of that to Eight Mile Road. It is the lifeblood of where the city of Detroit will be. As soon as they get a chance, and city leaders are trying to eliminate blight, two things will occur: The education system, which has been in turmoil a long time, will return to a normal school climate, and the residential areas will become viable. All of this will have a great impact on Wayne County. … The first 10 years, which have started, are the building blocks. There will be challenges and opposition, but if city leaders continue with their commitment to the people, there will be great fundamental changes. The second 10 years will be a continuation of the progress and achievement of a new culture. What will you do in retirement?

(Laughs.) First of all, it’s an awkward feeling. Most people have goals and plans. I really haven’t thought of what is going to happen. I will miss the interaction with the employees. I won’t be in this building anymore, but maybe I’ll be a visitor. And I’m going to pay my taxes, so there’s no delinquency. I can give more attention to the family; this has been more than a 9-to-5 job. It wears on the family. There were times when Delphine and I were sitting together (and she knew my mind was on my job). She’s my wife of 63 years. We have five children, nine grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. 䡲

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House bills would regulate breast milk banks ANSING — State lawmakers are considering new regulations for companies that purchase human breast milk from mothers for use in milk banks. Legislation introduced by state Rep. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, would distinguish between nonprofit milk banks, such as those run by hospitals, and for-profit companies, which pay nursing mothers for their breast milk. Under the bills, both nonprofits and for-profit companies would have to follow guidelines from the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, which outlines procedures for collecting, storing and dispensing human breast milk. The idea, Geiss said, is to encourage more mothers to donate excess breast milk for use in hospitals and neonatal intensive care units with sick and preterm babies. “Unlike donating blood plasma or platelets, in most cases milk donation is not an autonomous decision,” said Geiss, adding that women decide to donate only after they have produced enough to provide for their own children. The legislation, she said, is “to make sure that milk is collected safely and ethically and mothers and their infants are protected; to make sure that the standards for both in our state are in alignment; and that everyone is playing by the same rules.”

LINDSAY VANHULLE Capitol Briefings lvanhulle@crain.com Twitter: @LindsayVanHulle Michigan is one of a handful of states that have explored stricter rules for for-profit companies that operate breast milk banks. California, New York and Texas are among states that have taken similar steps. The House health policy committee heard testimony this week, but did not vote on the bills. Geiss and advocates call for stricter rules in hopes of reducing Michigan’s high infant mortality rates and to promote breastfeeding among more women, particularly low-income mothers in urban areas. Michigan had the eighth-highest infant mortality rate in the country in 2013, tied with Maine at 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is up slightly from 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. The situation is worse in cities like Detroit, which had an infant mortality rate of 13.3 percent that

same year, according to state health records. Citing health benefits, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend the use of breast milk as a baby’s sole nutrition source for the first six months, and continue breastfeeding for at least the first year with the addition of solid foods. Three-quarters of Michigan infants born in 2011 were breastfed, but the rate fell sharply to 47 percent by 6 months old and 23 percent at a year old, according to a 2014 report from the CDC. Only 16 percent of Michigan infants were exclusively breastfed at 6 months old. Geiss said the bills also are intended to prevent for-profit companies from preying on low-income women by offering them money in exchange for breast milk. Her bill, House Bill 4206, would prohibit a milk bank company from describing women who receive compensation for providing milk as “donors” or their company or milk bank as a “community benefit.” Last fall, Medolac Laboratories , a human milk company based in Lake Oswego, Ore., announced a plan to enroll Detroit women in its milk bank, known as Mothers Milk Cooperative. The women were to receive breastfeeding support and compensation. It canceled the program in January in response to criticism from

groups like Detroit’s Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association, which questioned the company’s motives and suggested their program was targeting low-income and black women. Medolac denied the claim. Medolac and another for-profit firm, City of Industry, Calif.-based Prolacta Bioscience , did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the bills. Prolacta Bioscience makes fortifiers from human breast milk for use in hospitals and NICUs. “As the demand for human milk grows, as we have seen in Detroit and other places, the potential exists for economically disadvantaged women to be exploited for their milk,” said Cindy Duff, a registered nurse and board-certified lactation consultant who supervises the Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank and breastfeeding center at Kalamazoo’s Bronson Methodist Hospital. Women living in poverty who have no access to paid medical

leave and experience wage inequality might be attracted to companies that offer money in exchange for breast milk, regardless of whether they have produced enough supply for their own children first, Duff testified before the House panel. “I encourage you to look very carefully at issues of (women’s) health equity,” she said. Under the bills, for-profit companies also would have to provide breastfeeding education programs in conjunction with hospital- or community-based support groups, provide at least half of its collected breast milk to Michigan hospitals or local nonprofit milk banks and conduct an annual audit. The regulations wouldn’t apply to mother-to-mother sharing groups. A second measure, House Bill 4691, would amend the state’s food law to ban direct Internet sales of human breast milk, such as through online classified websites. 䡲

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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

OPINION Time to build an end to the bridge battle M

atty Moroun’s battle against the Gordie Howe International Bridge seems to have depleted most of its ammunition. A federal court judge last week threw out most of the arguments the owners of the Ambassador Bridge had made to try to shut down the publicly owned bridge planned for farther downriver. The most important of those: The claim that Moroun’s Detroit International Bridge Co. has an exclusive right to operate an international span in perpetuity. Over the years, Moroun has tried various means to maintain the monopoly. An unsuccessful 2012 ballot proposal would have required a public vote to authorize state funds to be spent in any way on new international bridges or tunnels. He’s spread political contributions around to try to defeat the bridge. And he’s litigated. Although some legal issues are still pending, Chad Halcom reports on Page 3 that experts believe those decisions will go the state’s way as well. Although bridge revenue represents only a small part of the Moroun fortune, we understand that the family is trying to protect its investment. And killing the planned bridge may feel like the best hedge against the possibility the bridge company will never get the final approvals to build a needed replacement bridge for the Ambassador. But it’s hard to make a case that businesses are legally protected from competition or guaranteed government approvals. And no company or individual has the right to a source of revenue forever. Michigan businesses, including the automakers, have heavily supported the government-owned bridge. And Canada, our largest trading partner, has made it clear it wants bridge traffic out of downtown Windsor and that it strongly prefers government-owned border crossings. Even in the U.S., the Ambassador Bridge is the only privately owned major crossing. It may be that Moroun’s best strategy to build a bridge would have been, well, to build more bridges with everyone involved.

Right call on jail gag order In more legal news, the Michigan Court of Appeals threw out a year-old gag order issued by Wayne County Circuit Judge Vonda Evans that prohibited prosecutors, defendants and their attorneys in a criminal case related to the cost-overrun-plagued Wayne County jail project from talking about it. The case involves whether former county CFO Carla Sledge and county attorney Steven Collins are guilty of misconduct in office for giving misleading information on the project’s cost. The charges against Collins have been dismissed. The Detroit Free Press had brought the suit, and the appeals court ruled that the order was prior restraint on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Evans’ rationale was that the case began with secret grand jury proceedings, which could be inadvertently disclosed and jeopardize the defendants’ right to a fair trial. That’s not enough of a rationale to override the First Amendment; the court was right to overrule.

No retreat from Homecoming mission L

ast week, Detroit was on a roll. Amazon announced it was expanding its downtown Detroit presence, Lear Corp. announced it was buying a building for a new design center in Capitol Park, and Crain’s put on a pretty good party. The second annual Detroit Homecoming was more than a party, though, it included three nights of one-of-a-kind, entertaining experiences. This invitation-only immersion brought 175 successful and/or influential “expats” back to Detroit to “re-engage” with their hometown. Of the group, 49 were “sophomores” — they attended last fall’s inaugural event. And 126 were firsttimers. They toured neighborhoods, innovation hubs and the new Red Wings district’s preview center. They heard Mayor Mike Duggan, Gov. Rick Snyder and ESPN’s Mike Tirico conduct on-stage interviews with sports figures from Al Kaline to Kris Draper. In the blogosphere, some cynics refer to Homecoming as a bunch of rich people and/or dilettantes who come in, party and retreat to wherever they came from and forget about Detroit. That is just plain wrong. Alumni from last year returned to

MARY KRAMER Publisher mkramer@crain.com speak about they have done in or for Detroit since last fall. Developer John Rhea and retailer Will Adler spoke on video in the settings of their Detroit developments — projects undertaken, they said, as a direct result of attending the Detroit Homecoming. If a major capital raise by a Chicago real estate firm led by Detroit expats closes soon, results from 2014 will bring about $240 million in pending investments. We think there’s more to come. The former Detroiters I spoke with are not dilettantes. They are successful. They are pragmatic. And they have some interesting ideas, including ways to engage longtime Detroit residents who feel they are not on the revitalization bus when it comes to jobs or investment. In a visit to Detroit last month,

Harvard Professor Michael Porter presented strategies for revitalizing inner cities. They included using anchor institutions to become greater purchasers, building upon existing economic clusters like health care and the food economy, and creating trade among other urban cities and their clusters. Stephen DeBerry is not from Detroit. But as a Homecoming speaker, he described early conversations about doing just that — by connecting Detroit Denim, the Corktown blue jeans manufacturer employing Detroit residents, with social entrepreneurs in East Palo Alto, Calif., an economically challenged community across a highway from its affluent municipal sister. That’s what Homecoming is about: Connections are made, ideas take shape, new enterprises and investments are formed. Wait ’til next year. 䡲 Mary Kramer is publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business. Catch her take on business news at 6:10 a.m. Mondays on the Paul W. Smith show on WJR AM 760 and in her blog at www.crainsdetroit.com.

LETTERS

Examine all options for displaced Syrians Editor: I read with great interest Dustin Walsh’s article (One square mile, thousands of lives) in Crain’s Sept. 21-27 issue that described a vision of Detroit’s NorthTown, once known as Chaldean Town, as a potential area for Syrian refugees. And while the idea may seem, at first glance, like a viable solution for the settling of potentially thousands of individuals and families displaced by unrest in the Middle East, further examination demonstrates that it is not. Over the past 17 years, more than $14 million has been raised by one particular organization for development in that area — public funds from grants and other governmental coffers, not, as the article states, this organization’s own money. And to what end? That area along Seven Mile north of Woodward remains blighted and unsafe. Few want to live there, and not many do. And the prospects for change remain bleak. I recently viewed Mayor Duggan’s

Send your letters: Crain’s Detroit

Business will consider for publication all signed letters to the editor that do not defame individuals or organizations. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Email: cgoodaker@crain.com

planned development map of the city, which highlights, in colorcoded segments, areas of Detroit his team plans to focus on and how. It vividly demonstrates no plans for the NorthTown area, save demolishing vacant homes for green space. Instead, the city will continue to concentrate on development in more stable neighborhoods. Refugees, you and I — anyone — seek to live in areas that offer safety, familiarity, infrastructure and family. Just as Chaldeans continue to look to Sterling Heights, with 30,000 already here and another 4,000 arriving each year. NorthTown is an

idea whose time has passed. Also important to consider is which organizations offer these refugees the best resources and promise of a better life. Walsh’s article focused on one, yet there are many, including Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Social Services, the U.S. Committee on Refugees and Immigration, and the Chaldean Community Foundation, of which I am a part. Communication between all of these groups is vital as well as an understanding by potential funders and the community at large that one size does not always fit all; that one organization is not the end all be all. In the end, it is about helping and serving people who deserve better. New and existing options exist. No one has the time nor desire to look back for solutions. We can and should only look ahead. Mike Sarafa President, Bank of Michigan, Farmington Hills

TALK ON THE WEB Re: Work on steel frame for new Wings arena to begin by Halloween Can’t wait to see the frame going up. Josh James

Re: 8 pitches for cash at Detroit Homecoming add to busy season More good coverage of the worth-

while events taking place at Detroit Homecoming. Emily T Gail

Re: UM law professor Joan Larsen named to Mich. Supreme Court Governor appoints another ruleof-law judge. A great pick for the Supreme Court. Anyonebutyou

The fact that she clerked for Scalia is testament to her desire to fulfill her role faithfully and honorably rather than to craft legal obfuscations designed to thwart the intent

of the people’s representatives and guarantee that the judiciary’s decisions will be disrespected and mocked. Guarana Hernandez

Re: Internet sales tax collections in Michigan start C r i m i n a l p o l i t i c i a n s on both sides. None of these increased taxes will ever help the average citizen. Deon

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Look at refugee situation from American perspective here do people go when they have nowhere to go? To the open arms of countries that offer safe haven and a welcome respite from the fear created by having to flee one’s home on a moment’s notice. The United States of America was founded on the ideal of being a refuge for peoples persecuted in foreign lands. The first Americans, the Pilgrims, were led by Brownist English Dissenters who fled a volatile political landscape in England for a more tolerant Holland in the 16th century. With their Calvinist beliefs, similar to those of the Puritans, they insisted on separating from the English church but wanted to maintain their culture, which drove them to create an English colony in North America. Their story revolves around themes of religious freedom, which set the tone for our history and culture in the U.S. Our country was built by the hands of refugees. We have a long history of taking in refugees of civil and other wars, and as Michigan’s largest refugee resettlement organization, we help families build new lives once they arrive here. More than half of the population of Syria has been displaced from their homes — by civil war and by Islamic extremists under the leadership of ISIS. No matter which way they turn, there is no comfort, no refuge, no safe haven. That is why it is so important that we and other peace-loving countries open our doors to welcome them in. Two-thirds of the Syrian refugee population are women and children who have lost everything. More than 4 million refugees languish in terrible conditions in neighboring countries they reached on foot, with only the belongings they could carry on their backs. Some give up everything they have to risk freedom over rocky waters to a country they hope will welcome them — but which often does not. Seventy-five percent of the refugees we welcome are self-sufficient within 180 days of arrival — despite many not having fluency in English. They need counseling, transportation and housing. They also need help with things such as interpreting spam mailings and navigating grocery stores as well as finding employment that pays a living wage. We need foster homes for refugee kids who come without adults, whether because their families have been killed or because their parents bravely sent them to safety alone. I often wonder if I, in a similar circumstance, would adapt as quickly and as well. What impresses me time and time again is the incredible gratitude and humility I find in the refugees we help. Rather than seeing their journey as trying and difficult, they are bursting with gratitude for the generosity of the American people, who give them a

K n

OTHER VOICES: Sam Beals The writer is CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Michigan. second chance at life. The rhetoric around refugees can be daunting. Many people, unin-

formed, question the wisdom of opening our doors to foreigners when we have unemployment and poverty of our own. The right thing is to help those in need. Plain and simple. We need to provide housing, access to education, English-language training, workforce readiness and employment placement, cultural assimilation, medical help, behavioral health therapy, transportation and child care … because we can. Because it’s the right thing to do. Organizations need to collabo-

rate to forgo typical protocols — steep security deposits, for example — to make life in America accessible for the refugees we welcome. We need to work together to build a community we can be proud of, and provide the safety we take for granted. As a nation that has proudly stood as a beacon of hope for those in need, we are defined by our commitment to compassion for the vulnerable and justice for all. As we speak, there is a national effort happening to designate

Michigan as one of the top three states where Syrian refugees are resettled, potentially bring as many as 10,000 Syrian refugees here in the next two years. We must all embrace the promise of Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, ‘Declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” From the depths of our humanity, we should all be committed to helping refugees find their “hope and a future” here in Michigan. 䡲

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Dialing in: Computing Source finds new niche in legal business By Chad Halcom chalcom@crain.com

It pays to specialize, Mark St. Peter has found — particularly when other specialists need an even more specialized set of skills. St. Peter, managing director and CEO of Madison Heightsbased Computing Source , learned that lesson after a small local law firm contacted his company in 2004 for help in retrieving data on a backup tape that could prove crucial in high-stakes litigation. Before then, the information technology firm St. Peter cofounded in 2001 was a more standard-issue business technology company, handling network design, security and business software along with some computer retail and repair services. But the data retrieval that followed for Chicago-based Mandel Mankes and Southfield-based Erman, Teicher, Zucker & Freedman PC

changed the course of a lawsuit they were handling, he said. Soon, Computing Source was changing course, too. “It opened my eyes about lawyers not really having a place to turn to yet for things technical,” he said. “Along the way, I had been told, the more narrow your focus, the more successful you will become. Focusing like a laser on the needs of the legal industry as a specialty has really benefited us.” The company started with computer forensics for the legal profession, recovering deleted and corrupted files or activity that users had attempted to conceal, or making perfect reproductions of data stored on computer hard drives. The company also offered some expert-witness testimony, St. Peter said. From there, Computing Source branched out to electronic discovery and copy-print-scan services for paper records. Then came courtroom evidence displays, video deposition services, some document production or compiling paper records and even document review, the analysis of documents for relevance in litigation. Currently, Computing Source is launching a new court reporting division, headed by Erik Schwartz, director of trial services. The new division will be recruiting court reporters in the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Chicago markets. St. Peter estimates the company has nearly 130 employees in those cities and a small office in Indianapolis, and may need to hire at least 15 more for various services by year’s end. Revenue has also ballooned, from about $2 million in 2012 to nearly $7 million in 2014, and is on pace to meet or beat $10 million this calendar year.

“Along the way, I had been told, the more narrow your focus, the more successful you will become. Focusing like a laser on the needs of the legal industry as a specialty has really benefited us.” Mark St.Peter,Computing Source

“It made sense to start putting it all under one roof,” St. Peter said. “The lawyers don’t have two or more vendors they’re paying for the same or related services, so they’re saving money. But whenever there are hiccups in handoffs of case materials between Vendor A and Vendor B, it can create a disruption in process for the attorney during trial preparation. We can … (eliminate that), and we’re told it couldn’t be clearer.” A former general manager at Century Computer Corp. , St. Peter co-founded parent company Mars Business Group LLC, doing business as Computing Source, in September 2001. With him were COO Steve King and Rob Remdenok, president of Computing Source subsidiary Computing Express. Computing Source also diversified by acquiring litigation graphics service Evidence Express in mid2013 and MuniDeals.com , which distributes municipal financial statements tied to bond issues, last year. “Most of what the company has done so far primarily services litigation attorneys. But adding MuniDeals gives us something geared more toward transactional attorneys, and it moves us into a new legal market,” he said. Law firm customers have included Bodman PLC and Dykema Gossett PLLC in Detroit and Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago. But St. Peter said firms of all sizes have used its services, as have court judges and other agencies. The firm also provided document display services to aid lawyers questioning witnesses in the confirmation hearing for Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy plan last year. Computing Source moved last year from Southfield to Madison Heights, where it maintains more than 80 employees, along with nearly 35 in Chicago and half a dozen in Grand Rapids. St. Peter said Computing Source hopes to add an office in southwest Oakland County early next year for the new court reporter division, which will contract with various court reporters in the region as needed. Other legal support services in the region are also benefiting from growth in geography and

services. David Galbenski, founder and executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Americlerk Inc. , doing business as Lumen Legal, said out-of-state customers account for as much as half the document review professional services lately. The company, which offers outsourced legal services for corporate and law firm clients including document review, contract preparation and in-house legal staffing, houses up to 100 employees at a secure-access document review center at its Royal Oak headquarters. That center has been operating at near 100 percent capacity, compared with about 20 percent of its operating capacity in 2011, and the company may need to expand or open a new center, Galbenski said. Lumen Legal has offices with business development or recruiter employees in Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio, and is planning a new office in New York soon, he said. Many customers in those markets can find up to a 30 percent discount for legal services in the Detroit market, versus the going rate of similar services in their own cities, he said. “It’s not just the macro economy that’s helped, but the legal profession is in dramatic transformation right now,” he said. “Due to cost-consciousness, we’re seeing a big increase in opportunities for law firms and national companies to have work done within the U.S. but particularly within the lowest-cost legal markets.” 䡲 Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796 Twitter: @chadhalcom

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Exec leaves Palace to enter the realm of fantasy gaming By Bill Shea bshea@crain.com

In June, Jim Ross was the Palace Sports & Entertainment executive tasked with explaining to fans and media the details of the Detroit Pis tons ’ new deal with New York Citybased daily fantasy gaming giant FanDuel Inc.

He’s still explaining such deals, but now on behalf of FanDuel itself as its new general manager for the company’s league and team marketing. The daily fantasy sports site two weeks ago lured Ross away from Palace Sports, where he’d been executive vice president of business operations and strategy since 2013. Now, he’s in charge of maximizing the value of FanDuel’s deals with pro sports teams and leagues — and figuring exactly out how to measure value, he said. FanDuel’s talks with the Pistons and other National Basketball Association clubs began in 2014, and that’s when Ross said he began building relationships that would lead him to leave the team for his new gig. He said he was impressed with FanDuel as a company and as a concept, and he wanted a change. “My experience has been with teams over 20-plus years. That was my comfort zone and familiarity,” Ross said. “At this point in my life and career, I thought this would be interesting in taking on a new challenge.” “I was really intrigued by it and the vision with where they’re trying to go,” he said. FanDuel approached him about the job over the summer. At the Palace, Ross oversaw corporate partnerships, premium sales, business development and the data and analytics unit. He takes the job at FanDuel as it and Boston-based daily fantasy sports rival DraftKings.com are in the headlines for their massive spending on a TV ad blitz during college and pro football games. Ross was senior vice president of business development for the Cleveland Browns from 2009 to 2013. Be-

“At this point in my life and career, I thought this would be interesting in taking on a new challenge.” Jim Ross, general managerforleague and team marketing, FanDuel Inc.

fore that, he worked with the New Y o r k Y a n k e e s , M i a m i D o l p h i n s , Florida Marlins and New York Mets. The Pistons, who operate under the Palace Sports umbrella, were one of 13 NBA clubs to announce corporate sponsorship deals with FanDuel in June. Detroit’s three-year deal includes the naming rights to the Club 300 lounge inside The Palace of Auburn Hills, and FanDuel will be the presenting sponsor for “FanDuel Fridays” theme night for Friday home games this coming season. The financial terms of the relationship were not disclosed. The deals, which are being tailored to each team, include traditional and digital in-game signage and promotions, along with broadcast elements. Player meet-and-greets and VIP road trips to events also will be part of some of the team deals. It’s Ross’ job to make sure FanDuel is getting the most out of those things. “There are a lot of different elements to that deal, and at some point we have to measure what’s working and what’s not working,” he said, adding that some elements could be changed on the fly. Ross has to measure the value of deals with nearly 30 pro sports franchises in a sector that’s still developing. “Because (daily fantasy sports are) so emerging and rules are changing and the FanDuel products are changing and media partners are changing, there’s a lot to stay atop of to make sure we’re maximizing value,” he said. Daily fantasy sports compresses into a single day the traditional form of drafting players against a salary cap, choosing them based on expected statistical performance, and

managing a roster against other players in public or private leagues for a full season. Federal gambling laws specifically exclude fantasy sports because they’re considered games of skill rather than chance, and sports leagues and other investors have embraced the rise of daily fantasy. Citing iSpot.tv data, the Wall Street Journal on Sept. 16 reported that FanDuel had spent $20 million on 7,500 airings starting Aug. 1. In that same time, DraftKings spent $81 million to air more than 22,000 ads, the newspaper said. The heavy TV spending is aimed at introducing potential players to the daily fantasy concept, executives have said. DraftKings and FanDuel’s combined National Football League commitments for this coming season are expected to approach the $200 million mark, Advertising Age reported. Since its launch, FanDuel reported that it has raised $88 million in equity investments, including from the NBA, NBC Sports Group, Piton Capital , S h a m r o c k C a p i t a l V e n t u r e s and Comcast Ventures, the venturecapital arm of the Philadelphiabased cable giant. FanDuel’s current business relationships include the Detroit Lions and 15 other NFL clubs, 13 NBA teams (including Dan Gilbert’s Cleveland Cavaliers ), and media deals with SB Nation and Sirius XM radio. DraftKings has relationships with five NFL clubs, eight in the NBA, 25 in Major League Baseball, seven in the National Hockey League , and deals with ESPN, Bleacher Report, NASCAR, UFC, the Staples Center and Madison Square Garden. 䡲 Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626 Twitter: @Bill_Shea19

Former Free Press HQ hits market for $16M The last remaining building in a Chinese investment company’s downtown Detroit real estate portfolio is being put up for sale — for nearly four times the amount paid two years ago. DDI Group is testing the market’s appetite for the former Detroit Free Press headquarters building — now rebranded as the Press Club Building — at 321 W. Lafayette Blvd. The building is 302,000 square feet between Washington Boulevard and Cass Avenue. The asking price is $16 million,

nearly four times the $4.2 million Shanghai-based DDI paid for it in a 2013 online auction. The Detroit office of Jones Lang LaSalle has the listing. “They are going to put some money into the building on an immediate basis to shore it up and get it ready for sale,” said AJ Weiner, managing director of JLL’s Detroit office. Work being done includes interior demolition and cleaning the building’s first floor, he said. DDI has been criticized for what many have considered a lack of up-

keep on its Detroit real estate holdings. Built in 1925, the building is six stories with a 14-story tower in the middle. The Free Press vacated the building in 1998. DDI is also the previous owner of the David Stott Building and the Clark Lofts Building, both of which it sold to Gilbert in May for $18 million, or about $73.17 per square foot for the 210,000-square-foot David Stott and the 36,000-square-foot Clark Lofts. 䡲 Kirk Pinho

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Word on the Street: A Frank Conversation about Michigan’s Progress Michigan is making progress, but is anyone noticing? Get an eye-opening view of the steps other states are taking to be competitive and what outsiders and rivals say about our state. Barry Broome, President & CEO, Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council Albert Berriz, Chief Executive Officer, McKinley, Inc. Moderator: Christy McDonald, Anchor, MiWeek

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CALENDAR WEDNESDAY OCT. 7

Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Conver sations for Nonprofits. 10-11:30 a.m.

Michigan Nonprofit Association. Small-group conversations on the above topics. Each seminar features a local nonprofit leader who will share strategies for success. Kristina Marshall, CEO of Winning Futures, will be featured. United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Detroit. Free for MNA members, $25 nonmembers. Contact: Sarah Pinder, (517) 492-2439; email: spinder@mnaonline.org

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TEDx Detroit. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Curve

Detroit. Part tech expo, part business conference, part revival, TEDx Detroit is designed to spark conversation and foster connections. Fox Theatre, Detroit. $85 in advance, $100 at door. Contact: Charlie Wollborg, (248) 766-9994; email: charlie@curvedetroit.com. Women Who Fund Event. 9:30

a.m.-2:30 p.m. Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute, University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Forum on women’s issues and opportunities in private equity and venture capital. Keynote address from Alicia Robb, senior fellow, Kauffman Foundation, and visiting scholar, University of California, Berkeley. Other confirmed speakers include Kathryn Moos, founder, Vrou; Beth Paretta, team principal, Grace Autosport; Mary Kramer, publisher, Crain’s Detroit Business; Max Straub, CFO, Robert Bosch; Noel Dolan, senior manager, Open Innovation & New Business Development, Whirlpool. Campus Inn, Ann Arbor. $75. Contact: Mary Nickson, (734) 615-4424; email: mnickson@umich.edu; website: bus.umich.edu.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Crain’s 2015 Health Care Leadership Summit Join Crain’s for an annual event that provides opportunities to learn about the everchanging landscape of the health care industry, plus make the professional contacts to help navigate these changes. Held at the Marriott Renaissance Center from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 28, the Health Care Leadership Summit includes keynote speaker Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group; roundtable discussions; and the Health Care Heroes awards. Can Michigan provide consumers and employers the data needed to make smart decisions in health care? A growing number of Michigan’s health insurers, hospitals and consulting firms are already doing it. Participants can also network with local business leaders and health care providers. Individual tickets are $125; a reserved table of 10 is $1,300. Preregistration closes Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. If available, walk-in registration will be $140 per person. For more information, contact Kacey Anderson, (313) 446-0300, or email cdbevents@crain.com.

The Promanas Group, Ann Arbor, a commercial real estate investment and management firm, has acquired the Centrum Office Center, Southfield, a 202,000-squarefoot multi-tenant office building. Website: promanas.com.

CONTRACTS Rocket Fiber LLC, Detroit, an Internet provider, has selected Momentum LLC, Clinton Township, a digital

marketing agency, for its digital launch. Websites: rocketfiber.com, seekmomentum.com. Meritor Inc., Troy, a supplier of drivetrain, mobility, braking and aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicles and industrial markets, announced that Applied Cryogenic Technologies Inc., Houston, which specializes in the design and manufacturing of specialty cryogenic equipment, has selected Meritor components as standard equipment on its cryogenic trailers. Websites: meritor.com, appliedcryotech.com. ZipLogix LLC, Fraser, a real estate technology company, has added BombBomb LLC, Colorado Springs, Colo., to its zipAlliance partnership program. BombBomb will focus on recording videos and sending video messages through zipForm Plus to customers. Websites: ziplogix.com, bombbomb.com.

FRIDAY OCT. 9

10th Annual Private Equity Conference. 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Samuel

Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute, University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Industry experts David HE of PAG Asia Capital and Yi Luo of Blackstone are to discuss private equity developments in greater China. David Shapiro of KPS Capital Partners is the keynote speaker. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. $225 for conference; $300 for conference plus golf. Contact: Mary Nickson, (734) 615-4424; email: mnickson@umich.edu; website: zli.bus.umich.edu. Calendar guidelines. Visit crainsdetroit.com and click “Events” near the top of the home page. Then, click “Submit Your Events” from the drop-down menu that will appear. Fill out the submission form, then click “Submit event” at the bottom of the page. More Calendar items can be found at crainsdetroit.com/events.

$1 Billion

DEALS & DETAILS Innovative Learning Group Inc., Royal Oak, has been contracted by Lear Corp., Southfield, to assist with its learning management system selection process by gathering requirements, developing specifications, writing the RFP and evaluating vendor responses, conducting two half-day work sessions and documenting the session outcomes, and creating a curriculum that focuses on six quality roles within Lear. Website: innovativelg.com.

EXPANSIONS Menard Inc., Eau Claire, Wis., has opened a Menards store at 32501 Van Dyke Ave., Warren. Telephone: (586) 795-0028. Website: menards.com. Orleans + Winder has opened its

first high end retail/art showroom location at 2501 Russell St., Suite 200, Detroit. Website: orleansandwinder.com. Diversified Restaurant Holdings Inc., Southfield, has opened Bagger

Dave’s Burger Tavern, 50570 Gratiot Ave., Chesterfield Township. Telephone: (586) 765-1531. Website: baggerdaves.com. My Salon Suite, Metairie, La., has opened at 16824 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe. Telephone: (586) 894-8677. Website: mysalon suite.com/grosse-pointe.

MOVES Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP has relocated its Ann Arbor law

office from the Allmendinger Building, 130 S. First St., No. 4, Ann Arbor, to the Burlington Office Center, 315 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 100, Ann Arbor. Website: honigman.com. Deals & Details guidelines. Email cdbdepartments@crain.com. Use any Deals & Details item as a model for your release, and look for the appropriate category. Without complete information, your item will not run. Photos are welcome, but we cannot guarantee they will be used.

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ADVERTISING SECTION

PEOPLE: SPOTLIGHT Here are some of last week’s executive appointments reported by Crain’s:

Crain’s has moved its complete list of executive appointments to www. crainsdetroit.com/People.

who will become CTO for the global company based in Germany. Duclos, 56, will also become a member of the company’s board, effective Jan. 1. Portu will retain his previous role as senior vice president of global procurement.

Guaranteed print placement in this promotional feature can be purchased at the web site above. Patil

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Bill Frohriep, Jr.

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SIGNAL FROM PAGE 3

asked after (Superstorm) Sandy was ‘Can you serve us in U.K.?’ ‘In Canada?’ ” The common ownership will enable Signal Restoration to serve its national client base more efficiently and in a more timely fashion “with a brand we own,” Davis said. Rather than subcontracting work out to local contractors and losing some of the related revenue, it will be able to keep the referral internal without having to buy a company in those markets, Davis said. He projects referrals and other growth to boost Signal’s revenue to $150 million within five years and PuroClean’s to $200 million. He and his partner at Signal Restoration, Frank Torre, purchased an 80 percent stake in PuroSystems. Retaining a total share of 20 percent in the company, Davis said, are Rory O’Dwyer, co-founder of PuroClean; David McKinnon, founder and former co-chairman of Ann Arbor-based Service Brands Interna tional with Bob Ufer, another minority investor in PuroClean; and Lynn Drayton, former president and COO of Compuware Corp. and a coinvestor in Service Brands’ Molly Maid brand with McKinnon. Davis said he and Torre acquired the majority share of PuroClean rather than doing the deal through Signal Restoration because the existing shareholders did not want to exit entirely. “And secondly, we didn’t want to be viewed as a competitor to any of

Online Tech has promoted Bill Frohriep, Jr. to Vice President of Sales after leading record revenue growth in new markets as the Sr. Director of Sales. He is responsible for sales strategy & management as the company continues its Midwest expansion. AVP, Midwest, CenturyLink/Savvis, during seven years there. Responsibilities included driving growth in the Midwest division. Previously, Bill held management and sales roles at Verizon Business, XO Communications and Coast to Coast Communications.

the PuroClean franchise owners in overlapping markets,” he said. Davis, who is succeeding McKinnon as chairman and CEO at PuroSystems, said he won’t rule out a merger into Signal, but there’s no plan to do so at this time. Signal has a strong brand and is well known in Michigan, New York and California for its expertise in the commercial and industrial markets, he said. And PuroClean is wellknown in residential. “There’s definitely value in continuing to build both brands,” Davis said. The plan is to retain PuroSystems’ headquarters and a fire and flood disaster training center in Florida. But Davis said he will remain based in Southeast Michigan. Signal and PuroClean — the franchise name Davis said the whole company will adopt — have an overlapping footprint in only two U.S. markets: Michigan and Southern California. The common ownership will position PuroClean franchises in those markets to move into commercial work if they want to, with training from Signal, Davis said. Or they can refer commercial business to Signal and get a referral fee in exchange. During the fourth quarter, the new ownership plans to convert an existing facility in Macomb County (likely in Clinton Township) and in Orange County, Calif., into new, PuroClean-owned training centers. The new centers will train new employees in water mitigation, fire restoration and abatement for both residential and commercial jobs. They will also provide continuing

Gray

Federal-Mogul Motorparts names Johnson as CIO Kathleen Johnson has been named

LG Chem CEO Patil retires; Gray named successor Prabhakar Patil retired after 10 years as CEO at Troy-based LG Chem Power Inc. and has been succeeded by Denise Gray. Patil, 65, served as chief engineer for the Ford Escape Hybrid from 1998 to 2003. Gray, 51, was most recently a vice president at Austria-based AVL List GmbH, overseeing its electrification business unit.

Freudenberg-NOK names Portu as N.America chief Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies named Matthew Portu president

of North American operations in Plymouth Township. Portu, 46, replaces Theodore Duclos,

chief information officer and vice president, information technology, at Federal-Mogul Motorparts, a division of Southfieldbased FederalJohnson

been with FederalMogul for more than 26 years. Crain’s has moved its complete list of appointments and promotions to www.crainsdetroit.com/ peopleonthemove. Brief online listings

for management-level positions are available at no cost, at editor’s discretion. Guaranteed print placement in the People on the Move feature can be purchased at the website above.

PHOTO COURTESY SIGNAL RESTORATION

Workers from Signal Restoration remove water from a Chicago-area industrial facility following a fire. The $12 million project involved the rebuilding of the fire-damaged part of the building while the rest of the facility stayed in operation. education for insurance agents and adjusters, something that will help keep PuroClean top of mind for insurers, Davis said. Next year, PuroClean plans to expand in Europe, starting in the U.K. and Germany, through agreements with master franchisees to convert their independent brands to Signal or PuroClean, Davis said. The new owners plan to double the number of U.S. PuroClean franchises in the next five years to about 400 and to increase the 35 it has in Canada to 50, Davis said. “Now we compete with the largest companies in our industry,” Davis said. PuroClean is the fourth restoration services company Davis has owned and/or led. He bought Rocky

Mogul Holdings Corp. Johnson has

Mountain Catastrophe in Colorado with a partner and later sold it to Belfor International Holding Inc. parent company Franz Haniel & Cie GMbH . He then helped to launch Belfor USA Group Inc . before selling his share in the company. Six years later, he became a minority owner and CEO of InStar Services Group LP and moved the Texas company’s headquarters to Southeast Michigan, just as he had done with Belfor’s. He left InStar, which was majority owned at the time by Bloomfield Hills-based private equity firm BlackEagle Partners LLC , in 2011, to acquire another restoration business that would allow him to have boardroom control, he said. That brought him and co-CEO

Torre to Signal in 2012. Signal, which employs 150, has offices in Detroit, Kalamazoo, Clinton Township, California, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, New York and Kansas. Its acquisition of PuroClean is at least the third local deal involving a restoration company this year. Crain’s reported Florida-based Blue Team Restoration ’s acquisition of Detroit-based Young and Sons last week and in February, Texas-based Interstate Restoration LLC ’s November purchase of Southfield-based Statewide Disaster Restoration , which gave it a Midwestern foothold and access to Michiganbased Fortune 500 customers. The fragmented restoration services industry is ripe for consolidation, Davis said, given the low barriers to entry. Those who do well in the restoration business have capital to carry the business costs until insurance companies pay out. “Private equity is very interested in this space, there’s no question,” he said. Bill Jarvis, founder and president of Harrison Township-based Jarvis Property Restoration, which has eight Michigan locations and five more in Florida and Iowa and a projected $25 million-$30 million in revenue this year, said he gets calls weekly from private equity firms and others seeking to buy his company. But he’s held out for 36 years with repeat business and referrals, making him one of the last independents of his size left locally. “I’m here to stay,” Jarvis said. 䡲 Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694 Twitter: @SherriWelch

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’80s Supreme Court case protected wetlands, deterred development By Chad Halcom

LOOKING BACK: Thirty years ago this month, Crain’s reported on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that provided a precedent for environmental protection in relation to the concerns of developers — and kept Harrison Township a little more unspoiled. More at crainsdetroit.com/30

chalcom@crain.com

Developers changed business practices, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cemented its role in policing wetlands, and Harrison Township kept its semi-rural charms — largely because of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that got modest attention at the time. Thirty years ago this month, the high court heard the case of Riverside Bayview Homes Inc., owned by the late George Short. The developer was planning a residential subdivision on 80 acres northeast of Jefferson Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway in the township. The Corps of Engineers sued shortly after Short began filling the marshy property in 1976 to prepare for a housing development.

After several turns through the courts, the justices heard oral arguments in October 1985. The court unanimously sided with the Corps later that year, finding it has jurisdiction over wetlands next to a navigable body of water (Lake St. Clair in this case) even if the property is not regularly flooded by that waterway. That not only effectively killed the development, but also changed the game for developers as sprawl was reshaping Macomb County. U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, was the township supervisor at the time. She said the

wetland is one of only a handful in the region around Lake St. Clair. She said she considers herself “a capitalist” on development but said the township was also one of the first in the state to adopt a wetlands preservation ordinance during her administration. Without the ruling, unchecked construction could have damaged the environment and the rural character that makes Harrison Township a local attraction. “It would have been all homes in there, another subdivision like others of the time. “Nobody thought about wet-

MARKET PLACE

REAL ESTATE WATERFRONT PROPERTY

lands; you just filled in and then you built. But by the late ’70s and early ’80s, a light bulb was going on about the effects on the environment,” Miller said. Joseph Sowerby, a partner at Mt. Clemens-based Anton, Sowerby & Associates who was an independent broker at the time, recalled that the outcome deterred a few buyers on potential land deals. “If there were any reeds, the first thing that came up for a while was, ‘You know what happened to that guy out (near) Metropolitan Beach,’ ” he said. More than 5,200 housing units

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were built in Harrison Township between 1970 and 1989, compared with only about 3,300 since then, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Developers also increasingly took measures to restore or enhance wetlands to replace those that get destroyed in development. Some of the former Short property was sold later to Village Building Co. of Mt. Clemens, and owner Mike Mattera had cleared some of the woodland for possible residential or commercial use in 2001. But that plan also failed to materialize. More recently the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority has acquired most of the land, said current Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest. 䡲

Vice President of Customer Support Covenant Eyes is looking to hire a Vice President of Customer Support. The Vice President of Customer support is a core member of the Executive Strategic Leadership team at Covenant Eyes, and is responsible for supporting the Covenant Eyes customer base, leading the customer support management and staff, and continuously shaping the business, the work, and the people in support of the company’s strategic direction. For detailed job description and to apply for position, go to our website:

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AUCTIONS INDUSTRIAL BUILDING AUCTION WED. OCT. 14 @ 1 P.M. | Doors Open @ Noon 20950 Woodruff Rd. Rockwood, MI 48173 2 Sep bldg’s, 22,000+ sq. ft., 2.26 acres. Warehouse, 5 drive in grade-level doors, 12 ft. overhead doors. TERMS: $20,000 down day of sale, bal w/in 45 days. 10% prem. to be used. Just E. of Fort Rd. MIDWEST REAL ESTATE & AUCTIONS, LLC. DANIEL P. KAPUDJIJA BROKER/AUCTIONEER 419-356-7300

OFFICE SPACE

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Tons of depreciation. Certified financials. Certified current value $1.67 million dollars 12 year Future value $4.5 million HOUSING ASSOCIATION L.L.C. ASKING $950,000.00 Email inquires to: pfuciarelli@yahoo.com

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The manager will work with academic administrators, faculty and CLC staff to understand the materials and supplies necessary for the coursework conducted in the CLC throughout the year. Working closely with student services to fully understand and analyze the course schedules and coursework conducted in the CLC, the manager will analyze operational needs such as scheduling, equipment, inventory, etc. After defining systems, procedures and policies necessary to operate effectively and efficiently, the manager will work with appropriate groups within the School to implement these systems and develop business processes. The ideal candidate will have expertise in the areas of systems analysis, schedule optimization, inventory planning, staffing analysis and management, project management, and development of staff. A former management consultant, engineer, or operations analyst with management experience would be highly desirable for this position . Please visit the University of Michigan jobs website ’Careers at the U’ to learn more about this Opening and to apply: http://umjobs.org/ (Job Opening # 109374)

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

NEED WAREHOUSING? Plymouth & Livonia Area

The U-M School of Nursing Clinical Learning Center (CLC) seeks a manager. The CLC provides unparalleled learning resources for nursing students in a new facility. This new position was created to facilitate the ongoing operations of the CLC. The manager will act as a manager and systems analyst responsible for analyzing and planning operational aspects of the CLC. The manager will implement necessary systems for scheduling, staffing and inventory.

Contact: Johnnie L. Hunter 313-368-4682 or 313-550-1641 hunterlugene@aol.com

Call Us For Personalized Service: (313) 446-6068 CLOSING TIMES: Monday 3 p.m., one week prior to publication date. Please call us for holiday closing times. FAX: (313) 446-0347 E-MAIL: cdbclassified@crain.com INTERNET: www.crainsdetroit.com/section/classifieds Confidential Reply Boxes Available PAYMENT: All classified ads must be prepaid. Checks, money order or Crain’s credit approval accepted. Credit cards accepted.

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Financial Account Executive A progressive multi-office Federally Qualified Health Center is looking for a full time Financial Account Executive. The Financial Account Executive is a working management position requiring advanced professional expertise in the areas of finance, data analysis, and project management to provide services to the organization both internally as well as externally contracted services to its healthcare partners. The position would include a learning environment in preparation to a fully functional leadership role in FQHC finance, government reporting and compliance, billing/revenue cycle operations; IT management, business development along with the experience of client/vendor relationships. The qualified candidate will have experience with NextGen software. A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance required, a Master’s degree is preferred and at least 5 years of work experience as a CPA preferred. Competitive wage and excellent benefit package offered. EOE.

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LLAMASOFT FROM PAGE 3

TOM HENDERSON

Boyang Wang of China, left, and Felipe Molino of Panama, the two workers at LLamasoft Inc.’s headquarters in Ann Arbor who won

the H-1B visa lottery and can now stay in the U.S.

LLamasoft a winner in visa lottery for foreign employees By Tom Henderson thenderson@crain.com

Ann Arbor-based LLamasoft Inc. , a fast-growing maker of supply chain software, got lucky in the H1B lottery this year. Four of its foreign-born employees applied for visas, and three of them were recently informed they got the visas, which went into effect Oct. 1. H-1B visas allow companies to employ foreign workers in occupations that require technical or theoretical expertise in such fields as engineering, mathematics, science and medicine. The visas are good for four years and have the added bonus in that those holding them can then apply for green cards and permanent status in the country. Nationwide, the success rate for H-1B visas this year was about one in three; 233,000 applied by April’s deadline for 85,000 visas, up from 172,500 applications last year and 124,000 in 2013. Two winners now work in LLamasoft’s headquarters in downtown Ann Arbor, and both had been making plans to leave the country this fall had their visa applications been turned down. Boyang Wang, who works in tech support, is from China. He had been offered a job in LLamasoft’s Shanghai office. Felipe Molino, a supply chain design consultant, is from Panama. Molino had a job waiting for him in one of LLamasoft’s Latin American offices. Wang, 25, came to the U.S. for his senior year of high school in Pennsylvania and has been here eight years, 2½ at LLamasoft. He has a master’s degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan.

“Facebook, Microsoft and Google have been unable to get the powers that be to get off their butts and do something. We’re job creators.” Don Hicks,LLamasoft CEO

Wang said his wife, Feng Gu, an accountant by training in China, is thinking of getting an MBA in accounting at UM now that they know they can stay here awhile. Molino, 25, has worked at LLamasoft a year, since getting a degree in supply chain management from the University of Arkansas. “I was very happy when I found out I could stay,” he said. “I’m already assigned to a project. I’m moving forward.” At the top of his to-do list was finally being able to extend a lease on an apartment that expired in June. Second was getting a driver’s license, which he had been prohibited from getting under terms of the extension of a student visa that had kept him in the U.S. The third LLamasoft winner was a past loser in the visa lottery. Last year, Yasin Unlu, a native of Turkey, lost the visa lottery and moved to London to work as a research scientist in the LLamasoft office there. This year, he was granted his visa and will soon move back to

Ann Arbor. This year’s lottery loser, whom LLamasoft declined to name, has been at least temporarily allowed to return to her former employer, Wayne State University. “They destroyed a job at LLamasoft,” said Don Hicks, LLamasoft’s founder, president and CEO. “These are great jobs. This is not a cheap business. The average wage here is $100,000,” said Hicks, who hosted a press conference last April to protest current U.S. visa policy regarding highly skilled foreign workers, which results in ongoing problems in the tech industry filling available jobs. Attending, and making presentations, were representatives of Ann Arbor Spark , MichBio , the Detroit Re gional Chamber , Global Detroit and the Michigan Office for New Americans, a state agency created by Gov. Rick Snyder in January. “Facebook , Microsoft and Google have been unable to get the powers that be to get off their butts and do something,” said Hicks after hearing which of his employees had got visas. “We’re job creators. We make new technology. We should be able to recruit talent.” He said Unlu’s case was particularly irritating. Foreign students come here and get trained, then in many cases are forced to leave the country and find jobs at firms competing against U.S. companies. While Unlu remained a LLamasoft employee, his taxes went to Great Britain. “I’m a Revolutionary War buff, and it galls me we have an immigration policy that sends money to the queen instead of keeping it here,” Hicks said. 䡲 Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337 Twitter: @TomHenderson2

said he expects to close soon on negotiations to buy an overseas company that will add about 100 employees to his firm, which now employs about 270. He said the deal values LLamasoft at $200 million. “The majority of the company is still owned by management and employees,” he said. In 2012, LLamasoft raised its first round of venture capital, a $6 million round that included Nike Inc. , Ann Arbor-based Augment Ventures Management Co. LLC and the First Step Fund of Invest De troit. “LLamasoft has established itself as the global leader in supply chain design and has become one of the most exciting companies in the region,” said Adrian Fortino, who runs the Ann Arbor office of Mercury Fund , a Houston-based venture capital firm. In 2012, he was managing director of the First Step Fund when it invested in LLamasoft. “This raise shows they are taking the company to the next level and are targeting the very large exits we don’t see all that often in Michigan, which is really exciting,” he said. By “exit,” Fortino was referring to an eventual initial public offering or sale of the company, two ways of returning profits to investors. “LLamasoft is a great example of a local company going for global dominance. They have really stuck to their product focus,” said Sonali Vijayavargiya, founder of Augment Ventures. “They have captured market share by continued product development … and have done much better than my expectations in 2012.” Part of that gain in market share came from persuading the 3M Co. of St. Paul, Minn., to switch from IBM ’s supply chain software to LLamasoft’s. Dan Nottestad, 3M’s project manager for global supply chain analysis, said that when he joined the group in 2011, he began vetting LLamasoft’s software. He ended up making the switch in 2012 after LLamasoft excelled at four pilot projects. He said LLamasoft’s software is intuitive and helps organizations track what can be an extremely complicated process. “Our supply chain is quite complicated. We have well over 50,000 products; we have 28 divisions and five business groups,” he said. Nottestad said his group focuses on what he calls network optimization, and various LLamasoft software modules help accomplish that. A product called Inventory Guru helps determine the proper stocking levels for various products in inventory and the best ordering strategies to replace them. Another, called Transportation Guru, models alternative transportation options to those in use, helping find cheaper, more efficient routes and optimal fleet sizes, and Data Guru helps com-

panies analyze big data sets they have been collecting but haven’t figured out how to properly use. Nottestad said that LLamasoft engenders such enthusiasm by its users that a variety of Minnesotabased companies, including Gen eral Mills and Best Buy, hold a quarterly user group conference to pass on tips on how to get the most out of LLamasoft’s products. In April, LLamasoft announced it had bought IBM’s supply chain business for an undisclosed sum. Hicks said it added 120 new customers for his company, including Apple, Microsoft, Shell and Rubber maid. Hicks, who has a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the University of Michigan, formed a predecessor company to design supply chain software called LLamasoft Corp. while working in Utah in 1998. In 2000, Hicks sold the fledgling company to Ann Arbor-based Crystallize Inc. , and moved to Michigan to work briefly for Crystallize.

“LLamasoft is a great example of a local company going for global dominance. They have really stuck to their product focus.” Sonali Vijayavargiya, Augment Ventures

He then enrolled in a Ph.D. program in bioinformatics at UM, later co-founding Ann Arborbased DNA Software. In 2003, Crystallize was struggling, and Hicks said he was able to buy LLamasoft’s intellectual property back at a steep discount of $50,000, down from its asking price a year earlier of $500,000. LLamasoft grew incrementally for a few years, befitting its sideline status. “In 2009, it started to hit its growth curve, and we’ve had double-digit revenue growth ever since,” said Hicks. Hicks said LLamasoft’s revenue grew from about $24 million in 2013 to almost $36 million last year, with projections of about $42 million this year and $54 million next year. In 2014, LLamasoft ranked No. 139 on Deloitte’s list of 500 fastestgrowing North American technology companies, based on fiveyear compounded annual growth of 830 percent. It was the highestranked company in Michigan. Goldman Sachs was advised on the investment by Mountain View, Calif.-based Fenwick & West LLP . LLamasoft was advised by Chicago-based DLA Piper LLP. 䡲 Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337 Twitter: @TomHenderson2

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BRIDGES

NATALIE BRODA

The Paradise Valley neighborhood, on Randolph Street beside the Detroit Seafood Market LLC (left) and facing the Harmonie Club. La Casa de La Habana Cigars and Lounge and the Harmonie Park Parking lot sit in the distance (left).

PARADISE FROM PAGE 1

field Township-based Princeton En terprises LLC, which redeveloped the former Milner Hotel into the 61-unit The Ashley apartments on Centre Street in the neighborhood. But some of those uses “would have to be subsidized through a deep-pocketed owner or foundation,” said Eric Larson, founder and president of Bloomfield Hills-based Larson Realty Group LLC and CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. He says the uses that would be easiest to finance are a mix of retail and residential, plus some small-office users. Lester already has plans to submit a proposal to buy all seven properties but would only say of his plans that his company is “trying to create a vision that enhances the entire neighborhood, works with existing neighbors and stakeholders to retain its current charm and historical value and can become a worthwhile real estate venture in today’s highly competitive market.” Competitive, indeed. And interest has been steady, since well before the RFP — responses to which are due Nov. 11 — was issued last week. “I was in the job about two weeks,” said Rodrick Miller, the CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.,

NATALIE BRODA

The Harmonie Club Building at 311 E. Grand River Ave. is one of seven Paradise Valley Cultural and Entertainment District properties for which the Detroit Downtown Development Authority is seeking a redeveloper. which staffs the DDA and other economic development agencies in the city, of the first time he received a call about redevelopment in Paradise Valley. Larson said Paradise Valley is not without its drawbacks, including a somewhat “disconnected” feeling caused by the design of Gratiot Avenue. But still, the area will “quickly fill in,” given the development in the area, including the arena district a few blocks to the northwest and the proximity of other key destination assets like Comerica Park, Ford Field and the Detroit Athletic Club.

Paradise Valley’s boundaries generally follow those of Beatrice Buck Park : Centre and Randolph streets and Grand River Avenue. In addition to its thriving jazz scene, the 66-square-block former Paradise Valley neighborhood — which was roughly bounded by Adams, Brush, Alexandrine and Hastings streets — was known as a mecca of African-American business ownership and had businesses ranging from drugstores to beauty salons, bowling alleys to theaters, nightclubs to miniature golf courses. 䡲 Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB

ve yA gle Ba KAREN FREESE

bridge span alongside Ambassador for over a decade, was dismissed FROM PAGE 3 earlier but is under review at the money to delay the public bridge appeals court in Washington. process,” he said. “But if you took The bridge company claims the amount of money he’s spent the Coast Guard’s permit actions (in court) and compare it with the have served as a delay tactic, amount the bridge makes, then while Michigan and Canada preprobably every year he can delay pare to open the public Howe things it’s still a profitable venture.” bridge about two miles away by The Ambassador Bridge is 2020. Mickey Blashfield, director widely believed to have generated of government relations for the around $60 million in annual rev- bridge company, declined to enue in recent years. The DIBC comment on any of the litigation has said a government bridge last week. could siphon as much as 70 perOnly one claim, that the State cent of its traffic, although a traffic Department entered an internastudy from public bridge support- tional crossing agreement without ers estimates it would take 31.1 congressional action and that percent of Ambassador’s commer- Michigan entered it without legcial truck traffic and 12 percent of islative action, is going forward. auto traffic by 2035. Robert Sedler, a professor of The bridge has historically ac- constitutional law at Wayne State University Law School and counted for more than part of the Moroun bridge one-quarter of all comcompany’s legal team in mercial traffic between the Washington court the U.S. and Canada. Mocase, crafted the legal arroun, a trucking industrigument for that surviving alist who bought the Amcourt claim. He said last bassador in 1979, has week that Gov. Rick Snybeen in litigation through der essentially lacked authe bridge company for thority to unilaterally years over both the public Robert Sedler: enter a bridge crossing span project and his own Guided bridge deal with Canada. proposed private second company’s legal That argument could span to be built alongside argument. get some traction, some the Ambassador. But even as that litigation winds observers said. “None of the argudown, Wayne County Circuit Court ments that got dismissed (by Collymay be about to hear dozens of er) made any sense. The one that eminent domain suits from state didn’t get dismissed makes some Transportation officials against sense, but it’s not a showstopper,” property owners in Detroit’s in- Ackerman said of the Sedler argudustrial Delray neighborhood, ment. “It’s probably a stretch to where the Gordie Howe bridge is think he (Moroun) will win it, but it expected to land. comes close.” Chief Circuit Judge Robert The Coast Guard has rejected Colombo issued a “docket directive” the bridge company’s permit aplast month, ordering any lawsuits plication in part because Moroun MDOT expects to file condemning had not yet obtained all the land property for bridge purposes to be on either side of the river necesinitially assigned to him. sary to build the second span — a The cases will then be randomly feat that Moroun’s attorneys conreassigned to various civil court tend isn’t required for permit purjudges after Colombo handles pre- poses. liminary matters, like transfer of Mullins said governments can title and challenges to the necessi- be limited by their contract agreety of taking land — a protocol that ments, like the kind that a predesuggests the court expects a fairly cessor company to Moroun’s first large MDOT case volume shortly. reached to authorize a toll bridge “There was a time we were told crossing over 80 years ago. But it the bridge authority didn’t want to was unrealistic of Moroun’s legal file in court and could work this team to expect its own agreement out on their own,” said Alan Acker- was enough to constrain both govman, managing partner of Bloom- ernments from developing anothfield Hills-based Ackerman, Acker - er bridge. man & Dynkowski PC and attorney He also said the Coast Guard is for more than 15 property owners likely to prevail on the permit disnear the proposed crossing site. pute as well. “But I don’t think they have in“It’s an argument, and he (Moterest in doing anything else but roun) is welcome to make it,” he going to court, at this point.” said. Collyer dismissed seven out of McLellan contends the Michinine counts in a 2010 Detroit In- gan constitution, in Article 3, ternational Bridge lawsuit against specifically authorizes the state to the U.S. State Department , U.S. “enter into agreements…(to carry Coast Guard , Federal Highway Ad - out) their respective functions” ministration , the government of with the government of Canada, a Canada and several federal cabi- power the state has invoked on net members and department several other occasions as well as heads, in a ruling that said the in the bridge deal last year. bridge company was overstating But Sedler counters that proviits claims under a 1921 franchise sion is “subject to provisions of agreement authorizing the bridge. general law,” or statutes enacted An eighth claim, stemming from by the Legislature. 䡲 Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796 allegations the Coast Guard held Twitter: @chadhalcom up a requested permit for a second

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DETROIT HOMECOMING “It’s cliche to say it’s the new Brooklyn, but Detroit is real and Brooklyn is fake now.” — David Maraniss, Detroit native and author of Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story

“I chose Detroit for one reason, and I’m glad I did, because I had a chance to play.” — Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer

“We should all feel lucky we have the ability to make such an immediate impact on something so material and symbolic to the city.” — Jacob Fenton, senior product manager at Seattle-based Amazon, in reference to the push to fund a new copper roof for the Belle Isle Aquarium

“The buildings that we were painting and papering the windows for the Super Bowl are now lofts.” — Roger Penske

“I love seeing this place change. It’s 8,000 times bigger and more successful than I imagined.” — ABC News correspondent and Bloomfield Hills native Bob Woodruff

“I come back to Detroit about three times a year and each time I see incremental changes, but I had no idea just how much was happening.” — Jon Pepper, partner and co-founder of New York City-based public relations firm Indelable LLC and former Detroit News columnist

Stephen Ross forms anti-racism team NFL owner, development mogul creates initiative for equality through sports By Bill Shea bshea@crain.com

When news broke in November 2013 that Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incogni-

to had sent racially tinged, harassing text and voicemail messages to a teammate, team owner Stephen Ross was mortified. Incognito was suspended, and the Dolphins became the center of a National Football League investigation and embarrassing news coverage that exposed a culture of bullying and racism at the highest level of professional sports. Ross decided to do something. “We all know that I had this problem in Miami with Incognito, dealing with this lack of respect of players had for each other,” Ross, 75, said. “I saw it as kind of a product of racism and something that has always troubled me.” In response, he’s created the New York Citybased Ross Initiative for Sports and Equality, aimed at combating racism by creating a grass-roots campaign to educate children through sports that bullying and slurs are not OK. The core of RISE will be public-service messages and a curriculum focused on racial equality and issues, and civility, for youth, high school and college students, said RISE Executive Director Ndidi Massay. RISE already is working with the Dolphins and with the University of Michigan . The Detroit-born

AARON ECKELS

Stephen Ross spoke to the Homecoming crowd through a video message.Watch the video at detroithomecoming.com Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, is a 1962 UM grad and has given the university more than $300 million for its athletic department and the business school that bears his name. RISE is in talks with all the major sports leagues, teams, media and corporate advertisers. “What we’ve put together will have really major impact across the country,” Ross said. Also fueling his effort to tackle racial equality was a 2013 trip through Detroit with Gov. Rick Snyder and then-city Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Ross earned a law degree from Wayne State University in 1965. “Tears came to my eyes remembering Detroit as I saw it and seeing it then, and just seeing how

Homecoming attendees share stories, reconnect More than 350 “Detroit expats” and guests attended the second annual Detroit Homecoming last week. Detroit Homecoming, which debuted last year, is an event designed to re-engage people who grew up in Detroit or its suburbs and made their fortunes elsewhere. It seeks their support for their hometown through philanthropy, real estate investment or other tangible contributions. Welcoming remarks came from Gov. Rick Snyder, and were followed by keynote speakers, panels, entertainment and tours Wednesday through Friday. “What a foundation that’s been built. We’re making it special because we’re working together,” Snyder said to a crowd of 175 expats and about the same number of local luminaries at a packed dinner at the Detroit Opera House . “There was a downtown and a Midtown — now there’s a whole entertainment district. “If you’re with us, we’re only stronger and better,” Snyder said.

Under Armour founder draws parallels to Baltimore Under Armour Inc. CEO and founder Kevin Plank on Wednesday said his site evaluation team was seeking space for a store in the city. The news came a week after

Under Armour’s largest competitor, Nike Inc., submitted plans to the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification at 1261 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. Nike is expected to open a “community store,” which advocates for its employees to do volunteer work. Plank didn’t elaborate further on his company’s Detroit plans. During a chat with Quicken Loans Inc . Chairman Dan Gilbert, Plank described how a city can help establish the culture of a company. Plank founded Under Armour in 1996 before moving the company from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. “Frankly, if anyone has a bigger chip on their shoulder than Detroit, it’s Baltimore,” he said.

Hilliard to move gymnastics foundation to Motor City Former Olympic gymnast Wendy Hilliard is moving her New York City-based foundation to Detroit. The Harlem-based Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation has been promoting the sport to inner-city children for 19 years. Hilliard, who spoke Thursday at the Detroit Institute of Arts as part of Detroit Homecoming, said: “When I was here (at Homecoming) last SEE HIGHLIGHTS, PAGE 22

it was such a product of racism,” Ross said. He saw an opportunity in the same field that spawned the Incognito controversy — sports. “Sport really is the common dominator in the world. It brings us all together. And if there’s any place where there’s equality, it’s really in sports.” Ross is personally funding RISE’s launch. But the expectation is that teams, leagues, organizations and companies eventually will contribute. While America has since made strides toward equality, bigotry and harassment remain problems, as evidenced by the national conversation since the Ferguson, Mo., riots last year. “Racism exists in this country. You see it all the time, and it always raises its ugly head,” Ross said. “You’re not going to change it overnight, but you’ve got to start somewhere.” The specifics of how RISE will execute its mission are being worked out. Hired to help shape and deploy the messaging campaign are New York City-based Fly Communi cations and Connecticut-based production house Victory Pictures. RISE is in talks to create a pilot program with the nonprofit Think Detroit PAL that gets city kids ages 7 to 14 involved in various sports — a relationship initially fostered by Wayne State Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson. Said Massay: “We want to focus on youth. We think that’s the future, that’s the change.” 䡲

EDUCATION FROM PAGE 1

school system. “I believe if we’re really going to compete in any business capacity in Detroit, if we don’t have a school system that produces the very best … this city will be very fragile in its recovery,” Reuss said in a session at MotorCity Casino Friday led by Skill man Foundation CEO Tonya Allen. “We’re going to have a better school system. I don’t want to have to get electrical engineers or software engineers from someplace other than Detroit,” Reuss said. Wendy Hilliard, president of the New York City-based Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, which she announced is moving to Detroit, agreed it all stems back to education. Hilliard, another Homecoming speaker, was the first AfricanAmerican to represent the U.S. native gymnastics team and is a Detroit native. “For the city of Detroit to survive, you’ve got to have great kids, and they’ve got to be educated,” she said. Youth engagement was also the big winner of Detroit Homecoming’s nonprofit fundraising challenge through the gifting website Crowdrise. (See story, Page 22.) But Detroit Homecoming wasn’t only about civic engagement and philanthropy. Showing off the city and its business leaders and environment — including new real estate investment — remained a critical aspect of the event.

Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626 Twitter: @Bill_Shea19

Among other news highlights: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announcing an initiative to make gas stations safer, and Kevin Plank, CEO of Baltimore-based Under Ar mour , discussing the retailer’s developing plans to open a Detroit store while being interviewed by Dan Gilbert. The economic development aspect builds off last year’s event, which resulted in $230 million of direct investment from 30 initiatives in the city, including a $200 capital raise from Chicago-based Capri Capital . Quintin Primo III, chairman, and Gwendolyn Butler, vice chair, are graduates of Cass Technical and Mumford high schools, respectfully. Many attendees and speakers said seeing the city’s progress — from new housing to public spaces to businesses making bikes and cakes — was awe-inspiring. Said David Maraniss, a longtime journalist and associate editor of The Washington Post who was born in Detroit in 1949: “The symbolism of a city in ruin has been changing to a city of hope.” Maraniss moved with his parents to Wisconsin when he was 7, but has written a new book, Once in a Great City, on Detroit’s contributions to America, ranging from Motown to car manufacturing to the middle class. (See detroithomecoming.com for more on his book and local book signings.) Said Maraniss: “I tell students to go to Detroit — where you can invent yourself.” 䡲 Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

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DETROIT HOMECOMING: SEPT. 30 - OCT. 2

Detroit native Wendy Hilliard, first African-American to represent the U.S. in national and international gymnastics competition, announces plans to open a youth gymnastics program in Detroit and move her foundation here from New York.

Julia Farber, (center), co-founder of Detroit XPAC, chats with other guests at the food truck rodeo at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on Thursday.

Above: Groupon co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky chat with Dan Gilbert at MotorCity Sound Board on Friday. Below, Gilbert interviews Under Armour founder Kevin Plank at the opening dinner at the Detroit Opera House on Thursday. Lower right, the grand foyer of the opera house, during opening night on Wednesday.

Motown legend Martha Reeves, center, with her sisters as backup, entertains expats at the Townhouse on Thursday night. Gina Martocci, ex-Detroiter now living in Los Angeles, won $25,000 to help start a bakery in Detroit, Sweet Gâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, that will employ disadvantaged people.

Former quarterback (Detroit Lions) Greg Landry, second from left, talks about supporting Detroit PALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans for the old Tiger Stadium site. Landry and, from left, Kris Draper (Red Wings), Dave Bing (Pistons) and Al Kaline (Tigers) reminisced about their pro sports careers in Detroit at the Detroit Opera House on Wednesday.

PHOTOS BY AARON ECKELS

Entrepreneur Samantha Snapes, a former NASA strategist, makes her pitch to expand her 3-D printing company in Detroit.

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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS www.crainsdetroit.com Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain Group Publisher Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 or mkramer@crain.com Associate Publisher Marla Wise, (313) 446-6032 or mwise@crain.com Editor Jennette Smith, (313) 446-1622 or jhsmith@crain.com Executive Editor Cindy Goodaker, (313) 446-0460 or cgoodaker@crain.com Director, Digital Strategy Nancy Hanus, (313) 446-1621 or nhanus@crain.com Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com Managing Editor/Custom and Special Projects Daniel Duggan, (313) 446-0414 or dduggan@crain.com Assistant Managing Editor Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or kbull@crain.com News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 or bvalone@crain.com Senior Editor Gary Piatek, (313) 446-0357 or gpiatek@crain.com Research and Data Editor Sonya Hill,(313) 446-0402 orshill@crain.com Web Producer Norman Witte III, (313) 446-6059 or nwitte@crain.com Editorial Support (313) 446-0419; YahNica Crawford, (313) 446-0329 Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 , TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

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DETROIT HOMECOMING

Family brought him back, biz climate kept him here By Ariel Black ablack@crain.com

After more than 20 years of working at venture capital firms and launching two startups in the San Francisco Bay area, Bill Thomason is back in his childhood home in Detroit. “To be transparent, I didn’t want to come back,” Thomason, 50, said of his move home in 2013 to take care of his aging parents. “I loved San Francisco Bill Thomason: and had a great Crowdsourcing career; it’s a ideas for Motown. great community. But within a few months of coming home, my parents passed away.” Aside from coping with loss and beginning the long process of organizing a lifetime’s worth of memories from the house, something else kept him in the city. “I was hearing a lot of hype about Detroit and its entrepreneurial community, so I decided to stay,” Thomason said. Thomason has a background in entrepreneurship and finance; he previously worked as a venture fund analyst for JP Morgan Bay Area Equity Fund in San Francisco, and as co-

founder and managing partner of a California boutique investment firm, Taurum Capital Partners. More recently, he’s been a business adviser and coach at TechTown and Bizdom. Three of the biggest companies funded through his work at JP Morgan were Pandora Radio, Tesla Motors and Revolution Foods. “Growing up, I lived on the northwest side of Detroit and went to Cass Technical High School downtown — I rode a bus called the Imperial Express, and I could get to Cass in 20 to 25 minutes each morning,” Thomason said. Nostalgia set in after moving back to the city in 2013, and Thomason searched online to see whether the bus route still existed. “That’s when I discovered how bad the transportation system was,” he said. He’s now part of the team at IdeaMarket —a San Francisco-based, crowdsourced marketplace that matches entrepreneurs with funders to create new companies, backed by Steve Case of AOL fame and Bill Gross from Idealab. The marketplace helps create and operate startup companies. “I like to think of it as a reverse Kickstarter,” Thomason said. “What we have are wealthy investors who have ideas, but a lot of them can’t take the time to start the company and get it off the ground. They want

HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAGE 20

year, I thought, ‘What can I do?’ and I thought, ‘I’ll bring the foundation to Detroit.’” Hilliard was the first AfricanAmerican to represent the United States and remained on the Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team a record-setting nine times. Hilliard, who graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended Wayne State University, said her foundation is looking for space in Detroit with plans to open next fall. Earlier last week, Hilliard announced her foundation will open a recreation center in Detroit.

Duggan offers details on gas station safety plan A pilot initiative intended to curb violence like carjackings at Detroit gas stations and party stores is expected to start by January, Mayor Mike Duggan said Thursday. During a question-and-answer session following a set of wide-ranging remarks at Detroit Homecoming, Duggan said eight gas stations have agreed to be part of the pilot program. It would involve a central camera system, high-resolution cameras and bright lighting that would be able to capture clear images of license plates and criminals. Those would then be sent directly to patrol cars wirelessly.

to find the people with the ideas and fund them.” IdeaMarket’s co-founder and CEO Vijai Anma said this method of approaching a problem is far more effective than having step one be the creation of the startup. Less than a year old, IdeaMarket itself still functions as a startup. “We started kicking the (concept) of IdeaMarket around in January of last year and decided to do a launch at South by Southwest (SxSW),” he said. “It’s a great place to launch because you reach people from all over the world.” The massive SxSW is held in Austin, Texas, yearly inMarch and spans films, interactive media, music and conferences. The IdeaMarket team rented a house in Austin in March 2015, covered the inside with poster board, then invited all SxSW attendees to write their thoughts about what they considered to be Detroit’s biggest challenges on the walls of the house. The marketing tactic was called “The Detroit Challenge IdeaMarket House.” The Detroit Challenge IdeaMarket House generated more than 900 ideas from that first round of submissions. Eventually, that was narrowed to six challenges. The first challenge, which officially opened last week, asks people from all over the world to submit their detailed idea of how

to improve transportation in the Motor City. The winner will have his or her idea backed with $250,000. Of that, $100,000 is designated for hosting infrastructure provided by Google Cloud for startups. Another $100,000 will come in the form of local investment, and the final $50,000 is in the form of funding from the Detroit Creative Corridor and design and marketing services. There’s one catch: The winner must relocate to Detroit to work on the project. Martin Dober, a vice president of Invest Detroit, said his nonprofit has met with Thomason and is eager to participate as one of the funders. Invest Detroit has two early stage investment funds, the First Step fund and the Detroit Innovate fund. “We’ve agreed to commit some funding to companies that relocate here, subject to due diligence and approval by our investment committee,” he said. Ideas can be submitted through Dec. 15. Thomason said the team plans to launch a new challenge every three to six months until all six challenges have become fullfledged companies. To learn more, visit the IdeaMarket website or read the details of the Detroit Transportation Challenge. 䡲

Crain at MotorCity Casino ’s Sound Board venue, the auto racing mogul reminisced about the roles the Super Bowl and other events have played in Detroit.

will employ the disadvantaged, including the homeless and former convicts. She won $25,000.

Maple water, bakery plan win biz pitch contests AARON ECKELS

Roger Penske pushes the importance of annual events in a city’s life. Duggan said a camera and lighting ordinance may eventually lay out required standards for businesses open after 10 p.m.

Penske: Annual events are lifeblood of city Roger Penske quarterbacked Detroit’s effort to land and host a Super Bowl but says it’s better for the city to have a series of permanent annual events rather than landmark international happenings such as Super Bowls — but it’s good to have those, too. “Even more important are the annual events,” he said, citing the annual auto show at Cobo Center, the Belle Isle Grand Prix that Penske resuscitated, the Detroit Jazz Festival, Winter Blast and Woodward Dream Cruise. In a one-on-one interview Friday morning with Crain Communications Inc. Executive Vice President KC

A bakery owner from Los Angeles and a former Oakland Community College student who makes bottled water from the liquid that flows through maple trees on Friday were named winner of Detroit Homecoming pitch competitions. The business competition was for companies based in other states that will either move their headquarters to Detroit or open an operation here if they won funding. In the growth-company category, Ari Tolwin won $75,000. Tolwin’s New York-based Happy Tree has begun negotiations with owners of maple tree stands in northern Michigan. The winner of the neighborhood category was Gina Martocci of Los Angeles, who wants to open a bakery in Detroit called Sweet G’s that

Ariel Black: (313) 446-6065 ablack@crain.com

PAL field wins nonprofit fundraising contest In the Detroit Homecoming CrowdRise campaign for nonprofits, Detroit PAL and its effort to build a youth stadium at the old Tiger Stadium site won the challenge, raising $14,910 — the most of the seven local nonprofits vying Thursday for $100,000 in challenge grants. Retired National Basketball Associ ation and Detroit Country Day player Shane Battier, co-founder of the Miami-based Battier Take Charge Foundation , was the expat championing the effort to raise money for a 2,500-seat stadium that Detroit PAL, working with the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, plans to erect. Participants were challenged to raise money from Detroit expats to spur interest in Detroit philanthropy from outside the city. Overall, the contest participants raised $44,154 as of midnight Thursday for the participating nonprofits. 䡲

INDEX TO COMPANIES These companies have significant mention in this week’s Crain’s Detroit Business: Ackerman, Ackerman & Dynkowski.................. 19 Computing Source ................................................110 Detroit Downtown Development Authority ......11 Detroit Economic Growth ....................................119 Detroit Free Press ........................................................111 Detroit Homecoming ........................................11, 20 3 Detroit International Bridge ..................................3 Detroit Pistons ........................................................111

3 Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton ................................3 22 Invest Detroit..........................................................2 Jarvis Property Restoration ................................116 3, 18 LLamasoft............................................................3 Lumen Legal ............................................................110 3 McLellan Law Offices ..............................................3 Palace Sports & Entertainment ..........................111 3 Signal Restoration Services ..................................3

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WEEK

ON THE WEB SEPT. 26-OCT. 2

Campbell Ewald Detroit Digits wins account for N.Y. agency 2.73M

A numbers-focused look at last week’s headlines:

etroit-based advertising agency Campbell Ewald won a two-year, $150 million marketing account for Empire State Development, the state of New York’s economic development agency. The deal, for $75 million a year, also includes two one-year options, according to a report from PRWeek.com, making it potentially four years in total. The work is one of several critical new accounts for Campbell Ewald as it continues to deal with the loss of the $480 million U.S. Navy recruiting account in May.

COMPANY NEWS Tyler Technologies Inc., a Texas-based provider of management services for local governments, signed an agreement to acquire Troy-based software company New World Systems Corp. for $670 million in cash and stock. No layoffs or changes to New World Systems’ Michigan headquarters are planned. Fifty percent of HealthPlus of Michigan’s workforce, or 227 employees, will be cut by Oct. 9 through voluntary and involuntary separations and attrition, the Flint-based health care plan provider said. HealthPlus of Michigan HMO lost $17.7 million in 2014 and $6.95 million in 2013, according to financial reports. Orion Township-based metal stamper Su-Dan Corp. will close its Michigan manufacturing plants by December. Shuttering three plants in Orion Township and one in Belton, S.C., will mean the loss of 151 jobs, 131 of them in Michigan, said a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter to the state. Longview, Texas-based Lodging Host Hotel Corp. tendered notice on its management contract for the Royal Dearborn Hotel & Convention Center last month, a company official confirmed. The change in management comes amid the sale of the property. Lodging Host, which took over operation of the hotel last November, is transitioning management to Kennesaw, Ga.-based Cusa LLC. Troy-based law firm Harness, Dickey & Pierce PLC will collect a payday of about $1.57 million after the U.S. Supreme Court opened more companies to the risk of attorney fees for bringing patent-infringement lawsuits on shaky legal ground. A federal judge made the award to the firm in connection to a dispute between fitness equipment makers in Minnesota and Utah. Spring & Sprout Dental Holdings,

Actually, 2,726,048 — the total attendance for the Detroit Tigers’ 81-game schedule at Comerica Park this season. The figure is ninth-best in Major League Baseball in 2015 and sixth-highest in club history, but marks a 6.5 percent decline from the home turnout in 2014.

The ranking for Mike and Marian Ilitch, and their $5.4 billion fortune, on the newly issued Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. The Ilitches led metro Detroit on the list; Dan Gilbert is No. 149, at $3.8 billion.

$137,500

The sale price at auction in Beverly Hills, Calif., for the artwork said to be created at the former Packard Plant in Detroit by British graffiti artist Banksy. An 8-foot, 1,500pound section of cinderblock wall featuring the artwork was excavated from the site in 2010 by the 555 gallery.

a Dundee-based portfolio company of Detroit-based Huron Capital Partners LLC, acquired some of the assets of Austin, Texas-based Rising Stars Pediatric Dentistry. MetLife Inc. is among the insurers providing a $1 billion loan to refinance Bloomfield Hillsbased Taubman Centers Inc.’s Mall at Short Hills, a 1.4 million-squarefoot luxury shopping center in New Jersey, Bloomberg reported. Seven more companies, including electric carmaker Tesla Motors, could face recalls because they use airbag inflators made by Takata Corp., according to letters they received from U.S. safety regulators. Tokyo-based Takata’s North American subsidiary is TK Holdings Inc. in Auburn Hills.

OTHER NEWS The Michigan appeals court struck down an order that bars lawyers and others from talking publicly, including to the media, about a criminal case related to the unfinished Wayne County jail project, AP reported. Carla Sledge, the county’s former chief financial officer, is charged with giving false or misleading information about the cost of a new jail. The steel frame that will form the skeleton of the new Detroit Red Wings arena will begin to rise by Halloween, a project official said. Work on the $532 million hockey arena and events center began last summer in advance of a planned 2017 opening, and Olympia Development of Michigan

held a media briefing and tour

last week to update progress. A 73,000-square-foot building at a key location in New Center has sold to Detroit-based nonprofit Franklin-Wright Settlements Inc., which will use it for expanded youth programming. A purchase price for the former Woodlow Building at 7375 Woodward Ave., at the northern terminus of the M1 Rail line running from downtown to New Center, was not disclosed. The UAW will return to the bargaining table with Fiat Chrysler after its membership rejected a proposed agreement by 65 percent, according to a statement released by the union, Automotive News reported. The rejection increases the risk of a strike at FCA as the union decides its next move. The Detroit City Council approved a land deal on a redevelopment plan for the 18-acre Herman Kiefer health complex site. The vote requires developer Ron Castellano to guarantee the 10 vacant buildings will be secured and weatherproofed to guard against theft and blight, The Detroit News reported. A former Cadillac sales and service building at 6001 Cass Ave. in Detroit is being considered for a multifamily conversion. The Albert Kahn-designed building would have about 80 residential units, said Peter Cummings, who said he has a memorandum of understanding to redevelop it. Michelle Lewis’ new Painting with a Twist location in downtown Detroit is expected to open in the Julian C. Madison Building by early November. Lewis also has Ferndale and Farmington franchises for the New Orleans-based chain that lets customers take painting classes while drinking wine. Construction began on the Legoland Discovery Center Michigan

at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills. London-based Merlin Entertainments plc will operate Legoland, slated to open in 2016. Joan Larsen, a University of Michigan law professor, was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court, filling an opening caused by the early departure of Justice Mary Beth Kelly. Also last week, Snyder appointed Oakland Circuit Court Judge Colleen O’Brien to the Michigan Court of Appeals. O’Brien will replace retiring appellate Judge Pat Donofrio. Oakland University students taking a new 400-level business course are getting hands-on experience in investment portfolio management and evaluation and stock selection with a $2 million student-managed investment fund from the Troy-based Kresge Foundation. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley was to leave Friday for a weeklong trade trip to India. A law that took effect Oct. 1 requires Amazon, Overstock and certain other Internet retailers to pay sales and use taxes in Michigan.

RUMBLINGS Vinegar biz sweet after ‘Shark Tank’ feature with sponsorship from GM RenCen. he “Shark Tank” effect bites again. After a Sept. 25 apGuests at the Oct. 14 event can pearance on ABC’s hit busiview the giant confectionary box ness pitch show, the founder and and taste Detroit-themed chocoCEO of Detroit-based McClary Bros. lates like Boston Cooler, Bumpy says the flavored vinegar maker has Cake and Better Made potato chip been flooded with orders. crunches, while listening to DeJess Sanchez McClary didn’t troit-themed entertainment and emerge a winner on the show, but sipping from a cash bar. the onslaught of orEach guest also ders from the pubreceives a share of licity was big. the box’s chocolates Visits to the comto take home. pany website rose The event will 15,000 percent the take place at the day after the TV apGM Plaza on the pearance, but the Riverwalk or in the site weathered the GM Wintergarden assault. McClary at GM RenCen, desaid Web sales in two pending on weathdays were as much er. Tickets are $20, DAVID HALL cover one drink and as all company sales the preceding year. Jess Sanchez McClary, CEO of support continuing The McClary fla- McClary Bros., is enjoying the new work on the Rivervored vinegars (with demand for her flavored vinegar. walk. varieties such as fig leaf, rhubarb and blood orange) Judge nixes ‘Juggalo’ fees can be used to make craft cocktails, It was worth a try, but Bloomfield for cooking, to make artisan pop, Hills-based Hertz Schram PC will not and in other ways. Among the sellcollect fees from the U.S. Department ing points are the health benefits of of Justice in a public records dispute the base ingredient: unpasteurized involving fans of hip-hop duo Inapple cider vinegar. McClary said she hired two more sane Clown Posse. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith full-time employees last week and last week denied a request for attorupgraded one part-timer to full ney fees in a 2012 lawsuit under the time in advance of the barrage. federal Freedom of Information Act. Hertz Schram has alleged the FBI Hotel getting respectable resisted for months turning over A former den of ill repute will documents related to a 2011 report, transform into an “affordable luxuin which it identified the group’s ry” hotel in Corktown, for just $9 fans of “Juggalos” as a “loosely million. formed hybrid gang.” The 144-room former Corktown The firm is also co-counsel in a Inn on Trumbull Avenue is undergo- separate suit by band members Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, also ing renovations, paid for in part by known as Violent J and Shaggy 2 a $5 million construction loan seDope, and several self-identified cured Sept. 18, to turn it from a Juggalos, alleging First Amendment place known for illicit activities. violations. “Day rates, crack, you name it,” said Barry Caplan, managing principal and COO of Orlando, Fla.-based New food, seats at Palace Access Hospitality, the owner and A $3 million renovation of the operator of the hotel. “There was a joke that underwear was sold in the East Terrace at The Palace of Auburn Hills has brought eateries Maplewood vending machines.” The rebranded Trumbull and Porter BBQ, Eastside Tacos and upscale sausage stand The Linkery to Detroit hotel, named for the intersection Pistons fans and concertgoers. where it’s located, will feature a Rochester-based Frank Rewold & swimming pool, bars, restaurants Son, the same firm building the new and décor supplied by Detroit minor league baseball park in artists, Caplan said. The company Utica, was builder on the renovahas targeted a January opening, and the renovated rooms will range from tion. DAIQ Architects was designer. Chicago concessionaire Levy $129 to $209 by season, he said. Restaurants handled the new food. The first phase of the seating reChocolate-flavored benefit placement by Grand Rapids-based An unofficial “world’s longest box Irwin Seating Co., about 6,000 chairs, of chocolate” comes to the riveris already complete. Two more phasfront next week, for a viewing es follow next summer and in 2017, Palace Sports and Entertainment said. fundraiser to benefit the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy. The 313Owner Tom Gores has spent $40 foot-long box of at least 2,600 bonmillion on renovations since he bons is in development by Hambought the Pistons and the venue tramck chocolatier Bon Bon Bon, for $325 million in 2011.

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