Crain's Detroit Business, Feb. 19, 2018 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

Takata, feds tangle over $125M in settlement money Page 11

FEBRUARY 19 - 25, 2018 | crainsdetroit.com REDEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORTATION

Investment group buys Hotel St. Regis

Brightmoor to Novi: The long ride for low-wage workers Ashley Williams knows firsthand what the intersection of Haggerty and 12 Mile roads at t h e Novi-FarmingCHAD ton Hills borLIVENGOOD der means for someone trying to get to work in metro Detroit on public transportation. That’s where workers headed to jobs at Twelve Oaks Mall have to get off a bus and start walking west along a 1.6-mile stretch of busy road, using a patchwork of sidewalks and worn paths in the grass. In 2016 and 2017, Williams one of those workers, traveling from Detroit to Novi. Novi, a magnet for lower-wage retail jobs in the region, is one of 39 communities in Oakland County that have walled themselves off from the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) bus system — creating barriers for workers trying to get to jobs and employers trying to find

Kirk Pinho

kpinho@crain.com

A local investment group has purchased majority ownership of 125room Hotel St. Regis and plans millions in renovations to the New Center area landmark that has struggled in recent years. The new owners, Detroit-based Invictus Equity Group, is betting that its $6 million capital infusion and the hotel’s proximity to Henry Ford Health System, the under-construction new Detroit Pistons practice facility to the south and other institutions will pay off as the area around West Christos Grand Boulevard Moisides: Work continues to to begin in 90 catch the eye of days. real estate investors. Invictus is led by Tony Saunders, the former Wayne County CFO who worked on Detroit’s bankruptcy restructuring at the B i r m i n g Tony Saunders: ham-based corOpportunity is porate turnexciting. around firm Conway MacKenzie; and Christos Moisides, executive member of Detroit-based 400 Monroe Associates LLC. Invictus closed on the deal for an undisclosed price last Wednesday. Moisides and Saunders said last week that renovations — including remodeling the rooms, redesigning the lobby and adding a bar and renovating the La Musique restaurant, including a large exterior patio — are expected to begin in the next 90 days and take about a year to complete. SEE ST. REGIS, PAGE 22

crainsdetroit.com

West Dearborn poised for surge of development Page 3

Detroiter Ashley Williams, 20, took three buses to get from northwest Detroit to part-time retail jobs in 2016 and 2017 at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi. CHAD LIVENGOOD/ CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

help with reliable transportation. “It’s very inconvenient,” said Williams, a 20-year-old Detroiter who would spend four to five hours a day traveling by bus, foot and bike from northwest Detroit to minimum-wage jobs at the Novi mall last winter. I rode Williams’ former commute route last week to figure out how people get from Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood — one of the poorest areas in the poorest city in America — to Novi, one of the affluent SMART opt-out communities that Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has vowed to shield from being drawn into a revised Regional Transit Authority taxing district. From Brightmoor, a neighborhood built in the 1920s to house workers at auto factory jobs that have largely disappeared, the logical route to Twelve Oaks would be a 25-minute drive northwest up Grand River Avenue. But because Novi isn’t part of the region’s spotty mass transportation system, the route is anything but logical. SEE TRANSIT, PAGE 21

NONPROFITS

Van Elslander philanthropy will carry on By Sherri Welch swelch@crain.com

When you’re fortunate enough to be successful, it’s your responsibility to give back. That was an ethic Art Van Elslander lived during his lifetime and something he tried to impart to his family. “It’s really something he passed on to (me and) all my siblings as well,” his eldest son, Gary Van Elslander, said three days after his father died Monday at age 87. After selling the company he spent a lifetime building early last Vol. 34 No. 7

$5 a copy. $169 a year.

year for an estimated $550 million, Van Elslander had just begun to craft new philanthropic and investment strategies. Small investments Gary Van were made, and Elslander: he committed a Named president gift of about $20 in June. million to the Solanus Casey Center to support expansion of its campus and enhance

it as a pilgrimage site following the beatification of Father Solanus Casey. Van Elslander didn’t have a chance to finalize the plans for the foundation and strategy for Van Elslander Capital LLC, the company he launched to make investments. Gary Van Elslander, who was named president of the investment company last June, will work with a board of directors to put strategies in place there. And he and his brothers and sisters will continue his charitable work through the new foundation.

 Art Van Elslander’s giving to continue through new foundation  His eldest son will lead finalization of investment strategy for his new investment company  Investment company expected to support Van Elslander family education, entrepreneurship

“We all know his philosophy, his thinking on philanthropy, and plan on staying true to that,” Gary Van Elslander said. SEE ART VAN, PAGE 22

INSIDE

9, 2018 // F E B R U A R Y 1 OIT BUSINESS CRAIN’S DETR

FOCUS

Need to know

Special Report: Law

LAW

NEWSPAPER

<< Deadline looms for broad new EU data privacy rules. Page 8 < Crain’s lists of the largest law firms. Pages 12-14

HOTO

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKP

rules d new EU data privacy Deadline looms for broa Is your business ready? By Doug Henze

Special to Crain’s Detroit

Business

data Gathering valuable customer behas to build marketing profiles compaU.S. come second nature for nies in the digital age. European But a culture clash with been ramping regulators — who have for their citi-

Need to know

J New EU regulation goes

into effect May

will impact any data of company that handles the European citizens J Penalties could be steep

J The broad-reaching rule

se,

and privacy team for Bucomplying with bersecurityworries that some smaller Long, are the things tzel may not have given the that are going to businesses enough attention. result in the large regulation companies with global “Most for penalties.” have been aware of this Approved in reach impletime and have been April 2016, the some protections they need,” the GDPR aims to menting based in the law firm’s Ann the said Rast, safeguard “There are those that office. personal infor- Arbor here in Claudia Rast: it doesn’t apply — ‘I’m mation of Euro- think to worry going not I’m Small businesses and U.S. citizens. the need to be aware. pean the about it.’” Replacing business onsider a metro Detroit

affected, if e-commerce may be identithey’re gathering “personally IP adas fiable” information, such of Europeans dresses or location data monitor behitting their website, to havior. companies States, In the United a combitypically have had to gather and name — nation of information for example Social Security number, identifiable — to meet the personally cotest, said Michael Hindelang, and privacy chair of the data security Milllitigation practice in Honigman, d Cohn LLP’s Detroit

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

MICHIGAN BRIEFS

INSIDE

From staff and wire reports. Find the full stories at crainsdetroit.com

Deal struck to forgive driver fees Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican legislative leaders struck a deal last Wednesday to forgive $637 million in unpaid Driver Responsibility Fees owed by more than 300,000 motorists. Workforce officials have blamed the fees for crimping the state’s labor pool. State Budget Director John Walsh confirmed to Crain’s that the governor and Legislature will move forward with granting motorists complete amnesty of fees that stem from a state-level tax on municipal traffic violations. The Senate and House swiftly took action last Wednesday afternoon to pass bills that forgive all unpaid Driver Responsibility Fees, pairing the deal with legislation that delivers modest election-year income tax relief for individuals and small businesses. The sheer volume of the lingering driver debts and wide-ranging impact on drivers across the state was first reported by Crain’s in August. For years, the unpaid debts have increased as the state has suspended the licenses of drivers who didn’t pay the fines. Snyder and legislative leaders had been at odds about simply forgiving all of the unpaid debt because the drivers fees are still a source of revenue for the state’s $10 billion general fund.

“This is the CPA governor who likes to run numbers and I’m just happy we’re going to be able get 300,000 people their drivers’ license back,” House Speaker Tom Leonard told Crain’s. “We will see full forgiveness and amnesty.” The House Fiscal Agency has estimated an amnesty program would cost the state’s budget about $23 million this fiscal year. “The public policy outweighs the financial implications because I think we’re in a position to absorb it now,” Walsh told Crain’s. Under the deal, lawmakers also plan to waive a $125 fee drivers have had to pay to get their driver’s license reinstated.

MSU hires Blanchard for Nassar investigations

Michigan State University has retained former Gov. James Blanchard and his law firm DLA Piper to answer to looming federal investigations related to the Larry Nassar sexual assault fallout, it said last week in a news release. MSU entered into a contract with DLA Piper that runs Feb. 1-Jan. 31, 2019, despite fears by some Michigan congressional lawmakers about potential conflicts of interest. Blanchard will be tasked with at least three separate congressional inquiries into the school’s handling of hundreds of sexual assault accu-

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIEDS

KEITH CRAIN

OPINION

OTHER VOICES

ISTOCK

More than 300,000 drivers who owe the state $637 million in unpaid Driver Responsibility Fees would be forgiven of those debts under a deal Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican legislative leaders struck Wednesday.

sations from girls and young women against Nassar. The former Michigan State and USA Gymnastics doctor has been convicted of 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and accused by at least 265 women and girls of sexual assault under the guise of medical treatment on the MSU campus and elsewhere. Now a partner of the London-based firm in its Washington, D.C., office, Blanchard is a 1964

graduate of MSU and was the Democratic governor of Michigan from 1983-91.

Ex-Perrigo CEO and wife donate $4.3M for UM partnership The University of Michigan is getting $4.3 million to largely help support an education partnership involving schools in West Michigan.

PEOPLE

RUMBLINGS

WEEK ON THE WEB

The gift announced this week from Grand Rapids business and community leaders Mike and Sue Jandernoa will benefit the School of Education’s TeachingWorks organization, establish a scholarship at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and expand Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy fellowships. Those involved say $3 million of the gift will be used to expand a TeachingWorks partnership in Grand Rapids focused on preparing and coaching teachers, particularly in math education. And $1 million will establish the Mike and Sue Jandernoa Scholarship Fund in the Ross School of Business. Mike Jandernoa is a 1972 University of Michigan graduate. He is the former chairman of the board and CEO of Allegan-based Perrigo Co. plc, as well as a mentor to Michigan entrepreneurs and an emeritus member of the Business Leaders for Michigan. Their combined service has touched dozens of nonprofits, including TeachingWorks.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

PLANNING

New West Riverfront Park likely to spur interest By Kirk Pinho kpinho@crain.com

If past is prologue, there could be a lot of real estate development activity along the west Detroit riverfront in the coming years. Last week, the nonprofit Detroit Riverfront Conservancy unveiled four conceptual designs for the 22acre West Riverfront Park between Rosa Parks Boulevard and Eighth Street along the Detroit River. The area immediately surrounding the park, which the conservancy purchased in 2014, has been largely devoid of new development. There is vacant land nearby along

Need to know

Detroit Riverfront Conservancy unveiled four conceptual designs 

 Area immediately surrounding the park has been largely devoid of new development  Park plans expected to generate considerable private sector real estate development

the river and a handful of large buildings to the north used by the U.S. Postal Service and Salvation Army. There is also an apartment building owned by Dennis Kefallinos at

Rosa Parks and Fort, among a handful of other smaller ones. A freight yard sits to the west; the land immediately east is vacant. But depending on how the park shakes out, that landscape could change. Farther east of the park are the Riverfront Towers apartment and condo buildings, with land on both sides of the towers. Robert Gibbs, an urban planner who is principal of Birmingham-based Gibbs Planning Group, said the park plans “will generate considerable private sector real estate development when fully implemented.” SEE RIVERFRONT, PAGE 20

JAMES CORNER FIELD OPERATIONS LLC

James Corner Field Operations LLC is one of the creators of conceptual designs for West Riverfront Park along the Detroit River.

REAL ESTATE

Wagner Place, a $60 million project by Ford Land Development Corp., the real estate arm for Ford Motor Co., is expected to result in about 600 employees moving there this summer. LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S

Dearborn’s west downtown poised for surge in development By Kirk Pinho kpinho@crain.com

The shape of west downtown Dearborn is poised to change in the next several years as Ford’s massive Wagner Place development spurs a boom interest in the area. Wagner Place, a $60 million project by Ford Land Development Corp., the real estate arm for Ford Motor Co., is expected to result in about 600 of the automaker's and its suppliers' data insights and analyt-

Need to know

Wagner Place draws interest from other developers 



Boom in new housing, retail expected

 Face of west downtown Dearborn changing as millennials move in

ics employees moving there this summer through relocation and consolidation once completed. It’s a catalytic effort that will re-

MUST READS OF THE WEEK Tables turn on taxinverted companies Costs likely to rise as tax reform takes hold on companies that moved tax domiciles overseas. Page 4

Utilities decry drive to require more renewables Group tries to put a requirement on the ballot that would double the mandated renewable-energy under the law by 2030. Page 16

Long-term care could be next for health plans Similar to mental health Medicaid coverage, state takes steps toward moving long-term care to managed care companies. Page 5

shape the western end of Dearborn’s central business district along Michigan Avenue Others are taking note — and taking action. Michael Hamame, CEO of Dearborn-based Cambridge Real Estate LLC, said that in addition to his 42unit loft apartments project on top of Bar Louie that’s slated to be completed this summer, he is scouting a pair of other west downtown Dearborn sites for new housing that

could accommodate Ford and supplier employees, plus others. “We recognized the need for this prior to Ford announcing Wagner Place,” Hamame said of the approximately $5 million loft project. “What we have seen that the area needs is more one-bedroom units. They are in higher demand because the area is attracting more millennials.” One of those other sites, 22022 Michigan Ave., is across the street from Wagner Place. Hamame is

considering building two or three stories on top of the existing building for 18-20 new residential units. In addition, the Southfield office of Colliers International Inc. is marketing the Nigosian Rug Co. building for sale as a mixed-use redevelopment opportunity immediately east of Wagner Place, which is on Michigan Avenue and on both the east and west sides of Monroe Street. SEE DEARBORN, PAGE 20

NONPROFITS

Planning to create Detroit cultural campus quietly underway By Sherri Welch

swelch@crain.com

A master planning process to create a visually cohesive appearance for Detroit’s cultural district and coordinate outdoor projects planned by several cultural groups has quietly launched. The planning, which kicked off Feb. 1, could also create opportunities for collaborative programming and shared services for outdoor facility management and maintenance. Supported by a $60,000 grant from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation to Midtown Detroit to lead it, the larger planning process will include a yet-to-be-announced design contest for the district and a dozen cultural and non-cultural sites within it and incorporate sustainability as a

guiding principle. It builds on two individual projects announced last summer around the same time: a “town square” planning project launched by the DIA to activate its Woodward Avenue plaza as a public gathering space and a joint project to develop “green infrastructure,” or natural landscaping, between the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Michigan Science Center to absorb stormwater runoff. The Erb Foundation is excited about the opportunity to coordinate those outdoor planning efforts, President and Board Chairman John Erb said in an emailed statement. “Midtown Detroit’s participation will bring on additional stakeholders SEE CAMPUS, PAGE 19

Institutions included in the cultural district planning process 

Detroit Institute of Arts



College for Creative Studies



Detroit Historical Museum



Detroit Public Library



Inn on Ferry Street

International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit  

Hellenic Museum of Michigan



Michigan Science Center



Park Shelton



Rackham Building



Scarab Club



Wayne State University

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

Tax reform will have cost for companies that did tax inversions By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

Overseas tax moves a little less appealing 

 Adient outlines costs compared with old tax system  Not likely to bring companies’ domiciles back to U.S.

move earnings offshore. It accomplishes this goal by limiting transfer pricing deductions, where a U.S. subsidiary makes payments to its foreign parent then deducts a heavy portion from its U.S. taxable income, through what’s known as the Base Erosion and Anti-avoidance Tax provision. The tax serves as a 10 percent minimum tax, escalating to 12.5 percent after 2025, on those payments. It also caps earnings stripping, a practice where a company that has moved its tax domicile puts its foreign debt into its U.S. subsidiary. That debt can then be deducted from U.S. profits through net interest deductions, further reducing its taxable income. Last year, these types of deductions accounted for the third largest corporate deduction category at $455 billion, Business Insider reported. These deductions are now capped at 30 percent of taxable income. The results are set to have a major impact. Congress estimates the BEAT provision will bring in $150 billion and the interest cap will net $253 billion in new tax revenue over 10 years. For Adient, reform is leading to a projected $258 million tax expense —

albeit mostly on paper — in 2018. The auto seating supplier, with its corporate office in Plymouth and plans to move it to Detroit in the next few years, is projecting the BEAT provision will reduce its deductions by $100 million and the interest-cap provision will reduce its deferred assets deductions by $150 million. It also expects to pay $8 million as part of the reform’s repatriation provision, which is taxing already-realized profits held overseas at a reduced 14.5 percent rate. Bill Kingsley, international tax partner for UHY LLP in Farmington Hills, said the measures put the U.S. in line with other countries. “International tax is one big pie, and every country just wants to make sure they are getting their fair slice,” Kingsley said. “These provisions were largely done ... to make sure the government is protecting the U.S. taxable income base.” Experts predict the tax plan will increase the federal deficit by as low as $448 billion over 10 years, according to the Tax Foundation, or as much as $1.3 trillion over a decade, according to the Tax Policy Center. The tax changes, however, are unlikely to make Adient or others move their tax domiciles back to the U.S., Kingsley said. “(Tax inversions) are a sexy topic, but in the real world there hasn’t been a lot of this activity,” Kingsley said. “I don’t think this is an incentive to inversion one way or the other.” Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh

St. Joseph, UM sign affiliation agreement for Chelsea hospital By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

Crain Content Studio, the custom publishing division of Crain’s Detroit Business, will name the 2018 Notable Women in Finance in Michigan in a special section on April 23. In that report, we’ll profile women in the financial industry who are considered leaders in their workplaces and in the community.

Michigan companies that moved their domiciles overseas to save money on taxes are finding the tables turned on them by the Republican “Americans First” tax reform plan. Adient Corp. became the first big local company to outline what the new tax system will cost it, and is likely a harbinger of more to come. The costs signal that the overseas moves known as “tax inversions” might be a little less appealing, but it’s also unlikely the companies will shift their domiciles back to the U.S., experts say. In recent years, several local companies engineered plans to reduce their rates by shifting their tax domicile to more tax-friendly nations — TI Automotive and Aptiv, formerly Delphi, hold tax domicile in England, and Adient, formerly Johnson Controls Inc.’s automotive unit, is in Ireland, for example. This practice, which became common over the past decade, is known as tax inversion. The reason was simple: the U.S. corporate tax rate was 35 percent, before deductions, and it taxed corporations on foreign profits. But under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law on Dec. 22, Congress lowered the corporate tax rate to 21 percent and moved the U.S. to a modified territorial system, where in most cases foreign earnings are not taxed. However, the tax plan also pushed to protect the federal government’s corporate tax base by limiting the ability of companies with foreign owners and overseas domiciles to

Need to know

ay te od ina t ns om 2 tio m/n a n i .co CH m R t i o A r n ro EM ou sdet S y it in LO bm cra SC N Su ting IO i AT vis N y I b M NO

St. Joseph Mercy Health System and the University of Michigan’s Michigan Medicine have signed a joint venture and affiliation agreement to operate 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital. The two health systems, which began talks in March, plan to work together to expand surgical and inpatient services at the Chelsea hospital. Trinity Health, parent of St. Joe’s, and the UM board of regents approved the agreement this week. St. Joe’s will maintain the majority interest in the hospital and will be the managing partner. “It has been a pleasure working with Michigan Medicine to create a care delivery model that uses both of our existing strengths to benefit patients,” Rob Casalou, president and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Health System and Mercy Health, said in a state-

BANKRUPTCIES The following business filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit Feb. 9-15. Under Chapter 11, a company files for reorganization.  Hearing Health Science Inc., 6276 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, voluntary Chapter 11. Assets and liabilities are not available.

ST. JOSEPH MERCY HEALTH SYSTEM

UM and St. Joseph Mercy Health System are expected to invest about $20 million in improvements at St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea hospital.

ment. “Our health systems have a long history of working together and this joint venture is a continuation of our efforts to expand access to health services, including specialized surgery and physicians that were previously only available on Michigan Medicine’s campuses.” David Spahlinger, M.D., president of the University of Michigan Health System, said the agreement with St. Joe’s will expand care for patients in the Chelsea market and alleviate bed shortages at UM’s Ann Arbor hospitals. Michigan Medicine has been acquiring hospitals and entering into affiliations with them and physician organizations across the state the past several years, Spahlinger said.

Crain’s has reported that UM began affiliation talks in 2016 with Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Talks have been recently suspended due to issues involved in a legal case between pediatricians affiliated with Wayne State University and University Pediatricians, which practice at Children’s Hospital. Last year, UM completed acquisition of Metro Health Hospital in Grand Rapids. UM has agreed to invest about $40 million over the next several years. At Chelsea Hospital, officials said construction will begin soon on two additional operating rooms, bringing the number at the hospital to eight. More services and surgical procedures will continue to be explored as the partnership advances, officials said.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

City of Detroit rolls out new fleet vehicle purchasing plan By Kurt Nagl knagl@crain.com

The city of Detroit is rolling out a new fleet vehicle purchasing strategy it says could secure a one-time savings of about $20 million, plus an additional $800,000 every year. Implemented by the city’s General Services Department, which oversees the majority of city vehicles, the plan involves buying new vehicles in bulk at a discounted rate, reducing their average life cycle and cutting both the number and variations of vehicles, thereby reducing maintenance costs. While the city has been fine-tuning its fleet since the 2013 bankruptcy, it lacked a centralized system for repairing and replacing vehicles, with each agency buying vehicles individually — often at retail price — and the city left scrambling to work the costs into its budget every year, said Jan Anderson, deputy director of the General Services Department. “This is a new, comprehensive plan and very data-driven for maximizing existing resources,” Anderson said, adding that it represents a vast improvement from the years leading up to the city’s insolvency when “there were no long-term deals or

Need to know

JJPlan is to buy in bulk and save money JJCity aims to cut vehicle life cycle to reduce maintenance costs JJCity signed $34 million deal for 1,000 new vehicles

long-term maintenance savings.” In phase one of the new plan, the department is aiming to cut its light-duty vehicle fleet from 1,680 to 1,378, including 1,000 new vehicles. The city signed a four-year deal with Detroit-based Jorgensen Ford Sales Inc. last year to purchase around 700 new vehicles and struck a similar deal with St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car to lease around 300 new vehicles. The contracts are worth about $34 million total and include custom work by Shelby Township-based Cannon Truck Equipment, Warren-based Canfield Equipment Services Inc. and Detroit-based ABS Storage Products. Police and fire vehicles make up most of the city’s light-duty fleet, with vehicles used for public works, recreation, parking and general services rounding out the rest. Ander-

Ford cargo vans were included in a newly purchased batch of vehicles under the General Services Department’s revamped fleet vehicle purchasing startegy.

son said she is aiming to execute the same plan for heavy-duty vehicles — the department’s other fleet, which includes salt vehicles, cherry pickers and dump trucks — in the coming months. The contract for heavy-duty vehicles has not yet been awarded. By summer, the GSD’s total vehicle count is expected to be about 2,200, down 11 percent from 2015 and near-

ly half of what it was in 2007, and it may still inch downward. The more compact the fleet, the more efficient, Anderson said, and the more money saved. Over a period of 15 years, the city paid about $113 million for the 2,533 vehicles in the GSD’s inventory prior to revamping its fleet strategy, Anderson said. She said she expects the total cost of the new fleet to be

around $90 million, with an annual maintenance savings of $800,000. The GSD’s current budget for fleet management is $17.4 million, including maintenance, purchase planning and the city’s fueling systems, but not the price fuel itself. The city’s old light-duty fleet had an average age of 13.5 years, Anderson said, while its new strategy calls for cycling out vehicles every five years. To achieve that, it is purchasing about 250 new vehicles per year during its four-year deal so it staggers the cycle-out process and establishes a clear-cut schedule for new bulk purchases. About 100 new vehicles are on the road now. Once cycled out, cars from Enterprise are returned and those from Jorgensen are sold at auction for 15 percent to 20 percent of the purchase price, with those funds being pumped back into purchasing new vehicles. Anderson said the number of maintenance workers in the department — 89 — is not expected to shrink as a result of the new strategy, but overtime will be scaled back. Kurt Nagl: 313-446-0337 Twitter: @kurt_nagl

Plan would move Medicaid long-term care into managed care By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

Michigan is slowly moving forward on a plan to place its $2.8 billion Medicaid nursing home and long-term care services programs under the management of private health plans, Crain’s has learned. The Medicaid managed long-term care proposal is similar to controversial 2016 budget language that would move the $2.7 billion quasi-public behavioral health system under health plan control over the next several years. Pilot projects are under development this year to test whether integration of mental and physical health saves money and increases services while maintaining quality and access. In a tersely worded proposal in the 2017-2018 state budget, Section 1857 states: “By July 1 of (2018), the department (Health and Human Services) shall explore the implementation of a managed care long-term support service.” Dom Pallone, director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, took credit for the language in the current year’s budget. “We asked for it,” Pallone said. “We didn’t ask for this language. We asked for much more detail. Legislators compromised in the process, and the House and Senate agreed with the generalized approach, to evaluate using managed care in the long-term care system.” Pallone said MAHP wanted pilot program studies, language that they be linked to geographic regions already in place in Michigan and an implementation timetable. “We were agnostic to how (the funding would flow), but it could be through existing Medicaid contracts, integrated care organization contracts or totally new contracts,” Pallone said. At least 22 states are exploring ways to integrate long-term care services into their Medicaid programs to reduce costs, increase services and improve quality, according to a 40-page report completed for the state by the

Need to know

JJMichigan explores moving $2.8 billion

long-term care program into managed care

JJMedicaid HMOs promoting idea, but senior advocates and nursing homes wary JJInitial review expected to be completed by July 1

Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation in Ann Arbor. CHRT studied the issue under a contract awarded it last summer from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The CHRT report found that some states also have begun to integrate long-term care with behavioral health and physical health with Medicaid funding, said Marianne Udow-Phillips, CHRT’s executive director. Two years ago, Gov. Rick Snyder issued a controversial budget boilerplate, Section 298, that would have transferred administration of the state's $2.7 billion Medicaid behavioral health program to Medicaid HMOs. Mental health advocates protested in early 2016, and the state Legislature halted immediate implementation of the move to managed care. In 2017, however, the Legislature approved four pilot programs to test the move. They are expected to begin this year. But state officials hope the controversy that erupted over the Section 298 language, which was created without public input, won’t be repeated with the Medicaid managed long-term care proposal. Except for questions by some state legislators, the Health Care Association of Michigan and the Area Agency on Aging Association of Michigan, the proposal has fallen mostly under the radar. Senior advocates and nursing home officials are worried that turning over Medicaid funding for long-term care services to Medicaid health plans could be a disaster for patients and a losing scenario for quality care.

State officials tell Crain’s that longterm-care services under consideration for managed care contracts include nursing homes, assisted living centers, rehabilitation facilities and various home and community-based programs. Linda Burghardt, director of the nonprofit Area Agency on Aging Association of Michigan, said Medicaid HMOs are not prepared to manage long-term care services, especially home services for the elderly. “The AAAs are the experts in longterm care. We’ve been doing it for 45 years. We know all the providers and the supports and we operate with a person-centered planning approach,” Burghardt said. Burghardt said Medicaid health plans want to take control of Medicaid long-term care funding for the same reasons they are pushing taking over the Medicaid behavioral health system: for profit. “If the HMOs come in and take over, everything will be done from a cost perspective,” she said. “They don’t have the expertise and involvement in the community that we have.” Melissa Samuels, CEO of the Health Care Association of Michigan, which represents 330 of the state's nursing homes and about 125 assisted-living facilities, said the association is concerned with the managed-care proposal. “Michigan has done a very good job with Medicaid (physical health) and has been doing it for a long time,” Samuels said. “Now they want to take over behavioral health and long-term care. We are talking about very sick people with multiple diseases.” Samuels said the association wants to be involved in the planning and discussion process. In Michigan, Medicaid contracts with some 450 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation centers and other long-term centers. Overall, state spending on health services in 2017 totaled $18.4 billion. The major funding buckets are

Dom Pallone: MAHP wanted pilot studies.

Marianne Udow-Phillips: States are integrating care.

managed care physical health, $9 billion; behavioral health; $2.7 billion; and long-term care, $2.8 billion, which includes $1.7 billion for nursing home and another billion dollars for a variety of home-based and long-term care support services. Richard Miles, MDHHS’ director with the bureau of Medicaid policy and health systems innovation, said Michigan has been considering managed long-term care going back to debates in 2013 related to approving the Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion. “There is a section in there that says the department should move populations not in managed care into managed care,” Miles said. “All that is left is long-term care.” Miles said the overriding purpose is to integrate all the various programs connected with the long-term care system in Michigan. Long-term care programs include nursing homes, but also home health programs MI Health Link, for people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, and the My Choice waiver program for home and community based services. It also could include the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, a program funded by Medicaid and Medicare designed to keep elderly at home. Funded by a $150,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, MDHHS has contracted with the CHRT and Public Sector to help it study options to integrate long-term

care. As part of its grant application, MDHHS told the health endowment it will develop a plan to redirect “funding and resources toward home and community-based services, allowing for better coordination with primary care and aligning with individuals’ desires to live at home.” CHRT is researching what other states are doing and Public Sector will help with the stakeholder input process. MDHHS staff is conducting a financial analysis, Miles said. Udow-Phillips said the state hired CHRT to research what other states are doing with their long-term care funding. She said CHRT contracted with Public Sector to hold focus groups and interviews with interested parties to hear feedback from them on what is working in long-term care services and where it should go. “Many states have implemented managed long-term care programs and 22 states have obtained waivers for Medicaid,” Udow-Phillips said. “They have a variety of waiver options and are paralleling (a) trend of (integrating behavioral and physical health).” But Udow-Phillips said the goal also is how to keep seniors in the community as much as possible. Miles said the state is interested in moving long-term care into managed care programs, but also how it can integrate long-term care, acute care, physical health and behavioral health. Samuels said the state’s cost-based Medicaid reimbursement system works well for nursing homes and patients and there is no reason to make wholesale changes. “There are adequate rates to providers to provide good care for the system,” she said. “If the goal is to provide cost-effective, high-quality care, can we guarantee that moving to managed care is better? Can we reduce costs and improve outcomes?” Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

OPINION COMMENTARY

Speech a display of triumphs, tragedies

etroit Police Chief James Craig’s remarks to the likes of Chris Ilitch and Matt Cullen at a Downtown Detroit Partnership meeting last week served as a somber reminder that the triumphs of downtown can’t gloss over the tragedies that still unfold in Detroit’s neighborhoods every day. Craig’s speech to hundreds of city business leaders gathered at Little Caesars Arena to celebrate the economic energy that’s been injected into downtown was cut short by another tragedy he spent the rest of the week coping with. At an event choreographed to highlight a resurgent downtown Detroit in the covered ice rink where the Detroit Red Wings practice in their new $863 million home, the police chief started listing off the horrors his department has faced in recent weeks. J One officer shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence situation. J Three more officers injured by gunfire in a 14-hour standoff with a gunman who killed three women and then himself. Later in his speech, Craig was starting to detail how the department polices the downtown area with 35 shifts each week — a subject the DDP members care deeply about in the marketing of Detroit as a safe place to visit, work and do business. In the midst of this explanation, the police chief was interrupted by one of his plainclothes aides who stood to wave him down. “Oh, gotta go,” Craig said. “I’ve got another emergency. I apologize for abruptly leaving.” Police department leaders in uniform stood up to leave and headed for the doors Red Wings players use to get off the ice in the Belfor Training Center.

CHAD LIVENGOOD clivengood@crain.com

As it turned out, tragically, Craig had to go see another grieving family later that day. About an hour before the police chief started addressing the crowd of business leaders, Officer Darren Weathers was rushed to Henry Ford Hospital after being involved in an 11:30 a.m. crash on Michigan Avenue in southwest Detroit. The 25-year-old died at the hospital from injuries sustained in the crash, the cause of which remains under investigation. In less than two years on the force, Weathers was credited with saving another officer’s life last year after his partner was shot in the head during another domestic violence incident. Last summer, a video of Weathers playing basketball and doing pushups with Detroit children on a city street went viral on Facebook. Before his abrupt departure, the police chief was trying to convey a message to the powerful people shaping the downtown renaissance that there’s more to turning around Detroit than building big, shiny taxpayer-supported sports stadiums and street cars. Lost in the mix was Craig’s earlier message about the gunmen who indiscriminately fired bullets at his officers. The gunmen in both incidents were believed to be suffering from

A video of Detroit Police Officer Darren Weathers doing pushups with Detroit children on a city street went viral on Facebook last summer. On Tuesday, Weathers was killed on the job in a car crash on Michigan Avenue during a training exercise. He was 25.

The police chief was trying to convey a message to the powerful people shaping the downtown renaissance that there’s more to turning around Detroit than building big, shiny taxpayer-supported sports stadiums and street cars. mental illnesses, Craig said. “When I look at both incidents, I’ve been talking a lot about the mentally ill and I guess it’s a fitting time to talk about it again,” Craig said. “This is a

Where will they all live? W

e all know that downtown Detroit is on an economic

roll. Thanks to investors like Dan Gilbert, we have a large amount of commercial space for companies that want to relocate from the suburbs or establish a presence in Detroit. Happily for everyone, there seems to be never-ending demand for commercial space in Detroit, and it has filled up fast. But those companies are bringing thousands of employees, not to mention all the newly graduated students who want to stay in Detroit to start their careers. Where will they all live? In some ways, it’s a wonderful problem to have. I am sure that no one would have believed it a decade ago if they were told that vacant living space near downtown Detroit would be just about nonexistent and that new

KEITH CRAIN Editor-in-chief

condos would sell out quickly. Not only would they not believe it, but they would think that they are just listening to public relations babble. But it is true. If you are planning to hire a lot of new folks, particularly younger employees, then you’d better take a hard look at what is available to house them. This may well be the next economic boom for investors. Right now the difference between supply

broken system — not just here in Detroit, not in the state of Michigan, across this great nation. It must be addressed.” The police chief did not specify what kind of changes need to be made to the mental health system as he lamented the troubles his officers encounter on Detroit’s streets each day. But Craig’s message about mental health to a group of influential movers-and-shakers seemed clear: Just like street lighting, blight, public transportation, K-12 education and a host of other challenges, this city won’t come back if these kinds of systemic issues aren’t tackled head on. “What we’re really doing right now is putting a Band-Aid on a situation that requires sustained medical treatment,” Craig said. Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

TALK ON THE WEB and demand begs investors to start developing housing to match all the commercial real estate. And that’s starting to happen. The Downtown Detroit Partnership says nearly 1,000 new units are in the works downtown. There are untold more in Midtown. Rents and sale prices are still rising. It seems an irresistible opportunity. In addition, the demand has the potential to spread out from the core city to the neighborhoods. That would obviously be a good thing, raising home values and tax revenue. Detroit long was a symbol of a real estate market that was worse than moribund. Now, it does not look like Detroit’s rebirth is going to slow down anytime soon. For those of us who have seen the old problems, these new problems make for an exciting time.

Highlights from our readers’ comments this week on our website, crainsdetroit.com

Deal to forgive Driver Responsibility Fees It has taken over 14 years to get rid of this obscene 2003 money grab law. By a hearing in December 2006, the tragedies of destroyed lives were known and two legislators profusely apologized for what the legislature had done. By 2008, analysis of violations showed that serious violations were UP, not down. Once the House voted overwhelmingly to end the money grab monstrosity, but the Senate failed to act. The National Motorists Association has testified in seven hearings and three public forums asking for repeal. Finally this obscene bill that should never have passed in the first place is going away. James C. Walker, National Motorists Association, Ann Arbor

LETTERS

Fournier ignores voters’ will

To the editor: When Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson was re-elected in 2016, he took an oath to uphold both the Michigan and U.S. constitutions. Section 1 of the Michigan Constitution says, “All political power is inherent in the people.” Why is that the first line in the first section of our state Constitution? Because it is the most important — the same reason freedom of religion, speech and press is listed first in our Bill of Rights. Crain’s Editor and Publisher Ron Fournier claimed in an editorial that Patterson is a “follower” for “nodding” to his constituents regarding regional transit. Patterson absolutely and unapologetically nods to the will of Oakland County voters, because he will not ride roughshod over the Michigan Constitution. He is their elected leader and representative, not their overlord who imposes taxes against their will. If any government impinged upon the First Amendment, Crain’s would jealously defend that fundamental right. So, why is Ron Fournier insisting Patterson violate his oath to the Michigan Constitution and ignore the will of Oakland County voters? Does the will of the voters only count when it agrees with his point of view? Fournier’s rabble ignores both Patterson’s record on transit as well as some fundamental facts. First, the electoral map: The 2016 Regional Transit Authority ballot measure was narrowly defeated in Oakland County. If you break down the votes on a precinct map, however, it becomes clear that the yes votes were concentrated in a few communities in the southeast corner of the county that have already opted into SMART bus and would receive the most services in the RTA plan. The 39 SMART opt-out communities voted a strong “no” in 2016. Second, Oakland County already pays the most for regional transit. Its opt-in communities have paid $352 million into SMART since its inception — that’s $37 million more than Macomb County and $107 million more than Wayne County. Detroit pays nothing, yet receives a handful of services from SMART. Finally, Patterson’s record: In 1995, he supported the creation of SMART. He worked with the Board of Commissioners to get the SMART millage on the ballot and has supported every millage renewal since. In 2001, Patterson backed the creation of the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority, which was vetoed by Gov. John Engler. Three years later, he joined the regional leaders to take another run at DARTA. The transit unions stopped it with a lawsuit. Gov. Jennifer Granholm reneged on a promise to fix it. Then, Patterson helped form the RTA. In 2016, he ultimately enabled an RTA ballot question. Of course, voters said “No.” He’s offered a new RTA plan that would raise $1.2 billion from only the opt-in communities. At least now we know that Ron Fournier thinks constitutional rights only apply to those who agree with him: The hell with Oakland County voters. Bill Mullan Oakland County spokesperson

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

Rep. Theis: Time to resign from insurance committee post An open letter to state Rep. Lana Theis, R-Brighton: ear Rep. Theis: It’s time for new thinking on how to improve Michigan’s auto nofault insurance system. It would also be nice to have new people with new ideas. I think it’s also time that you resign your post as chair of the House Insurance Committee, based on your comments in your Crain’s Detroit Business Guest Blog and your failed plan to dismantle no-fault, which was roundly defeated in a 6345 vote on Nov. 2, 2017. Let me start by reminding you why your House Bill 5013 failed as miserably as it did — and rightfully so. It provided no meaningful longterm savings for people. The promised “great” savings were, in the end, paltry, quite temporary and less than certain. Plus, the only way for people to become eligible for your illusory savings was to agree to forfeit their no-fault coverage and replace it with health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare. To have any hope of seeing any savings (paltry and indefinite as they may be), people had to be willing to forgo their unlimited benefits in return for a $25,000 cap on all nofault benefits (medical, wage loss, replacement services, etc.) which wouldn’t have covered the average no-fault PIP medical claim or covered two of a victim’s three years of no-fault wage loss benefits if he or she makes $30,000 per year or more. There were other extremely harmful aspects to your House Bill 5013, too: It would’ve slashed family-provided attendant care by 66 percent; it would have made it easier than it already is for insurers to deny and/or cut off no-fault claims; and it would have jeopardized victims’ access to quality medical care. Incredibly, for a Republican who likes to talk about accountability, you would have given total immunity to drunken drivers and others who could not be sued for the med-

OTHER VOICES Steven Gursten

ical costs of the people they injured once these people reached the $25,000 PIP cap. You created a really bad plan. Once people realized how bad it was, it went down in flames.

In light of all this, I had hoped you would’ve learned some things about the mistakes you made with a bill laden with insurance industry pork and boondoggles at the expense of the catastrophically injured. But you didn’t. And you still haven’t if your Crain’s column is any indication. However, we’ve learned one very important thing about you. You’re a partisan obstructionist who cannot be trusted to deal fairly with the no-fault legislation assigned to the House Insurance Committee, which you chair. For your House Bill 5013, you wielded your power to convene an unprece-

House Bill 5013 provided no meaningful longterm savings for people. dented three hearings in one month. But it’s clear from your column that your mind has already been made up that the bill package known as the “Fair and Affordable No-Fault” plan, which has the support of 44 House members — 9 Republicans and 35 Democrats — will never see the light of day in your committee: “As chair of the House

Committee on Insurance, I adamantly oppose this package of bills …” You said the bill package was “sleight of hand” and “disingenuous.” I wonder, is that you saying that, or is that the insurance companies who paid you over $27,000 in campaign contributions? For Michigan to take the step forward it needs in order to improve no-fault, you, Rep. Theis, need to step down as chair of the House Insurance Committee. Steven Gursten is an attorney at Farmington Hills-based Michigan Auto Law.

YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR REWARD DTE Energy is honored to be awarded the

Nominations now open for American Dreams

“Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business

Every few years, Crain’s Detroit Business celebrates the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs, executives and community leaders to Metro Detroit — people who have improved our communities, powered our economy and paved a brighter future for the next generation in pursuit of the American dream. We need your help to tell their stories. We invite you to nominate yourself or someone you know to be featured in our 2018 American Dreams issue. Tell us about the difference they have made in business, public service or civic life by March 5. American Dreams publishes May 28. To tell us about an American Dream, go to crainsdetroit.com/ nominate. For questions, contact Amy Elliott Bragg at abragg@crain. com or Keenan Covington at kcovington@crain.com.

and more reliable. And you can be sure we’ll keep

Natural Gas and Electric Large Utilities in the Midwest” by J.D. Power. Our partnership with the business community made this possible, so thank you. DTE is proud of our progress in transforming the electrical grid and upgrading natural gas infrastructure to make energy safer working hard for your satisfaction in the future.

Thank you. The Moon & Me Boutique DTE Energy Business Customer

DTE En Energ ergy erg y rece re ce ive ived d the the hi high h estt n umerical score in the h Midwest st reg regii on n of of the J .D. Power 2017 Gas an and E Elec l c tri t cU Util tility til ity ty Bu Busin u sin sines ess ss (L (Larg arge arg e U lit Uti lities es)) Cust es Cust ustome o ome rS Sati atisfaction Studies. 2017 studies are based on 1 0,0 0, 5 50 0 (gas)) and 19,268 (ele electr ctric) ic) to total ta re e spo o nse n se s, ns s 23 (ga (gas) s)) and an 13 3 (electric) providers, and measures customer satisfaction among busine (el ine e s s custom o ers in the U.S .S. su surve rveyed yed Fe e bru bruary a ry -June and ary-Ju a nd Au Augu gustgus gu ttNovember 201 2017 7 (gas) and July-October 2017 (electric). Your experienc nce ce e s may vary. Visit jdpowe ower.c r.com om

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

FOCUS LAW

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Deadline looms for broad new EU data privacy rules Is your business ready? By Doug Henze

Need to know

Gathering valuable customer data to build marketing profiles has become second nature for U.S. companies in the digital age. But a culture clash with European regulators — who have been ramping up privacy protections for their citizens — is coming in May. And for U.S. firms not properly handling the data they consider their sales lifeblood, it could get expensive. The penalties are the greater of 10 million euro (about $12.3 million) or 2 percent of global revenue for lesser offenses, and twice the euro or global revenue percentage for larger violations. Failure to notify a customer of a data security

Special to Crain’s Detroit Business

JJNew EU regulation goes into effect May

JJThe broad-reaching rule will impact any company that handles the data of European citizens JJPenalties could be steep

breach is one type of lesser offense, while regulators consider not getting consent to process someone’s data, for example, as major. “It really is a pretty big deal,” said Charles Russman, senior counsel in law firm Clark Hill’s Birmingham office, referring to the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation. “The things that are most likely for U.S. companies not to be

complying with are the things that are going to result in the large penalties.” Approved in April 2016, the GDPR aims to safeguard the personal inforClaudia Rast: mation of EuroSmall businesses citizens. need to be aware. pean Replacing the 1995 Data Privacy Directive, the new regulation takes effect May 25. The GDPR has a much farther reach than the 1995 law — affecting companies across the world that handle the data of European citizens. It also defines “personal information” in a much broader way than U.S. regulations do. Claudia Rast, who heads up the cy-

bersecurity and privacy team for Butzel Long, worries that some smaller businesses may not have given the regulation enough attention. “Most companies with global reach have been aware of this for some time and have been implementing the protections they need,” said Rast, based in the law firm’s Ann Arbor office. “There are those that think it doesn’t apply — ‘I’m here in the U.S. and I’m not going to worry about it.’” Consider a metro Detroit business that has no physical European presence. But it keeps a database of customer names, addresses and payment information from its e-commerce division, which ships products to Europe. That company is subject to the new regulation. Even companies not engaged in

e-commerce may be affected, if they’re gathering “personally identifiable” information, such as IP addresses or location data of Europeans hitting their website, to monitor behavior. In the United States, companies typically have had to gather a combination of information — name and Social Security number, for example — to meet the personally identifiable test, said Michael Hindelang, cochair of the data security and privacy litigation practice in Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn LLP’s Detroit law office. “The EU has a very different view of privacy than what we have in the U.S.,” he said. “If you track people around the globe, you’re in. It’s going to catch many more U.S. entities than the old legislation.” SEE PRIVACY, PAGE 9

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

SPECIAL REPORT: LAW

PRIVACY FROM PAGE 8

Businesses that collect data won’t be alone in having to protect it. Their contractors — ranging from “cloud” storage services to accountants to business consultants — will, too, Russman said. Data controllers — companies that own databases — are responsible for instructing contractors on proper care of customer data, said Colin Battersby, principal attorney and colead of the cybersecurity and data team at Miller Canfield’s Detroit office. “There’s certainly (also) liability for (contractors) not doing what they were told to do,” he added.

Mike Hindelang: Be prepared to deal with this.

Assess your compliance So, how do companies make sure they’re in compliance with the GDPR? “The first step is taking a look at what information you have, how you collect it and who it belongs to,” Battersby said. If a company is handling European customer data, it will need to: J Obtain clear consent from customers to gather that data and explain what its use will be. Assuming there’s consent until customers opt out won’t be sufficient; J Use collected data for a “lawful purpose”— whatever use customers agreed to; J Allow customers the right to review and correct gathered data; J Only keep data as long as it’s needed; J Give customers the ability to have information deleted; and J Within 72 hours of a data breach, notify anyone who is affected. “That 72 hours is a game changer,” Battersby said, adding that most companies won’t have time to investigate how the breach occurred before they notify customers. “(It) is quicker than any (policy) I’ve seen.” Companies also will have to do Data Protection Impact Assessments to assure that new technology they add complies with privacy rules. The new protection requirements apply only to the data of EU citizens, although Britain — leaving the EU in 2019 — is expected to put an equivalent act into effect, Rast said. That raises a logistical issue for U.S. companies regarding non-European customers. Many may find it easier to make the EU standard a global one. “Does it make sense to give the U.S. data the EU level of protection or do you want to maintain two separate systems?” Hindelang asked. The GDPR also raises an enforcement question: How will a European entity exercise jurisdiction over companies on U.S. soil? Even attorneys who have been watching the regulation from its inception are unsure. “This is brand new, so no one knows,” Rast said. “In general, I can tell you, the EU, when it comes to privacy protection, means business.” Enforcement is clearer if a U.S. company has a European operation. The EU, which requires companies to have an onsite data protection officer, could pursue punishment through a European court. U.S. authorities may enforce the EU regulation on behalf of its treaty partners, Russman said. “There will surely be a test case

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

The EU’s broad new data privacy regulations may become a global standard as companies decide whether to treat U.S. data with the same level of protection or maintain two separate systems.

somewhere outside Europe — in the U.S. or Canada,” He said. “Someone will say, ‘I don’t think so (when it comes to following EU rules).’” There’s strong incentive for regulators to pursue fines, since they get to keep all that money for the enforcement budget, Russman said. Adds Battersby, “There’s a thought the European Union may try to make

a splash with a few enforcement actions.”

Start now Insurers are aware of the potential liability and are looking at whether companies have a clear compliance plan when determining rates for cybersecurity insur-

ance, Russman said. Attorneys say many clients now are asking whether GDPR applies to them. “If they have business in Europe, we’re helping with this on an almost daily basis,” Russman said. “Frankly, I would like to see more clients be asking questions.” Jason Brown, chief information se-

Colin Battersby: 72 hours is a game changer.

curity officer for Ann Arbor-based Merit Network, is getting the same type of inquiries from the 350 hospitals, K-12 schools and universities that make up that nonprofit network. “A lot of institutions have been caught off guard by this,” Brown said. “They don’t understand why someone in the U.S. has to abide by a foreign regulation. We are going to start doing some training in the next month or so.” Hindelang said he hasn’t seen projections as to how much the new EU regulation will cost U.S. businesses overall. “The bigger you are and the more business you’re doing in the EU, you’re going to have to staff up or be prepared to deal with this,” he said. Most large, multinational organizations are well along in updating policies and putting technology in place to meet the new EU requirements, Rast said. Small companies just learning about GDPR likely still can meet the compliance deadline. But there’s little time to waste. “It’s something you can’t afford to sleep on,” Battersby said.

Litigation Experience

In Your Corner.

Ŷ Cases ranging from products liability

to complex commercial disputes Ŷ Labor and employment, including

discrimination, wrongful discharge and breach of contract matters

First Tier Ranking in Six Areas of Litigation

Contact Dena Shuayto at dhshuayto@varnumlaw.com

Ann Arbor

Detroit

Grand Haven

Grand Rapids

Hastings

Kalamazoo Ŷ Lansing

Novi

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

Affiliation talks between UM, pediatric group and DMC Children’s Hospital more serious than known, emails show By Jay Greene

University of Michigan, possibly resulting in UP’s disaffiliation from the WSU,” Sobel said in his statement. Moreover, Sobel said after Angelilli was appointed interim chair of the WSU pediatrics department on Feb. 20, 2017, “it is apparent that from day one she began working to separate from the university.”

jgreene@crain.com

The University of Michigan became interested in affiliating with University Pediatricians and DMC Children’s Hospital more than a year earlier than previously known, emails obtained by Crain’s show. Officials for Wayne State University, which has had a longstanding academic partnership with UP and Children’s, told Crain’s they were surprised to learn how far back the UP and Children’s Hospital talks go with UM. WSU officials also were concerned with the financial and management support given by Detroit Medical Center, owned by investor-owned Tenet Healthcare Corp. of Dallas, to the possible venture. DMC has a separate contract for teaching, clinical services and administration with WSU for adults at its other five hospitals. If a deal is reached among UM, Children’s and the 220-member UP pediatrician group, it would be an unusual breach of etiquette and collegiality between two of the three largest public universities in Michigan. William Strampel, D.O., dean of the osteopathic medicine school at Michigan State Universty, which also has a campus in downtown Detroit and serves adults at DMC, told Crain’s last fall that UP approached MSU about replacing WSU. But Strampel said he made it clear to UP that MSU would never interfere with a sister institution unless there was a “clear dissolution of the relationship.” Emails in October 2017 between David Spahlinger, M.D., UM’s president of clinical enterprise, and UP and Children’s officials make clear UM regents and UM President Mark Schlissel questioned the talks. It is unclear if UM regents or Schlissel asked for a halt on the talks, but they seem to have slowed by last November, according to the emails. In an email earlier this month, UM spokesman Mary Masson said the university is “not in negotiations” with UP and DMC Children’s Hospital. But the emails obtained by Crain's make it clear the three parties were in preliminary affiliation discussions. WSU officials have told Crain’s that a UM-UP-Children’s affiliation would force the Detroit university to make good on its backup plan to form a new faculty pediatric group within its existing 130-member pediatric department. The university then would need to strike a deal of its own with another hospital partner, most likely Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, which it has acknowledged being in talks with the past year. WSU hired Navigant Consultants of Chicago to facilitate talks with Henry Ford and other possible hospital partners. WSU officials have told Crain’s they reluctantly began to consider talking with other metro Detroit hospitals in mid-2016 after DMC officials gave them the impression that the for-profit hospital system was not serious about continuing its long-term relationship. Meanwhile, Wayne County Circuit Court this week issued a gag order on officials of UP and three pediatricians — "and anyone with knowledge of this order" — who are suing UP to force them to stop talking about issues involved in the lawsuit. UP and the pediatricians declined to comment. In February 2017, the three UP-member pediatricians sued UP to force the pediatric group to follow university by-

What the emails say

JAY GREENE/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

The talks also involved DMC Children’s Hospital to a degree not previously known, according to the emails.

laws, rules and policies that make it a university practice plan and acted in a manner “oppressive to certain members” of the group. Faced with several years in the mid2000s of WSU pressure for UP to join its multi-specialty University Physicians Group, UP had been taking steps to make itself more independent. UP pediatricians Elizabeth Secord, Eric McGrath and Lynn Smitherman, who are also on the WSU pediatrics faculty, sued UP to seek re-establishment of historic ties with the university. UP President Mary Lu Angelilli has often told UP members in emails that UP was forced to seek UM or MSU as a partner because of WSU’s attempts to take over UP and its assets to bolster the finances of UPG, which is losing money and in the midst of a turnaround. But both WSU President M. Roy Wilson, M.D., and WSU medical school Dean Jack Sobel, M.D., have publicly stated and put in writing a pledge that WSU wants to ensure UP remain a quasi-independent medical group affiliated with the university, as are several other clinical services groups, including radiology, anesthesiology and emergency medicine. WSU officials have told Crain’s that the university expressed numerous times to UP that it had no intention of “destroying one of its affiliated physician groups.” Angelilli said in a Feb. 6 email to UP pediatricians that WSU is seeking “to dismantle and destroy UP.” In response, WSU said: “We have publicly promised not to attempt to force UP into WSUPG. In fact, it was University Pediatricians that served notice to WSU that it intended to sever its affiliation with WSU.” CEO Anthony Tedeschi, M.D., on Feb. 7 confirmed that DMC Children’s has been engaged with talks with UM and UP. “We’ve been good partners with Wayne State for a long time, and we continue to work on our partnership,” Tedeschi said. “But Wayne State has been very open about expanding its connections with other hospitals, including holding talks with Henry Ford Health System. That doesn’t mean the Wayne State-DMC relationship will end, but it’s likely it will change.” Tedeschi said DMC Children’s must talk with UM and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and other possible partners to ensure “that the children in our community have access to a world-class medical teaching center.

It’s all about our kids.” However, in an Oct. 6 email from UP’s Mark Harrison to John Truscott, president of the Truscott Rossman communications firm, Truscott was asked to get ready to write up an announcement of an affiliation between UP and UM. Truscott does communications work for both UP and DMC. But Harrison also told Truscott to focus only on the UP alignment and not the hospital alignment. “The hospital affiliation announcement is already in the works and may go out a bit later,” Harrison said, a reference to DMC Children’s Hospital. “This is really intended for our internal marketing to ease mind and anxiety of our docs,” HarAnthony rison said. Tedeschi: “All No further inabout our kids.” formation was included in any emails about a possible affiliation between UM and DMC Children’s Hospital. With this exception, all the talks were about UP joining UM. In a statement to Crain’s Feb. 7 from WSU, Sobel said the medical school’s first priority is to reestablish its historic partnership with UP and DMC Children’s Hospital. He denied that WSU would seek an affiliation with another hospital partner if UP is willing to sign what he calls a standard university affiliation agreement that its other 15 groups have signed. UP officials contended the 25-page salary reimbursement agreement that WSU wanted it to sign is more restrictive than the old one-page agreement, which UP finally signed in November. WSU has denied the larger agreement is more restrictive to UP. However, the new agreement requires UP Jack Sobel: to adhere to a Partnership first 2002 "implemenpriority tation agreement" between UP and WSU that UP is contesting in court. “What the FOIA facts indicate is the critical and enabling role that Detroit Medical Center-Tenet played in University Pediatricians meeting with the

As part of the lawsuit filed by Secord, McGrath and Smitherman against UP, more than 150 pages of private emails were obtained from UM under a Freedom of Information Act by lawyers for Wayne State University. The emails were between representatives of the UM Medical School, UM general counsel’s office, Children’s, UP and The Chartis Group, a Chicago based consulting firm. UP and Children’s hired Chartis on Aug. 31 for 10 weeks at $126,000 per month, according to the emails in the FOIA. The emails show several previously undisclosed facts: J That UP and DMC Children’s Hospital were working closely together to seek an affiliation with UM going back to at least October 2016. Two sources familiar with the matter who requested anonymity told Crain’s they understood initial talks started in early September or earlier. J That during the period in mid-2016 while UP and Children’s were beginning to talk with UM, Wayne State’s UPG was trying to finalize clinical, teaching and administrative contracts with UP and DMC, which owns Children’s. Formal talks between DMC and WSU began in February 2016. In February 2016, officials for WSU and DMC had announced a desire for a long-term “transformational” teaching, clinical and administrative contract. But the talks became contentious in late summer. WSU and DMC settled in September 2016 for a limited 18-month clinical and administrative contract for adult patients that expires in March. J That in November 2016, UP and Children’s Hospital signed a two-way teaching agreement that Wayne State contended violated a 2008 affiliation agreement with UP and various university bylaws because it did not gain the medical school dean's approval. Throughout this period, between September and November 2016, emails show that UM, UP and Children’s were engaged in confidential affiliation talks. However, WSU officials said they believed they were making progress on their own difficult talks with UP and Children's and that a deal would be reached. It was not to be. In a response to the UM-UP emails’ release in early February to more than 200 WSU pediatricians, Angelilli said the emails were inaccurate and misleading but did not specify how. Secord, who released the emails, said in a cover letter that rank-and-file UP pediatricians “learned that UP leadership was having secret discussions with CHM and UM at least as far back as the fall of 2016” and in fall of 2017 were also in discussions with the state of Michigan over having UM replace WSU as the funder of enhanced Medicaid payments. “These secret discussions and meetings with U of M, which often involved weekly meetings, were given the code name ‘Project Treehouse,’” she said. “... It is unclear that the U of M board of

Need to know

J Emails show talks began before October 2016 J Wayne State officials were surprised by extent of the talks J A deal would disrupt WSU pediatrician relationship

regents was even aware of Project Treehouse.” An Oct. 11 email from Spahlinger said that UM and WSU regents learned about the talks when Crain’s published a story Oct. 10 about the talks among UM, UP and Children’s Hospital. Angelilli quickly responded with a email to UP members on Feb. 6 that referred to Secord, Smitherman and McGrath as doctors “I once respected and who I considered friends at one time.” In a four-page email, Angelilli described the meetings with UM as “two exploratory conversations with U of M in 2016. ... Really? Is that big news?” Angelilli said in the fall of 2016 UP was owed $13 million by WSU and its affiliates. “If you were running a corporation wouldn’t you look at all options to ensure financial solvency,” she said. WSU officials said they have since repaid nearly all funds owed to UP. In an August 2017 email, Angelilli acknowledged UP owed WSU $5 million. Emails in the FOIA show that UP continued to talk with UM well into October 2017 and sources have said through December. In addition, UP owed WSU nearly equal amounts as both organizations withheld funding as affiliation talks became contentious and led to dueling lawsuits. Both sides now essentially are current in their money owed each other. “The painful truth is that we would all like to have our academic affiliation with WSU,” Angelilli said. “But we’d also like to find a way to agree to honor contracts, to have appropriate fair contracts in place and to be free to spread our wings and soar to continued and constantly improving excellence. We also need to have the freedom to contract in whatever way is best to ensure the financial success of UP. After all we do need to get paid for what we do.” At this point in the back and forth, the email exchanges stopped as a Wayne County Circuit judge imposed a wide-ranging gag order on UP and the pediatricians. However, both UP and Wayne State officials have always maintained what they are doing is intended to serve the best interests of the public — children and their families. In the statement to Crain’s, WSU said the email documents show the discussions between UP and UM demonstrate serious interest. A WSU official told Crain’s that losing pediatrics to UM would be extremely harmful to the university. The three key specialties needed by a medical school for financial and operational viability are pediatrics, general surgery and internal medicine, said the source, who asked for anonymity. “What the FOIA facts indicate is the critical and enabling role that Detroit Medical Center-Tenet played in University Pediatricians meeting with the University of Michigan, possibly resulting in UP’s disaffiliation from the WSU,” the Wayne statement said. Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

Growth opportunities for food business, affordable housing Spreading the revitalization of Midtown and downtown Detroit to the city’s vast neighborhoods remains at the forefront of economic development challenges this year. Every conversation, panel discussion and interview about fueling Detroit’s revival leads back to the neighborhoods and strategies that can fill empty storefronts and empty lots along commercial corridors. M e l i n d a Clemons, senior CHAD loan officer for LIVENGOOD Capital Impact Partners, and Ashley Mizzi with the Detroit Community Loan Fund, think there’s an opportunity for more food-based businesses and subsidized affordable housing developments to create jobs, access to fresh food and residential density. Clemons and Mizzi talked about their organizations’ work in Detroit in the respective fields of real estate development and lending to small business startups during an interview for the Crain's “Detroit Rising” podcast at Bamboo Detroit at 1420 Washington Blvd. Detroit Community Loan Fund, a $2 million loan fund for riskier applicants who can’t get traditional financing, is focused on helping new businesses in healthy food production get started, Mizzi said.

JEFF HUARD/SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTIONS

Melinda Clemons (left), Detroit market lead for Capital Impact Partners, and Ashley Mizzi, director of operations and lending at the Detroit Community Loan Fund.

‘Detroit Rising’ “Detroit Rising” is a weekly Crain’s podcast on businesses, entrepreneurship and economic and workforce development in Detroit that is broadcasting each Monday at about 12:42 p.m. on “Business Rap” on WQTX 92.1 FM in Lansing and is published on crainsdetroit.com/DetroitRising on Tuesdays. You can also listen to all our podcasts by subscribing on iTunes, Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

“I see the healthy living and healthy food manufacturers really making their mark in the city of De-

troit,” said Mizzi, director of operations and lending at the Detroit Community Loan Fund. “... I think there’s even a bigger opportunity for more private ma-and-pop, small-scale grocery stores or grocers, especially in our underserved areas of populations.” Detroit needs more businesses focused on growing, harvesting and processing foods for daily consumption and other products that are affordable for average Detroiters, Mizzi said. “Speaking of affordable foods, you also have to have affordable housing,” Clemons said. “I see an

Takata, U.S. government tangle on $125M in settlement payments By Dustin Walsh dwalsh@crain.com

While the Takata Corp. and the U.S. government agreed earlier this month how to divvy up $850 million in restitution payments to automakers, the two are still scrapping in court over which victims will receive the remaining $125 million. The $975 million in restitution payments stem from the Japanese company’s faulty air bags, linked to hundreds of injuries and at least 21 deaths, that led to the largest recall in automotive history and forced Takata and its North American subsidiary, Auburn Hills-based TK Holdings Inc., into bankruptcy. The court-appointed special master who is doling out the settlement money, Eric Green, determined in a Jan. 2 ruling that the $125 million fund will be paid out to U.S. victims only. Green, a professor at Harvard Law School, was appointed to administer the settlement by U.S. District Court in Detroit. Takata, however, has objected to the ruling, stating that the $850 million paid to automakers was not dictated by geography — nearly 60 manufacturers are splitting the fund, including Honda and Toyota — and that the plea agreement it reached in February 2017 did not preclude victims outside the U.S. from receiving payment, its lawyers said in a Jan. 11 court filing. “The plea agreement contains no geographic or nationality limitation on coverage of injured individuals,” the court filing said. “Rather, the plain

BLOOMBERG

The Takata Corp. and the U.S. government are still scrapping in court over which victims will receive $125 million in settlement payments.

Need to know

JJTakata and U.S. government battle in

court over restitution payments

JJAt odds over $125 million to be paid to U.S. claimants only JJJudge will hear oral arguments on March 5

language is broad, and when considered in context of addressing Takata’s global conduct, supports inclusion of foreign individuals injured outside the United States.” The U.S. government doesn’t believe this argument is substantive as Takata agreed to give the special master the ability to determine the fund’s recipients, it said in a Feb. 1 response. Oral arguments on the issue are scheduled for March 5 in U.S. District Court in Detroit. As part of the special master’s proposal, domestic automakers will split

$189 million of the $850 million to settle their own claims with victims. General Motors Co. is to receive $90 million, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV $53.8 million and Ford Motor Co. $45.3 million. Sterling Heights-based competitor Key Safety Systems Inc. signed a definitive agreement in November to acquire Takata for $1.6 billion. Key Safety won a stalking horse bid to acquire the embattled Japanese supplier out of bankruptcy, for which Takata filed in 2017. Under the deal, Key Safety’s management vows to maintain Takata’s 45,000-person employment base, with the exception of its problematic ammonium nitrate airbag inflator business, which is expected to end operation after the sale. Key Safety has said it expects to close on the deal by the end of the first quarter.

expanse of affordable housing as a target for 2018 also.” Capital Impact, a community development financial institution, has a fund called Capital Magnet Fund from which developers draw to help subsidize the cost of housing and keep rents lower in lieu of relying on federal low-income housing tax credits, Clemons said. One of the challenges for financing low-income housing is the tax credits won’t be as valuable this year because of the federal reduction in the corporate income tax, Clemons said. Corporations have traditionally bought the refundable

tax credits to lower their tax liability. “With the tax cuts coming, it may disappear or the pool may not be as large,” Clemons said. “... We’re continuing to be innovative and make sure that we can still provide financing so developers can create the affordable housing.” The “Detroit Rising” podcast is a weekly feature profiling people and issues in business, nonprofits and government in Detroit. If you’ve got a story idea to feature on the podcast, email me at clivengood@crain.com or call me at (313) 446-1654.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST LAW FIRMS

Ranked by number of attorneys in Southeast Michigan Rank

Company Address Phone; website

Top local executive

David Foltyn Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP 2290 First National Building, 660 Woodward Ave., chairman and CEO Detroit 48226-3506 (313) 465-7000; www.honigman.com

Total local attorneys Other Jan. Staff Senior full-time Michigan Worldwide 2018/ Partners Associates attorney attorney attorneys Jan. Jan. 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 Representative clients

228 211

167

271

294

Dickinson Wright PLLC 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 4000, Detroit 48226 (313) 223-3500; www.dickinsonwright.com

William Burgess CEO

175 172

130

230

484

Michael McGee CEO

143 132

183

216

Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC 150 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 2500, Detroit 48226-4415 (313) 963-6420; www.millercanfield.com

FCA US, Comerica, Consumers Energy, University of Michigan, City of Detroit, Barton Malow, Siemens, Valassis Communications, Olympia Development, Wells Fargo Bank NA

Dykema Gossett PLLC 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit 48243 (313) 568-6800; www.dykema.com

Peter Kellett chairman and CEO

139 139

163

387

USAA, Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan Chase, General Motors, Toyota, CIBC Bank NA, International Transmission Co.

Bodman PLC Sixth Floor at Ford Field, 1901 St. Antoine St., Detroit 48226 (313) 259-7777; www.bodmanlaw.com

Ralph McDowell chairman

131 135

138

Butzel Long PC 150 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 100, Detroit 48226 (313) 225-7000; www.butzel.com

Justin Klimko president and managing shareholder Bill Sider CEO and managing partner

129 119

129

152

Comerica Bank; Archdiocese of Detroit; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Lear Corp.; Ford family; Meridian Health Plan; The Huntington National Bank; Art Van Furniture; Cerberus Capital Management; Flagstar Bank NA

113 108

113

Sun Communities Inc., REDICO, Strength Capital Partners

John Hern CEO

108 107

139

397

88 90

118

135

5 6 7

Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC 27777 Franklin Road, Suite 2500, Southfield 48034-8214 (248) 351-3000; www.jaffelaw.com

Clark Hill PLC 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 3500, Detroit 48226 (313) 965-8300; www.clarkhill.com

Thomas Vincent Plunkett Cooney PC 38505 Woodward Ave., Suite 100, Bloomfield Hills president & CEO 48304 (248) 901-4000; www.plunkettcooney.com

Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook 1 Woodward Ave., Suite 2400, Detroit 48226-5485 (313) 965-7900; www.kitch.com

Mark Wisniewski chairman and CEO

87 87

104

Brooks Kushman PC 1000 Town Center, 22nd Floor, Southfield 48075 (248) 358-4400; www.BrooksKushman.com

Mark Cantor president

80 80

Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC 450 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak 48067 (248) 645-1483; www.howardandhoward.com

Mark Davis president and CEO

77 70

143

BMO Harris Bank N.A., Konami Gaming Inc., Martinrea International Inc., Stryker Corp., ThyssenKrupp, BorgWarner Inc., SigmaTron

Zausmer, August & Caldwell PC 32255 Northwestern Highway, Suite #225, Farmington Hills 48334 (248) 851-4111; www.zacfirm.com

Mark Zausmer managing shareholder

71 60

Garan Lucow Miller PC 1155 Brewery Park Blvd., Suite 200, Detroit 48207 (313) 446-1530; www.garanlucow.com

John Gillooly chairman of executive committee

66 63

State Farm Insurance, Michigan Department of Transportation, Philadelphia Insurance Companies Everest National Ins Co., Auto-Owners Ins Co., Meemic Ins Co., EMC Insurance Co., Farm Bureau, WalMart Inc., ITC Holdings Corp. NA

Harness, Dickey & Pierce PLC 5445 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Troy 48098 (248) 641-1600; www.hdp.com

Executive committee

64 60

108

Executive committee

62 62

Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton PC 101 W. Big Beaver Road, 10th Floor Columbia Center, Troy 48084-5280 (248) 457-7000; www.gmhlaw.com

Secrest, Wardle, Lynch, Hampton, Truex and Morley PC

53 52

2600 Troy Center Drive, P.O. Box 5025, Troy 48007-5025 (248) 851-9500; www.secrestwardle.com

Bruce Truex, president and comanaging; Mark Morley, comanaging partner

Collins Einhorn Farrell PC 4000 Town Center, Ninth Floor, Southfield 48075 (248) 355-4141; www.ceflawyers.com

Neil MacCallum, chairman; Michael Sullivan, president

52 50

51 54

48 55

17 18

James Hewson, Hewson & Van Hellemont PC 25900 Greenfield Road, Suite 650, Oak Park 48237 founding partner; Michael Jolet, Diane (248) 968-5200; www.vanhewpc.com Hewson, Robert Steffes, Elaine Sawyer, Gregory Hoelscher, comanaging partners; Michael Carey, partner Executive committee Kerr, Russell and Weber PLC 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 2500, Detroit 48226 (313) 961-0200; www.kerr-russell.com

This list is an approximate compilation of the largest law firms in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. Total number of attorneys does not include of counsel. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the law firms. Firms with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Detroit-area office. NA = not available.

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST LAW FIRMS

Ranked by number of attorneys in Southeast Michigan Rank

Company Address Phone; website

Top local executive

The Mike Morse Law Firm 24901 Northwestern Highway, Suite 700, Southfield 48075 (248) 350-9050; www.855mikewins.com

Michael Morse attorney/CEO/ owner

47 51

Auto accident victims; Social Security disability; dog bite victims

Lee Patton president and CEO

45 49

Sullivan, Ward, Asher & Patton PC 25800 Northwestern Highway, 1000 Maccabees Center, Southfield 48075-8412 (248) 746-0700; www.swappc.com

Richard Hooker partner

42 36

166

Varnum LLP 160 West Fort St., Detroit 48226 (313) 481-7300; www.varnumlaw.com

Health Pro/CNA, Iron Workers' Local No. 25, Farm Bureau Insurance Co., Medical Protective Company, Meemic, Plumbers Local 98, ProAssurance Insurance Co., Smithgroup LLC, Tenet Health Systems, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP Herman Miller Inc., Gerald R. Ford International Airport, John E. Green Co., Cascade Engineering Inc., Grand Circus Detroit, Spartan Motors Inc.

Mark Hauser, CFO; Steven Sallen, president and CEO

40 40

Maddin, Hauser, Roth & Heller, PC 28400 Northwestern Highway, Southfield 48034-1839 (248) 354-4030; www.maddinhauser.com

Linda PaullinHebden executive partner

40 39

199

Warner Norcross + Judd LLP 2000 Town Center, Suite 2700, Southfield 48075-1318 (248) 784-5000; www.wnj.com

Philip Phillips office managing partner

39 39

814

Foley & Lardner LLP 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 2700, Detroit 48226-3489 (313) 234-7100; www.foley.com

Wynnchurch Capital, Kohler Co., Nexteer Automotive, Amcor Limited, Aisin, TI Automotive, Steve Madden Ltd., Suncoke Energy, Tower Automotive, Pulte Group

Vandeveer Garzia P.C. 840 W. Long Lake Road, Suite 600, Troy 48098 (248) 312-2800; www.vgpclaw.com

Donald Brownell president and comanaging shareholder

38 41

Allstate, Progressive, Travelers, Coca-Cola, Hanover, Delta Air Lines Inc., Auto-Owners, Life Time Fitness

Kotz Sangster Wysocki PC 400 Renaissance Center, Suite 3400, Detroit 48243-1618 (313) 259-8300; www.kotzsangster.com

Gregory L. Wysocki president

37 39

The Salvation Army; Samsung SDI America, Inc.; Detroit Economic Growth Corp.; Alta Equipment; Guy Hurley; Peerless Steel; TTi Global; Skanska; Ternes Packaging; Aluminum Blanking Co.

Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler PLC 39533 Woodward Ave., Suite 200, Bloomfield Hills 48304 (248) 642-3700; www.dawdamann.com

Edward Dawda; Curtis Mann; Michael Mulcahy; Wayne Segal, management committee Ralph Castelli Jr., chairman of the board, CEO and managing partner

35 32

33 31

27 28 29

American International Group; AM Trust Group; City of Southfield; Fidelity National Title Group; Nationstar Mortgage; Quicken Loans; Signature Associates, a member of Cushman & Wakefield Alliance; The Kroger Co.; Versa Development; Zurich Insurance Amway, Consumers Energy, Dow Chemical, Fifth Third Bank, Mahle Industries, Perrigo, Robert Bosch, Spectrum Health, Stryker, Whirlpool

Kemp Klein Law Firm 201 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 600, Troy 48084-4161 (248) 528-1111; http://kkue.com/

Brian Renaud VP, Southeast Michigan

29 22

105

Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC 28411 Northwestern Highway, Suite 500, Southfield 48034 (248) 539-9900; www.fosterswift.com

Couzens, Lansky, Fealk, Ellis, Roeder & Lazar PC

Jeffrey Levine managing partner

28 28

Andrew Basile Jr. president

28 28

Young Basile Hanlon & MacFarlane PC 3001 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 624, Troy 48084 (248) 649-3333; www.youngbasile.com

Chemical Bank; The Police & Fire Retirement/ General Retirement Systems of the City of Detroit; Flagstar Bank; Prince Group LLC; Paramount Technologies Inc.; Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.; Freedom Truck Finance LLC; Security Corp.; First American Title Insurance Co.; Ashley Capital NA

Michael Schmidt president

28 28

Harvey Kruse PC 1050 Wilshire Drive, Suite 320, Troy 48084 (248) 649-7800; www.harveykruse.com

Amerisure, National General, Honeywell, Crane Co., Auto-Owners, Nationwide, Meemic Ins, Colony Ins, Acuity Ins, United Parcel Service

Carol Rosati, managing shareholder/ treasurer; Christopher Johnson, president Victor Norris managing shareholder

28 23

Johnson Rosati Schultz Joppich PC 27555 Executive Drive, Suite 250, Farmington Hills 48331 (248) 489-4100; www.jrsjlaw.com

28 NA

Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, City of Novi, City of Farmington Hills, City of Wixom, City of Huntington Woods, Oakland County Health Network, Green Oak Charter Township, Lenox Township, Charter Township of Lyon, MAISL Joint Risk Management Trust The Quicken Loans Family of Cos., LPL Financial LLC, Prefix Corp., Workhorse Group Inc., Transnav Technologies, Bader (USA), Sachse Construction and Development, Vesco Oil, Live Nation Entertainment, The Mars Agency NA

32 32

39395 W. 12 Mile Road, Suite 200, Farmington Hills 48331 (248) 489-8600; www.couzens.com

Hertz Schram PC Chrysler House, 719 Griswold St. , Suite 620, Detroit 48226 (313) 438-5001; www.hertzschram.com Sommers Schwartz PC One Towne Square, 17th Floor, Southfield 48076 (248) 355-0300; www.sommerspc.com

Joseph Bourgon CEO

C R A I N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST GREATER MICHIGAN LAW FIRMS

Ranked by number of attorneys outside Southeast Michigan Rank

1 2 3

Company Address Phone; website

Top Michigan executive

Outstate attorneys Worldwide Jan. 2018/ attorneys 2017 Jan. 2018/ 2017 Michigan office locations

Warner Norcross + Judd LLP 900 Fifth Third Center, 111 Lyon St. NW, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 752-2000; www.wnj.com

Douglas Dozeman managing partner

159 156

199 195

Varnum LLP 333 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids 49501-0352 (616) 336-6000; www.varnumlaw.com

David Khorey chair, managing partner Thomas Kyros managing partner Craig Lubben and Robert Wolford managing members

124 122

166 158

96 99

Miller Johnson 45 Ottawa Ave. SW, Suite 1100, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 831-1700; www.millerjohnson.com

Representative clients

Grand Rapids, Southfield, Macomb County, Midland, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Holland, Lansing Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Detroit, Novi, Ann Arbor, Hastings

Amway, Consumers Energy, Dow Chemical, Fifth Third Bank, Mahle Industries, Perrigo, Robert Bosch, Spectrum Health, Stryker, Whirlpool

96 99

Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo

Altus Capital Partners, Bronson Healthcare, Kellogg Co., Gordon Food Service, Henry Ford Allegiance Health, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Spectrum Health System, Speyside Equity, Stryker Corp., Washtenaw County NA

Herman Miller Inc., Gerald R. Ford International Airport, John E. Green Co., Cascade Engineering Inc., Grand Circus Detroit, Spartan Motors Inc.

Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC 313 S. Washington Square, Lansing 48933 (517) 371-8100; www.fosterswift.com

Michael Sanders president

76 75

105 97

Lansing, Southfield, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Holland, St. Joseph

Dickinson Wright PLLC 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 4000, Detroit 48226 (313) 223-3500; www.dickinsonwright.com

William Burgess CEO

55 44

484 440

Ann Arbor, Troy, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw

Rhoades McKee PC 55 Campau Ave. NW, Suite 300, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 235-3500; www.rhoadesmckee.com

Paul McCarthy executive committee member, president

45 44

Holland, Grand Rapids

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge PC B 100 Monroe Center, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 774-8000; www.shrr.com

William Jack Jr. CEO

43 68

47 78

Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Ann Arbor

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP 2290 First National Building, 660 Woodward Ave., Detroit 48226-3506 (313) 465-7000; www.honigman.com

David Foltyn chairman and CEO

43 37

294 272

Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing

Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC 150 W. Jefferson, Suite 2500, Detroit 48226 (313) 963-6420; www.millercanfield.com

Michael McGee CEO

40 40

216 205

Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Troy

Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap PC 124 W. Allegan, Suite 1000, Lansing 48933 (517) 482-5800; www.fraserlawfirm.com

Michael Perry president

32 34

37 38

Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids

City Club Apartments LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., General Motors LLC, Huron Capital Partners LLC, Kellogg Co., Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, Quicken Loans Inc., Rockbridge Growth Equity LLC, Taubman Centers Inc., Trinity Health FCA US, Comerica, Consumers Energy, University of Michigan, City of Detroit, Barton Malow, Siemens, Valassis Communications, Olympia Development, Wells Fargo Bank NA NA

Mika Meyers PLC 900 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 632-8000; www.mikameyers.com

Benjamin Zainea chair of management committee

31 33

Grand Rapids, Caledonia, Rockford, Manistee

Clark Hill PLC 500 Woodward Ave., Suite 3500, Detroit 48226 (313) 965-8300; www.clarkhill.com

John Hern CEO

31 25

397 315

Birmingham, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing

Plunkett Cooney PC 38505 Woodward Ave., Suite 100, Bloomfield Hills 48304 (248) 901-4000; www.plunkettcooney.com

Thomas Vincent president & CEO

30 37

135 147

Bloomfield Hills, Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Marquette, Petoskey

Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner PLC 4301 Fashion Square Blvd., Saginaw 48603 (989) 498-2100; www.braunkendrick.com

Timothy Curtiss managing partner

24 24

Saginaw, Midland, Mount Pleasant

Dykema Gossett PLLC 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit 48243 (313) 568-6800; www.dykema.com

Peter Kellett chairman and CEO

24 27

387 420

Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing

Bank of America, Beaumont Health, First American Title Insurance Co., Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Co., Huntington National Bank, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Michigan Municipal League Liability & Property Pool, PNC Bank, State Farm Insurance, Walmart General Motors, NSI- a division of West Bend Insurance, Saginaw Valley State University, Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance, Dow Chemical, Great Lakes Bay Health Centers USAA, Ford Motor Company, JP Morgan Chase, General Motors, Toyota, CIBC Bank NA, International Transmission Co.

McShane & Bowie PLC 99 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 1100, Grand Rapids 49503 (616) 732-5000; www.msblaw.com

John Grant managing partner

23 22

Grand Rapids

Thrun Law Firm PC 2900 West Road, Suite 400, East Lansing 48823 (517) 484-8000; www.thrunlaw.com

Gordon VanWieren president

22 26

27 26

East Lansing, Novi, Grand Rapids, Traverse City

Barnes & Thornburg LLP 171 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 1000, Grand Rapids 49503-2694 (616) 742-3930; www.btlaw.com

Robert Sikkel Grand Rapids office managing partner

21 19

551 493

Grand Rapids

Price Heneveld LLP 695 Kenmoor Ave. SE, Grand Rapids 49546 (616) 949-9610; www.priceheneveld.com

Kevin Grzelak managing partner

21 18

NA 18

Grand Rapids

Wolverine World Wide Inc.; Steelcase Inc.; ADAC Automotive; Trinity Health/Mercy Health Partners; MidMichigan Health/University of Michigan Health System; Herman Miller; Amway; Quanex Building Products Inc.; Pilkington North America Inc.; Rockwell Collins; The Dow Chemical Co.; and Whirlpool NA

Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting PC 124 W. Allegan St., No. 700, Lansing 48933 (517) 482-2400; www.loomislaw.com

Ted Rozeboom president

16 18

Lansing

Lewis, Reed & Allen PC 136 E. Michigan Ave., Suite 800, Kalamazoo 49007 (269) 388-7600; www.lewisreedallen.com

William Redmond senior attorney

16 17

Kalamazoo

This list is an approximate compilation of the largest law firms with a presence outside of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Livingston counties. Total number of attorneys does not include "of counsel." It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the law firms. Firms are listed with the address and top executive of their main Michigan office. NA = not available.

B Lawyers and staff at the Traverse City location separated from the firm to form Parker Harvey, effective Aug. 1, 2017.

KIRK PINHO

Join Crain’s real estate insider Kirk Pinho and a group of powerhouse experts as they share perspectives on the future of Detroit’s real estate market, what factors are impacting development in the area and how changes in the market can directly affect your business.

Thursday, March 22 8-10:30 a.m. | Garden Theater, Detroit Tickets: $80 PANEL 1: FOLLOWING (AND ATTRACTING) THE MONEY Downtown Detroit’s resurgence is news everywhere from the New York Times to CNBC. But it still lags other cities in outside investment from REITs, hedge funds and others with deep pockets. What will it take to get Detroit to the next level? PANELISTS: Sonya Mays, president and CEO, Develop Detroit Inc. Clifford Brown, managing partner, Woodborn Partners LLC Dennis Bernard, founder and president, Bernard Financial Group,

PANEL 2: THE BIG PICTURE: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR DETROIT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE An economic outlook for Detroit’s real estate market: What are the economic issues that will affect the region? Is it purely the performance of the automotive industry, or have we moved beyond that? What other outside factors will play a role? PANELISTS: Keona Cowan, senior vice president, Invest Detroit Paul Traub, senior business economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit branch

Dan Mullen, president, Bedrock LLC

AMERICAN DREAMS Every few years, Crain’s Detroit Business celebrates the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs, executives and community leaders to Metro Detroit — people who have improved our communities, powered our economy and paved a brighter future for the next generation in pursuit of the American dream.

HELP US TELL THEIR STORIES We invite you to nominate yourself or someone you know to be featured in this special section that will run in our 2018 Mackinac Policy Conference issue. Visit crainsdetroit.com/nominate. NOMINATIONS CLOSE: March 5 || PUBLISH DATE: May 28

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

Michigan utilities are speaking out against a ballot drive aimed at mandating an increase in the amount of power generated from renewable sources such as solar energy in the state.

DTE ENERGY

Utilities criticize proposal to require even more renewables By Jay Greene jgreene@crain.com

Michigan utilities are speaking out against a ballot drive aimed at mandating an increase in the amount of power generated from renewable sources in the state. DTE Energy Co. CEO Gerry Anderson believes the state of Michigan and his company has a good plan to build sufficient renewable energy resources in the state over the next five years. Anderson said in an interview with Crain’s that a ballot initiative, whose language was approved last week, that would double the current mandate for renewable energy in the state is the wrong way to go and should only be used as a last resort if legislation fails. “Energy policy is complex, and a ballot initiative is a bad idea” for many reasons, he said. “The best place to do that is through legislation. ... We did that twice (in 2008 and 2016).” Consumers Energy Co., Michigan’s other major investor-owned utility, also contends it has a sound plan to further develop renewable energy and also does not need a “legal mandate to do the right thing for our customers, Michigan and our planet,” company spokeswoman Katie Carey told Crain’s. But a group calling itself Clean Energy, Healthy Michigan has begun to collect signatures to put on the ballot a constitutional amendment to extend the state’s renewable energy standard to 30 percent by 2030. Michigan’s current target, set by state law in late 2016, is 15 percent of electricity sales by 2021. A 2008 state energy law set a 10 percent mandate for renewables that was met in 2015. “We want to expand renewable energy in a way that will promote economic development, create more jobs, continue to clean up our environment and promote better public health,” John Freeman, executive director of the initiative, said in a statement to the media. “And of course save businesses, homeowners and farmers money.” Anderson said a 30 percent mandate could result in higher rates for customers because it removes investment flexibility that has been present in the state’s past two energy laws. While Anderson said he hasn’t

Need to know

JJUtilities mounting public campaign to

oppose effort to increase renewable energy mandate to 30 percent by 2030

JJEnvironmental groups looking for signatures to get initiative on November ballot JJCalifornia billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer behind Michigan initiative

done the math to predict how costly speeding up investments on renewable energy would be for DTE — while the company at the same time plans to spend $1 billion on a new gas-fired plant to replace three coalfired plants scheduled to close by 2023 — he knows there will be additional costs. “A mandate to add 15 percent would lead to rate increases that people would find unpalatable,” Anderson said. Under the ballot initiative, however, utilities would be prohibited from charging residential customers more than an average of $2 per month to cover costs to add renewable energy production. But what Anderson criticized most strongly about the ballot push is who is pushing it. The initiative is being partially funded by California billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer and his NextGen America nonprofit. Steyer has also promoted through TV commercials an effort to impeach President Donald Trump. “To have someone come in who is a known billionaire, who is active in other political issues, who is a lightning rod, to say well, all right, what you are doing isn’t fast enough ... is going to introduce partisanship and a fractious environment where we don’t need it. ... People will take sides and it will hurt the cause” of environmentalism, Anderson said. Steyer, who made his wealth as the founder of the Farallon Capital investment firm and co-founder of OneCalifornia Bank, has supported similar ballot initiatives around the country. At least 18 other states have a renewable standard higher than Michigan’s 15 percent by 2021 law, Freeman said. And in 2013, a report by the Michigan Public Service Commission concluded the state could comfortably hit a 30 percent renew-

able energy target in the next decade. Anderson said it is technically possible to increase renewable energy production to 30 percent, but not without increasing electric rates on customers to unreasonable levels. “I have never said it is impossible to reach 30 percent. We very likely will do it, but we need flexibility that the ballot initiative doesn’t provide,” Anderson said. If DTE had been required to invest and build an annual, predetermined amount of renewable energy starting in 2009, just when the economic recession hit, Anderson said DTE would have spent $150 million more per year on wind and solar projects. “It hardwires outcomes and timing,” he said. For example, the cost of wind power after the recession in 2010 and 2011 was 12 cents per kilowatt hour. “It was very expensive, but we knew cost of wind would come down,” he said. “We invested some, but the bulk of investments went to 2014 when the cost was 5 cents per kilowatt hour. We got a better deal.

“I have never said it is impossible to reach 30 percent. We very likely will do it, but we need flexibility that the ballot initiative doesn’t provide.” Gerry Anderson, DTE CEO

We used smarts to invest at the right time.” Anderson said he believes solar prices will also come down in the next several years and DTE wants to invest in “large blocks” of solar at that time. “The ballot says do the same amount every year. That does away with flexibility,” he said. But Freeman said utilities would have sufficient flexibility to meet the renewable portfolio standard targets under the ballot initiative. However, the proposal would re-

quire providers to generate 18 percent of their supply through wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2022, 21 percent by 2024, 24 percent by 2026, 27 percent by 2028 and 30 percent by 2030. Anderson said the state’s 2016 energy law also requires Michigan utilities to develop “integrated resource plans” that shows how companies plan to produce electricity in the future. “We will lay out our plan this year” that will show heavy investments in renewable energy, Anderson said. In a statement, Consumers said it plans to file a long-term electricity strategy with state regulators by June. The IRP will explain how Consumers plans to meet electricity needs with a combination of traditional power sources and renewable energy. “We retired more coal plants than any other investor-owned utility in 2016, and have less than 23 percent of our energy mix coming from coal today,” Consumers spokeswoman Carey said in an email to Crain’s. “We are already making major investments in renewable energy, and we will continue to do so in the coming years.”

First reaction to ballot initiative Anderson said his first reaction when he heard last week of the ballot proposal was “Why Michigan?” He said he has heard several theories why Steyer and the local groups became interested in a second ballot initiative in five years. In 2012, the “25 by 2025” initiative to increase renewable energy was defeated by a 2-1 margin. One reason could be that it is the home of the auto industry, and experts believe there will be a massive increase in electric vehicles in the next decade. An increase in renewable energy to power the electric cars is seen as a natural fit. Two, Steyer has found willing partners in state environmental and renewable energy organizations to promote his national goals for renewable energy. But Anderson discounted a theory that opposition by environmental and renewable energy groups to DTE’s plans to build a $1 billion, 1,100-megawatt gas-fired power

plant in East China Township gave Steyer a good reason to invest in the ballot initiative in Michigan. The Michigan Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing this month to consider approval of DTE's gas plant with a decision expected in early April. Renewable energy proponents have objected to the MPSC over DTE’s plans, saying there are less costly, renewable alternatives that would save ratepayers more money. Those advocates say DTE’s cost analysis is flawed. Vote Solar, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Environmental Law and Policy Center have filed two lengthy reports with MPSC. Spokesmen say DTE’s gas plant would cost ratepayers between $339 million to $1.2 billion more than comparable wind and solar plants. Anderson disputes that analysis. “We can’t retire enough (coal plants) and replace that with intermittent resources,” he said. Transitioning from “coal to natural gas will reduce emissions” and he said they are doing more with renewable energy. Anderson said DTE will cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by the early 2020s and up to 80 percent by 2050 as it closes its coal plants, adds 6,000 megawatts of renewable energy and builds baseload natural-gas plants.

Next steps Anderson said DTE is still evaluating how or whether it will spend money to campaign against the new proposal if it makes the ballot. “I am talking to the supporters of the ballot proposal, because I’ll be honest, I don’t think this is good for the cause of climate change or renewables in Michigan, and I’ve told them that,” Anderson said. DTE and Consumer spent a combined $24.1 million to defeat the 2012 ballot initiative. Supporters of the initiative spent about $14 million. “We will see what happens and think about an ad budget and the other things (coordinating anti-ballot initiative campaign with Consumers) later,” he said. Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325 Twitter: @jaybgreene

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

CALENDAR

Affordable housing project planned along Gratiot By Chad Livengood clivengood@crain.com

UPCOMING EVENTS Don’t Call Me a Millennial: Busting the Myths of the Next Generation of Leadership. 7:30-9 a.m. Feb. 27. Young Professionals Panel includes: Sommer Brock, director of development, Cranbrook Educational Community; Clarence Dass, founder, The Dass Law Firm and Jennifer Korman, communications project manager, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. MSU Management Education Center. $32 member, $36 nonmember. Website: leadershipoakland.com/breakfast-of-champions/ 2018 Detroit Policy Conference. 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. March 1. Detroit Regional Chamber. The Detroit Policy Conference will focus on creating a culture of civility in Detroit, exploring what it means to be “civil” and the role that communities play in influencing individual behavior. MotorCity Casino Hotel. $159 members; $235 nonmembers. Website: detroitchamber.com/dpc Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber’s Government Forecast Breakfast. 8-9:30 a.m. March 2. Speaker is U.S. Congressman Dave Trott. Townsend Hotel. $40 members; $50 nonmembers. Contact: Andrea Foglietta, phone: (248) 430-7688; email: andreaf@bbcc. com; website: bbcc.com Embracing Emerging Technologies to Diversify Business. 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. March 8. Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce. APACC 15TH Annual EastWest Business Connection. Edward Village, Dearborn. $75 member; $100 nonmember. Contact: Leonie Teichman, email: leonie@apacc. net Website: apacc.net A Conversation with Tim Sloan: Leadership, Culture and Innovation. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. March 15. Detroit Economic Club. Wells Fargo CEO and President Tim Sloan will discuss leadership, innovation and the financial services industry. MotorCity Casino Hotel. $45 members, $55 guest of members, $75 nonmembers. Website: econclub.org Positive Links Speaker Series: Clash! Bridging Cultural Divides in the Workplace. 4-5 p.m. March 19. Ross School of Business. Hazel Rose Markus, Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences Department of Psychology at Stanford University, shows how recognizing and including interdependence within workplace culture cycles can bridge divides and enhance individual motivation, creativity, and performance. Michigan Ross Campus. Free. Contact: Jacob Feinberg, phone: (734) 764-0544; email: cpoevents@umich.edu; website: positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu To submit calendar items 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.

The Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance is partnering with a low-income housing development company to build a new $8.3 million mixed-use building along Gratiot Avenue in an area of Detroit’s east side that is outside of the city’s targeted areas for revitalization. Bingham Farms-based MHT Housing Inc. and the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance recently broke ground on a Need 52,000-squareto know foot, four-story JJLow-income building at 9100 housing company Gratiot Ave. to be partnering with called the Gratiot faith-based group Central Comon 36-unit mons that will affordable housing have 36 affordproject able housing units and JJ$8.3 million ground-floor reGratiot Central tail space facing Commons to have street-facing retail the street. The Gratiot JJ$6.5 million Central Comlow-income mons will be sithousing tax credit uated between subsidizing project two existing mixed-use buildings the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance owns at 8900 Gratiot and 9200 Gratiot, creating a seamless stretch of storefronts along a commercial corridor challenged by decades of disinvestment and blight. “It’s not one of the city’s target areas,” said John Thorne, executive di-

CHAD LIVENGOOD/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

MHT Housing Inc. and the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance recently broke ground on a 52,000-square-foot, four-story building at 9100 Gratiot Ave. to be called the Gratiot Central Commons. It will have 36 affordable housing units and ground-floor retail space facing the street.

rector of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance. “But we’re still completely invested in what we’re doing in this community.” Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration has focused city, philanthropic and outside investment resources on a redevelopment strategy that targets the neighborhoods near Livernois and McNichols, southwest Detroit and West Village, which is nearly three miles from the new development in Gratiot Woods. MHT Housing, a not-for-profit company that builds affordable-housing buildings and has 5,000 units in Detroit, secured $6.5 million in federal low-income housing tax credits to subsidize construc-

executive SPEAKER SERIES

tion of Gratiot Central Commons. Chad Joseph, director of development for MHT Housing, said the stretch of Gratiot is well-suited for higher-density commercial and housing options. “It’s already got the major bus hubs,” Joseph said. “We were very invested in this opportunity to be a part of this project.” The new building represents the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance’s continued expansion of its not-forprofit mission in the Gratiot Woods neighborhood, where it’s been based for more than 20 years. The nonprofit faith-based organization has its offices in the 9200 Gratiot building, the one-time location

of a crime-ridden after-hours joint called the Miami Vice Club. “For us, when we look at downtown, we see Gratiot as one of those major thoroughfares,” Thorne said. “We saw this as an opportunity even before investments were going on in the city of Detroit that this is where we want to plant our feet.” The building at 8900 Gratiot has 12 affordable-housing rental units and houses Matrix Head Start and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s On The Rise Café, which has its baking kitchen in another DCPA-owned building three blocks away in the Corsi Building at the corner of Gratiot and McClellan avenues, just south of the I-94 overpass. The Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance acquired the property at 9100 Gratiot about five years ago and began demolition last fall of a small retail building that had been used for a church and two abandoned houses, said Christopher Bray, housing director for the DCPA. Construction of the Gratiot Central Commons is expected to be complete by year’s end and there are ongoing talks with potential retail tenants, Bray said. Continental Construction Management and Continental Property Management, two for-profit companies affiliated with MHT Housing, will serve as the general contractor and real estate manager of the new building, Joseph said. Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

The College of Business presents

The Future of Autonomous Machines: Opportunities or Adversities for Michigan’s Economy?

Join us for breakfast and a panel discussion

March 8, 2018, 7:30-9:30 am Panelists include executives from Automation Alley, FANUC America, HIROTEC AMERICA and UM-Dearborn faculty.

Info and registration at umdearborn.edu/cob/execspeaker

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

PEOPLE ARCHITECTURE Mark Schovers to vice president of construction administration, Designhaus Architecture, Rochester, from superintendent, Oakview Building Co., Northville. J Carl Bolofer to creative lead, Hamilton Anderson Associates Inc., Detroit, from senior designer. Also, Amy Baker to lead technical architect from architect. J

BANKING/FINANCE Mark Evenson to business operations, AMDG Tax & Accounting (AMDG Financial Advisory Services LLC), Plymouth, from branch manager, Community Financial Credit Union, Plymouth. J Todd Potter to vice president, mortgage sales, Level One Bank, Farmington Hills, from senior vice president, correspondent national sales manager, Envoy Mortgage, Monroe, La. J

EDUCATION J Cynthia Radecki to assistant dean of advancement, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from senior director of major gifts, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. J Sheryl Kubiak to dean, School of

SPOTLIGHT Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, from professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

from senior attorney, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC, Southfield.

HEALTH CARE

J Dennis Mulalic to director of business affairs, Doerken Corp. USA, Grass Lake, from key account manager, Dörken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co. KG, Herdecke, Germany. J Jan van Dijk to vice president, tax and treasury, TriMas Corp., Bloomfield Hills, from vice president, tax and treasurer, Metaldyne Performance Group Inc., Southfield.

J Deloris “Dee” Hunt to chief human resources officer, Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan), Ann Arbor, from chief human resources officer, Detroit Medical Center, Detroit.

INSURANCE J Ken Buchholtz to senior sales representative, U.S. Health and Life Insurance Co., Sterling Heights, from senior group regional manager, Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., Schaumburg, Ill.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY J Katrina Powell to vice president, municipal services, Munetrix LLC, Auburn Hills, from state-appointed city manager, city of Hamtramck.

LAW Michael J. Liddane to shareholder, Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC, Southfield, from senior attorney. J Jonathan Schwartz to partner, Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC, Southfield,

MANUFACTURING

MARKETING J Jennette Smith Kotila to senior vice president, client relations, MCCI — Mort Crim Communications Inc., Detroit, from vice president, director of marketing and communications, CORE Partners LLC, Bingham Farms.

NONPROFITS J Frankie Piccirilli to chief development officer, Michigan Opera Theatre, Detroit, from chief development officer, Coalition on Temporary Shelter, Detroit.

To submit news of your new hires or promotions to People, go to crainsdetroit.com/peoplesubmit and fill out the online form.

Former Redico exec joins Bedrock in Ohio

A top former Redico LLC executive has left the Southfield-based development company to join Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based Bedrock LLC in Cleveland, overseeing the billionaire’s real estate efforts there. Ken Till, formerly senior vice president of development for Redico, had been a public face on several of the company’s Ken Till high-profile projects, including the Village at Bloomfield in Bloomfield Township and Pontiac; the former Michigan state fairgrounds project before the company sold off its interest in the development at Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Detroit; and the adjacent Gateway Marketplace project, which included the city’s first Meijer Inc. store. Till said he left Redico on Nov. 28 and joined Bedrock on Jan. 16. He started at Redico in 2005.

WSU Physician Group hires CEO

Charles Shanley, M.D., was appointed vice dean for clinical affairs at Wayne State University School of Medicine and also CEO of the medi-

cal school’s University Physician Group, a 400-member multispecialty faculty practice plan. Shanley, a longtime Beaumont Hospital vascular surgeon and researcher, will replace Lisa Keane at UPG, effective March 1. Shanley, a 1987 graduate of the WSU medical school, has served in a number of roles at Beaumont Hospital, including residency program director for general surgery and vascular surgery, division chief for vascular surgery and surgical department chair.

Big Boy names permanent CEO

David Crawford is the new permanent CEO at Big Boy Restaurants International LLC. Crawford, 47, assumed the role Jan. 1, according to the Warren-based company. Crawford began serving as interim CEO after Keith Sirois retired from the post in November. Crawford joined the chain in 2009 as chief marketing officer David Crawford and added the title of senior vice president of manufacturing in 2016. Crawford has also worked at Tampa, Fla.-based Outback Steakhouse, Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s Corp. and Tampa, Fla.-based Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc.

ADVERTISING SECTION To place your listing or for more information, please call Debra Stein at (212) 210-0274 or email dstein@crainsnewyork.com

www.crainsdetroit.com/onthemove

REAL ESTATE

CONSTRUCTION

ACCOUNTING Ryan Page Market Associate

The Siegfried Group, LLP

Patrick Meehan

Tony Alston

Vice President of Construction

Business Development Manager, Michigan

The Platform

Rudolph Libbe Group

The Platform is proud to announce that Patrick Meehan has been promoted to vice president of construction. The Platform is a real estate development company specializing in residential and mixed-use in Detroit. In addition to overseeing new-construction projects, Patrick leads The Platform’s redevelopment of the Fisher Building. He has more than 25 years of experience in design and construction, with an emphasis on re-development/ re-positioning. He’s been with The Platform since its 2016 founding.

Tony Alston has over 12 years of business development experience. He majored in business at El Camino College in Southern California, and is Six Sigma Green Belt-Certified. Tony will focus on selling Rudolph Libbe Group construction and industrial maintenance services to southeast Michigan commercial and manufacturing facilities.

Ryan Page joins Siegfried’s Detroit Market as a Market Associate. Page joins the Detroit Market after spending just over a year as the Senior Program Manager and COO of Amplitude HR, LLC. Page, who has a great deal of experience in recruiting in many different fields, earned his Bachelor of Science in health care administration from the University of Michigan.

Peter Lindman, CPA

Ali Maqbool, CPA, CA

Senior Associate

Associate Manager

The Siegfried Group, LLP

Peter Lindman, CPA, joins Siegfried’s Detroit Market as a Senior Associate after spending the last several years at Deloitte. He attended Miami University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. Lindman, who brings confidence, vision, and ambition to every task, thinks critically to solve problems.

Ali Maqbool, CPA, CA, joins Siegfried’s Detroit Market as an Associate Manager. Maqbool takes the lead to ensure timeliness and accuracy of assignments. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Manager at Deloitte. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oxford Brookes University in the UK and his master’s in accounting and finance from the University of Lahore.

KNOW SOMEONE ON THE MOVE?

For more information or questions regarding advertising in this section, please call Debra Stein at (212) 210-0274 or email: dstein@crainsnewyork.com

February 19, 2018

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I TCRAIN B U’S I ETROIT NESB SUSINESS // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8 SD

YOU MADE NEWS IN CRAIN’S

Page1919

Share your success with custom

Reprints, E-prints and more!

Contact Laura Picariello at lpicariello@crain.com or (732) 723-0569.

JOB FRONT The plan will encompass the cultural organizations in the district, from the DIA to the Hellenic Museum to the Detroit Public Library, along with other properties interspersed between them, including the Inn on Ferry Street, the Rackham Building and the Park Shelton building.

CAMPUS FROM PAGE 3

and unify the cultural district in a truly triple-bottom-line fashion: one that creates physical connections between the organizations in the district, equitably engages residents, provides opportunities for local businesses, manages stormwater, generates new or increased revenue streams for the museums, improves walkability, and adds to the beauty of the area,” he said. Midtown Detroit did not return calls seeking comment last week. The master planning process for the cultural district is slated to be completed a year from this April. It will encompass the cultural organizations in the district, from the DIA to the Hellenic Museum to the Detroit Public Library, along with other properties interspersed between them, including the Inn on Ferry Street, the Rackham Building and the Park Shelton building.

Building on singular efforts With a $150,000 grant from the William Davidson Foundation and $100,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town program, the DIA is exploring concepts for creating a public gathering space or “town square” on its front plaza fronting Woodward Avenue. The project is the first part of a vision DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons shared with Crain’s almost two years ago after taking the helm of the museum. Salort-Pons said he wanted to work with nearby institutions like the Detroit Historical Museum and Wayne State University to make their shared area into the main town square of Detroit, with the DIA at the heart of it. He envisioned doing that by transforming the urban plan of the area to create more walkability and by creating inviting entrances and gathering areas, beginning with the DIA’s Woodward Avenue plaza. In announcing the Woodward plaza planning last year, Salort-Pons said feedback from the public and the museum’s neighbors would play a vital role as the DIA looked at the best ways to connect the museum grounds to

the surrounding community. “The Davidson Foundation is encouraged by the DIA’s early efforts to engage their neighbors, including Midtown Detroit Inc., and others working in partnership with the Erb Foundation in the cultural district,” President and CEO Darin McKeever said in an emailed statement. The museum declined to comment on the status of its planning effort in advance of a public announcement on the planning efforts expected by the end of March. As the DIA planning launched, so too did planning for green infrastructure between the Wright Museum and science center to absorb stormwater runoff and tie to cultural and scientific educational lessons offered by the institutions. The project was funded with a $54,000 grant from the Erb Foundation. The thrust of those efforts, beyond their stormwater abatement potential, has been to make the new, landscaped area both culturally beautiful and scientifically relevant, said Sigal Hemy, program officer for the Erb Foundation. As an extension of that, educational materials tied to the garden would touch on both cultural and scientific lessons such as, perhaps, native plants that were used in healing. When the Erb Foundation realized there were two outdoor projects taking shape in the Cultural District, it approached Midtown Detroit to see if it would be interested in coming on as an independent convener to lead the master planning effort by expanding the scope of the DIA’s planning process and incorporating the stormwater management work happening between the Wright Museum and Michigan Science Center. Beyond creating a cohesive, unified appearance for the cultural district, the master planning process could increase attendance for the cultural institutions in the district through shared programming and enable the institutions to gain cost efficiencies through shared vendors, she said. The process is expected to culminate in a menu of options for the cultural district, rather than a single plan, when it wraps up in April 2019, Hemy said. Sherri Welch: 313 (446-1694) Twitter: @SherriWelch

REAL ESTATE

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

VACANT LAND

REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY

ACQUISITIONS MANAGER

Â Downtown Rochester Â

Grand/Sakwa Properties, a Farmington Hills-based real estate investment, development and management firm with over 6 MM sq. ft. of assets, is seeking an experienced Real Estate Attorney to serve as its corporate counsel. The candidate will be responsible for drafting purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and other transactional documents for a portfolio of residential, industrial, and commercial properties. The candidate should also have experience with legal work that pertains to general real estate matters such as title review, zoning, entitlements, and incentives agreements. Admission to the Michigan Bar and 5+ years’ experience as a commercial real estate attorney preferred.

Grand/Sakwa Properties is seeking an Acquisitions Manager

3.4 Acre Vacant Land Walk to Downtown Borders Clinton River & Pollyann Trail

Responsibilities will include sourcing and analyzing acquisition opportunities that meet the Company’s criteria and assisting in due diligence efforts to complete deals. The candidate should have 2-5 years experience in acquisitions and/or brokerage of retail, office, multifamily or industrial properties. Please email Jill @

Call Chuck 248-821-0752 WATERFRONT PROPERTY

jdemetriou@grandsakwa.com POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Direct resumes to: jdemetriou@grandsakwa.com

Call or email today for information on a custom advertising plan!

cdbclassified@crain.com 313.446.6086

Interested in a Career in Philanthropy? Learn about opportunities in U-M Development

Career Chat: Detroit March 15, 2018 | 5:30-8:00 pm The University of Michigan Detroit Center 3663 Woodward Avenue, Suite 150, Detroit Register at: ldrsnb.st/Careers

MARKET PLACE

STRIP MALL SPACE

SPACE FOR RENT 200 Square Feet on Russell St. In Historic Eastern Market

LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

High Foot Traffic Area Between Chase Bank and Metro PCS at the Corner of Russell and Wilkins. Contact: Steve Hood at 313-649-7589 to Schedule a Walk Through

All Citizens are advised that the Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC) has prepared an application for State of Michigan financial assistance for fiscal year 2019 as required under Act 51 of the Public Acts of 1951, as amended, and for federal assistance as required under the federal transit laws, as amended. The DTC is requesting estimated total capital funding through the following sources: Section 5310 for DTC Accessibility and Equipment Upgrades and facility improvements totaling $500,000 (FTA amount of $400,000 and MDOT amount of $100,000). Section 5307 totaling $500,000 (FTA amount of $400,000 and MDOT amount of $100,000).Section 5337 totaling $1,500,000 (FTA amount of $1,200,000 and MDOT amount of $300,000).

The Crain’s Reader

Notice of these federal funds has been published previously in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) prepared by SEMCOG.

313.446.6086 • FAX: 313.446. 034 7 E-Mail: cdbclassified@crain.com

The DTC ensures that the level and quality of transportation service is provided without regard to race, color, or national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For more information regarding our Title VI obligations or to file a complaint, please contact the DTC at the address listed below. The proposed application is on file at the DTC and may be reviewed from Thursday February 15, 2018 - Wednesday February 28, 2018 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Written comments or requests regarding the application and/or written requests for a public hearing to review the application must be received by Thursday March 1, 2018. If a hearing is requested, notice of the scheduled date, time and location will be provided at least ten (10) days in advance. Submittals should be sent to Mr. Oliver Lindsay, Grant Manager, Detroit Transportation Corporation, 535 Griswold Street, Suite 400, Detroit, MI 48226 or 313-522-8445. Barring any changes made in response to the written comments, this document will become final.

26.5% influence the purchase of office/industrial and commerical space. Help them find you by advertising in Crain’s Real Estate Section.

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

RIVERFRONT FROM PAGE 3

“Columbus, Ohio, has recently built such a riverfront park with considerable success,” he continued. “Also: Portland, Oregon, Chicago and Milwaukee.” Immediately abutting the area to the north are the Hubbard Richard and Corktown neighborhoods. “We’ve always been focused on public space and viewed our investments as having a real return in changing people’s lives and it’s a real stimulus for economic development,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. “On the east riverfront, the park space drives the market.” He said the $50 million park is likely to be a two-year project and will start once the conservancy raises the money. “We think there will be a strong appetite among folks that could support this project,” Wallace said.

Heat to the east Indeed, in recent years, developers have clamored for property east of the Renaissance Center, as the RiverWalk has proven to be a popular downtown amenity and parks along the river have been updated with a variety of features and new landscaping. “We’ve seen a billion dollars invested in the east riverfront, 17,000 construction jobs produced and a tremendous boost to the city. We are confident the west riverfront will push that similarly,” Wallace said. Among those developers is Dan Gilbert, whose team has been working with General Motors on a 10-plus-acre mixed-use project on what is largely surface parking lots owned by the Detroit-based automaker. Aamir Farooqi and Scott Ord, who head up Detroit-based Banyan Investments, plan a $27 million redevelopment of the Stone Soap building into 63 condominiums

Oakland, Calif.-based Hood Design Studio presented a design for development of the West Riverfront Park area along the Detroit River.

and apartments, a “European-style” market with food retailers and seating and a new home for the performing arts nonprofit Shakespeare in Detroit. Last year, St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar Inc. completed the first phase of the Orleans Landing project and residents began moving in. Bermuda-based bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. holds development rights to nearly 12 acres of east riverfront land and has received interest from local developers on the two properties that comprise that acreage. Last year, the conservancy released a new master plan for the east riverfront that includes two

new Dequindre Cut-like pathways to the river, among other improvements and upgrades.

Visions revealed Conceptual renderings from four design teams who participated in a competition were released last week. The plans reveal a variety of visions for an amphitheater bowl and lawn; areas for kayaking and fishing; a seasonal ice rink and splash pad; a beach; dining areas; and plenty of walking and biking paths, some that go over the Detroit River. The finalists were selected last year to design the 22-acre park that

spans from west of Joe Louis Arena to the Ambassador Bridge. A public exhibition of the designs at 1001 Woodward Ave. is scheduled for 11 a.m.-8 p.m. through Feb. 22. The design firms leading the teams have worked on a host of noteworthy projects. They are Seattle-based landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Oakland, Calif.-based Hood Design Studio, New York City-based James Corner Field Operations and New York Citybased Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Several local firms are also involved with the lead designers on their efforts. All have worked on notable proj-

DEARBORN FROM PAGE 3

“A lot of developers are really responding to the fact that we will have a different mix of people in downtown as well and a marketplace that we have to begin addressing,” said Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director of the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority. “What we are also seeing is that we definitely are seeing businesses showing interest, those that are interested in Wagner Place themselves, and those that are interested in downCristina town because of SheppardDecius: Explainer Wagner Place.” Kevin Jappaya, type for three president of lines Farmington Hills-based KJ Commercial, a real estate firm that is listing 22022 Michigan for Cambridge, said three factors have contributed to increased interest in west downtown Dearborn: the economy, the city’s free parking, and Ford’s investment.

LARRY PEPLIN FOR CRAIN’S

Wagner Place is a $60 million project by Ford Land Development Corp., the real estate arm for Ford Motor Co.

“I’ve had a lot more activity and people have been optimistic about the changes because of the invest-

ment,” Jappaya said. Groundbreaking on Wagner Place was held in May. It will bring a pair of

three-story mixed-use buildings to downtown and restore the Wagner Hotel into retail and office space.

HOOD DESIGN STUDIO INC.

ects worldwide, including NYC’s High Line, Chicago’s Maggie Daly Park, the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago and de Young Museum Gardens in San Francisco. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation awarded the conservancy a $345,000 grant to conduct the design competition, which was announced in June. More public input on the plans will be sought in the coming months, Wallace said. “We are working to select a team right now. We will take their ideas and take those ideas back to the community.” Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB One-third of the 150,000-square-foot development is expected to be retail space. Detroit-based Neumann/Smith Architecture is the architecture firm on the project while Mid-America Real Estate Corp., which has an office in Bloomfield Hills, will be responsible for leasing the retail space to tenants. Doug Van Noord, Ford Land’s director of sales, leasing and development, said the first-floor retail/ restaurant space is slated for “destination-type restaurant experiences.” “Six or seven” retail or restaurant leases are close, he said. “We’ve looked at it from a standpoint of what’s missing in the Dearborn marketplace and what would appeal to those that are in Dearborn for the day, but then what would be appealing to folks for after work,” he said. But one thing at a time, Van Noord said. Ford Land is not currently exploring other west Dearborn development deals. “We are focused on Wagner Place and hope that will be a catalyst for change for other development,” he said. Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

TRANSIT FROM PAGE 1

Riders have to take a trip north that winds through Southfield and Farmington Hills to the Novi border — and then walk or hail a ride-sharing service the rest of the way west to the mall at 12 Mile and Novi roads. On my second of three buses from Brightmoor to Novi, I met Williams, who was headed to class at Oakland Community College’s Orchard Ridge campus. For several months during the holiday shopping season of 2016 and winter of 2017, Williams got off the bus at Haggerty and 12 Mile and headed to two part-time seasonal jobs at Forever 21 and American Eagle. In the late fall months, Williams took her bike on the bus and rode the last leg of her trip to work. But when icy and snowy winter weather arrived, she was forced to walk. The trek to work on three buses and her bike would take at least 90 minutes from her house near Lahser and Eight Mile in Detroit — and more than two hours when biking in snow and rain wasn’t an option. Getting home after work, sometimes at 10 p.m. after the closing shift, took even longer. If she didn’t have her bike, she would try to get a ride back to the bus stop from co-workers, or else make the 30-minute walk. Service is limited during off-hours, so she’d take a SMART bus east to Royal Oak and then track back toward her home south down Woodward Avenue and then west on Eight Mile Road. From the intersection of 12 Mile and Haggerty, the late-night bus route takes 2 hours and 25 minutes to get back to northwest Detroit, according to SMART’s trip-planning app. By car, it takes less than 20 minutes. “It was very frustrating. But it was the only place I could get a job,” said Williams, who used the mall jobs to build up her work experience to get a transit-friendly job in Ferndale.

Mobility hurdles If you have a car and can afford the insurance and upkeep, it’s easy to take for granted the access to employment you enjoy over other workers. If you don’t have a car — or if you happen to live in Detroit, the city with the highest auto insurance rates in America — the barriers cities like Novi put up for employment can be discouraging. It’s not uncommon for employers to pass over potential workers who rely on public transit to get to work because the system is unreliable. Odyssey Bonaparte, a 39-year-old Detroiter who lives on the northwest side, was riding the SMART 740 bus across 12 Mile to get her job at Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness Services on Haggerty. Bonaparte was riding the bus because her monthly auto insurance premiums had become unaffordable, rising from $307 to $371 a month after she was in an accident. Now she’s taking three buses to work and three buses to get home, spending half as many hours in transit as she does working a regular shift. “It’s two hours on the bus when it used to be 18 minutes in the car,” Bonaparte said. I departed the SMART bus 740 with Bonaparte and had intended to

www.crainsdetroit.com Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain President KC Crain Publisher/Editor Ron Fournier, (313) 446-1674 or rfournier@crain.com Group Publisher Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 or mkramer@crain.com Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or malee@crain.com Product Director Kim Waatti, (313) 446-6764 or kwaatti@crain.com Digital Product Manager Carlos Portocarrero, (313) 446-6056 or cportocarrero@crain.com Creative Director David Kordalski, (216) 771-5169 or dkordalski@crain.com News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 or bvalone@crain.com Special Projects Editor Amy Elliott Bragg, (313) 446-1646 or abragg@crain.com Design and Copy Editor Beth Jachman, (313) 446-0356 or bjachman@crain.com Research and Data Editor Sonya Hill, (313) 446-0402 or shill@crain.com Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687, TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

LISA SAWYER/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

walk the 1.6 miles down 12 Mile to Twelve Oaks Mall. But I only got a few blocks west before I encountered the lack of sidewalks Williams had told me about — and foot-and-a-half-deep snow drifts. With temperatures in the mid-20s, I decided it wasn’t worth the frostbite, and I took refuge in the Starbucks just east of the M-5 highway on-ramp. At Starbucks, I had lunch, warmed up, did some work and then called an Uber to take me for a $19 ride to another major suburban Detroit city that isn’t part of the existing bus system — Livonia.

Getting to Amazon In Livonia, where voters chose to exit the SMART bus system a dozen years ago, I specifically wanted to know how someone working at the new Amazon package distribution center just south of I-96 and I-275 would get home to Brightmoor via public transportation. I picked Amazon for obvious reasons: the Internet tech giant just passed over Detroit as a finalist for a 50,000-employee second corporate campus — a seemingly transformational economic development project that everyone from Gov. Rick Snyder to billionaire Dan Gilbert and even Patterson was trying to snag in a show of regional cooperation. One of the main reasons Detroit was knocked out of the running for Amazon’s HQ2 is our region’s lack of a unified mass transportation system for workers to easily get to employment hubs — like malls in Novi, or large product-shipping logistics centers run by, well, Amazon. When Amazon announced its second headquarters sweepstakes, the online retail giant probably already had a sense of our region’s transit system. The company had just built a $90 million order fulfillment center on former General Motors Co. property on Amrhein Road. Even though Livonia isn’t part of SMART, the suburban bus system and Detroit Department of Transportation still send buses out to a couple of hubs in the city of 94,000 residents. The Livonia Community Transit, a local bus service mostly for seniors and individuals with disabilities, provides a limited shuttle service that

ferries workers between their jobs and one of two bus stops where SMART and DDOT come into Livonia. One stop is located behind the Costco store in Millennium Park; the other is along Grand River at the Livonia-Farmington Hills border. But, as I learned, the shuttle service is not automatic. You have to call ahead for the $2 ride to or from one of the two DDOT/SMART bus stops. And it only picks up at those stops at 6 a.m., 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. to take riders to work. Return service is limited to 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. “If a SMART bus drops them off at 5:55 a.m., that’s perfect because they can get right on that 6 o’clock (bus),” said Felicia Cross, program supervisor for Livonia Community Transit. But not all transit schedules match up so seamlessly. Riders told me they sometimes stand in the cold for 45 minutes to an hour, waiting for the next bus to come get them back to Detroit or onto their place of employment in Livonia. I had an Uber driver take me to the Livonia Community Transit’s designated pickup location at Amrhein Road and Richfield Court, a deadend street lined with light industrial buildings about two blocks from Amazon’s hulking 1 million square foot distribution center. After getting dropped off, I searched Amrhein Road for a bus stop sign from Newburgh Road to the Amazon site. There was no sign. When I called, the dispatcher informed me it’s not a routine stop — workers have to call ahead to get picked up by this sparsely used system. Once the shuttle bus showed up, it eventually took me more than two hours to get from Amazon’s fulfillment center to Evergreen and Grand River in Detroit, just north of the Brightmoor neighborhood. By car, this 12-mile drive takes about 21 minutes using I-96. Again, when you have cities that carve themselves out of a regional transit system, you get a lot of illogical bus routes to work that are the bane of productivity. Neil Greenberg, a DDOT manager who designs bus routes for the city, said Grand River Avenue is “the forgotten spoke” in public transportation along metro Detroit’s hub-andspoke corridors. In Detroit, the Grand River route is

the second-busiest to Woodward Avenue with 7,000 to 8,000 bus riders each day. But beyond Detroit’s borders, public transit along the Grand River corridor is limited, mostly because Novi and Livonia aren’t part of SMART, Greenberg said. “If you’re someone looking for a job in an area like Novi, where there’s a lot of jobs, especially in the service business, there really isn’t a whole lot we in the transit scope can do about it,” Greenberg said. Ride-sharing services can be cost-prohibitive for someone getting paid the $9.25-per-hour minimum wage at a suburban mall. (Williams told me she coughed up $17 for a one-way Uber ride more than once to get from her home in northwest Detroit to Twelve Oaks Mall.) Greenberg noted ride-sharing cars aren’t always nearby in Detroit’s farflung suburbs. “If you’re at Grand River and Haggerty (in Novi), there’s not dozens of speculative Uber drivers waiting around to pick you up,” he said. With leaders in Oakland and Macomb counties refusing to put a new regional transit plan on the November ballot, some mass transit advocates have floated the idea of Wayne and Washtenaw counties going it alone. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is not keen on that idea because it would still leave up barriers to accessing suburban employment opportunities, like Novi’s retail sector. “We'll look at it, but it’s hard to have a regional transit plan that includes half a region,” Duggan said last week. “I don’t know of any place in America that has created a regional transit system with holes in the region.” On my eastbound bus ride from Livonia along Plymouth Road back to Detroit, I met lifelong Detroiter Dean Ziegler. The 68-year-old man said he relies on DDOT buses to take him to suburban shopping centers as he can no longer drive due to health reasons. He shook his head when I asked about how difficult it is to get out to Livonia to patronize the businesses in Wayne County’s second-largest city. “It doesn't make any sense,” Ziegler said. “It’s horrible for the kids who have to get to work this way.” Chad Livengood: (313) 446-1654 Twitter: @ChadLivengood

REPORTERS Tyler Clifford, breaking news. (313) 446-1612 or tclifford@crain.com Annalise Frank, breaking news. (313) 446-0416 or afrank@crain.com Jay Greene, senior reporter Covers health care. (313) 446-0325 or jgreene@crain.com Chad Livengood Covers Detroit rising. (313) 446-1654 or clivengood@crain.com Kurt Nagl Breaking news. (313) 446-0337 or knagl@crain.com Kirk Pinho Covers real estate. (313) 446-0412 or kpinho@crain.com Bill Shea, enterprise editor Covers the business of sports. (313) 446-1626 or bshea@crain.com Dustin Walsh, senior reporter Covers economic issues. (313) 446-6042 or dwalsh@crain.com Sherri Welch, senior reporter Covers nonprofits and philanthropy. (313) 446-1694 or swelch@crain.com ADVERTISING Sales Inquiries (313) 446-6032; FAX (313) 393-0997 Director of Sales Lisa Rudy Director, Crain Custom Content Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or kbull@crain.com Senior Account Manager/Political Specialist Maria Marcantonio Advertising Sales Lindsey Apoctol, Heidi Martin, Sharon Mulroy, Diane Owen, Kate Rozek Classified Sales Manager Angela Schutte, (313) 446-6051 Classified Sales Lynn Calcaterra, (313) 446-6086 Events Director Kacey Anderson Director of Marketing Christina Fabugais-Dimovska Senior Art Director Sylvia Kolaski Media Services Director Hussein Abdallah, (313) 446-0400 or sabdallah@crain.com Integrated Marketing Specialist Keenan Covington Sales Support Suzanne Janik CUSTOMER SERVICE Single copy purchases, publication information, or membership inquiries: Call (877) 824-9374 or customerservice@crainsdetroit.com Reprints: Laura Picariello (732) 723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com MEMBERSHIPS CLASSIC $169/yr. (Can/Mex: $210, International: $340), ENHANCED $399/yr. (Can/Mex: $499, International: $799), PREMIER $1,299/yr. (Can/Mex/International: $1,299). To become a member visit www.crainsdetroit.com/ membership or call (877) 824-9374 Crain’s Detroit Business is published by Crain Communications Inc Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior Executive Vice President Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; (313) 446-6000 Cable address: TWX 248-221-5122 AUTNEW DET CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992 is published weekly by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732. Periodicals postage paid at Detroit, MI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 07925, Detroit, MI 48207-9732. GST # 136760444. Printed in U.S.A. Contents copyright 2018 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited.

CU Single Memb custom Reprin crain.c

ME CLASS ENHA $799), $1299) To bec memb

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

ST. REGIS

Hotel wave

FROM PAGE 1

The 330-person banquet center will also be renovated, and Invictus is considering a rooftop patio concept. The hotel, which has hosted luminaries including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mick Jagger, will remain open during construction. The deal is part of a wave of new hotel investments and openings in and around downtown, including a new 100-room boutique hotel revealed last week that Moisides plans for the former Standard Accident Insurance Co. building at 640 Temple St. as part of a $65 million redevelopment. It also marks Saunders’ first major venture into a real estate turnaround effort. “Practically, it is a real estate investment, but the opportunity and the business itself is what is exciting and attractive to me,” said Saunders, who was a key player in Wayne County’s financial turnaround. “I have worked in municipal government, looking to create plans for recovery, and this project has all of the elements of success — strong partners, big investment, location and historic significance.” Others new projects include the Shinola Hotel, the Siren Hotel in the former Wurlitzer Building and the Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building. In addition, a 28-story second tower for the Crowne Plaza Downtown Detroit Riverfront and a West Elm hotel in Midtown are also planned. Others opening recently include the Foundation Hotel in a former Detroit Fire Department building on Larned Street. Between hotels that have opened in the last several years and new ones planned, no fewer than 1,500 rooms have been completed or are in the works. Charles Skelton, president of Ann Arbor-based Hospitality Advisors Consulting Group Inc., said he doesn’t think the greater downtown hotel market is becoming over-saturated.

ART VAN FROM PAGE 1

He and his dad had numerous conversations but didn’t really get a chance to sit down and hammer out details over everything he wanted to see happen, he said. “I’ve got an outline, and obviously I’ll be thinking about how he would want to see things fulfilled, but there’s lot to come over the next several months, a lot of decisions to be made.” One thing that’s already clear: the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation will continue to support health and children’s services, causes Van Elslander supported during his lifetime. “All the things the city and surrounding areas knew my father to support, our plan is to continue that legacy,” his son said. “There will be no change, other than he won’t be here. (And) that is a major change.” Last year, Van Elslander said he admired Ralph Wilson Jr., a former neighbor in Grosse Pointe. The late owner of the Buffalo Bills and Grosse Pointe Park-based investment firm Ralph Wilson Equity Fund LLC left a bequest of more than $1 billion to fund the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation in January 2015. Though gaining in popularity na-



Shinola Hotel, 130 rooms



The Siren Hotel, 98 rooms

 The Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building, 110 rooms  Boutique hotel at 640 Temple, 100 rooms  Crowne Plaza Downtown Detroit Riverfront second tower, 498 rooms  Two District Detroit hotels, unknown number of rooms

The Hotel St. Regis has had a tumultuous 10 years since a 2007 renovation.

“Downtown, almost with a throwing of the light switch, has become the place to go. The teams with the stadiums and young people living and working down there, it’s created activity,” he said. Michael O’Callaghan, executive vice president and COO for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, said greater downtown has about 5,000 hotel rooms, but it should have between 7,500 and 8,000. He said the downtown’s occupancy rate was 68.9 percent last year, up from 68.1 percent in 2016. Average daily rates also increased in that time frame, from $151.63 to $164, O’Callaghan said. “There is still room for more” hotel space, O’Callaghan said. “In the case

“I’ve got an outline, and obviously I’ll be thinking about how he would want to see things fulfilled, but there’s lot to come over the next several months, a lot of decisions to be made.” Gary Van Elslander

tionally, the Wilson Foundation’s spend-down model, which gives it just 20 years to give away all of its assets rather than going on in perpetuity, is still unique in Michigan. As he prepared to finalize the sale of Art Van Furniture last year, Van Elslander said that he wasn’t yet sure yet what model his personal foundation will follow, whether spend-down like Wilson’s, permanently endowed to fund causes in perpetuity or a pass-through vehicle with annual infusions and distributions. “Dad had talked about doing (a spend-down model,) but it was really never finalized,” his son said. One of the things his father had decided to do was lift the sundown provision, moving away from a plan to operate the A.A. Van Elslander

KURT NAGL/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

of the Hotel St. Regis, I think the property has been in dire need of a cash infusion, and this could really help it out. There is great potential up there around Henry Ford Hospital and Wayne State.” As part of last week’s deal, the Swanson family, which previously owned the hotel and has a funeral home business, remains on board as a minority owner. Other investors are Roy Roberts, a former General Motors executive and emergency manager for Detroit Public Schools; Gretchen Valade, whose grandfather Hamilton Carhartt founded the eponymous Dearborn-based workwear brand Carhartt Inc. in 1889; Brian Whelan, president of the W.F. Whelan Co. lo-

gistics firm; and David Sutherland, partner with the Wakefield, Sutherland & Lubera PLC law firm in Grosse Pointe Farms. “We are excited by the potential Invictus brings to the future of the hotel,” O’Neil Swanson, president and founder of Swanson Funeral Home, said in a statement. “We share their vision for updating its facilities and believe with their involvement and leadership, we will achieve the goals for the hotel that my family envisioned when we took an ownership position several years ago. We look forward to working with them.” Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction and Birmingham-based McIntosh Poris Associates are the general contractor and

Foundation through a spend-down model like the Wilson foundation. The assets of the new foundation will be endowed, Van Elslander said, but he could not give any hints at the foundation’s size or expected infusions from his father’s estate. “So many things are really in flux right now. ... There’s a lot of work to be done in the coming weeks and months to really set a lot of policy.” Art Van Elslander’s $20 million commitment to the Solanus Casey Center will be paid through the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation, which is accepting grant proposals by invitation only and plans to put a new staff in place by the end of the year. “Right now that is our major focus” for the foundation, Gary Van Elslander said. It’s the first big project the foundation is supporting and getting all of the foundation’s attention right now because of the scale of the work, he said. “We’re really, really excited about the project.” Representatives from the Van Elslander Foundation are continuing to assist the Solanus Casey Center with the technical work of acquiring parcels of land to piece together big enough tracts for its expansion plans. They expect to meet soon with the city, which seems to be in favor of the project, Van Elslander said.

“We’re working with local neighbors to make sure everyone is on board. People won’t be displaced if they don’t want to be.” Van Elslander expects activity tied to the center’s expansion plan to pick up in the warmer months. He and likely some or all of his nine siblings will be among the members of the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation’s board of directors, he said. Van Elslander grew Art Van Furniture from a single store opened in 1959 on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit to one of the country’s largest independent furniture retailers before selling it to Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP last year for an estimated $550 million. By the time of the sale, the Warren-based company had grown to more than 100 stores across five states, more than 3,500 employees, a franchising program and nearly $1 billion in revenue. In talking about the new investment firm he’d founded last year, Van Elslander Capital LLC, Art Van Elslander gave few hints on its direction. “The direction was going to be set by my father, but I will take a bigger hand along with a board we’re going to appoint in directing the activities,” his son said last week. “We have money invested gener-



Aloft Hotel, 136 rooms



Book Tower, 200 rooms



The Foundation Hotel, 100 rooms



West Elm hotel, 135 rooms

architect on the project, respectively. Both also have offices in Detroit. Detroit-based Kyle Evans Design is the designer, and Grand Rapids-based AHC+Hospitality will manage the property. The hotel has had a tumultuous 10 years since a 2007 renovation. In February 2009, the hotel defaulted on a loan from Chicago-based Shorebank Corp. After Shorebank shut down the hotel in August 2010, much of the company’s $2.2 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in deposits — including the Hotel St. Regis — were bought by a new entity, Urban Partnership Bank. The hotel was then put up for auction by Southfield-based turnaround firm BBK in January 2011. St. Regis Sky Group LLC won the auction, but the original ownership group had right of first refusal to buy the hotel for the amount arrived at by the auction: $850,000. “We believe the investment will transform the property,” Saunders said. “With the investment, we will focus on every detail of this project and look to create the unique and memorable experiences that distinguish boutique hotels.” Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412 Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB ally in a few small projects right now, but it’s not where it’s going to ultimately end up.” He foresees investments aligning with Van Elslander family interests going forward. “There will be investments and other things to promote things for our family in terms of their education and entrepreneurship,” he said. That could mean investments in the personal business interests of Art Van Elslander’s children and grandchildren, he said. Van Elslander could not say how much investment capital the firm has but said he expects that number to firm up in the coming months. Construction of a new base at 35975 Woodward Ave. in Birmingham continues. The 11,000-square-foot building’s second floor will house the offices of Van Elslander Capital and the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation. And the ground floor of the new building, designed by Saroki Architecture in Birmingham, will be home to retail when it’s completed. “Our goal is to make Mr. Van proud,” said Diane Wells, chief of staff for Van Elslander Capital and executive director of the foundation. “Every decision we make will start with, ‘What would he want us to do?’” Sherri Welch: 313 (446-1694) Twitter: @SherriWelch

C R A I N ’ S D E T R O I T B U S I N E S S // F E B R U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 8

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

RUMBLINGS

Detroit Zoo to build nature center in Macomb County

Stroh’s is mixing up a new India Pale Ale

FEBRUARY 9-15 | For more, visit crainsdetroit.com

$10 million, 20,000-square-foot Great Lakes Nature Center will be constructed in Macomb County, the Detroit Zoological Society announced last week. The facility will combine features of nature and science centers, with educational programming and a focus on Great Lakes water and wildlife conservation, Ron Kagan, the nonprofit’s executive director and CEO, said at a news conference at the Macomb County Administration Building in Mount Clemens. The zoo hasn’t yet determined a location, but is considering a variety of spots along the lakefront and riverfronts, Kagan said. Site selection is expected to be announced this spring, along with the design of the facility. Construction is expected to begin as early this year. The center would open around the end of 2019 and is expected to draw 150,000-200,000 visitors per year, he said. Other specifics are still in the works, such as pricing that will likely be around $6-$7 for adults and $2-$4 for children to visit. The zoo hopes to generate investment interest as it undertakes fundraising efforts. The $10 million cost isn’t “too high of a hill to climb,” said Candice Miller, a DZS board member and Macomb County Public Works commissioner. She said she will take a major role in finding donors. The DZS will be seeking private and foundation contributions, as well as public dollars. Miller and Kagan declined to comment on specific funders with which they’re in talks, but did say public funding could come from the state through the Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Department of Environmental Quality or Department of Natural Resources. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Kagan said. “It’ll take a real team effort.” Millage revenue from residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties helps fund the Detroit Zoo’s operations each year, but that doesn’t extend to the Belle Isle Nature Center, which the zoo also operates, and it won’t extend to the Macomb County nature center, either. The center will be home only to indigenous wildlife, Kagan said. That will include Great Lakes fish such as lake sturgeon and paddlefish, which are technically extinct in the Great Lakes. The center will focus on conservation efforts and other endangered species. It will have habitats for amphibians, reptiles, turtles, small mammals, shorebirds and birds of prey. Many of those birds of prey will have been rescued and nonreleasable, the DZS said, such as sandhill cranes. There also will be a native butterfly garden. “I think this is gonna be a national jewel,” Miller said.

BUSINESS NEWS J Real estate developer Matt Hessler broke ground last week on an $8.3 million project that seeks to bring back to life the corner of Livernois

BAGLEY FOREST PROPERTIES

Real estate developer Matt Hessler broke ground last week on an $8.3 million project that seeks to bring back to life the corner of Livernois Avenue and Seven Mile Road in Detroit. The 7.Liv project entails renovating the former B. Siegel department store along Seven Mile and razing two adjacent one-story buildings to create 20,500 square feet of commercial space and 10 residential apartment units along a contiguous two-story building from Stoepel Street to Livernois Avenue.

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

2,350

The amount of staff Lowe’s and Home Depot aim to hire in metro Detroit for the busy spring and summer seasons.

$1 million

The grant the EPA awarded the Southwest Detroit Environmental Mission to reduce harmful emissions from heavy-duty trucks and city-owned utility equipment that operates in metro Detroit.

The number of employees Bosal Industries-Georgia Inc. intends to lay off at an Ypsilanti plant in April.

Avenue and Seven Mile Road in Detroit with a revamped two-story mixed-used building anchoring an intersection that economic development planners view as poised for a revival. J The metro Detroit housing world took 2017’s lead, starting off the new year as a seller’s market with inventory continuing to lag. Median home sale prices for the region rose 6.6 percent from last January to this January and on-market listings dropped 30.4 percent. J Rehabilitations to an office building in downtown Detroit and a historic building in downtown Ypsilanti are expected to create a total of 98 new jobs and generate $7.7 million in capital investment. J Sheridan Court and the Wellesley Apartments in Midtown Detroit, which have a total of 119 units and were constructed in the early 1920s, were for sale, as of last week. J Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn will offer free retail space to a local entrepreneur from June 1 through Sept. 30 through its Challenge: Battle of the Pop-Up Contest. J Gyro and chicken fast-casual restaurant chain the Halal Guys is entering the Michigan market with five planned franchise locations in Washtenaw and Wayne counties. J Endeavor Detroit has added five business leaders who span the mouthguard, wind turbine and fin-

tech industries to its exclusive entrepreneurship program. J TechTown Detroit and Kyyba Innovations LLC teamed up to host a financial services industry technology pitch competition in April in which startups can vie for a $50,000 investment and other cash prizes. J Under the ownership of private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Art Van Furniture has extended its sponsorship of America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van through 2021. J Art Van also signed a new corporate sponsorship with the Detroit Pistons that includes black, branded seat covers in select sections of the lower bowl of Little Caesars Arena.

troh’s is mixing up a new beer — and it’s apparently taking aim at a style of ale that’s usually the domain of craft breweries. Brew Detroit LLC received label approval Feb. 2 from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for a beer called Stroh’s Perseverance, which is marketed as an India Pale Ale, or IPA. The brewer makes beers under contract for the Stroh Brewing Co., which is owned by Milwaukee-based Pabst Brewing Co., as well as for Michigan brands such as Atwater Brewery, Badass American Lager and Motor City Brewing Works. PBR Brand Manager Andy Gurjian told Crain’s in an email that it’s “a concept we’ve been working on, but it’s still in the development stages so there isn’t much to share at this point. The art may change, as well as some other variables.” Jerry Kocak, CEO of Brew Detroit, declined to comment. It’s unclear when the beer will be available for purchase. Brewers can

take weeks or months to take a brand to market after receiving label approval from federal regulators. The back label reads: “With the heart of a lion, and the strength of Detroit, we are still here, still brewing.” The IPA would be 4.5 percent alcohol by volume in a 12-ounce bottle, the label says. It’s pitched as a “session” IPA, which is typically lower in alcohol — for drinking “sessions.” The best known Michigan example of the form is Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co.’s All-Day IPA, which has been a national hit. Brew Detroit has a 68,000-squarefoot brewing facility at 1401 Abbott St. in Detroit. The company reintroduced Stroh’s in 2016 after its last brew in Detroit in 1985. Stroh’s began in Detroit in 1850. Its 1 million-square-foot brewing, bottling and warehousing complex was razed in 1986. The site is now home to the Brewery Park office complex and Crain’s Detroit Business.

OTHER NEWS J The 60th annual Detroit Boat Show returned to Cobo Center starting on Saturday with big plans: A nine-day event set be larger than last year, with a new career day, wake-boarding shows and performances by Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel. J The former top economic development official in Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s administration was named the campaign director for Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who is seeking to replace Gov. Rick Snyder. J The University of Michigan’s musical society named Carmen Rodriguez its new chief financial officer. J The Ann Arbor-based nonprofit 826 Michigan, which helps students with writing skills and teachers with inspiring students to write, appointed Naimah Wade as its new executive director. J Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan Inc.’s president and CEO, Margaret Trimer-Hartley, is leaving the organization effective March 9. J Financial guru Tony Saunders, former chief financial officer of Wayne County, has launched a $25,000 scholarship and internship program for graduating seniors of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, his alma mater. J A West Bloomfield doctor was sentenced last week to six years in prison for his part in a $10.4 million health care conspiracy.

OBITUARY J Former Michigan State University President Maurice “Cecil” Mackey Jr. died Feb. 8 at age 89, the Associated Press reported.

MATTHEW CARBONE

Doner’s new co-working space in the Oslo Building at 1456 Woodward Ave. in downtown Detroit opened in the fall.

Doner dipping a ‘toe in the water’ on HQ in Detroit D

oner CEO David DeMuth teased a big move Wednesday during an interview about the Southfield-based advertising agency’s small new co-working space downtown. “It’s a toe in the water to see if we want to move the whole company down there when our lease is up next in 2020,” he said. While DeMuth said Doner has not retained a brokerage firm to look around for downtown space for its 450 or so employees, the company has “been talking to various entities about it.” Doner has 125,000 square feet at 25900 Northwestern Highway south of Civic Center Drive in a building owned by Livonia-based Schostak Bros. & Co. The company takes considerably less — 1,600 square feet — in its relatively new space called D-313 in the Oslo Building at 1456 Woodward Ave. owned by Dan Gilbert.

There aren’t any Doner employees working out of that spot full-time, DeMuth said. “The space is reserved for collaboration, client meetings, teams who want to go down there and work for a day or a week. We are teaching a class in conjunction with the College for Creative Studies. We do focus groups and consumer research there. We are using it for a lot of different things and we are super excited about it.” Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC was the leasing company responsible for the deal, which was finalized in April. The space opened in the fall. It was designed by Cleveland-based Vocon and built by Commerce Township-based JCS Construction Services. The build-out cost $300,000, DeMuth said, noting that Doner has already hosted companies including Coca-Cola, Cox Communications, McDonald’s and the UPS Store in it on projects.

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF

Mr. Van 1930 - 2018

A retail pioneer, business visionary and legendary community champion

Mr. Van opened his first store in 1959 in East Detroit. Through hard work and dedication he single-handedly grew Art Van Furniture into the Midwest’s #1 furniture and mattress destination, creating thousands of jobs and furnishing countless homes. One of the Midwest’s most generous philanthropists, Mr. Van made a difference in the lives of so many, contributing millions of dollars to a multitude of charities. Mr. Van’s unparalleled love for the community led him to save Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade in 1990, a beloved tradition that continues today. “If you’re fortunate enough to be as successful as our company has been, then it’s your responsibility to give back. I just believe that.” –Art Van Elslander We invite you to share memories and well wishes at artvan.com/RememberingArtVan.