Crain's Detroit Business

After years of real estate musical chairs, Ford Motor Company has officially opened its new global headquarters in what is one of the largest office, research and design buildings in the country. At 2.1 million square feet, the building marks the Dearborn-based automaker’s first new headquarters since the post-World War II era and helps bring Ford into the 21st Century with contemporary workspaces, large swaths of natural light, courtyards, common working areas, green space and other amenities. With stutter-stepping architecture across four stories, the new Ford World Headquarters — as it’s officially known — is a stark departure from the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)-designed Henry Ford II World Center, commonly known as the Glass House, which has 12 stories and an all-glass façade about three miles away from the new building, which has a capacity for about 4,500 to 5,000 employees, or double the previous HQ. It's part of a longtime effort to consolidate employees into a more centralized area, creating a campus-like feel for the automaker, whose portfolio as of about a decade ago was 71 buildings totaling about 13.1 million square feet in and around Dearborn, an RFP at the time said. Contractors include Barton Malow, Snøhetta, IBI Group, Ghafari Associates and Arup. More here in Crain's Detroit Business (story photos by Quinn Banks) https://lnkd.in/e_Qg38AX

The new downtown Birmingham RH flagship is opening its doors to the public on Friday. The store, seen by retail and real estate experts as a major victory for the swank central shopping district, has faced setbacks, design changes and delays over the course of the last six-plus years it has been in the works. RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, offers a line of luxury home furnishings for both interior and exterior spaces, as well as design services. About 1,300 people celebrated the pending opening of the Corte Madera, Calif.-based retailer’s 60,000-square-foot store during a Wednesday evening gathering. The event spanned the four floors of the newly constructed building at South Old Woodward Avenue and Brown Street, where work first began in 2021. On its opening day Friday, the store will open at 11 a.m. Regular business hours for the store will be open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gizihS2x

Crain’s honored its 2025 class of 40 Under 40 – and marked our own 40th anniversary in the process – at a packed dinner Thursday filled with Detroit’s business luminaries. At Bedrock Detroit's The Department at Hudson's Detroit event space, notable recipients of 40 Under 40 recognition from years' past told this year’s class and more than 450 attendees what the honor meant to them and their careers. “This is not a group of people who are going to make a difference someday,” said Crain Communications President and CEO KC Crain. “You are doing it now, and you will continue to shape organizations and businesses and Detroit well into the future.” Attendees heard from former 40s Ryan Maibach, CEO of construction company Barton Malow; Tricia Keith, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; and Rainy Hamilton, Jr., CEO of architecture firm Hamilton Anderson Associates. The event also recognized the 40th anniversary of its presenting sponsor, Rocket Companies, which started in 1985 as Rock Financial. Meet this year's class of 40 Under 40 honorees here: https://lnkd.in/g7MACbYe Join us at an upcoming event: https://lnkd.in/gAjCpF-4

Michigan can no longer outrun the gray wave. The predicted economic gridlock, characterized by stagnant economic growth and sluggish wages, has made landfall, according to leading economists in the state. The Michigan Economic Outlook, published by the University of Michigan, calls the state's economic position “ambiguous” as uncertainty persists both in Lansing and Washington D.C. around the future of policies that could alter Michigan’s trajectory. The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history also made accessing official data difficult — and modeling the future more so. But it’s clear Michigan’s economy has stalled out, and UM economists predict the economic stagnation will persist through 2026 as economic headwinds are met with an aging population. In other words, without a young, innovative population to spark new companies, new jobs and new activity, Michigan’s economy is stuck amid the uncertain cycles of politics and policy. And while the aging population will boost health care services, the sector will only add 1,400 jobs in 2026 before a net loss of 700 jobs in 2027, largely due to Medicaid cuts from the federal government, the economists project. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gdZW-b8J

For the first time in franchise history, the Detroit Lions have sold out every suite at Ford Field. It’s an accomplishment that demonstrates the football team’s deliberate ties to corporate brands in Michigan, along with its recent success on the field. The majority of leases for the 139 suites are held by Michigan-based companies, according to Lions COO Mike Disner. He told Crain’s that those investments are more than just a way for businesses to show off for clients or other partners. “It’s just a perfect fit,” Disner said. “Our organization, both on and off the field, is built on the same values that define Detroit and Michigan: grit, resiliency and heart. That resonates with our corporate partners and suite holders. Who we are and what we represent is uniquely Detroit.” The Lions added 18 new leases this season, Disner said, with most of those for Michigan-based businesses. The suite level at Ford Field is sponsored by the University of Michigan Credit Union, which has been a Lions partner since 2018. The suites have become an extension of the NFL team’s network of 100 corporate partners, Disner said. Demand isn’t slowing. The Lions already are taking $1,000 deposits to get on the waiting list for next season, according to its website, with limited availability expected depending on renewals, Disner said. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gsiRuhFC

The first tenants are moving into The Block at Petoskey, the resort town’s largest-ever housing development that already has a 500-person waiting list as the city grapples with an acute housing shortage. South Bend, Ind.-based Great Lakes Capital broke ground in September 2024 on the $50 million, 204-unit workforce apartment project at the former Michigan Maple Block Co. factory about a mile south of downtown Petoskey. As of last week, the first building is now complete. The remaining seven buildings in the 12-acre apartment complex are expected to be finished by July 2026, said Jeff Smoke, managing director and principal of Great Lakes Capital. City Manager Shane Horn said the project is the largest housing development ever in Petoskey and will go a long way toward meeting housing needs. “We believed it was a win-win scenario where we were able to achieve (environmental cleanup and new housing) at the same time, in the same project,” Horn said. “By providing some attainable housing options for our community, hopefully that allows us to be a little bit more competitive from a hiring standpoint.” Petoskey, which has a population of about 5,800, is located within a 10-county Northern Michigan area whose population roughly doubles during the summer months when vacationers and second homeowners arrive. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gakTQjzH

Michigan regulators will have a public hearing on DTE Energy's request for fast-track approval of special power contracts so it can supply a planned massive data center near Ann Arbor. The announcement Tuesday comes as the state Public Service Commission considers whether to OK the $7 billion-plus Stargate project that is backed by OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital but opposed by some residents in Washtenaw County's Saline Township. It also is mulling how quickly to issue a decision after already receiving more than 2,500 comments online, many of which urge the agency to block the facility. The 1.4-gigawatt "hyperscale" project was announced in late October and touted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a jobs creator and one of the most advanced artificial intelligence data centers in the U.S. More than 2,500 construction workers would be hired to build three single-story buildings on 250 acres. Oracle would employ 450 people on site after construction, plus 1,500 more across the county. Detroit-based DTE, Michigan's largest utility, is seeking an expedited approval of its application, pointing to a condition in the contracts that calls for regulatory sign-off no later than Dec. 5, which is the commission's next meeting. The virtual hearing will be two days earlier, on Dec. 3. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gxQwbEYn

A Detroit developer is converting all 79 apartments in the historic David Whitney Building into for-sale condominiums, marking a strategic retreat from market-rate rentals and testing downtown Detroit's long-challenged condo market with some units priced above $800,000. Among downtown Detroit’s most prominent restoration efforts of the last decade, the 18-story building at Woodward and Park avenues dates back to 1915 and includes a luxury hotel and ground-floor restaurant space, with residential spaces on the upper seven floors. The building was redeveloped in 2014 by The Roxbury Group, known for much of the work in the nearby Capitol Park area. A successful condo conversion launching this week would make for yet another option for homeownership in Detroit’s central business district. The entry price is just less than $280,000 for a 569-square-foot, one-bedroom unit overlooking an interior courtyard. Moving up, buyers can get a variety of other units, such as some with city and river views, with some over 2,000 square feet. On a price per square foot basis, prices range from about $500 up to $700. That’s on the higher end for downtown condos, per data from a report earlier this year by Detroit-based brokerage firm The Loft Warehouse. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gp_nnKFT

Kurt Eschenburg hates that he has to move his business from the Renaissance Center after 17 years, but, as he puts it, he has no choice — for a few different reasons. His Allegra Franchise Brands LLC printing business, along with most of RenCen tenants, are being prompted to leave as its owner, General Motors Co., inches towards a massive redevelopment of the iconic office complex. GM will be relocating to a new headquarters office in early 2026. GM, which has owned the complex since 1996, has notified all tenants — retail, office, food and beverage — that the complex is being emptied, save for the Marriott hotel, and that deals would be reached to get them out. Some tenants had expiring leases, while others had years left, so each situation so far has been unique. In Eschenburg’s case, GM essentially bought him out of the remaining 7.5 years on his lease, giving him just enough cash to make it worth his while. For him, it’s bitersweet. At its peak, Eschenburg said, his location was the top-performing Allegra printer in Detroit, in a bustling complex laden with office users and retail space, restaurants and even a movie theater. But in recent years, reality has kicked in as the RenCen, once a “city within a city,” has become what he calls “a ghost town.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/g_8VawNm

Michigan Central’s holiday market is up and running for a second year in Corktown. Building on the success of last year’s event, Winter at The Station will open the historic train depot to the public for live entertainment, shopping, food and more. The event began last weekend and runs through Dec. 28. Most of the programming is free of charge, though some events are ticketed. Nearly a dozen Detroit artisans and retailers will sell their wares at Neighbor x Folk and pop-ups inside The Station, with exclusive merchandise at the shop inside the historic ticket office. There’s plenty for kids, too, including a hands-free digital coloring book, a cookie-decorating workshop and a family-friendly reading event, Storytime at the Station. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gyafD4Nq