Crain's Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI (2025)

11/24/2025

A popular Southwest Detroit music venue is under new ownership and bringing on Los Angeles-based entertainment company AEG Presents to handle all of the bookings moving forward.

The partners in El Club agreed to a buyout that saw co-owner Jason Rogalewski taking over ownership from original owners Eric and Graeme Flegenheimer and bringing on Dave Zainea, who co-owns Garden Bowl, music venue the Magic Stick and the Majestic Theater in Midtown Detroit, as a partner. Lauren McGrier will stay on as general manager, the role she’s filled since 2021.

El Club opened in spring 2016 and Rogalewski joined as a partner in 2019 after promoting shows at the intimate all-ages venue, which was previously the Mexicantown Fiesta Center.

Rogalewski, regional vice president for AEG Presents, said he’s always had an affection for the 500-person venue. It features up-and-coming local and national acts as well as mainstream artists ranging from indie rock and punk bands to electronic and pop. In 2018, Rolling Stone Magazine named El Club one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States.

Rogalewski said El Club has averaged about 150 events a year. With new ownership and AEG handling all the bookings moving forward, he projects that number to grow to 200 next year and the caliber of entertainment at the club to improve.

El Club will also be available for private events like weddings.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/arts-entertainment/detroit-music-venue-el-club-under-new-ownership?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/24/2025

One of the largest utilities and energy developers in North America plans to build a massive battery storage project along the lakeshore near Ludington that would be the biggest of its kind in Michigan.

Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy has pitched plans to officials in Amber Township and Mason County that would include two phases totaling 500 megawatts of energy storage capacity. Utility officials say the project could power 200,000 homes for four hours when discharged.

Amber Township Board of Trustees meeting minutes show the project calls for 100 MW in the first phase followed by a 400 MW second phase.

The project is more than double the size of DTE Energy’s 220 MW battery storage project under development at the site of its retired Trenton Channel coal plant, which DTE officials have said would be the largest of its kind in the Great Lakes region. It’s also more than double the size of a second storage project NextEra is pursuing in the Thumb region.

If approved, NextEra’s Amber Energy Storage project could start construction in 2027. The plan calls for about 180 lithium-ion battery storage containers that are 20 feet by 8 feet and 9 feet tall, near U.S.-31 and U.S.-10, according to Amber Township board meeting minutes.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/energy/nextera-energy-plans-battery-storage-project-michigan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/23/2025

When our 40 Under 40 honorees aren’t running startups, nonprofits or functions of state and local government, they stay busy — and try to maintain some semblance of work-life balance.

We interviewed members of this year’s class at our event at Hudson’s Detroit on Thursday about the habits that got them this far. One through line: Almost all of them swear by the power of the humble blazer.

Read more about this year’s 40 Under 40 class here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/awards/40-under-40-2025-meet-honorees?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/22/2025

Forget wining and dining a client. How about springing for a helicopter ride to Michigan wine country?

Vertiport Chicago, a commercial helicopter facility located blocks from the Illinois Medical District, is ramping up its business with tours that take clients winery hopping on the southwestern coast of Michigan.

The round-trip tours, which start north of $9,000, have attracted both international and local business folks, said Vertiport executive director Daniel Mojica. They’re looking to entertain, incentivize or reward employees and clients.

“(It’s) executives from Chicago who have done all the steakhouses already, they’ve done the Michelin stars, and they really need to either close a deal, or they’re rewarding and recognizing (employees),” Mojica said.

Vertiport’s tours join a growing number of ventures that have sprung up post-pandemic built around getting Chicago executives out of the city and into the rest of the Midwest. Businesses have re-evaluated how they spend travel and entertainment budgets over the past half decade. They’ve shifted from multiple smaller events — like happy hours or client dinners — to bigger experiences that facilitate team building in an environment where remote work persists.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/hospitality-tourism/chicago-execs-try-michigan-helicopter-winery-trips-impress?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/22/2025

Michigan’s legal w**d industry and the state’s beer and wine distributors both want THC beverages on store shelves and in bars and restaurants.

The Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, a powerful lobby in Lansing, is trying to woo lawmakers with a plug-and-play system that gives distributors wholesale access to the cannabis drink market, connecting cannabis processors with 20,000 liquor stores and bars across the state.

Currently, THC beverages are only available at licensed ma*****na dispensaries throughout the state.

The beer and wine industry hopes cannabis can plug leaky demand — the percentage of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol fell to an all-time low this year to just 54%, according to a Gallup poll that’s tracked alcohol consumption since 1939.

But the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association stands in the way of those ambitions, instead urging lawmakers to follow the THC beverage framework in Minnesota, where the entire program is controlled by the w**d industry and its regulators.

“Cannabis is not alcohol and it never will be,” said Robin Schneider, executive director of the MICIA, to Crain’s. “Placing cannabis beverages into the three-tier system and into Michigan’s liquor law sets a dangerous precedent for our industry, opening the door for more THC products to be taken away … Our members have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into our regulated cannabis program and do not deserve to have their investments ripped out from underneath them.”

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/cannabis/control-thc-drinks-pits-beer-wholesalers-against-cannabis-industry?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/21/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/rh-birmingham-opens-friday?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/20/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/economy/michigans-economy-can-no-longer-outrun-aging-population-report-says?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/19/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/sports-recreation/detroit-lions-sell-out-suites-ford-field-first-time?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/19/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/petoskeys-largest-housing-project-opens-500-person-waitlist?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/19/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/politics-policy/openai-data-center-deal-dte-energy-get-public-hearing?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/18/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/david-whitney-building-converting-apartments-condos?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/18/2025

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://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/gm-terminates-leases-it-empties-renaissance-center?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

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