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

12/01/2025

There is new life at the Chrysler Tech Center as Stellantis looks to rebuild its North America operations.

The automaker has hired hundreds of salaried employees at its North America headquarters in Auburn Hills in recent months as it moves to boost U.S. manufacturing. In all, the maker of Ram, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles is adding nearly 2,000 direct, white-collar jobs in engineering, manufacturing, quality and other departments, according to the company.

Employees note tougher competition for parking at the sprawling complex along I-75. Commuters bemoan the substantial increase of traffic on the Oakland County corridor.

These are good problems, to be sure.

Just a year ago, the situation at the transatlantic carmaker, and its future in Michigan, appeared dire — so much so that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called it a “top priority” to retain the automaker’s Michigan presence as its nerve center shifted overseas under previous leadership.

So, nobody could have predicted then that Stellantis would be the only Detroit Three automaker not to uproot from its metro Detroit HQ. But as General Motors and Ford Motor move into new digs, the 33-year-old Chrysler Tech Center is humming with activity not seen since pre-pandemic.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/automotive/stellantis-goes-hiring-spree-auburn-hills-hq-rebuild-bid?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

12/01/2025

An effort to redevelop part of the former Packard Plant site on Detroit's east side includes manufacturing and housing — and the city's first indoor skate park and a new techno music museum.

Publicly unveiled during a Monday morning press conference at the site, city leadership and the development team said there is an agreement to build a 393,000-square-foot new manufacturing facility on the southern 28 acres of the 40-acre property. Plans also call for the restoration and conversion of an existing Albert Kahn-designed building into 42 units of live/work housing, plus the skate park and the Museum of Detroit Electronic Music.

Mark Bennett and Oren Goldenberg are spearheading the redevelopment of the now largely demolished Packard Motor Car Co. auto factory along East Grand Boulevard near Interstate 94.

During a Monday morning news conference, Mayor Mike Duggan said the effort to repurpose the 117,000-square-foot Albert Kahn building on the south side of East Grand Boulevard previously put off developers who wanted to raze the remaining structures on the property to build warehouse and industrial buildings.

"We went out for bid and asked people for proposals," Duggan said. "We got no proposals unless we knocked down these two buildings and put in new plants. That might be something some administration would consider, but we took one last shot and I was glad to talk to Oren Goldenberg."

Pending various city approvals, construction could begin in the first part of 2027.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate/packard-plant-redevelopment-announced?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

12/01/2025

Two of the region’s newest luxury apartment buildings have an amenity believed to be a first of its kind in the area: Access to a private chef.

It’s one of the perks at the 152-unit Birmingham Pointe complex, which opened earlier this year in the swank city’s Triangle District on the other side of Woodward Avenue from its downtown. It’s also offered at The Apex in West Bloomfield Township, a sister property developed by the same joint venture.

The development team behind both properties — Detroit-based Soave Enterprises, Southfield-based The Forbes Co. and Farmington Hills-based Hunter Pasteur Homes — contracts with Chef Nishan Andonian’s company, Entice by Nishan, to offer private chef services at the developments, said Omar Eid, partner and vice president of development for Hunter Pasteur.

The joint venture “wanted to offer residents a truly elevated living experience with weekly dinner menus and private chef services they could enjoy right at home,” Eid said. Andonian’s company creates weekly dinner options for residents at both communities and offers private dining experiences in the community dining rooms there as well. The meals are prepared in the catering kitchens at both properties.

Eid said things like soups and salads range between $7 and $15, while entrees and desserts start around $20.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-estate-insider/birmingham-pointe-and-apex-offer-private-chefs?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/30/2025

A Filipino restaurant slated to open this winter in Southwest Detroit will feature a very intentional look and feel.

Calamansi co-owner Marcee Sobredilla and Gensler Design Director Lily Diego are working closely on the design of the space at 4458 W. Vernor Highway.

The team calls the project community-driven and personal. Sobredilla, who has Filipino roots, wants the space and food to reflect the heritage, hospitality and shared experiences that are central to the Filipino culture.

“We want the space to be comfy, cozy and a representation of Filipino hospitality,” Sobredilla said. “It has a lot of natural elements and an open layout. It’s reminiscent of the ancestral homes I grew up in.”

Diego, the first American-born member of her own Filipino family, said she’s taken great interest in working on the project. She and her team developed a set of thematic mood boards exploring how Filipino families gather and want to include those elements in the design of Calamansi.

“Filipino families often are eating and spending time together late into the night,” Diego said. “You’re not getting one main thing during a Filipino meal. The meals are centered around shared dishes, storytelling and a mix of flavors from the land, sea and air. We want to capture that sense of abundance and togetherness here. We want that communal vibe where when people come in, it’s just a place where everyone comes together.”

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/restaurants/calamansi-restaurant-designed-filipino-culture-heart?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/28/2025

One of Detroit’s oldest surviving brick homes is undergoing a gut renovation and will soon be for sale.

The three-story Federal-style house on Labrosse Street in Corktown dates to the 1850s, and in many ways encapsulates the history of immigration in Detroit. It was built before the Civil War by an Ireland-born mason named William Murphy and by the time of the Great Depression that began in 1929 it was lived in by Mexican immigrants, one of whom is believed to be among the faces in Diego Rivera’s famed mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Sitting just blocks from the revitalized Michigan Central Station and the flood of other development activity that’s overtaken the Corktown neighborhood, the house is now ready to be part of a new chapter of Detroit history.

John Biggar and Brian Mooney, partners at Detroit-based Integrity Building Group, bought the house in 2021. The two have undertaken an extensive renovation, albeit one that leaves in place numerous original features, including the brick, some wood beams and a mahogany stairway railing.

With an expected asking price around $695,000, would-be buyers needn’t worry about feeling like they’re living in a 165-year-old house.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/it-hits-market/165-year-old-corktown-house-going-sale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/27/2025

One of Detroit’s largest residential landlords has stopped paying some of its bills.

It's a sign of a revenue crisis, built by a series of systemic challenges, and it paints a murky picture for the future of rental housing in a city where it’s desperately needed.

And it's not just one real estate company’s portfolio.

There’s broad agreement that companies that manage multi-family apartments are facing a compounding set of problems, particularly for those with a concentration of market-rate units. There’s disagreement, though, as to the root causes of the problem — and, importantly, how best to solve it.

At Detroit-based Greatwater, which owns and manages about 2,000 rental units across roughly 40 buildings around the city, executives have simply halted mortgage payments on three multi-family buildings on the city’s lower east side, near Belle Isle. Mounting non-payment by tenants and an inability to offload the assets to new buyers have brought about the struggles, according to Greatwater Partner Matt Temkin, pictured above.

Temkin’s buildings aren’t the only ones in peril. Several housing developments across the city, from recent new-build developments to aging high-rises along East Jefferson Avenue, face challenges as well.

Detroit officials acknowledge the challenges for the city’s multi-family market, but contend that in many instances there’s little they can do given that many of the struggling buildings are privately financed.

But they remain hopeful for a turnaround.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-forum-rental-housing/detroit-rental-market-worries-landlords-developers-city?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/26/2025

The artificial intelligence boom has arrived in Michigan in the form of a massive data center, one that is expected to consume huge amounts of power to train and run AI models.

If built, the 1.4-gigawatt Stargate campus near Ann Arbor would be the state’s first “hyperscale” facility. Its footprint, nearly 1.7 million square feet across three buildings, is the size of around 29 football fields.

The $7 billion-plus development is under scrutiny as the would-be electricity supplier, DTE Energy, seeks expedited regulatory approval of 19-year contracts with Green Chile Ventures. It is a subsidiary of tech giant Oracle, which would lease the center from Related Digital and sell computing power to ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

Read more about Project Mitten and mega data facilities in general here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/politics-policy/what-know-about-michigans-1st-ai-hyperscale-data-center?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

11/25/2025

As the annual Thanksgiving parade returns to downtown Detroit this week, Woodward Avenue is ready to shine.

The Parade Co. that produces America's Thanksgiving Parade is shifting broadcast locations to make sure viewers get a good shot of not only the parade but also the revitalization along the route, including a new Apple store, a new store from parade sponsor Gardner White Furniture called GW Home, and the newly open building on the Hudson's department store site that was once home to the parade's originator.

The parade promises to show a national audience a remarkable makeover of a strip that was once home to the nation's largest department store, and now has plenty to show off that's new since just last year.

"There was a day when Detroit was vibrant, and it went away for a little while. And now, the vibrancy, the excitement, is back," said Tony Michaels, president and CEO of the nonprofit Parade Co. The revitalization of downtown Detroit has mixed some of the great pieces of the past with the "amazing pieces" present and coming in the future, he said.

To help capture that, the WDIV-Channel 4 broadcast locations for the parade are moving about a block north to the Hudson’s Detroit complex, with shots from street level and the balcony on the side of the building with its stunning Woodward view.

Read more here: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/thanksgiving-parade-nears-woodward-ready-its-close?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

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

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