In 2018, the Detroit real estate market had a banner year for transactions, new developments and big headlines. Chief among these was Ford Motor Co.’s acquisition of the vacant Michigan Central Station, a major media event that attracted attention from all over the world. Other notable news stories predominantly revolved around Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and his Bedrock Real Estate Services. In 2018 alone, Bedrock delivered the 129-key Shinola Hotel, began construction on the 847,000-square-foot Monroe Blocks and laid the foundation for the 912-foot tall Hudson’s tower. The combined costs of these projects exceed $2 billion. From a brokerage standpoint, it also was a successful year. Q10|Lutz Financial Services, a Birmingham-based commercial mortgage banking firm, had its best year on record. Similarly, Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate’s investment sales division had transaction volume of a half-billion dollars, according to the firm’s manager of opportunities, Jared Friedman. Some highlights and market insights into the Great Lakes State’s commercial real estate market are below. Multifamily redevelopment Downtown Detroit has received most of the notable press this cycle, in particular for the flock of millennials and young professionals who up-ended trends and brought their skinny jeans and electric scooter habits to …
