PORT HURON, MICH. — HP Pelzer Automotive Systems has signed a 90,000-square-foot industrial lease in Port Huron, about 60 miles north of Detroit. The manufacturer of acoustic and thermal components for the automotive sector will occupy the entire building located at 2336-2356 Beard St. HP Pelzer maintains additional facilities in Port Huron. Jason Capitani and Joe DePonio of L. Mason Capitani CORFAC International brokered the lease transaction.
DEARBORN, MICH. — Ford Land Development Corp., the real estate arm of Ford Motor Co., has begun transformation of the Dearborn campus with the groundbreaking of Wagner Place, a development featuring office and retail space. The $60 million Ford investment will provide Ford employees and nearby residents with new retail and restaurant options, complemented by green space, outdoor seating and enhanced walkability. Ford is transforming about two blocks of largely vacant buildings into the 150,000-square-foot development. Wagner Place will feature two floors of workspace and a rooftop patio in addition to first-floor retail and restaurant space. Approximately 600 Ford global data insights and analytics employees will occupy the property. The development is part of the 10-year transformation of the company’s more than 60-year-old Dearborn facilities, which will relocate 30,000 employees from 70 buildings into primarily two sites: a product campus and a world headquarters campus. Wagner Place is scheduled for completion in mid-2018. With $3 million in support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the city of Dearborn will construct a 373-spot public parking structure near the development at West Village Drive and Monroe Street for consumer and Ford employee parking. Dearborn is overseeing an $18 million investment for the west downtown area …
INDIANA, MICHIGAN AND OHIO — Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE: FCPT) has acquired 16 properties occupied by Bob Evans Restaurants as part of a $35.1 million sale-leaseback transaction. The transaction was completed simultaneously with Golden Gate Capital’s acquisition of Bob Evans Restaurants from Bob Evans Farms Inc. In the Midwest, the properties are located in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The other properties within the portfolio are located in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The properties are occupied under a single triple-net master lease with a 20-year initial term.
DETROIT — Founders Brewing Co. has unveiled plans to open a taproom in the lower Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit. The 14,000-square-foot property will be located at 456 Charlotte St., directly behind the Detroit Masonic Temple. Construction is slated to begin this summer with a grand opening set to take place in winter 2017. The company will brew beers at this location, as well as serve year-round, seasonal and specialty beers on tap. Founders Brewing currently operates a taproom in Grand Rapids.
DETROIT — Kraemer Design Group (KDG) will serve as architect and historic consultant on the Detroit Free Press building renovations. The former newspaper building, located at 321 W. Lafayette Boulevard, will require structural updates, complete masonry restoration, new energy-efficient windows and a fresh interior design. The 271,858-square-foot, 14-story building will be repurposed into a mixed-use property with retail, office and residential space. KDG will work to preserve historic elements and details of the building, while modernizing a structure left vacant for 19 years. KDG will collaborate with Bedrock, the new owners of the building and the real estate arm of Dan Gilbert’s companies, on construction and design initiatives. The new project is slated to open in 2020.
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has negotiated a 9,709-square-foot office lease in Southfield. The building is located at 29777 Telegraph Road. Jordan Friedman, Greggory Kent and Robert Gagniuk of Friedman represented both the landlord, Onyx Southfield LLC, and the tenant, Gill Industries. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Gill operates 20 manufacturing, development and strategic partner centers across the globe.
WYANDOTTE, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 10,712-square-foot office property in Wyandotte. The sales price was not disclosed. The Social Security Administration is the sole occupant of the building, which is located at 3450 Biddle Ave. Justin Fenn and Dan Yozwiak of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. Michael Glass assisted in closing the transaction.
NOVI, ROYAL OAK, STERLING HEIGHTS AND ALLEN PARK, MICH. — Keystone Commercial Real Estate has negotiated four leases for Dental One Partners in Michigan. Dental One is locating to visible street-front locations in Novi, Royal Oak, Sterling Heights and Allen Park. The dental chain, based in Dallas, operates over 160 practices in 13 states and plans to continue to expand throughout Michigan. Greg Newman of Keystone arranged the leases on behalf of Dental One.
DETROIT — The Kresge Foundation has administered grants totaling $2 million to 17 nonprofits for projects to revitalize neighborhoods across Detroit. This final round of grants in the pilot program, known as Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit, brings the foundation’s grant total to $5 million over the past three years. The new grants will fund, for example, the creation of a new community hub on Grand River Avenue in the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood and conversion of a blighted five-block stretch of the Morningside neighborhood into an agricultural greenway. The grants support renovation of an abandoned duplex into an art center in central Detroit and a southwest Detroit program to promote the conversion of vacant second floors of commercial buildings into residential spaces. In addition to the creation of community gathering spots, green spaces and conversion of abandoned properties to new uses, the initiative seeks to make neighborhood streets and sidewalks more walkable. Kresge’s support for these shovel-ready projects ranges from $75,000 to $150,000 each. The latest grants were chosen from nearly 70 applications.
TROY, MICH. — Colliers International will handle leasing at The Centennial, a prominent office property in the Troy skyline. The 306,000-square-foot, 15-story building is located at 100 E. Big Beaver Road. The ownership has made numerous upgrades to the building systems and elevators, and has initiated a multimillion-dollar upgrade of the common areas. Amenities include a new conference center, building deli, tenant lounge, and co-working facility. The common area amenities will be available for tenants of the building as well as to rent for members of the community. Tenant spaces available for lease range from 2,500 to 175,000 square feet. Gary Grochowski and Bryan Barnas of Colliers will oversee the leasing.
