Midwest

DETROIT — At the conclusion of his speech at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Spring Meeting in Detroit, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert gave conference goers one piece of advice. “Get in on some of these investments in Detroit,” he said. “It’s not too late.” The event, held May 1-3 at the Cobo Center, drew 4,200 attendees from the real estate industry. It was the first ULI event in Detroit in 40 years. Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., spoke at the opening panel along with Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc. Robert Taubman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers Inc., moderated the session, entitled “Detroit’s Renaissance.” Subject matter ranged from Detroit’s past to present, including development highlights and the resilient DNA of its citizens. Gilbert’s real estate company, Bedrock, has acquired and developed more than 100 commercial properties totaling over 16 million square feet in the city’s urban core. The Ilitch family, made famous by Little Caesars Pizza, owns both the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers and is responsible for a 50-block mixed-use project under development known as The District Detroit. For decades, the Motor City was a well-publicized story of economic decline …