Ally Financial Moving to Southfield?

[emu steve]

Update: Ally Financial to Move into the recently-Gilbert-purchased One Detroit Center.
Jump to updated discussions >>

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"Detroit-based Ally Financial, formerly known as the GMAC finance arm of General Motors, is considering a move into Southfield that could potentially affect hundreds of jobs currently situated in downtown Detroit."

http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...roit/22352413/

Guess job moves is a two-way street.

[mikeg19]

HOW DARE BROOKS PATTERSON POACH ALLY FINANCIAL FROM DETROIT? OUTRAGEOUS!!!!

Oh wait, isn't this just how the market works?

[animatedmartian]

The Renaissance Center and Southfield Town Center are both considered "Class A" office space and have similar asking rents in the low $20s per square foot gross. However, parking at Southfield Town Center is free.

Wait. Doesn't GM have a HUGE employee parking lot and garages right next door to the Ren Cen? Is that not free for employees?

Anyway, I imagine that expanding within the Ren Cen is somewhat difficult since most of the building is near full. This move likely had more to do with a lack of space within Detroit than the cost difference versus the suburbs [[where incidentally there is now an abundance of space).

http://www.gmrencen.com/Leasing/Listings.axis

[Danny]

Good riddance to them!

[Scottathew]

Anyway, I imagine that expanding within the Ren Cen is somewhat difficult since most of the building is near full. This move likely had more to do with a lack of space within Detroit than the cost difference versus the suburbs [[where incidentally there is now an abundance of space).

http://www.gmrencen.com/Leasing/Listings.axis

I concur with your analysis.

Imagine if they run out of space and use it as an opportunity to be "lured" elsewhere with big tax breaks.

[hybridy]

I concur with your analysis.

Imagine if they run out of space and use it as an opportunity to be "lured" elsewhere with big tax breaks.

They're about to lose a ton of money on subprime auto lending. Seems prudent to have cheaper rent to cover the inevitable losses.

[Khorasaurus]

If they need 300,000 square feet, I don't think there's anywhere downtown that can accommodate them all in one place. Certainly not in move-in ready Class A space. The Penobscot might be able to fit them, but is that considered Class A?

So if they want to consolidate all of their 1,300 employees in one place in Class A space, their options in the region are to build new, renovate something huge like the Book Tower, or Southfield Town Center. That's it.

[stinkytofu]

If they need 300,000 square feet, I don't think there's anywhere downtown that can accommodate them all in one place. Certainly not in move-in ready Class A space. The Penobscot might be able to fit them, but is that considered Class A?

So if they want to consolidate all of their 1,300 employees in one place in Class A space, their options in the region are to build new, renovate something huge like the Book Tower, or Southfield Town Center. That's it.

Penobscot is terrible inside. I'd rather move my company to a wooden shack.

Bummer that they aren't building downtown. This would be the type of perfect new building to have on the block Meridian was going to build on. Would've been a huge boost downtown to consolidate all the employees there.

[animatedmartian]

Yea Penoscbot needs renovations. Yet the landlord [[same guy who currently owns the Silverdome) would say that tenants aren't coming due to a lack of parking.

A 300,000 square foot office building would basically be a duplicate of One Kennedy Square. And given how much people want taller buildings around, I think it would be kind of wasteful just to build new if Ally was going to be the sole tenant.

[Mind field]

Covisint, Ally, Cadillac. Who's next to leave Detroit? It seems it's two steps forward, one back.

[Bucket]

Isn't there a vacant or near-vacant multi-story office building next to Ford Field near Madison/I-375?

[animatedmartian]

Isn't there a vacant or near-vacant multi-story office building next to Ford Field near Madison/I-375?

I don't believe that building is vacant. There's one company that takes up most of the fifth floor. It's also not very big. It's only 100,000-something square feet so Ally wouldn't be moving there either way.

[Spartan]

Wait. Doesn't GM have a HUGE employee parking lot and garages right next door to the Ren Cen? Is that not free for employees?

Anyway, I imagine that expanding within the Ren Cen is somewhat difficult since most of the building is near full. This move likely had more to do with a lack of space within Detroit than the cost difference versus the suburbs [[where incidentally there is now an abundance of space).

http://www.gmrencen.com/Leasing/Listings.axis

Free for employees, sure, but I'm sure Ally has to rent the spots from GM

[tkelly1986]

This would be a huge momentum blow. I know Ally is a fledgling company, but 1,300 jobs consolidating in the city could be great news. Real estate experts, do you think this is a done deal? What are the chances a developer in Detroit could may a play? Anchor tenet on the Hudson Site?

[ABetterDetroit]

Maybe the mayor can pull a rabbit out of his hat on this one.

[beanietek]

Ally pays to rent space in the Ren Cen. They currently house Ally employees within the Southfield office and this would allow them to bring both groups together in one facility and perhaps allow them to display their name on the building itself. Don't think it's a done deal yet but guessing it may happen.

[bailey]

Yea Penoscbot needs renovations. Yet the landlord [[same guy who currently owns the Silverdome) would say that tenants aren't coming due to a lack of parking.

A 300,000 square foot office building would basically be a duplicate of One Kennedy Square. And given how much people want taller buildings around, I think it would be kind of wasteful just to build new if Ally was going to be the sole tenant.

And by the end of the summer One Kennedy will be mostly vacant as Meridian moves across the street to the Compuware Building.

[Khorasaurus]

Long term, I think this is a good thing for the region. The Ren Cen will fill the space easily. We don't want Southfield to die, just like we don't want Detroit to die. And Southfield Town Center isn't going anywhere, so it may as well be full. Ally will replace the 80,000 square feet Fifth Third is vacating and then some.

The trends seem to indicate that if/when the office market finally turns around, any new construction will happen in the City [[although there has been talk about another tower at Southfield Town Square). So a full Southfield Town Center gets us one step closer to the point where will see a need for new office towers downtown.

That's my glass-half-full look at it, anyway.

[Khorasaurus]

And by the end of the summer One Kennedy will be mostly vacant as Meridian moves across the street to the Compuware Building.

Not mostly vacant. They only have 40,000 square feet out of about 250,000 total.

Also, one existing tenant is already planning to expand into vacated Meridian space: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...lth-moves-into

[Detroitnerd]

There's going to be a certain amount of deal-shopping as Southfield and Troy and their 1950s-1990s models fall out of fashion. That's normal and natural, and probably isn't going to have a major effect on the trend toward filling downtown's gaps.

[gameguy56]

There's going to be a certain amount of deal-shopping as Southfield and Troy and their 1950s-1990s models fall out of fashion. That's normal and natural, and probably isn't going to have a major effect on the trend toward filling downtown's gaps.

Has anyone moved from Troy to downtown? It seems a lot of the moves are from southfield?

There are a decent amount of finance/consulting/tech companies based or with offices up in Troy that I bet would work well Downtown.

[Scottathew]

Has anyone moved from Troy to downtown? It seems a lot of the moves are from southfield?

There are a decent amount of finance/consulting/tech companies based or with Offices up in Troy that I bet would work well Downtown.

Title Source moved from Long Lake and Crooks to the First National Building. Quicken Loans also had at least one office in Troy.

[Detroitnerd]

Has anyone moved from Troy to downtown?

Molina is "expanding" into Detroit.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...pers/17298253/

[Mind field]

TVS communication solutions, Agency 720, and Lambert, Edwards and associates have all moved downtown from Troy in the last 2-3 years.

[ferndalien]

I know Ally is a fledgling company...

Ally's name may only be 6 years old, but it was founded in 1919 as GMAC.