Ally Financial Moving to Southfield?

[Malcove Magnesia]

horray! the commute-time traffic jams on I-94 / I-75 / Lodge / etc. are going to get even more intolerable.

[animatedmartian]

Dan should buy the Penobscot and renovate it.

I can't find any source establishing Penobscot's "class" however. Also, it would stand to reason that different parts of the building have different BOMA grades. Also, how does the new fiber optic network downtown factor in to how easily some of its older office buildings might get to Class A, if at all?

I seem to recall on threads of old of those who once worked in Penosbscot and described it as a less than ideal building to work in [[to be fair, that was quite some time ago). That's sort of a big indicator that it's not Class A. Not that the specific class makes a difference anyway but a larger well known company that can afford higher rents is going to want office space in an office building that has all the bells and whistles. Many smaller companies could fill up Penobscot so I don't think Gilbert would really have much interest in owning unless it was put up for sale. The current owners of Penobscot have made no indication of wanting to sell anytime soon.

[animatedmartian]

horray! the commute-time traffic jams on I-94 / I-75 / Lodge / etc. are going to get even more intolerable.

A lot better than having traffic jams all on 696 and the surface streets of Southfield.

[Mind field]

horray! the commute-time traffic jams on I-94 / I-75 / Lodge / etc. are going to get even more intolerable.

Hooray! Maybe if it bothers them that much they can move downtown or elsewhere in the city to avoid that!

I hope the tacky signage [[a necessary evil?) and renaming of the tower doesn't put off tenants already in the building.

[Hypestyles]

Well, kudos, so hopefully more groups will stay downtown or move down there from elsewhere.

[Jason]

I think for the Penobscot Building, the floor plans alone might prevent it from becoming class A. The wing of the building along Fort Street is basically the only clear part of the building, the rest is small areas tucked between various elevators and stairs. But that doesn't at all prevent it from filling up, as there should be plenty of smaller tenants who would love to be there. The problem is management. The Northern group was terrible and Apizzapapalis probably doesn't inspire much confidence either.

In NYC I think a lot of the buildings are still Class B, because there's just so many of them and because they're also limited by the building design, but there's a lot of people looking for office space so that's ok.

[T.Low]

Good riddance to them!

Spoken like a true Detroiter of the last 45 yrs!

[Llama]

What's this, then? Ally moving to [[Gilbert's new) One Detroit Center.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ving/70724542/

[mikeg19]

Couldn't just leave the building as it is. Had to put that fucking sign on top. Good God...

Glad to hear of the retention and addition of workers though. Great news on that front.

[emu steve]

horray! the commute-time traffic jams on I-94 / I-75 / Lodge / etc. are going to get even more intolerable.

Time to get OC workers on M-1 at 8 mile [[oops, need to expand that baby out there).

[warsaw7]

What's this, then? Ally moving to [[Gilbert's new) One Detroit Center.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ving/70724542/

What's what then? You are a little late to the party.

[hybridy]

can we rename this thread...

[emu steve]

The moderator updated the lead [[my) post which started it.

Yes, the title of the thread is now 180 degrees opposite of what the new developments are.

BTW, the original post was only TWO MONTHS AGO.

So in two months the situation COMPLETELY turned around. That was quick!!!

[dmike76]

This is what happens when you have competent leadership. Find a way to get a deal done.

http://www.dailydetroit.com/2015/03/31/a-story-behind-the-scenes-of-buying-a-skyscraper-and-keeping-a-company-in-downtown-detroit/

[1953]

I kind of like the proposed Ally sign, and the increased traffic to downtown. Call me crazy.

1953

[SpartanDawg]

you all need to do yourselves a favor and read this word for word what Mike Duggan said yesterday at the press conference. I can confidently say this is hands down the BEST leadership Detroit has seen in the past 50 years. It is AMAZING what he is doing to fight for this city.

The combo of him and Gilbert working together is going to have this city THRIVING for quite the foreseeable future.. I am honestly so proud to call him my mayor...


Duggan: "Last summer I heard rumors that Ally was looking to move the seven hundred employees they had in The Renaissance that were out in the suburbs and so I call their CEO Mike Carpenter [[and I had a) conversation about this, and he said you know we’re separate from GM now, we’re probably going to leave the Renaissance Center, but don’t worry we’re really looking to stay someplace else downtown. I said okay, if that changes I want the opportunity to come in and present, and he says okay if it changes I’ll call you.
Well in late January there was a media report that says Ally is about to move to the suburbs, and so I call Mr. Carpenter back.

January 28th, and I say to him I know this media report can’t be right and he says well actually our plans have changed. We decided not just to look and sell a hundred people, but fifteen hundred people because it made sense to consolidate all our operations, and when we started looking at fifteen hundred people it knocked down all the [[options for) our team to spend six months. There is no real estate option in Detroit, we’ve basically made the decision to go to the suburbs, and I said you know I really would like the chance that you promised before to come in and present.

He says what do you think is going to be different? I said because you’re going to get a community presentation, not something from the real estate agents, and it became a pretty tense conversation.

I finally said, your company has been in this city nearly a hundred years. You can’t give me two weeks to do a presentation? At which point he said I’d have to be a really jerk not to give you two weeks. I said that’s all I want, I said there will be no publicity, there will be no leaks. We’ll bring you a business plan, [[and) I called [[and) I said Dan [[Gilbert) we’ve got two weeks and Dan says 1,500 people would be one of the largest business relocations in Detroit in twenty years. He says there’s a building that I’m talking to but I don’t have it nailed down. You’re telling me that I’ve got to figure out how to provide a plan for 1,500 people in a building I don’t own in under two weeks and I said yeah.

Dan says no problem.

And so we started to go to work on this and then five days later I find out my new best friend, Mike Carpenter, announces he’s resigning as the CEO of Ally.
I am like Oh My God now where are we, but the company was very responsible. They call up and said we want you to know the company’s going to honor its commitment, and I said really, and they said you’ve got nine more days. [[Crowd laughs at this point).

This is the thing when you have Dan Gilbert, and Matt Cullen, and Jim Ketai and the team on your side nine days is an eternity, and what we had to put together was simple. We made a promise to Ally there was going to be no political pressure, no public pressure, it was going to be a business decision and we have two issues.

One is we had an empty office building in the suburbs and compared to a building here in the middle of a hot real estate market. We knew the rent was going to be more expensive and they had free parking in the suburbs versus the parking you would have to pay for, and so between us and Bedrock, the DDA and the City of Detroit we had to put together a competitive proposal, and I can’t say enough about Ann, and Jim, and Matt and the team. Tom Lewand did what he did, this is the reason I wanted him recruited for the private sector. It was [[for) these kinds of deals along with Rod Miller and John Hill and Gary Brown, our parking person, who said here’s what we can do, we can afford to provide Ally with five hundred fifty parking spaces from our facilities or put up a $150 for those five hundred fifty spaces where they’re going to be purchased some place else. What we’re going to make in the income tax revenues will exceed that.

We will buy it, we’ll pay it out of DDA funds, economic development funds from the authority. The Bedrock team put together a competitive proposal.

There are enormous business opportunities being located in the City of Detroit today, and so this is going to be a very special thing for this city. Instead of losing 700 jobs which it looked like we did just 60 days ago, we’re actually getting a headquarters with 800 moving in for 1,500 total. And when Ally celebrates their hundredth anniversary as a company, I’m very proud to say it will be right here in the City of Detroit."

[Danny]

YAY! Thank you Dan Gilbert for buying the One Detroit Building. Thank-you Dan Gilbert for keeping Ally Bank Corp. in Gilberttown Detroit.

Take that L.B. Patterson! Take that Southfield, MI. Detroit is where the action is.

[mkd]

I wonder if Comerica might've stayed in Detroit if downtown in 2007 was like it is now.

[313WX]

I wonder if Comerica might've stayed in Detroit if downtown in 2007 was like it is now.

Given that downtown was already on the "upswing" in 2007 before the real estate bubble popped, and that Comerica stuck with downtown through its worst years in the 1990s when all of the other banks had long fled to the suburbs, I doubt the health of downtown had anything to do with their decision to move to Texas.

More than likely, the fact that Michigan is a stagnant/shrinking market [[while California, Arizona & Texas are rapidly growing markets) and the fact that Comerica's CEO is from Texas are the primary reasons why they left Detroit.

Bear in mind, most of Comerica's employees and many of their central operations are still in Detroit. Only the executives/upper management moved to Texas.

[mkd]

They put up a sign.

[southen]

Dan just wanted to show us how to take fantastic building designed by a legend and make it look like utter crap with signage. Why not put it in the recess and maintain the integrity of the design? Ugh.

[Mackinaw]

I agree that this does detract from a masterpiece building, and that there is a better way to do it.

My comment is that this is out of keeping with the normal Bedrock conscientiousness-- I credit them with restoring to original, unsullied detail several buildings along Woodward, including the First National.

[mikeg19]

Someone needs to get a shot of it at night lit up.

[MrMichigan]

Beautiful picture though

[rbdetsport]

I have mixed opinions about signage.. If you look at what our cities looked like back in the early 20th century, there was signage everywhere.. But I do agree, the moment I saw a photo of this, I puked a little bit. It is tacky on a gorgeous building.