Rock Ventures Wraps Up 2012 with Purchase of 5 More Properties [[Including Kresge)

**raptor56** · December-18-12, 04:01 PM

Just released today:

Rock Ventures’ newest building acquisitions include:

1201 Woodward - Kresge Building

The 54,000 square-foot property built in 1891 was home to the former Kresge store. The nine-story building, located on the northwest corner of Woodward Avenue and State Street, will be renovated to accommodate first floor retail and either office or residential space above. A portion of the first floor currently houses The Detroit Shoppe and Detroit Artist Market pop-up stores.

1217 Woodward

This five-story 30,000 square-foot building is located on the west side of Woodward Avenue, immediately north of the Kresge Building. Built in 1891, the building will be renovated and used for first floor retail and either office or residential space above. A portion of the first floor currently houses Santa’s Wonderland, a seasonal store specifically for children with proceeds benefitting Detroit Goodfellows, ensuring there is “No Kiddie without a Christmas.”

1412 Woodward

Located on the east side of Woodward Avenue between Grand River Avenue and John R Street, this three-story building was built in 1916. The 6,000 square-foot building is currently unoccupied, but will feature first floor retail with office space above.

1301 Broadway - Cary Building Lofts

The 20,000 square-foot building, built in 1906, is located on the west corner of Gratiot Avenue and Broadway Street. The five-story structure will undergo extensive renovations to accommodate first floor retail space with residential space above.

1521 Broadway - Small Plates Building

The 9,300 square-foot building is 100 percent occupied by Small Plates restaurant on the first floor with four residential loft apartments above. The five-story building is located on the west side of Broadway Street between John R and Witherell Street.

The building purchases were brokered by Bedrock Real Estate Services, Rock Ventures’ full-service real estate firm. Bedrock leases, develops and manages all of Rock Ventures’ buildings, and has helped locate more than 65 companies to downtown Detroit since August 2010.

“The need for retail and updated office and residential space in downtown Detroit is keeping Bedrock extremely busy,” said Jim Ketai, Managing Partner at Bedrock, adding that the firm has grown by nearly 60 percent in the past year to keep up with the demand.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...cluding-Kresge

**Warrenite84** · December-19-12, 07:09 PM

Great news. I just hope he installs mature aesthetic-looking furniture and features. [[Downtown can only stand so much of the day-care look.)

**p69rrh51** · December-19-12, 08:17 PM

More information on the buildings and the historic districts they are located in.

http://www.detroitmi.gov/LinkClick.a...=3096&mid=4357

http://www.detroitmi.gov/LinkClick.a...=3096&mid=4357

**MSUguy** · December-19-12, 08:18 PM

I wonder why he bought building with Small Plates all of his purchases up to this point have been vacant or underutilized buildings.

**stasu1213** · December-19-12, 10:52 PM

I am glad that Gilbert had decided to purchase these buildings. The Carey Building had not been used to it's full potential. A couple of poorly managed restaurants had tried opening on the first floor where a bakery/coffee shop would had been idea for that spot. The Kresge building will be used for more retail which will be perfect for that spot. A City Target or a variety store such like it would do for that spot. The former owner of the building had dissapointed downtowners and city residents by changing his plans. Red Grape Lounge was a terrible concept for that spot from the supposidy retail that was the original concept. I don't think that another restaurant is needed on that spot. His Apple store could also go in that spot

**Dexlin** · December-20-12, 05:51 AM

Originally Posted by MSUguy

I wonder why he bought building with Small Plates all of his purchases up to this point have been vacant or underutilized buildings.

To have some money coming in to help subsidize the other projects while they are under construction? I mean, it totally makes sense that he'd mix in a few occupied, money-making structures with these mass buys. He's not only going to be paying to fix them up, but he's responsible for property taxes, now. He better have some occupied buildings with businesses in the mix.

**TexasT** · December-20-12, 10:46 AM

Interview with Jim Ketai, managing partner of Bedrock, about plans for the 5 buildings:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ntown-building

**davewindsor** · December-20-12, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by TexasT

Interview with Jim Ketai, managing partner of Bedrock, about plans for the 5 buildings:

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ntown-building

Now why would you post a link to subscriber site I can't read?! If I had a subscription, I would have no use for the link because I would have already read it as a subscriber. If I'm not a subscriber, the link is useless.

**TexasT** · December-20-12, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Now why would you post a link to subscriber site I can't read?! If I had a subscription, I would have no use for the link because I would have already read it as a subscriber. If I'm not a subscriber, the link is useless.

I'm not a subscriber and it opened for me. Google the title: "Crain's talks to Gilbert's real estate partner about downtown building purchases" and click on it from there.

**Danny** · December-20-12, 11:01 AM

Dan Gilbert is actually saving Downtown Detroit. By 2030 Downtown Detroit will have shops with L.E.D. light-up signs that sparkle like Times Square.

**Gistok** · December-20-12, 11:19 AM

Apparently there is some conflict of statistics on these buildings...

The 1201 and 1217 Woodward Buildings were combined for the Kresge's store many decades ago. Supposedly there are 98,000 Sq. Ft. of space between them instead of the 54,000 and 30,000 respectively mentioned in the article above.

I'm assuming that they don't include the basements. These 2 buildings share a common basement, first and 2nd floor. There is an open staircase going to the basement level and an escalator going to the 2nd level [[as well as an elevator)... from my recollection of when this used to be a Kresge store.

One would hope that this 3 story contiguous space could house some midsize retailer. Above that... residential or office use would be fine...

**davewindsor** · December-20-12, 11:25 AM

Originally Posted by TexasT

I'm not a subscriber and it opened for me. Google the title: "Crain's talks to Gilbert's real estate partner about downtown building purchases" and click on it from there.

I googled it. It still requires that I have an account and sign in. Is the Texas school curriculum all multi-choice now? Do they not teach how to write an essay answer. All you need to do is write one sentence and quote the article. For instance, I agree or disagree with the OP because A. An interview with John Ketai from Bedrock backs up this point by saying [quote 99% of the article and cite where you got it from]. There's no copyright infringement as long as it's in essay form. Essay writing 101. All universities, colleges or high schools use that format.

**Gistok** · December-20-12, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

I googled it. It still requires that I have an account and sign in. Is the Texas school curriculum all multi-choice now? Do they not teach how to write an essay answer. All you need to do is write one sentence and quote the article. For instance, I agree or disagree with the OP because A. An interview with John Ketai from Bedrock backs up this point by saying [quote 99% of the article and cite where you got it from]. There's no copyright infringement as long as it's in essay form. Essay writing 101. All universities, colleges or high schools use that format.

Funny that... I did a cut/past of his simple suggestion and it works for me.... able to read the entire article this 2nd time... maybe he didn't think you required high maintenance....

**TexasT** · December-20-12, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

I googled it. It still requires that I have an account and sign in. Is the Texas school curriculum all multi-choice now? Do they not teach how to write an essay answer. All you need to do is write one sentence and quote the article. For instance, I agree or disagree with the OP because A. An interview with John Ketai from Bedrock backs up this point by saying [quote 99% of the article and cite where you got it from]. There's no copyright infringement as long as it's in essay form. Essay writing 101. All universities, colleges or high schools use that format.

What the hell is your problem? I was able to access it. The only other forum I frequent does not allow C&P of subscription articles beyond a paragraph or two, so I was erring on the side of caution. If you're going to be a dick about it, don't expect me to help you.

**downtownguy** · December-20-12, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by TexasT

I'm not a subscriber and it opened for me. Google the title: "Crain's talks to Gilbert's real estate partner about downtown building purchases" and click on it from there.

It's a great interview. Thanks for posting TexasT. I don't have a Crain's subscription either, and googling the headline has always worked for me.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · December-20-12, 01:25 PM

I'm browsing on my iPhone and the link itself worked. Great article; they really seem to be thinking things out. Would love to see a mix of residential and office, and can't wait for the retail to actually take place.

**davewindsor** · December-20-12, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by TexasT

What the hell is your problem? I was able to access it. The only other forum I frequent does not allow C&P of subscription articles beyond a paragraph or two, so I was erring on the side of caution. If you're going to be a dick about it, don't expect me to help you.

Cut the two most revelent paragraphs then to make whatever point you're trying to make because I can't view it. Maybe it's another Canadian IP block like youtube does with certain shows like Southpark clips. So the only person being a dick is you because I still don't know what you talking about because I haven't seen the article just a useless link to a subscriber site I can't open and your useless comments.

**cramerro** · December-20-12, 03:08 PM

Not to weigh in on the virtues of quoting and sources, but for Crain's in particular I have found that if you run up against the subscriber wall, you can enter the headline in Google [[as mentioned above, and I mean Google not just any search engine) and often times there will be a "Cached Version" link you can click on in the results list. It basically routes you to an image of the page that Google archived/cached that doesn't interface with the subscriber login.

**davewindsor** · December-20-12, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by cramerro

Not to weigh in on the virtues of quoting and sources, but for Crain's in particular I have found that if you run up against the subscriber wall, you can enter the headline in Google [[as mentioned above, and I mean Google not just any search engine) and often times there will be a "Cached Version" link you can click on in the results list. It basically routes you to an image of the page that Google archived/cached that doesn't interface with the subscriber login.

I use google. If I type in google.com. the system picks up my IP and sends me to google.ca and I can't find it in the search engine. If there's a cache in google.com, there's no cache version in google.ca

**gthomas** · December-20-12, 05:30 PM

Here you go:

Crain's talks to Gilbert's real estate partner about downtown building purchases

By Ryan Felton

Jim Ketai is managing partner of Bedrock Management LLC, the real estate venture he formed with Dan Gilbert.

Dan Gilbert's downtown domain

View Dan Gilbert's downtown Detroit real estate emporium in a larger map

Related links
Dan Gilbert buys Kresge and 4 other downtown Detroit buildings

Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entity ofQuicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert, announced Tuesday the acquisition of five more properties in downtown Detroit, including the Kresge Building.
This recent round of buying — the final purchases of 2012 for Rock Ventures — increased the company's portfolio of real estate investments to 15 buildings and three parking structures, eight of which were acquired this year alone.
Crain's Detroit Business spoke on the phone with Jim Ketai, managing partner of Bedrock Management LLC, the real estate entity co-founded by Ketai and Gilbert, to ask some questions about the recent purchases and what to expect looking forward.
What is the overall goal of the most recent building acquisitions? Is it for more retail? Moving more employees of Quicken-related companies downtown?
The goal is always for more retail on the first floor. We always want to focus on getting that retail on the first floor to create that vibrant walking environment so people can go into the retail, whether it's restaurants, whether it's furniture stores or any of those different type of retail stores. We know the importance of having that right at the sidewalk level. So everything we buy in all these buildings will always have that first-floor retail. Above will be either office or residential, unless for some reason a retailer comes around and says they want a two-story retail, we would obviously accommodate for that, as well. Depending on the location of the building and the condition of the building and what it lays out best for will determine whether it's best to be an office or best to be for residential use.
How much renovation work needs to be done to get the buildings suitable for what you plan to do with them?
Each of them is different. The 1521 Broadway building, we do not have to do much at all — that's the one with Small Plates on the first floor. It has four single-floor residential tenants, and that one is in really good shape, just a couple cleanup-type items. We have to upgrade the elevator and things like that.
The buildings over on Woodward, those need a lot of work on the upper floors. They've been neglected for many years and really need a tremendous amount of investment.
The building over on 1301 Broadway has a couple of tenants on the first floor whose leases probably we'll not be keeping there; we'll put some good, new retailers in. The upper lofts are in decent shape; they do need some investment for purposes of adding the proper heating and cooling to them and cleaning them up. But they do have wood floors in them, and I think we also have to redo the elevator there.
So, the massage parlor that's listed online as being located at the 1301 building, that's not going to be sticking around?
No … it's been brought to our attention that it may not just be your typical place; I don't know [[laughs). Our insurance carrier really wasn't too fond of us having them in there.
About the Small Plates building. It's separated from the Madison Building by a couple tenants [[The Detroit Beer Co., Simmons & Clark Jewelers). Are there any other plans for that block, and do you plan on keeping Small Plates in that building?
We do plan on keeping Small Plates there, and there are two really good businesses adjacent to it. So, we have no intention of disturbing someone who's doing the right thing and being in business. We actually encourage that; we want more and more people to join us and do exactly what we're doing. Our goal is really about keeping things active and vibrant with the right uses in those spots.
You were occupying the Kresge already. Do you plan on doing similar things there, or will there be something different?
We were actually behind making that happen. We had the buildings under contract, and we went to the seller and said, "Do you mind if we activated your storefronts?" So, we actually took care of that and did that. We will continue to keep the storefronts activated.
How will the 1301 Broadway building be worked into the Z-shape development, or will it be utilized in such a way?
Well, coincidently, we're allowing our contractor [[Colasanti Construction Services Inc./Sachse Construction); they opened their office on the second floor there, their construction office. So, they're currently occupying the building because of its adjacency. It's not really going to work in conjunction other than the fact that, yes, there will be retail on the first floor there, and there will be retail on the first floor of the parking deck. They'll hopefully complement each other.
Have any potential big-name retailers been showing interest?
We have a lot of interest from a lot of retailers. We are just making sure to place the proper retailer in the proper location because the last thing we'd ever want to happen is for there to be a failure of a retailer. So we need to make sure to properly locate them in the spot where they can best succeed. As we get more and more product, we're determining who would work best in what location.
So which of these buildings is for the new Apple store?
Well, that's a great question. My guess is they would be somewhere that would have great visibility and great access from the masses of businesspeople. So wherever you can get the most concentrated business, I would think that's where Apple would want to go. We have to convince them to come here still, but hopefully, enough of this good news comes, they'll say, "We want to be a part of that."
What else has been going on with the One Woodward Avenue building? Any more concrete plans for it yet?
One Woodward, we have already started renovating a bunch of the vacant floors there. Quicken is going to occupy eight floors. So we're well under way with our renovations there. They'll probably move into three of the floors in the next couple of days.
Is there a time frame on any sort of plans for the building acquisitions announced yesterday, in terms of when you can start utilizing the space?
We haven't planned anything yet. Now that we own them, we're going through and really doing a big dive into determining what we need to do to get these buildings into shape for occupancy.
Anything else you wanted to add?
The only thing I would add is we want to encourage other developers to come to Detroit and do exactly what we're doing. We welcome the competition; we welcome people to be a part of this.

**davewindsor** · December-20-12, 05:47 PM

Thank-you gthomas

**Dexlin** · December-21-12, 05:47 AM

A link and a few sentences would have been preferable to lifting the entire thing from the Freep. It's just common net coourtesy.

**Detroitdave** · December-21-12, 12:26 PM

I know its a courtesy but I don't mind , thanks anyway :-), seems like some folks were having a problem so gthomas just cut to the chase :-)

**mikefmich** · December-21-12, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by davewindsor

Cut the two most revelent paragraphs then to make whatever point you're trying to make because I can't view it. Maybe it's another Canadian IP block like youtube does with certain shows like Southpark clips. So the only person being a dick is you because I still don't know what you talking about because I haven't seen the article just a useless link to a subscriber site I can't open and your useless comments.

Yes I agree. We all should make sure you can open links before any are posted.

Count me as another who had no problem with the link