Crain's Detroit Business, April 8, 2024

Ascension hastens exit out of Michigan

Leaving state clearly part of cost-cutting strategy

yB Dustin Walsh and Mark Sanchez

Ascension Health is unloading its Michigan operations. Late last month, the St. Louis-based system said Midland-based MyMichigan Health would take over its three Northern hospitals only a few months after it announced Henry Ford Health would assume ownership of its eight Southeast Michigan hospitals.

When those deals close, only four Ascension hospitals will remain in the state — all in Southwest Michigan.

It’s clear the Catholic system is looking to exit the state as part of its overall cost-cutting strategy that’s seen it o oad hospitals in New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Alabama and Wisconsin.  e asset ditching is in response to massive nancial bloodletting. Ascension reported a $3 billion loss in its scal 2023. Experts believe the large-scale investments by its secular competitors is driving down margins and forcing a competitive consolidation market.

Downtown hotel prices in ate for the NFL Draft

If you’re still looking for a place to stay for the NFL Draft downtown, you’ll probably be shelling out a lot — if you can nd a room.

While there’s still some availability in and around the central business district — as of the morning of April 1, you could rent a room for two people at the new Godfrey hotel in Corktown for almost $800 per night April 25-27, for example — it’s limited.

And at least some hotels in major commercial areas like Royal Oak and near Detroit Metropolitan Airport, for example, are asking more than $350 a night, far north of normal rates.

Some 300,000-plus people are expected to ock downtown later this month to take part in the NFL’s annual event that has grown to become somewhat of a festival in and of itself the last several years. About 312,000 people attended last year’s draft in Kansas

City, and organizers anticipate to at least match that due in part to Detroit’s proximity to other NFL cities including Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and others, not to mention fans traveling from even farther away.

Fraud concerns spur landlords to get tough

Apartment landlords and property managers around Southeast Michigan say they’re seeing a large uptick in attempted fraud, causing them to implement more stringent screening measures.

30%

The proportion of applicants who apply fraudulently, according to one property management company.

As Michigan — and much of the country — grapples with rising housing costs, landlords in the area say they’re increasingly seeing more prospective tenants attempt to provide falsi ed nancial

information to obtain units, with some never paying rent. at leads to the start of a monthslong and costly eviction process.

In reaction to what landlords say is the rise in attempted fraud by prospective tenants providing falsi ed W-2s or Social Security numbers, they’re now investing in more enhanced screening measures on the front end to catch such maneuvers.

ose in the tenant defense world say they are seeing little such evidence of the purported fraud talked about at length by landlords and question the authenticity of the issue.

Among this year’s honorees are top executives, nonpro t leaders and entrepreneurs. BEGINS ON PAGE 19

Kirk Pinho

Higher-end downtown hotels including the Siren Hotel have helped push up the region’s average

Nick Manes

In this 2019 le photo, nurse Jessica McMillan works with a patient in the emergency room at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit. | BRANDY BAKER

Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo is among the four Ascension hospitals in Southwest Michigan that Ascension retains. It’s likely the system is shopping them. | ASCENSION

BD’s Mongolian Grill closes its West Dearborn location

A downtown West Dearborn restaurant is closed after more than 30 years in business.

e BD’s Mongolian Grill at 22115 W. Michigan Ave. closed March 26, it said in a social media post.

“Dear valued guests, We regret to inform you that our BD’s Mongolian Grill location in Dearborn has permanently closed,” the post reads. “We want to express our sincere gratitude for your loyal patronage and support over the years. While we are sad to say goodbye to our Dearborn location, we would like to invite you to continue enjoying the BD’s Mongolian Grill experience at our Canton location. We are

committed to providing the same delicious food and exceptional service that you have come to love. ank you again for your continued support, and we look forward to serving you at our Canton location!”

BD’s Mongolian Grill is known for its Asian-fusion food and allowing guests to create their own stir-fry meals.

e move leaves BD’s with just three locations in Southeast Michigan: Canton Township, Sterling Heights and Flint.

e Dearborn closure is the latest in a string of Mongolian Grill closings. e Royal Oak location closed in 2019, an Ann Arbor restaurant closed in 2022 and a Novi location closed late last year.

BD’s was founded as Mongolian Barbecue in 1992 by Billy Downs, who was a Crain’s 40 Under 40 honoree in 1997. e rst location was in Royal Oak. At its height, BD’s had 33 locations in 11 states and one in Mongolia. Downs sold the company in 2008 to Kinderhook Industries LLC, a New York-based private equity rm, and two veteran restaurateurs for an undisclosed amount.

e company in 2017 was acquired by Irving, Texas-based Mongolian Concepts Restaurant Group. Mongolian Concepts was acquired last year by Illinoisbased Craveworthy Brands.

BD’s o cials did not immediately respond to Crain’s request for comment.

Victory Automotive buys Ohio dealership

Victory Automotive Group, a Canton Township-based owner of more than 50 car dealerships, has added a Cleveland-area auto retailer to its holdings.

Victory acquired the longestablished Metro Toyota of Brook Park, southwest of Cleveland, on March 26.

Victory Automotive, through Cappo Real Estate Holdings LLC, paid a total of $10.9 million on March 26 for about 5 acres containing the new- and used-car dealership. Cuyahoga County land records show.

Automotive News ranked Victory Automotive 19th on its Dec. 13, 2023, list of the 150 largest U.S-based auto dealership groups by 2022 sales with 28,534 new-car sales and 21,431 used-car sales. Victory owned 52 auto dealerships at that time.

Maternal nutrition startup gets funding from 2 Detroit VCs

Chiyo, a New York-based startup focused on maternal nutrition, will expand operations into Newlab at Michigan Central in Detroit after completing a $3 millionnancing round led by a group of venture capitalists that included two Detroit rms.

e company, launched in 2021, has now raised a total of $3.4 million in funding, according to a news release.

Union Heritage Ventures and Detroit Venture Partners were among the VCs taking part in the most recent funding round. Chiyo received $100,000 from Union Heritage and $250,000 from Detroit Venture Partners, CEO and co-founder Irene Liu told Crain’s in an email.

Liu also said Chiyo has begun hiring in Detroit to add to its 11-person team across the headquarters and kitchen operations.

With the additional round of funding, Liu said Chiyo’s plans include building its own digital platform for personalized customer self-guided curriculum and eventually community coaching pathways. It also plans to scale distribution through clinics and its practitioner community and invest in additional health outcomes research that “proves that food is medicine,” which is the company’s path to reimbursement.

e company has one associate assigned to Newlab and is planning to hire two more. It will begin working out of Newlab this month. Liu said the expansion is “a result of the investments and through getting connected with the Detroit ecosystem.”

Chiyo is a meal delivery service focused on creating healthy meals as medicine for mothers from “fertility through postpartum.”

“My vision for Chiyo has always been rooted in bringing food-asmedicine to the forefront and rely on it for the di erent life stages of a woman’s health journey. I’m incredibly excited for the folks we have around us to further build out this vision, and build the path to accessibility — while we help educate on the impact nutrition has on

generational health,” Liu said in the release. “Chiyo’s $3 million funding will fuel our mission to revolutionize maternal nutrition and support for new parents in America.”

Detroit Venture Partners was founded by Rocket Companies founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert in 2010 and has a portfolio of more than 90 companies, including Detroit-based StockX, Ann Arborbased May Mobility, Detroit-based Breadless and more.

“Food is a powerful tool when it is understood as both pleasure and as medicine,” Nia Batts, co-founder of Detroit Blows blow-dry bar and partner at Union Heritage Ventures, said in the release. “Chiyo’s holistic approach to helping women manage their nutrition during critical life moments — like pregnancy — is empowering, particularly now in a climate where women’s reproductive rights are under attack.”

Union Heritage Ventures is a majority African American- and woman-owned venture capital rm headquartered in Detroit. Its portfolio includes other women’s health companies, including Ohiobased Aunt Flow and New Yorkbased inx, as well as national fashion, skincare and medicine companies.

Other investors in this round of funding included Minnesotabased Bread & Butter Ventures, Arkansas-based Ingeborg Investments, Utah-based Peterson Ventures, Texas-based Palette Ventures and New York-headquartered investment fund e Helm.

“As a mother, certi ed nutritionist and lactation consultant, I am deeply invested in the well-being of women,” Jennifer Jolorte Doro, co-founder and chief culinary ocer of Chiyo, said in the release. “Having personally witnessed the transformative power of nutritional wellness during postpartum, I’ve dedicated myself to helping our customers thrive in their motherhood journey. Now, with this investment, we’re excited to take our expertise to a wider audience, ensuring that every mother across America can access the comprehensive support she deserves on her unique path to wellness.”

e renamed Victory Toyota is Victory Automotive’s fourth dealership in Ohio, according to motor vehicle dealership licenses issued by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Victory Automotive is privately held and led by founder Je rey Cappo. It represents 14 auto brands, according to its website.  Metro Toyota dated from 1969,

according to BMV records. Its prior owner, the Schneider family, received an award from Toyota in 2019 for 50 years of operating a dealership, according to Automotive News.

Multiple calls and emails to Victory Automotive and a call to the dealership seeking comment were not immediately returned.

yB Jay Davis

The BD’s Mongolian Grill restaurant in Dearborn closed March 26 after more than 30 years in business. BD’S MONGOLIAN GRILL

Anna Fifelski

Irene Liu, CEO and co-founder of Chiyo (left), and Jennifer Jolorte Doro, co-founder and chief culinary of cer of Chiyo. | CHIYO

Stan Bullard, Crain’s Cleveland Business

Victory Toyota is the new name of the former Metro Toyota dealership in Brook Park, Ohio. | COSTAR GROUP

Michigan’s family doctor shortage is worsening

Mark Sanchez

e percentage of medical students opting for primary care medicine declined again this year, raising further concerns about the ability to provide frontline care for patients in a worsening national physician shortage.

While the number of medical students seeking a residency position in family medicine and the number of positions lled both increased nationally, the percentage of un lled slots in primary care also grew.

Of the record 5,213 residency

slots in family medicine at 796 programs across this country, 636 (13.8%) went un lled, according to the National Resident Matching Program. at compares with 12.7% of 5,088 open family medicine residency positions that went unlled in 2023 and represents a sizable rise from 2020, when 8% of positions were left un lled.  e data point to demand outpacing supply and a worsening shortage of new family medicine doctors entering the eld.

Metro Detroit billionaire businessman Manoj Bhargava faces a lawsuit tied to his ongoing takeover bid of the former publisher of Sports Illustrated magazine.

e lawsuit, led last month in California in a Los Angeles County court, is brought by Ross Levinsohn, a veteran media executive and the former CEO of Arena Group Inc., a New York City-based publishing company for which Bhargava has been mounting a takeover bid since summer.

Bhargava is best known as the founder of the 5-hour Energy drink brand and runs myriad companies out of an o ce park he owns in Farmington Hills. He is named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with Arena Group — which up until January had published Sports Illustrated under a licensing deal from owner Authentic Brands — along with several other people connected to Bhargava.

e 60-plus-page lawsuit accuses Bhargava of being “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” presenting himself as a “like-minded investor” in Arena Group but engaging in “illegal misconduct, overt self dealing, and systematic destruction of shareholder value.”

Bhargava spokesman Steve Janisse declined to comment March 27, citing pending litigation, while a spokesperson for Arena Group did not respond to a request for comment.

a Los Angeles-based attorney representing Levinsohn, wrote in an emailed statement to Crain’s on March 27. “ is unnecessary distraction and added cost to the company, which could easily have been avoided, hurts the shareholders’ interest, which should be a priority.”

e lawsuit also alleges that Bhargava illegally red Levinsohn from his position as CEO of the publicly traded Arena Group (NYSE: AREN), a company that has seen its stock plummet more than 75% in the last year and now trades at around $1 per share.

Per the lawsuit, Levinsohn took over as CEO of Sports Illustrated in 2019 and subsequently became chief executive

“This unnecessary distraction and added cost to the company, which could easily have been avoided, hurts the shareholders’ interest.”

Bryan Freedman, Ross Levinsohn’s attorney

News of Levinsohn’s lawsuit was rst reported March 25 by Business Insider.

“Ross Levinsohn, like so many others, gave his full energy and devotion to the company in the belief that his contractual rights would be respected,” Bryan Freedman,

of its publisher, Arena Group, the following year. Levinsohn and his team immediately began a turnaround of the company, which “was nearly insolvent, loaded with more than $90 million in debt, burdened by millions of dollars in lease payments and public company

Small biz group sues feds over ownership reporting law

e Small Business Association of Michigan has led a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of a federal law requiring businesses to report their ownership to the government.

SBAM, which represents more than 32,000 small business owners across the state, contends the Corporate Transparency Act violates constitutional protections guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure.

Filed March 26 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Grand Rapids, the lawsuit argues that affected businesses must submit proprietary and sensitive information — including passport numbers or driver’s license numbers — to a federal law enforcement agency without ever having been accused of violating any law.

Fourth Amendment because it unlawfully or unconstitutionally authorizes the search and seizure of sensitive information on millions of business owners and people who don’t even own the business but may have some substantial control over the business,” Small Business Association of Michigan CEO Brian Calley told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

“We believe that the Corporate Transparency Act violates the

The Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and the state’s medical schools are pushing for more funding to address a critical shortage in primary care doctors in the state. | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

yB Mark Sanchez

Brian Calley

Ross Levinsohn Manoj Bhargava

Sterling Heights narrowly OKs $3M for Lakeside Mall owner

Adivided Sterling Heights City Council narrowly approved awarding $3 million the city got from the state to the owner of Lakeside Mall for additional property acquisition.

City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city’s governing body signed o 4-3 on the measure on April 2, which drew opposing votes from council members Deanna Koski, Henry Yanez and Michael Radtke Jr.   Forking over the $3 million to Miami-based mall owner Out of the Box Ventures LLC, an arm of Lionheart Capital, allows the company to move forward with additional property purchases that could include the former Sears and Lord & Taylor stores, and also additional real estate, Vanderpool said on April 2.

Amassing the property is a key step in a complicated puzzle with multiple pieces left to put together.

In order to submit a planned unit development, or PUD, application for Out of the Box's proposed $1 billion redevelopment of Lakeside into a town square-type project, consent from all property owners is required, Vanderpool said. e two that have not con-

sented are the owners of the former Sears store, Mario Kiezi, and the owner of the former Lord & Taylor, according to Vanderpool.

And the PUD is needed in order to pursue what could be a critical component of the project's nancing: transformational brown eld funding from the state, Vanderpool said. at program allows developers to capture things like state income taxes and not pay sales taxes on equipment and materials if large development projects meet a certain dollar threshold based on the population of the community in which they are located.

On April 3, Radtke said he believes the $3 million could be better spent on other things needed in the city, ranging from a new police command vehicle to sidewalks to parks. Radtke also said he thinks handing over the state dollars to a private property owner could reect poorly on Sterling Heights when it seeks other grant funding down the line. In addition, he took issue with Out of the Box Ventures not having a representative at the meeting.

He also said Out of the Box Ventures made a mistake when it didn't buy the Sears property when it acquired the mall in December 2019.

" at was stupid," Radtke said. " en what happened? Mario Kiezi came in and acquired Sears.

Someone got between them and their deal, and now they're begging us to bail them out of the stupidity that they brought on themselves. It's very frustrating. I'm not a multimillionaire. I'm just a lowly city councilman in Sterling Heights. But I could see that was going to be an impediment, even before I got elected. I don't know how these multimillionaires from Miami can't see the impediments that I've seen."

An email was sent to Out of the Box Ventures seeking comment.  Vanderpool said April 3 that the redevelopment of Lakeside would result in a large property tax revenue boost to the city.

"At its peak a number of years ago Lakeside Mall generated $1.4

Apartment development would pay homage to late Joel Landy

A development team is proposing a new $66 million apartment building in Detroit's Midtown that would pay homage to the late eccentric developer who used to own the land on which it would be built.

The Landy, envisioned for property at Woodward Avenue and Charlotte Street, would have 154 units plus retail and two floors of parking in a new seven-story building that would also incorporate a portion of an existing pre-World War I era building into its footprint.

e project’s namesake is the late Joel Landy, one of Detroit’s more idiosyncratic landlords and real estate developers. He died in summer 2020. Landy — who often told people how he bought his Detroit house for $4,600 and, along with it, a trove of antiques inside — was also well known for his vast collections of things ranging from old cars to model trains. He was

featured in e History Channel's "American Pickers" show in 2011.

Proposed for several parcels Landy owned prior to his death, the development would start construction in spring 2025 and wrap up by the end of 2027, according to a plan slated for Brown eld Redevelopment Authority board consideration April 8. e project is seeking about $18.32 million in brown eld reimbursements.

"Joel Landy dedicated his life to stitching together Detroit’s urban fabric and creating beautiful places for people to live," developer George Roberts told Crain's. "As we began developing this new community, there was no question in our minds — it should be named for Joel. Joel’s legacy and his good name should be a permanent xture on Woodward Avenue for many generations to come."

e development team — a joint venture between entities controlled by Roberts and Adam Kessler of Detroit-based Civic Companies and Kevin Kovachev-

ich of Detroit-based District Capital — says in the plan that 20% of the units would be reserved for people making between 55% and 80% of the Area Median Income.

AMI for two people is $75,800 per year and $94,700 for a four-person household in Wayne County. The 55 percent of AMI is $41,690 for a two-person household and $52,085 for a fourperson household, while 80% is $60,640 and $75,760, respectively. The use of AMI to determine housing affordability in Detroit is often criticized because the federal metric factors in higher suburban income levels, thereby skewing what is considered affordable to Detroit residents.

SmithGroup is the project architect. A general contractor has not been selected, Kovachevich said. District Capital is arranging the debt and equity. Peak Management would be property manager.  e site includes ve vacant parcels totaling just less than 1.1 acres at 48 Charlotte St., 3117

million a year in property taxes," Vanderpool said in an email. "It now is generating less than $500,000 and still declining. After development, the Lakeside Town Center is estimated to generate $17.5 million in annual property tax revenue. at is a signi cant return on the state’s grant of $3 million. e state and city views this as a prudent investment in what will be one of the largest private mixed use developments in the city’s history."

When it was announced in the fall 2022, the proposed redevelopment would include 2,800 or so housing units, with about 750 for seniors, plus retail, o ce and hotel uses.

Much of the mall is expected to

be torn down. Vanderpool said April 3 that demolition is anticipated to begin next year, with construction anticipated to start in 2026.

In addition to the grant dollars, Out of the Box Ventures is also looking for the city to issue a $45 million public bond for infrastructure and other improvements as part of the project. e bond would be paid back with revenue generated by increased property values at the site.

Out of the Box picked up Lakeside for $26.5 million after Chicagobased General Growth Properties defaulted on a $144 million loan in 2016 and it went to special servicer C-III Capital Partners LLC, based in New York.

Woodward Ave. and 3129 Woodward Ave., and the Walker Building at 3139 Woodward Ave.. e building sits on about 0.203 acres, according to city land records. e brown eld plan says about 2,500 square feet of the 33,500-squarefoot early-1900s building would be folded into the project.

In addition to the brown eldnancing, other public funding for the project could include Neighborhood Enterprise Zone, or NEZ, tax abatements; Commercial Rehabilitation Act abatements; and possibly an abatement under the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation

Act, commonly known as OPRA. About two years after Landy died, his portfolio was put up for sale, with the proceeds to fund a foundation bene ting automotive education and historic preservation, a pair of causes that were dear to Landy's heart.  Later, a lawsuit threw a wrench into process, the Detroit Free Press reported. Ultimately, an entity called Landy Land LLC — the Roberts/Kessler/Kovachevich JV — purchased the portfolio for what court documents cited by the Free Press said was just more than $17 million.

Kirk Pinho Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights is owned by Miami-based Out of the Box Ventures LLC. COSTAR GROUP

Kirk Pinho

A rendering shows the proposed 154-unit apartment development at Woodward Avenue and Charlotte Street in Detroit. SMITHGROUP

Looking to the future.

Sustainable energy delivery isn’t just important. It’s vital. That’s why we work hard every day to conduct ourselves in a socially responsible and ethical manner. We protect the environment and the safety of people. And we respect and support the communities and cultures with which we work. Sustainability is core to how we do business. And it’s the key to a brighter future. Tomorrow is on.

Not another mandate on overburdened small businesses

Saving and investing for retirement is smart. Everyone should do it. Nobody would argue otherwise.

But Lansing Democrats are now pursuing an approach to encouraging retirement savings that overreaches well beyond its good intentions.

New legislation being considered in the Capitol would create a state-run retirement plan akin to an IRA, offering individual retirement accounts targeted at employees of small businesses at no cost to the employers.

Sounds good, but there’s a lot of fine print. And it contains a lot not to like. e legislation also would entail the creation of yet another new bureaucracy for employers to contend with, put the government in a business that is already well-served by the private sector, and burden employers, especially small ones, with an unacceptable new mandate to participate.

It would also affect all businesses, even the tiniest. Any company with one or more employee would be obligated to enroll workers if it doesn’t already offer a retirement plan. Imagine a plumber adding that responsibility, just to hire a part-time assistant for the first time. Or the paperwork burden added at a restaurant with high-turnover part-time employees.

The current legislation wouldn’t require employers to contribute to the retirement accounts, but we have to wonder if there isn’t a slippery slope to a mandate for that as well, once a government retirement system is created.

We’re not at all convinced that there is anything to be gained by creating state-

COMMENTARY

sponsored retirement savings accounts. Any person can walk to the nearest bank, and they’ll be happy to help you open an

IRA similar to what the state proposes to run.

Even for employers, there are dozens of

investment managers that have decades of experience in running employer-based retirement plans e ciently and e ectively.

One simple example: Running a 401(k) plan with the money-management giant Fidelity Investments costs businesses a flat $1,200 service fee per year, with small fees paid annually by employees for each account.

It would be quite a task for a government-created system to measure up to what companies like Fidelity or Vanguard or State Street or any of dozens of other companies can do.

Michigan’s track record in creating software platforms doesn’t exactly give us confidence, either. Ask anyone who has borne the brunt of the fallout from failures in Michigan’s unemployment insurance system, which have caused pain for both employers and employees.

Easing the path for small businesses to help their employees save for retirement is a laudable and necessary goal. Nobody seriously thinks that Social Security is enough in this day and age, nor was it ever intended to be. And we obviously support businesses creating robust retirement plans for their workers, if they can afford to do so. It’s just smart business to take care of your people so they take care of business.

But is creating yet another bureaucracy and set of government mandates and duplicating services that are already readily available really the way to achieve it? Lawmakers should think hard before going down that path. Even if it’s pursued, it needs to be voluntary for employers to participate.

Why quality journalism is worth paying for

If you’re reading this, chances are good that you or someone you know paid for a subscription to Crain’s. ank you.

I would like to take a moment to state why I believe it was money well spent.

First, our goal is to serve you. Our reporters and editors at Crain’s are deeply committed to providing you with accurate, fair and contextual stories and information every day that, we hope, will help you make better decisions and stay more connected.

often hear from readers who say the uniquely local stories they nd in Crain’s give them a leg up on the competition and help connect them with their peers. In short, the information helps them succeed.

Whether it’s a scoop about an important real-estate transaction, a story about a high-pro le personnel move or a deeply reported enterprise piece that helps you better understand the community, our aim is to keep you better informed. We have the privilege of learning something new and then sharing it with you.

Now, of course, that information needs to be something you nd valuable. We

Whether it’s meeting a CEO in one of our Q&A conversations, perusing lists in our data center, learning about the bankruptcy or acquisition of a regional supplier, or reading about a new restaurant opening up, Crain’s provides both business intelligence and helps bring together a community of leaders with a shared set of facts and information.

I like to say that it is up to our team to prove our relevance to you each day. It starts with credible, veri able information but the stories and information also need to resonate with you, whether they’re tied to your industry or a geographic area of interest, such as downtown Detroit, Oakland County or West Michigan.

Truly, without our credibility, we have nothing. If you don’t believe us, we’re done. at’s why we aim to shoot straight, every time, with every story.

You’re smart. You don’t need us to tell you what to think. We need to tell you what we know. Accurately. Fairly. With context.

While our goal is to serve you, the work comes with a cost. Producing quality journalism takes time, talent and money, sometimes for travel or for obtaining documents through public-records searches or databases that charge fees. e act of reporting — digging through information, nding and talking with the right sources — is an inherently laborious process that requires time to be done right.

don’t cover all of our costs. We have other revenue streams, such as advertising, to help o set the di erence. But subscriptions are a vital nancial support and, I’d argue, they make an important statement about our relationship with you, our readers.

When you sign up for a subscription, you’re declaring the value we’re o ering is worth your hard-earned money while supporting independent journalism that serves you directly.

Our pledge is to provide unique, relevant, well-crafted stories and deeply reported information.

Subscriptions are on my mind recently as we expand our subscription plan to include both print and digital platforms of Crain’s Grand Rapids Business, part of our evolution in the West Michigan market nearly a year after launching our brand there.

As with most media outlets, subscriptions

In exchange, our pledge is to provide unique, relevant, well-crafted stories and deeply reported information that helps you better navigate each day. You can let me know how we’re doing by emailing me at mickey.ciokajlo@crain.com.  ank you for reading and supporting Crain’s.

JOSHUA RODRIGUEZ/UNSPLASH

Mickey Ciokajlo is executive editor of Crain’s Detroit Business and Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

UWM prevails in ‘All In’ monopoly suit

A second federal judge in two months has determined that United Wholesale Mortgage’s socalled “All In” ultimatum does not make for a monopoly.

yB Nick Manes plausibly suggest that UWM has come close to achieving monopoly power in the relevant market,” noting the company, at the time of the complaint, held 11% overall market share in the mortgage industry and 38% market share within the wholesale sector.

In an opinion released March 29, Judge Laurie Michelson with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ordered that a counter-lawsuit brought by a California mortgage broker against the Pontiac-based home lending giant be dismissed, as the evidence brought does not show UWM as having monopoly power in the mortgage sector.

e March 29 opinion by Michelson in the case brought by the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based America’s Moneyline Inc. comes less than two months after a Florida judge recommended dismissal of a nearly identical case brought by e O’Kavage Group LLC.

e Florida judge “issued a thorough and well reasoned Report and Recommendation concluding that UWM’s motion should be granted and the Florida suit dismissed,” Michelson’s order reads.

“This is exactly what we expected and know it’s the right decision based on the law.”

Nicole Roberts, UWM spokeswoman

“ e Court agrees with and adopts that ruling, which applies Supreme Court precedent and is consistent with Sixth Circuit precedent, and thus will grant UWM’s motion (for dismissal).”

An attorney for America’s Moneyline did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

“We are not surprised with the decision from the Federal court,” UWM spokeswoman Nicole Roberts wrote in a statement to Crain’s. “ is is exactly what we expected and know it’s the right decision based on the law and the contracts that were signed.”

UWM initially sued America’s Moneyline in early 2022, alleging the brokerage was in violation of the “All In” ultimatum, which said that brokers who worked with UWM could not send mortgage loans to Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage LLC or Fairway Independent Mortgage in Wisconsin. e California broker countersued about one year later, in what Michelson wrote amounted to a “materially identical countercomplaint” to the lawsuit brought by e O’Kavage Group.

e central thesis of the two lawsuits was that UWM was attempting to form a monopoly within the wholesale mortgage lending space.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Lothman Lambert, in her dismissal recommendation in early February in the O’Kavage case, wrote that the allegations brought by O’Kavage attorneys “(do) not

Michelson noted that Lambert’s recommendation in Florida has yet to be a rmed by the court, and that “If her ndings were to be reversed, this Court would consider those rulings and whether they merit reconsideration of this one.”

TOMORROW’S LEADERS START HERE.

At Wayne State University, student success means more than earning a degree: It means a commitment to making sure our graduates are prepared for a lifetime of success, beginning with their first job and through a long, prosperous career. With every degree, we focus on learning that goes beyond the classroom, from internships to hands-on projects, from community service to global experiences, from clinical work to impactful research and local volunteer opportunities. We do this better than other universities because of our outstanding faculty, top-tier research status, and close connections to neighboring businesses and industry titans. And it’s just one reason why, for 156 years, we’ve turned our students into graduates — and our graduates into leaders.

UWM Chairman and CEO Mat Ishbia speaks at a company rally in Pontiac in May 2023. UWM VIA TWITTER

Michigan universities change up MBA programs to meet demand

Michigan universities are giving MBA students more options while enrollment in the graduate business programs continues to be down from pre-pandemic numbers for many schools.

In general, fewer people are opting into master of business administration programs, given the current strong job market, declines in international students and decreased employer sponsorship of MBA programs for employees among other factors, business school leaders said.

e popularity of online MBA programs, however, is on the rise in Michigan, aligning with national trends.

e value of an MBA is not in decline, but the degree is undergoing the kind of change demanded by learners, businesses and a digital society, said Leah McBride, public relations manager of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Business schools have taken or are taking their MBAs online and are looking for ways to di erentiate them.

Enrollment

Graduate management educa-

tion applications for 2023-24 dipped by about 5% globally, the Graduate Management Admission Council said in its Application Trends Survey-2023 Summary Report, which included responses from 900 or more institutions.

MBA and other business master’s programs reported higher application growth rates among the more exible online, hybrid, evening and weekend programs compared to full-time in-person programs, GMAC said, while more selective and traditional in-person programs were the most likely to report declines.

“Applicants seeking out topranked programs may not necessarily be looking for the same flexibility as other (graduate management education) candidates, but the average candidate appears to be more willing to sacrifice prestige for flexibility,” it said in the report.

Michigan business schools have seen bumps in MBA enrollment over the past year or two, but most that talked with Crain’s said total enrollment in the programs has yet to hit pre-pandemic enrollment levels.

Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Grand Valley State University, Eastern Michigan University and the University of

What’s new in business grad programs

Colleges

Eastern Michigan University New executive MBA program at a more affordable price point and a hybrid master of science in management of innovation and strategy degree

Grand Valley State University

Michigan State University

Master’s of management for fall 2025 as option for new bachelor’s degree graduates with little or no work experience

Graduate certi cate in supply chain management

Walsh College Arti cial intelligence strategy concentration with STEM MBA

Wayne State University

Master of science in organizational leadership program

Detroit Mercy reported lower total MBA enrollment for 2023-24 vs. 2019-20.

MSU this year enrolled a total of 349 students across its MBA programs, vs. 360 in 2019, according to numbers provided by the East Lansing-based university. Its Broad College of Business continues to see relatively steady numbers in its full-time and executive MBA programs, but an increasing number of students are opting for the hybrid option for an EMBA, Cheri DeClercq, assistant dean of Broad College of Business, said in an email.

Detroit-based Wayne State University’s fall 2023 MBA enrollment of about 760 students trailed the 1,300 or so students it had in the program pre-pandemic, said Virginia Franke Kleist, dean of the Mike Ilitch School of Business. Enrollment for the current winter semester, however, is up 6%, thanks to e orts to turn around the program.

A total of 145 students were enrolled in MBA tracks at EMU for fall 2023, up slightly from a year earlier, but still behind the 190 enrolled in fall 2019, according to data provided by the Ypsilantibased university.

A national trend playing out in local markets is the top MBA providers at large institutions captur-

An online faculty lecture from the Convatec Digital Learning Studio at the University of Michigan. The extended reality studio creates a 3D environment through technology similar to that used in immersive video games. | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

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Michigan State University Executive MBA classroom. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

ing a larger percentage of MBA candidates, said Ken Lord, dean of the EMU College of Business.

For example, the University of Michigan saw enrollment across its MBA programs rise to 1,579 this year from 1,445 in 2019. ere were 777 rst-year MBA students enrolled this year, up from 735 last year and 761 ve years ago. Nearly half are enrolled in the full-time, in-person MBA program, but that number is still down from before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020.

Enrollment in UM’s full-time, executive, weekend and global MBA programs trailed pre-pandemic numbers, according to numbers provided by the university. But total online MBA enrollment grew to 374 this year from 72 in 2019-20, the year it launched.

Applications for the full-time and online MBA programs for fall 2024 are up 38%, year over year, while UM’s other MBA programs are seeing steady demand, said S. Sriram, associate dean for graduate programs at UM.

Online and hybrid programs

Demand for more convenient online programs that allow students to continue working jobs

while they pursue an MBA or other graduate business degrees and to pause, when needed, has been increasing nationally for the past couple of years, according to Inside Higher Education. More full-time MBA students were enrolled in online programs than on-campus ones during the 2020–21 academic year, it reported in 2022, citing data from the Association to Advance Collegiate Business Schools, the leading business school accreditation agency.

Like other colleges and universities, MSU is seeing strong demand for online courses within its Executive MBA Flex track. e hybrid format launched in 2020 now represents 36% of the students in MSU’s EMBA program, DeClercq said.

“We also experience somewhat of a counter-trend, whereby students are selecting these programs because they are not largely online/ part time. at said, we recognize that there is increased interest in online business degree programs and most of the new graduate programs that we’ve started in the last few years have a large online component in recognition of that trend,” DeClercq said.

Adding options

If they didn’t have an online or hybrid MBA program option already, Michigan business schools are adding them.

Wayne State rolled out a fully online MBA last fall, with in-state pric-

ing for out-of-state students. It also reduced the number of credit hours in the MBA program to 36 from 48, bringing the program to a year and a half in length and cutting the cost, Kleist said.

“Now we can have students from Alabama where before, we were regionally constrained,” Kleist said.

Eastern is launching a hybrid master’s of science in management of innovation and strategy degree program this fall. It will be delivered by EMU faculty and Detroit-area professionals, in part, over face-toface sessions at TechTown in Detroit, Lord said.

Is in-person still needed?

e debate over whether MBA

courses need in-person interaction is on.

Grand Valley and UM, which have o ered an online MBA since 2018 and 2019, respectively, o er them in hybrid formats pairing online courses with in-person participation and immersion.

“We want students to build connections with each other because that’s one of the reasons why working professionals who have like seven, eight years experience want to come and do an MBA. They want to meet other people and form connections that can help them in their lifelong career,” UM’s Sriram said.

Left: Walsh College graduates. Right: The Future of Venture Capital in Detroit and Southeast Michigan Conference event in February, hosted by the Mike Ilitch School of Business’ Entrepreneurship and Innovation program at Wayne State University and the Michigan Venture Capital Association PHOTOS BY WALSH COLLEGE AND WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

EDUCATION

GVSU program aims to expand adult education

A new Grand Valley State University initiative aims to make post-secondary education more accessible for adults in Michigan.

e university’s new Omni learning model is designed to create exibility for adult learners by combining online learning with in-person instruction at regional GVSU campuses or locations in Holland, Traverse City, Jackson, Battle Creek and Detroit.

e idea is to boost the career potential for the 2.5 million Michigan adults who don’t have a post-secondary degree or credential, according to GVSU o cials. Enrollment is scheduled to begin this spring.

GVSU President Philomena Mantella told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business that the idea behind the program surfaced around the time she joined Grand Valley in 2019. e university has been working to put the pieces in place over the last few years, and is now positioned to grow GVSU’s pres-

MBA

From Page 8

GVSU’s Seidman College of Business has a similar perspective.

“We feel that having face-to-face interaction with our faculty and fellow MBA students is a strength of the program,” Assistant Dean Karen Ruedinger said in an emailed statement.

Troy-based Walsh College and Wayne State’s Ilitch School of Business, however, are o ering online MBAs that don’t require students to set foot on campus.

Walsh did not share enrollment numbers, but Dave Schippers, chief academic o cer and dean of academics, said it has seen a higher percentage of online MBA enrollments over the past year or two for its program, which is delivered over Zoom.

About three-quarters of MBA applicants to the private college expect to be able to take courses online, he said. Given that, he doesn’t believe programs that require MBA candidates to be on campus will last.

“ ings have continued to escalate that people want, in essence, fully online programs so they can do it at their convenience,” Schippers said. “You can still build ties, you can still have very substantive interactions with people and still make connections even though it’s in an online format.”

Adding concentrations

e growing popularity of online MBA programs is spurring universities to make technology investments that elevate the online course experience. Wayne State, for example, invested in certi cation of its online faculty and purchased

ence outside of West Michigan.

“Understanding our program assets, understanding our structures, getting through the pandemic — all of that got us to a place of launching GVSU Omni, which in fact takes our good work that’s done right now today with adult learners and expands and extends that to thousands more,” Mantella said.

Kara Van Dam, who joined the university’s leadership team in 2021 and previously served as

The cost of an MBA

GVSU’s vice provost for graduate and lifetime learning, will lead the new Omni initiative.

Van Dam has more than two decades of experience in adult post-secondary education from the University of Maryland Global Campus and Kaplan University (now Purdue Global).

“We know that post-secondary education is the surest path out of poverty … and we know that 71 out of our 83 counties (in Michigan) don’t have a four-year public

Many business schools offer the option of an executive MBA, which is geared toward current versus aspiring executives and are often more exible or concentrated schedules. Here are some costs around Michigan:

Eastern Michigan University MBA Executive MBA

Grand Valley State University

Michigan State University

of Michigan

Hybrid/fully online Hybrid, launching in fall 2024

MBA

MBA

University of Detroit Mercy

MBA (in-state)

MBA (out-of-state) Online MBA, (in-state)

MBA, (out-of-state) Weekend MBA (in-state) Weekend MBA (out-of-state)

MBA (in-state)

*Except international students outside of North America

Source: Schools

a Lightboard, a suspended pane of glass with embedded LED lights that enables instructors to create video lectures and directly interact with handwritten notes and diagrams while facing the camera.

At UM, online faculty lecture from the Convatec Digital Learning Studio on its Ann Arbor campus. e extended reality studio creates

institution,” Van Dam said. “Part of what we’re trying to do is close that gap and bring the education to those learners across the state.”

e Omni model allows learners to choose how they pursue their education with options for fully online, hybrid or in-person from various regional campuses or partner locations across the state.

Van Dam said GVSU is intentionally seeking partners and community leaders in each region to help understand the unique demographics and labor market needs and tailor Omni o erings accordingly. One such regional partner is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which is supporting the Omni initiative at GVSU’s Battle Creek campus.

“ e needs of Michigan’s workforce demand bold solutions,” La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, said in a statement. “Opportunities like these are crucial to move our communities toward becoming more equitable places of opportunity, and also

two. UM also began o ering an environment, social and governance MBA concentration last year, and Walsh College added an arti cial intelligence strategy concentration to its STEM MBA program.

MSU is complementing its MBA programs with specialized master of science programs including what it says is a rst-of-it-kind MS in customer experience management, a forthcoming graduate certi cate in supply chain management and its marketing research and analytics program along with other programs delivered via online, on-site and hybrid modalities, Associate Dean Richard Saouma said in an emailed statement.

“While other universities are winding down their traditional two-year MBA programs, the Broad MBA has accelerated careers and molded exemplary leaders for now 60 years straight,” he said. “ e transformation that takes place in our twoyear MBA programs changes the lives of our graduates and their families, and we have every intention of staying the course.”

Trimming programs

help parents better support their children so they can thrive.”

Going forward, GVSU will explore ways to expand the regional network across Michigan “and maybe beyond,” Van Dam said. e university also is looking for additional investors as well as more state support to help move toward more competency-based education based on adult learners’ capabilities.

GVSU already has started recruiting for noncredit programs with Omni and will expand to more degree programs this fall.

Van Dam noted that Omni is not meant to compete with the university’s more traditional residential model but is intentional about removing barriers of access for students who aren’t completing a degree directly after high school.

“ is is really going to serve students who haven’t been able to take advantage of a Grand Valley education because of some of their other life circumstances that have nothing to do with their capability to learn,” she said.

rolled in the STEM-focused MBA. Others dropping their programs include Arizona State University’s underbird School of Global Management, the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, Wake Forest University School of Business, Virginia Tech, Simmons College and University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business.

Interest in MBA and business education is not going away, UM’s Sriran said. What might change is whether applicants want to quit their jobs and pursue an MBA full time or keep working and pursue an MBA at the same time.

MBAs are still a very sought-after degree because they help graduates grow within an organization faster, move to new companies and switch careers and continue to provide one of the highest returns on investment of any degree, he said.

“Things have continued to escalate that people want, in essence, fully online programs so they can do it at their convenience.”

Dave Schippers, Walsh College chief academic of cer and dean of academics

Even before pandemic pressures on enrollment, several business schools said they would end their traditional two-year MBA programs.

a three-dimensional environment through graphics technology similar to that used in immersive video games.

Institutions are also adding new concentrations and specializations to meet evolving business needs and keep MBAs relevant. UM and WSU have added business analytics programs over the last year or

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business said in 2022 that it would close its MBA program in 2024 as it shifted to a one-year MBA with a STEM focus beginning with the fall 2023 class, according to a Poets and Quants report. And Purdue University in Indiana did not admit any new residential graduate students for its MBA program for the 2023-24 school year except those who en-

“No matter the idiosyncratic trends in how MBAs are viewed, an MBA is always of value to the graduate student who invests their time and resources into these programs,” said Kleist at Wayne State. e “change in one’s analytical lens is not necessarily something that shows up in that next promotion or change in job title, but in a lifetime of being trained to think in ways that are rigorous, unbiased, global, strategic, ethical and out-of-the-box.”

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GVSU’s downtown Grand Rapids campus includes the L.V. Eberhard Center. KATE CARLSON

Supporting Detroit’s rebound through a commitment to community engagement

Over the last 25 years since MGM Grand Detroit opened its doors, both the casino and the city have changed drastically. Dee Dee Taggart, who has worked at MGM Grand Detroit in various roles since 1999, has watched her hometown rebound through the years as a result of ongoing business growth and community engagement. Now, as the company and Taggart both prepare to celebrate their 25th anniversary, they’re committing to the future by striving to make a lasting difference for their employees and their surrounding communities.

For insight into Detroit’s exciting revival and the role that MGM Grand Detroit plays in the city’s growth, Crain’s Content Studio recently spoke with Taggart, who’s now director of workforce management at MGM Grand Detroit.

DEE DEE TAGGART Director of Workforce Management and Community Affairs MGM Grand Detroit

Dee Dee Taggart is the Director of Workforce Management and Community Affairs for MGM Grand Detroit. She is responsible for planning, directing and overseeing the property’s labor staff in all departments while providing exceptional guest service. She oversees all aspects of community affairs for the property including charitable sponsorships, philanthropy, strategic planning, and involvement with outreach programs.

Taggart joined the MGM Grand family in 1999 as a Financial Analyst. She was promoted to General Ledger Accounting Manager in August 2000, Financial Controller in May 2003 and Director of Public Affairs in December 2006.

She has overseen numerous MGM Grand Detroit community and team member programs. She chairs the MGM Resorts Foundation for Detroit and serves as a permanent executive member of MGM Grand Detroit CSR Council for Community Engagement & Philanthropy.

Taggart has participated with the MGM Resorts International development team to establish and build community relations that contributed to the company receiving a license to build a $900 million gaming/entertainment resort in the State of Maryland and the State of Massachusetts. She also serves on numerous boards and nonpro t planning committees in Michigan.

Why is community engagement critical for any business, particularly a brand like MGM Grand?

TAGGART: At MGM Grand Detroit, we’re an extension of a global leader in hospitality and entertainment, and our community here in Detroit has placed their trust in us to deliver on that brand. So, we’ve been intentional about building and maintaining strong relationships — not just here within Detroit, but across the state of Michigan. We’re led by our corporate social responsibility brand, “Focused on what matters,” which is re ected in our local impact. It’s about being a good neighbor — not just being involved, but really being engaged with the community.

How has MGM Grand contributed to Detroit’s economic rebound?

TAGGART: We were one of the initial leaders investing in Detroit 25 years ago. Since then, we’ve increased our investments by providing more jobs and offering more amenities and entertainment that attract visitors to Detroit. Our partnerships with local vendors, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, Detroit-based businesses and nonpro t organizations have also played a role. Plus, MGM Grand Detroit is one of the largest tax contributors within the city of Detroit. Our gaming taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes and real estate taxes have all supported the city’s rebound.

How have you seen the city of Detroit grow and ourish over the last 25 years?

TAGGART: I’m proud to be from Detroit, and I’m more than excited about the city’s growth. The real testimony comes from our guests and visitors who come to Detroit to experience what the city has to offer, and we’re excited to be a part of that. The other testimony is when family and friends who have left the city return and say, “Oh my goodness, I didn’t know all this was going on!” Detroit has really grown, and it’s not just one person or one business.

What are some ways that MGM Grand is giving back to the community?

TAGGART: We have different ways in which we support the community. These include corporate sponsorships that support the arts and culture, education and youth development, sustainability, hunger and other initiatives. For example, we have our fall coat harvest to support basic needs in our community. We realized that a lot of students weren’t going to school because they didn’t have a warm coat. So, we’ve been supporting this program in partnership with schools throughout Metro Detroit, and since the inception, we’ve donated over 46,000 coats, hats and gloves to students.

Another pillar we have for giving back is our MGM Resorts Foundation. This is our employee workplace giving program, which allows our workers to fundraise and donate to causes that they’re passionate about. Since the inception, employees have fundraised and donated over $4.3 million — and that’s over and above what the company does in corporate sponsorships.

We’re passionate about giving back, so when we go out to volunteer — which is another one of our pillars — employees line up to pack food or plant trees. That’s why we brand it, “Focused on what matters,” because everybody’s laser-focused on giving back to the community.

What’s your outlook for business growth in Detroit and speci cally at MGM Grand Detroit?

TAGGART: As we continue to provide great guest service, amazing products and amenities, that’s going to attract people to Detroit and to MGM Grand Detroit. I see nothing but growth ahead.

As we think back on the 25 years that MGM Grand Detroit has been in this community, we’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing people in the community. We have sustained businesses and families here through the generations, so

we’re looking forward to another 25 years here.

How have DEI initiatives factored into the casino’s role in building the community?

TAGGART: At MGM Grand Detroit, we’re committed to the value of representing all individuals. Whether that’s through hiring, partnering with diverse business vendors, or supporting employee network groups for women, veterans and other groups, we’ve really embedded diversity into our culture here.

What’s the best advice you’d share with other business leaders in Detroit?

TAGGART: Continue to collaborate. As a city on the rebound, we didn’t get here by ourselves. It took different leaders, different perspectives, diverse relationships and organizations. So, continue to collaborate and keep building those diverse relationships.

Ilitch leads charge to bring women’s hockey to UM

e University of Michigan took the rst step toward addressing a major in-state void on March 28 by launching a feasibility study to consider establishing a women’s varsity hockey program.

e study has the backing of school President Santa Ono, and was brought forward at a Michigan regents’ meeting by member Denise Ilitch, the daughter of Detroit Red Wings owner Marian Ilitch.

e push to launch a varsity program — though costly and likely to involve the school having to build a second rink facility — was prompted by a growing call for the state’s top institutions to address the absence of a Division I program in Michigan, which forces young women to leave the state to pursue the sport beyond high school.

“Other colleges are creating women’s hockey teams and we’re losing great talent in Michigan. We’re a Big Ten school. ere’s no reason why our women can’t be on the ice,” Ilitch told e Associated Press by phone. “We need to step up as an institution now and be a leader here for the state of Michigan. ere’s a desire. ere’s an appetite here for it. And we need to meet the need.”

Michigan has had a club-level women’s hockey team since the mid-1990s. Previously, Detroit-based Wayne State University was the only state school to feature a varsity women’s hockey program before it was disbanded in 2011.

Ilitch — among Crain’s 100 Most In uential Women in 2021 — outlined to the regents how the popularity of the Red Wings have led to Detroit being labeled “Hockeytown,” while Michigan lags behind other states including New York with 10 women’s varsity programs, Massachusetts with eight and Minnesota with six. She also

noted how Michigan-born Kristen Simms led women’s college hockey players in scoring this season while playing for Wisconsin. “ ere is currently a broken cycle of elite women’s hockey players leaving our state,” Ilitch said. “Equality is not just about numbers. It is about respect. Women belong on the same ice as men.”

Ilitch said she wanted to speak up based on her family’s history in supporting hockey, including the Little Caesars youth program that caters to boys and girls.

Ilitch was also inspired by the newly launched Professional Women’s Hockey League playing a neutral site game at the Red Wings home that drew a crowd of 13,700 last month. e turnout rmly placed Detroit on the map for a potential PWHL expansion team, and the game prompted PWHL players to hope it spurs Michigan colleges to consider launching varsity teams.

PWHL Minnesota defenseman Mellissa Channell, who is from Michigan and coached Simms in the Little Caesars program, praised Ilitch for her support.

“To have somebody with that caliber of name recognize it and bring it to the attention of the university and all the individuals on that board, I think is a huge step in the right direction,” Channell said. “We can only do so much and get so much exposure, but when somebody with a big name like that advocates for you, I think it de nitely helps.”

Cost will be an issue, with one challenge being infrastructure.

e Wolverine men play at the 101-year-old Yost Arena, and there’s no room to expand the venue to accommodate a woman’s varsity team due to the building’s con guration.

Michigan’s club team has an operating budget of $150,000$200,000, while players are also required to pay a $3,000 annual fee.

Regent Paul Brown backed Ilitch in saying: “Women’s ice hockey is long overdue and should be the next sport to achieve varsity status.”

Associated Press reporter Larry Lage contributed to this report.

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The Professional Women’s Hockey League saw a record crowd of 13,700 when it played at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit last month. | PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE VIA FACEBOOK

Denise Ilitch

Final UM Center for Innovation designs OK’d

e University of Michigan board of regents on March 28 approved the nal schematic design for the six-story research and education center it is building in downtown Detroit.

In a related move, the board also authorized the university to proceed with construction of the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, provided bids are within the project’s $250 million budget.

e votes were unanimous, with Regent Denise Ilitch abstaining. Ilitch is a member of the Ilitch family whose real estate development business Olympia Development of Michigan LLC donated 4 acres of property for the project.

e university broke ground in December for the 200,000-squarefoot center. e property is within the Ilitch’s District Detroit area and bounded by Cass and Grand River avenues and West Columbia and Elizabeth streets.

UM is paying the Ilitches $9.57 million for a nearby, 1.18-acre parcel of land as the site for a student parking structure.

A $100 million donation from real estate mogul Stephen Ross and a $100 million earmark from the state are supporting the UMCI project. e university is raising the remaining $50 million to round out funding.

e center is set to open in spring 2027 as the rst of three buildings planned for the site, along with incubator space and a residential building. It will serve as a research, education and entrepreneurship center to develop talent and spur job creation and inclusive economic growth. Programs will include master’s degree and workforce development programs that will focus on technology and innovation.

“UMCI will bring together the best of the University of Michigan to catalyze economic development in the city of Detroit,” Pro-

vost Laurie McCauley said. “It will house a robust portfolio of academic programs, including new

Siena Heights expands tuition-free guarantee to all eligible students

Siena Heights University in Adrian is expanding its tuition-free guarantee to all eligible students in Michigan.

Launched in January, the “Brain Gain Promise” was initially o ered only to students in Lenawee County. Beginning this fall with the 2024-25 academic year, the Catholic university is extending it to all eligible Michigan high school graduates.

“Siena Heights University prides itself on being a good community partner. It is part of our commitment as an institution based on the tradition and heritage of the Adrian Dominican Sisters,” President Douglas Palmer said in a re-

cent address to the campus community. “We know that Michigan families are hurting, and we want to provide an opportunity to get an enriching college education while being nancially feasible.”

To be eligible for the full tuition discount, after all federal and state aid has been applied, a student must be a Michigan resident with a total household income of less than $65,000. Students with a household income of $80,000 or less will pay less than $10,000 a year, including all eligible federal and state aid, the university said.

Students taking advantage of the tuition guarantee must maintain full-time enrollment status for the fall and winter semesters and complete the Free Application for

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by July

1.

Michigan Student Aid recently extended the FAFSA deadline to July 1, Palmer said in a release.

“We didn’t want incoming students to stress about the potential costs they might have, so a tuition-free guarantee provides them a clear answer as to what they’ll be paying,” he said.

Other independent colleges that have o cially declared “free tuition” as a result of the new Michigan Achievement Scholarship include Albion College, Baker University, Cleary University, Cornerstone University, Davenport University, University of Detroit Mercy and the University of Olivet, according to the Michigan Inde-

interdisciplinary graduate degrees and certi cate programs aligned to the skills of the future needed to

attract startups as well as major employers to the region.”

e center will also host community engagement activities for Detroit residents, including K-12 programs like the Michigan Engineering Zone, the Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project and others, McCauley said.

e rst two oors will house the public programs, a cafe and shared o ce space for the UM Detroit Center, admissions o ce, School of Environment and Sustainability Clinic and other departments, while levels three through six will provide space for multidisciplinary graduate research. ere will also be un nished space to provide exibility to tailor it to future needs, UM said. New York-based Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) is the architect on the project and Detroit-based Walbridge is general contractor.

pendent Colleges & Universities organization.

Under the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, those who qualify could receive:

◗ Up to $2,750 to attend a state community college, per year, up to three years; Up to $4,000 to attend a Michigan private college or university, per year, up to ve years;

Up to $5,500 to attend a state public university or enroll in a four-year degree program at a Michigan community college, per year, up to ve years.

Most of the state’s public universities o er tuition-free guarantees of some sort to quali ed, high-need students, said Dan Hurley, president of the Michigan Association of State Universities.

yB Sherri Welch

Renderings of the planned University of Michigan Center of Innovation that is to be built in downtown Detroit on property bounded by Cass and Grand River avenues and West Columbia and Elizabeth streets. | PHOTOS BY KOHN PEDERSEN FOX ASSOCIATES (KPF)

Sherri Welch

Siena Heights University’s main campus, above, is in Adrian. It has several satellite campuses, including one in South eld. WIKIMEDIA/DWIGHT BURDETTE

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For You. Not For Everyone.

Kettering equipped me to succeed faster than my peers at other schools. It tested me academically and pushed me to turn aspirations into tangible achievements.

VARUN RALLABANDI ‘25

MAJOR: Computer Science

CO-OP: Lab2Fab, Fremont, CA

ORGANIZATIONS: Vice President Student

Government, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Robot Honor Society

ACHIEVEMENTS: Two provisional patents

Not everyone splits their time between cutting-edge research in Michigan and high-level strategy sessions in California. Not everyone patents robotic solutions for household brands and pitches their ideas to CEOs — before they graduate.

But Bulldogs do — because their Kettering experience is like no other.

NOTABLE LEADERS IN SUSTAINABILITY

Reducing waste, eliminating coal use, building with sustainable products. The people featured on this list are leading the way. Among these Notable Leaders in Sustainability are top executives, nonpro t leaders, and entrepreneurs setting and reaching ambitious goals toward zero emissions, supporting environmental justice efforts and educational initiatives, and providing green solutions.

METHODOLOGY:

These Notable Leaders in Sustainability were nominated by their peers, colleagues, friends and family and selected by a team of Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments, track records of success and impact. Pro les are solely based on information in the nomination forms. Notables is managed by Leslie D. Green, assistant managing editor — special projects. For questions about Notables, please email detroitrecognitions@ crain.com.

Samuel Ashley

President, Cunningham-Limp

Scope of work: Samuel Ashley heads up strategy at Cunningham-Limp and directs its real estate development opportunities. Under his leadership, the company has generated $1.8 billion in construction revenue and managed over 500 projects.

Biggest professional win: After ascending from a construction eld worker to president and owner of the company, Ashley spearheaded the commercial construction of JST, a 16,000square-foot project in Farmington Hills built with natural materials from the surrounding 10-acre forest. The trees removed for the site were used in the construction and their saplings were replanted. The six JST buildings are powered with 100% clean energy.

Other contributions: Ashley also serves on the boards of Leaders for Kids and Real Estate Answer Forum.

Christy Clark

Director of environmental management and safety, DTE Energy

Scope of work: Christy Clark manages a team of environmental experts who ensure energy portfolio regulations are met. She also leads efforts to grow sustainability projects, including the installation of pollinator gardens at DTE’s solar sites.

Biggest professional win: Clark participated on a team that developed DTE’s strategy on business waste reduction, such as the reuse of meter modules. She is also a founding member of the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership, which aims to plant more than 75,000 trees in Detroit neighborhoods.

Other contributions: Clark serves on the board of governors at Cranbrook Institute of Science and is part of the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments’ “Growing our Resilience, Equity, and Economy with Nature” task force.

Scott Burr

Co-founder and CEO, Accelerated Filtration Inc.

Scope of work: Scott Burr founded Accelerated Filtration in 2020. He leads 13 employees and the design, building and marketing of the VeiRay X, a water ltration system that removes suspended solids and allows for water reuse.

Biggest professional win: The technology was not being widely used in the market. He obtained patents and technology from DuPont to build the system and address larger commercial needs. His team spent a year designing and engineering the system to make it scalable for water-dependent industries like agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and food processing, particularly in water-scarce regions.

Other contributions: Burr co-directs Royal Family Kids Camp in mid-Michigan with his wife. The camp supports children with family induced trauma.

Cory Connolly

Chief climate of cer, Of ce of Climate & Energy, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Scope of work: Cory Connolly coordinates the state’s response to climate change with other state departments and agencies and provides guidance on mitigation and resiliency strategies.

Biggest professional win: As leader of the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan, Connolly led a team that organized a conference with over 600 attendees, launched the MI Healthy Climate Corps, and secured millions of dollars in federal climate funding. The governor also appointed him to the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electri cation.

Other contributions: He founded and ran the Michigan Clean Energy Leaders Project, focused on building a more diverse and collaborative clean energy industry. He is active in the Environmental Entrepreneurs and Young Climate Leaders Network.

Knox Cameron

Director of renewable solutions, DTE Energy

Scope of work: Knox Cameron directs MiGreenPower, which has enrolled 5 million megawatt hours of clean energy annually, avoiding 3.9 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, or the greenhouse gas emissions from nearly 790,000 passenger cars.

Biggest professional win: Cameron led renewable energy transactions that will add 650 megawatts of solar capacity for Ford Motor Co. and 400 megawatts of solar capacity for Stellantis. The Ford installations will increase its solar capacity by 70% and allow its Michiganmade vehicles to be assembled with 100% carbon-free electricity. The added solar power at Stellantis will bring it closer to a 2038 goal of net-zero carbon emissions.

Other contributions: Cameron chairs the board of the Association of Energy Services Professionals.

Angela Cook

Head of ESH, sustainability & security, USA & Canada, Vitesco Technologies

Scope of work: Angela Cook manages the environmental safety and health protection team and leads Vitesco’s America’s Sustainability Core Team of cross-functional stakeholders, educating them on such things as carbon accounting and decarbonization strategy. The team tracks performance indicators, such as energy usage, business waste and recycling.

Biggest professional win: Cook implemented sustainability standards at two company locations and educated employees on the elimination of single-use plastics, pushing Vitesco toward its goal of a 2% waste reduction per year. Her efforts helped the company’s Auburn Hills site reduce energy consumption by 14.5% last year and its CO2 emissions by 25%.

Other contributions: Cook serves on the board of Women of Vitesco.

Denise Carlson

Vice president, North America Production Innovation Center; executive lead for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, Denso

Scope of work: Denise Carlson oversees Denso’s regional sustainability promotion team and its safety, health and environmental operations at almost 50 facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. She is also leading a program to optimize compressed air systems in Michigan to cut carbon.

Biggest professional win: Carlson led the development of Denso’s North America Energy Policy Statement, a set of principles to improve the company’s energy ef ciency and eco-friendliness. Principles include “continuous activity to reduce energy consumption and investing in energy reduction and clean energy technology.”

Other contributions: She serves on the boards of the Michigan Science Center and the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment.

Mike Csapo

General manager, Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County

Scope of work: Mike Csapo has run Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority, an intergovernmental solid waste authority, for 30 years. His team focuses on increasing recycling rates in Farmington, Farmington Hills, Milford, Milford Township, Novi, South Lyon, South eld, Walled Lake and Wixom.

Biggest professional win: Csapo’s team has consistently increased recycling in RRRASOC’s communities through drop-off centers, household hazardous waste collection events and public education. In 2022, the nine communities recycled over 15,000 tons and composted 19,000 tons.

Other contributions: Previously, he was the policy committee chair for the Michigan Recycling Coalition, lead author of a report detailing the state of recycling in Michigan and a Novi city planner.

Lois DeBacker

Managing director, Environment Program,

The Kresge Foundation

Scope of work: Lois DeBacker oversees a $20 million grantmaking portfolio and a team dedicated to helping cities address climate change and advance racial and economic justice.

Biggest professional win: In 2021, under DeBacker’s direction, the Kresge Foundation took the Climate Funders Justice Pledge to commit at least 30% of its grantmaking dollars to Black, Indigenous and other people of color-led organizations. She also led Kresge to increase funding for BIPOC-led organizations from 10% to 40%.

Other contributions: DeBacker serves on the External Advisory Board of the University of Michigan’s Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute and the advisory board to the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Carlton Dennard

Director of housekeeping and EVS, MGM Grand Detroit

Scope of work: Carlton Dennard manages a budget of more than $5 million and about 250 people who clean the MGM Grand Detroit’s 400-room hotel and 147,000 square feet of casino gaming space. Dennard also oversees its recycling programs.

Biggest professional win: He reduced the number of cleaning chemicals used from 27 to four and initiated the use of bulk hotel amenities to reduce plastic waste. Additionally, Dennard’s team recycled nearly 200,000 pounds of cardboard and more than 5,000 pounds of glass last year. He also started the Green Advantage program at the hotel, which cuts down on washing machine use.

Other contributions: Dennard leads the African American Employee Network Group at MGM Grand.

Dr. Jessica L. Thompson is the inaugural assistant vice president for sustainability at Northern Michigan University. She previously served as the director of the Sustainability Hub for Innovation and the Environment (SHINE) and as a full professor in the College of Business. She is also a trained facilitator and mediator and holds graduate certi cates in Adaptive Management of Environmental Systems (University of Utah) and Sustainable Business Strategy (Harvard University).

Her research is focused on team and organizational communication about complex ecological issues, such as climate change resilience and adaptation.

Thompson has published more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts in Science Communication, Environmental Communication, Society and Natural Resources, and Journal of Applied Communication Research, along with two books.

Tony Denton

Senior vice president and chief environmental, social and governance of cer, Michigan Medicine

Scope of work: Tony Denton communicates with the University of Michigan governance on issues of environmental sustainability, carbon neutrality, health equity improvement, and community bene t. He is also responsible for strategic facilities planning at UM health.

Biggest professional win: Denton led the $920 million D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion project that includes a plan for a Leadership in Energy Ef cient Design platinum designation. He is also executive sponsor for a $35 million relocation and expansion of a primary care center in Ypsilanti that will give public transportation users better access.

Other contributions: Denton serves on the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board 5.

Matt Elliott

President of Bank of America

Michigan; sustainability executive for global commercial banking and business banking, Bank of America

Scope of work: Matt Elliott oversees banking services to Michigan clients. And he and his sustainability team engage more than 40,000 clients on sustainability principles that will help grow their businesses.

Biggest professional win: Under his leadership, the team trained all Bank of America’s commercial banking and business banking managers on how to make a case for net-zero operations. Over 1,200 commercial relationship managers received training. He supported the bank’s $1.5 trillion sustainable nance commitment. As part of a sustainable development plan surrounding health, small business, workforce development and access to affordable housing, he led the bank’s commitment to economic mobility.

NOTABLE SPOTLIGHT with Jessica

Fostering a culture of sustainability throughout the community

Earlier this year, Northern Michigan University appointed Jessica Thompson, Ph.D., to a newly created role as assistant vice president of sustainability, focused on advancing the university’s widespread sustainability efforts. Now, she’s driving Northern’s vision to foster a “culture of sustainability” throughout the campus and surrounding community.

What are you doing to advance NMU’s sustainability efforts?

I see my role like a Venn diagram of three intersecting circles: our campus operations, our curriculum and our community. First, is our commitment to carbon neutrality, so a third of my job is looking at campus operations to nd opportunities to reduce our footprint. Beyond that, what conversations do we need to have to be a resilient and thriving community, and how can we embed those themes into our curriculum?

We recently had 80 stakeholders from the community come to campus for a big brainstorming session about their top sustainability concerns. We’re launching a “Learning Circles Series” to explore these topics, which include food systems and food security, renewable energy, materials

management, water use and quality, population health and infrastructure, and economic development and diversi cation.

What is a “culture of sustainability,” and how do you foster this environment?

This is about building shared responsibility and increased communication and coordination around the efforts happening on campus and in the community. The decisions we make in uence our community, so we have to think collectively and collaboratively. That’s what building a culture of sustainability is. It’s saying, how do we make the best long-term decisions together? It’s not just me working alone.

How are you embedding sustainability into the curriculum at NMU?

We have 46 of nearly 300 faculty who already do research or teach classes related to some aspect of sustainability in 20 of 25 academic departments, so the students are already experiencing it. What we haven’t done is coordinate and communicate it, so we’re working on a general education certi cate.

Leon Evans

Project manager, Giffels Webster

Scope of work: Leon Evans is leading the design and construction of the Michigan Central Station redevelopment in Corktown, helping to solve engineering problems and overseeing a team of 15 consulting rms. Evans also manages the scope, budget, schedule and activity of the project.

Biggest professional win: His company won the contract for the Michigan Central Station site redevelopment, a project that will redevelop a 30-acre site around the Central Train Station. It includes outdoor plazas, green spaces, and an elevated walkway. It also includes a stormwater management plan, bioretention rain gardens, permeable paving, green roofs and irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems. The rainwater harvesting system uses data and arti cial intelligence to predict rainfall probabilities and maximize water reuse.

Sponsored Content

Thompson, Ph.D.

Why is your communications background so critical to this role?

I work with scientists and chemists who are doing legitimate climate change research, and I used to think, well, all I can do is translate that story for the public. And they’re like, “That’s the most important thing!” I nally realized that communication is an asset.

What goals do you hope to achieve in this role?

I want every student who graduates to understand sustainability and know that their role in society matters. Everyone has a part to play in the future.

I also want to be part of Northern’s footprint-shrinking era. I want people to look back and say, this is when we shrunk our carbon footprint and started using less — consuming less water and energy, and sending less waste to the land ll — while investing in things that make us healthier, both as a learning ecosystem and also as an environmental system.

Michael Gray

CSCP/CPIM manager, Distribution Center Services, Meijer

Scope of work: In his role for 10 years, Michael Gray oversees recycling programs for pallets and low-density polyethylene lm. He also launched an onsite plastic grinding program to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled.

Biggest professional win: Gray was key to Meijer’s partnership with the Greater Lansing Food Bank to grow local food sustainability by donating surplus seeds from 36 Meijer locations. The donations support the food bank’s Garden Project, increasing food pantry offerings to low-income communities. The project impacts 90 community gardens and more than 500 home gardeners. It yields 1 million pounds of food, or 100,000 meals, annually.

Other contributions: He chairs the Grand Rapids Historical Commission.

Donna Kashian

Director of environmental science, Wayne State University

Scope of work: Donna Kashian is a professor of biology and environmental science and leads the Transformative Research in Urban Sustainability Training. She was recently named director of the United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development at Wayne State. This includes bringing together stakeholders to address challenges.

Biggest professional win: She measures success by her students’ wins. One student won a pitch competition and now runs BAN Lab Detroit that uses food waste to make an alternative material to plastic. Kashian also helped increase local sustainability efforts through projects like the stormwater runoff structures built on Wayne State’s campus.

Other contributions: Kashian is incoming president of the International Association of Great Lakes Research.

Jill Kupcak

Corporate of ce sustainable relations management — North America, Robert Bosch LLC

Scope of work: Jill Kupcak focuses on reaching and promoting sustainability goals for Robert Bosch and its customers. She works with colleagues on issues including water scarcity, CO2 levels, energy ef ciency and safety.

Biggest professional win: She has been working on establishing a Sustainability Committee for Bosch’s U.S. and Canadian business “to ensure our work on sustainability-related topics is contributing to our business success while meeting our customers’ and our sites’ needs.”

Other contributions: She is a member of the Executive Steering Committee for the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Center of Sustainability and serves on the Board of Governors for the Environment Health and Safety and Sustainability Council.

Eric McDonald

Chief technologist, NextEnergy

Scope of work: Eric McDonald is responsible for research and development. He leads a team in technology vetting and planning for energy, mobility and environmental work. His work includes designing, permitting and installing a stretch of electri ed roadway in Corktown in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, DTE, Michigan Central and others.

Biggest professional win: He led the technical scope of work in NextEnergy’s LITES program to create sustainable business models and scale networked lighting systems for commercial buildings. He oversaw installation in over 30 Michigan buildings, mentored the NextEnergy program team on return-on-investment models and developed a training curriculum that was used by more than 300 professionals.

Other contributions: He mentors NextEnergy team members and young Black men.

Andy McDowell

Manager of sustainability, Detroit Zoological Society

Scope of work: Andy McDowell, a landscape architect by training, is the top strategist for reducing the Detroit Zoo’s environmental impact. With stakeholder collaboration, he develops plans for sustainability systems to manage materials and waste, water usage, stormwater runoff and energy.

Biggest professional win: Before joining the Detroit Zoological Society, McDowell helped advance sustainability in the city of Detroit during consultancies with the Friends of the Detroit River and The Nature Conservancy. He led such projects as the Sugar Island Habitat Restoration, a $17 million, 19-acre coastal wetlands restoration, and the Belle Isle Lake Okonoka Restoration, a $5.3 million project that restored the connection of the Detroit River to more than 25 acres of coastal wetlands.

WE CONGRATULATE ANGELA

COOK

ON HER ACHIEVEMENTS AS A SUSTAINABILITY LEADER AT VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES

As the Head of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability for USA and Canada, Angela has been instrumental in fostering a culture of safety and environmental responsibility across our operations ensuring employee well-being and operational longevity. She is an important trailblazer for a more sustainable future for our company.

Congratulations Lois R. DeBacker, Managing Director of Kresge's Environment Program, on being named a Crain's 2024 Notable Leader in Sustainability.

For decades, Lois has been committed to helping U.S. cities combat and adapt to climate change while advancing racial and economic justice.

Amy McMillan

Director, Huron-Clinton Metroparks

Scope of work: Amy McMillan leads the Huron-Clinton Metroparks’ management of nearly 25,000 acres of land, a $65 million budget and nearly 1,000 employees. Her team’s sustainability efforts include improved stormwater management and climate resiliency, regional educational programs on climate and environment, and the restoration of natural habitats and shorelines.

Biggest professional win: McMillan directed the creation and launch of a ve-year climate action plan that aims to reduce carbon emissions and preserve the parks. It includes ve goals, 24 objectives and 130 speci c actions.

Other contributions: She is a delegate on the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and has participated in Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance to expand the state’s network of connected trails.

Caleb Rutledge

President and CEO, Goodwill’s Green Works

Scope of work: Caleb Rutledge directs strategy, revenue, safety and 105 employees. Under his direction, the organization launched a Styrofoam recycling unit and GGW recycled 24.5 million pounds of non-ferrous metal and other materials.

Biggest professional win: Rutledge recently secured an appliance recycling contract with CleaResult and Consumers Energy that made GGW among the largest appliance recyclers in the country. GGW is on track to recycle more than 70,000 units this year. And, under his leadership, the company has also employed more than 750 people with workforce barriers.

Other contributions: Rutledge serves on the boards of the Investment Recovery Association, the Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance, the Environmental Management Association and the Michigan Recycling Coalition.

Andrew Sarpolis

Michigan eld manager, Sierra Club

Scope of work: Andrew Sarpolis helps pass climate legislation and advocates for the closing of coal energy plants for the environmental nonpro t.

Biggest professional win: Sarpolis co-founded and grew Turn Oakland County Green, a grassroots climate organization that successfully championed the creation of the Oakland County sustainability of ce as well as regional climate goals. The organization has held Earth Day gatherings that attracted state leaders and mobilized residents.

Other contributions: He spent 10 years building the Beyond Coal Campaign, which saw more than 90% of Michigan’s coal eet retired. He serves on the board of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights and is an executive committee member and co-chair of North Oakland Branch of the NAACP’s Climate Justice.

Greg Sharrow

Founder and CEO, Sharrow Engineering and Sharrow Marine

Scope of work: Greg Sharrow manages a team of engineers and guides the development of his invention, the Sharrow Propeller. The company has secured more than $30 million in nancing, increased sales 1,200% year over year and built more than 5,000 propellers since 2020.

Biggest professional win: He spearheaded a partnership between Sharrow Engineering and Veem, an Australia-based public company that specializes in large propeller manufacturing. The companies are working together to build quieter and more fuelef cient propellers. Sharrow also partners with Yamaha. The propeller has over 130 patents and was included in Time Magazine’s 2023 list of best inventions.

Other contributions: Sharrow serves on the National Marine Propeller Association board of directors.

Kristin Shaw

Transportation decarbonization lead, Of ce of Mobility Innovation, City of Detroit

Scope of work: Kristin Shaw, who is also Detroit City Council Green Task Force Climate chair, manages the electric vehicle infrastructure in Detroit, is leading a proposal to mitigate freight emissions’ environmental impact and supports city partnerships to increase lowcarbon transit options.

Biggest professional win: Shaw helped the Cobo Center (now Huntington Place) reduce transportation emissions, increase water and energy ef ciency and achieve a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certi cation when she was project administrator there.

Other contributions: Shaw serves on the United States Green Building Council Michigan Leadership Advisory Board and the State of Michigan Council on Climate Solutions Housing & Buildings Working Group.

Sanjiv Sinha

CEO, Corvias Infrastructure Solutions LLC

Scope of work: Sanjiv Sinha leads urban infrastructure company CIS, which generates annual revenue of $45 million to $50 million. CIS, which operates in Ann Arbor, Milwaukee, Seattle and Washington, D.C., has managed $450 million in green infrastructure projects.

Biggest professional win: He started Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities to unite city, state and federal leaders to expand green stormwater infrastructure. The organization has helped launch two investments, a $54 million environmental impact bond for Buffalo Sewer Authority and a $49 million partnership for Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Other contributions: Sinha was previously board chair of the Delta Institute. He serves on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Finance advisory board.

Jes Thompson

Assistant vice president for sustainability, Northern Michigan University

Scope of work: Jes Thompson was promoted in December. She directs the Sustainability Hub for Innovation and Environment, which coordinates curriculums with faculty, oversees sustainability operations and works with student groups on sustainability initiatives. She also teaches courses in environmental and social responsibility.

Biggest professional win: In 2023, Thompson was one of 15 new members the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland appointed to the National Park System Advisory Board.

Other contributions: In 2020, she published “America’s Largest Classroom: What We Learn from Our National Parks,” which won a national Non ction Book Award silver prize and the Stewart Udall Award from the Western National Parks Association.

CONGRATULATIONS!

MIKE CSAPO

General Manager, RRRASOC Resource Recovery & Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County

2024 Crain’s Detroit Business Notable Leader in Sustainability Honoree!

Adriel Thornton

Executive director, MoGo Detroit

Scope of work: Adriel Thornton manages MoGo Detroit, an eco-friendly system of more than 80 stations for public bicycles, and maintains relationships with sponsors, cities and other partners. His work includes investing in solar power and other environmentally conscious equipment.

Biggest professional win: He led efforts to successfully extend two-year sponsorships from Henry Ford Health and Health Alliance Plan after being promoted to executive director. The sponsorships help sustain MoGo’s bikeshare operations in Metro Detroit.

Other contributions: He is board president of the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association, president of Dally in the Alley, and a city of Detroit “Independent Night Ambassador.”

Mr. Csapo has been instrumental in supporting Southfield’s recycling efforts and initiatives in addition to educating the public about the importance of recycling and materials management. He also serves on the City’s Sustainability Board which leads Southfield’s efforts

The City of Southfield has long been a leader in Green Infrastructure, Micromobility, Parks & Greenspace, Adaptive Reuse, and Renewable Energy – even becoming the first municipality in Oakland County to enroll in DTE’s MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program.

To learn more, visit www.cityofsouthfield.com.

Lisa Wallick

Field services director — Permitting & Stormwater Management Group, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department

Scope of work: Lisa Wallick oversees permitting, drainage charge and green credit programs, drainage customer service, and compliance engineering. This includes leading projects totaling more than $100 million, including initiatives to manage stormwater, mitigate street ooding and reduce basement water backups.

Biggest professional win: Wallick collaborated with surrounding communities to advance projects that slow runoff from entering the sewer systems. She also partnered with the Michigan Department of Transportation to remove hundreds of millions of gallons of stormwater from the region’s combined sewer system.

Other contributions: Wallick helps educate the public on stormwater management.

Lisa Wozniak

Executive director, Michigan League of Conservation Voters

Scope of work: Over the past 18 years, Lisa Wozniak has grown the organization from an of ce in Ann Arbor to one with multiple of ces and a staff of 30 in several Michigan regions.

Biggest professional win: Wozniak played an integral role in the passage of Michigan’s Clean Energy and Jobs Act last year, which outlines a path for the state to achieve 100% clean energy. She also led the Michigan LCV’s 2023 efforts to build support for other clean energy bills and pro-clean energy lawmakers.

Other contributions: Wozniak serves on the National League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the University of Michigan Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and the Huron River Watershed Council.

MICHIGAN'S LARGEST EMPLOYERS CRAIN’S LIST

ResearchedbySonyaD.Hill:shill@crain.com|ThislistofMichiganemployersencompassescompanieswithheadquartersinthestate.Numberoffull-timeemployeesmayincludefull-timeequivalents. Itisnotacompletelistingbutthemostcomprehensiveavailable.Crain'sestimatesarebasedonindustryanalysesandbenchmarks,newsreportsandawiderangeofothersources.Unlessotherwise noted,informationwasprovidedbythecompanies.NA=notavailable. e. Crain'sestimate. 1. BeaumontHealthandSpectrumHealthmergedasanintegratedhealthsystemwiththetemporaryname, BHSHHealthonFeb.1,2022.RebrandedasCorewellHealthinOctober2022. 2. Includeshospitalsystem. 3. Includesapproximately16,600in-statepart-timeemployees. 4. Includesapproximately 16,000in-statepart-timeemployees. 5. AsofOctober2023. 6. AsofDecember2022. 7. AsofJanuary2023. 8. EstimatefromMWPVLInternationalInc. 9. AsofOct.1. 10. Fall2022counts.Employee counts as of Oct. 1, 2022. 11. Succeeded Bill Emerson, interim CEO, effective Sept. 5. 12. From From 10-K ending in Dec. 31, 2022.

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List of richest people has a new member

On the list with Michigan ties

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, a former Michigan State University basketball player from Lansing who later starred for the Los Angeles Lakers, has joined Michigan billionaires Dan Gilbert, the Stryker family and the Meijer family on Forbes’ 2024 list of the richest people in the world.

Magic Johnson landed at No. 2,410 with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

While Johnson earned $40 million during his time as a Laker in the 1980s, he built his wealth in joint venture partnerships in a variety of businesses including movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, real estate and health care, according to Forbes. Most of his wealth comes from the growth of the life insurance company Equitrust, in which he has a 60% ownership stake, according to Forbes. Johnson also holds small ownership stakes in several professional sports teams.

With a net worth of $26.2 billion, Dan Gilbert, founder of Detroit-based Quicken Loans/Rocket Companies Inc., remains the richest Michigan resident on the list at No. 73, climbing 19 spaces from No. 92 last year.

Next among Michiganders is Mat Ishbia, the chairman and CEO of Pontiac-based United Wholesale Mortgage, who shot up 258 places from last year, now at No. 228. Ishbia’s $9.9 billion net worth grew by around $4 billion since last year. Ishbia and partners also bought the Phoenix Suns organization early last year.

Ishbia was followed by Ronda Stryker, a third-generation heir and director at medical device company Stryker Corp., based in Kalamazoo. Her $8.2 billion net worth put her at No. 312 on the list, up 32 spots from last year. (Her siblings, Jon and Pat, also rose on the list, to No. 563 and No. 809 with $5.4 billion and $3.9 billion respectively.)

Meijer brothers Doug, Hank and Mark tied for 548th. Each of their fortunes grew by around $1 billion last year, increasing their positions from No. 591.

Moroun-owned auto trucking giant to lay off 677 workers

Warren-based Universal Logistics is planning to lay o 677 workers at an auto parts sequencing plant in Detroit — a move the local union president said is the result of automaker Stellantis NV trying to reduce costs by cutting out organized labor.

e Moroun-owned trucking and transportation company will permanently cut the positions May 31, according to a pair of WARN notices led with the state.

e layo s are coming from two Universal-a liated entities, Logistics Insights Corp. and Universal Dedicated of Detroit MI LLC, at a mammoth auto parts warehousing and logistics plant at 6836 Georgia St. near I-94 on the city’s east side.

Steve Ballmer: $121 billion, No. 8 (up from 10)

Larry Page: $114 billion, No. 10 (up from 12)

Daniel Gilbert: $26.2 billion, No. 73 (up from 92)

Andrew Beal: $11.5 billion, No. 173 (down from 170)

Stephen Ross: $10.1 billion, No. 221 (down from 147)

Mat Ishbia: $9.9 billion, No. 228 (up from 486)

Tom Gores: $9.1 billion, No. 270 (up from 418)

Ronda Stryker: $8.2 billion, No. 312 (up from 334)

John Brown: $7.7 billion, No. 334 (up from 445)

Edythe Broad and family: $7 billion, No. 391 (down from 344)

Doug, Hank and Mark Meijer: $5.5 billion each, tied No. 548 (up from 591)

Jon Stryker: $5.4 billion, No. 563 (up from 636)

Justin Ishbia: $5.1 billion, No. 597 (up from 1,312)

Marian Ilitch: $4 billion, No. 785 (down from 636)

Roger Penske: $4 billion, No. 785 (up from 905)

Pat Stryker: $3.9 billion, No. 809 (up from 905)

Alec Gores: $2.2 billion, No. 1496 (down from 1,217)

Earvin “Magic” Johnson: $1.2 billion, No. 2,410

Little Caesars Pizza co-founder Marian Ilitch dropped to No. 785 from 636 last year, at $4 billion. Ilitch tied with Roger Penske, chairman and CEO of Bloom eld Hills-based car dealer Penske Automotive Group, who rose 120 spots from No. 905 to 785 with $4 billion.

Forbes has not ranked anyone from the DeVos family since Richard DeVos Sr.’s death in 2018, but estimated the family’s net worth was $5.4 billion then. e Moroun and Ford families also have not been ranked in several years.

“Bumping rights do not exist at this facility governed by the collective bargaining agreement between the Company and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 299,” Dennis Glackin, vice president of labor relations for Universal, said in the letter to the state.

Teamsters Local 299 President Kevin Moore told Crain’s that Stellantis is pulling the work from Universal so it can give the contract to a non-union operator to save money running the warehouse, which supplies parts to the automaker’s nearby Jeep assembly plants.

“(Stellantis) wants to take the cost out of their tier one suppliers because they just went through a contract,” Moore said. “If they’re going to bring in non-union people, we’re going to go after them. We’re not going backwards after coming out of in ation and the pandemic.”

Stellantis and Universal did not respond to requests for comment from Crain’s.

Stellantis, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are just a few months removed from ratifying a new contract with the United Auto Workers that saddled the auto-

makers with record-high labor costs. All three car companies have been trimming expenses signi cantly amid a costly and complex preparation for an electric vehicle future, and as pro t margins moderate after two years of boom times for new car sales.

Stellantis said last month it cut about 400 engineering, technology and software jobs primarily in Michigan. e automaker previously told the state it would lay o up to 2,453 people at its Detroit Mack Assembly Plant starting Feb. 5, and it has cut supplemental workers at the plant as well.

Autonomous vans to launch in Detroit

Kurt Nagl

Four autonomous Ford E-transit vans will launch in Detroit this summer with a 10.8-mile route between Michigan Central in Corktown and the east Riverfront.

e pilot shuttle service, named Connect and announced April 2, will run from the Bedrock-owned Icon Building at 200 Walker St. to the Ford-funded mobility/tech campus taking shape in Corktown.

e electric shuttle has secured $1.5 million to operate for the rst year, with Michigan Central, Bedrock and Michigan’s O ce of Future Mobility and Electri cation each kicking in a third of the cost.

e autonomous vans, operated by Virginia-based Perrone Robotics, will be free for passengers and make multiple stops along the route that coincide with existing DDOT and QLine stops, said Tim Slusser, chief of Detroit’s O ce of Mobility Innovation. e goal is for the pilot to prove the viability of a new model of privately funded public transportation.

“We’re looking to try to crack the code on how to get private funding for public transportation solutions because we believe it creates a direct value for those private entities,” Slusser told Crain’s.

For instance, Bedrock will benet by providing a service for tenants in its downtown core, such as Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design and the Foot Locker

Footwear Creation Stu/deo in the Icon Building, while also driving tra c to stores in its buildings, Slusser said. Michigan Central will also be served well by a ow of people from downtown.

e Ford vans will operate with Level 4 autonomy, a rung below fully driverless automation. Each van will be sta ed with a driver behind the wheel who can intervene at any time — an important detail in light of autonomous vehicle safety woes in California that resulted in GM’s Cruise cars being pulled from the road.

“We want to crawl before we walk, and we want to walk before we run,” Slusser said.

e shuttles will undergo testing before being introduced for public use, which will inform nal route details.

Perrone, which operates similar

shuttles elsewhere in the U.S., will own all the data recorded on its Detroit route. e city of Detroit will lead community outreach on the pilot program.

e up tted Ford vans will be joined by May Mobility autonomous vehicle shuttles in a Detroit-led program rolling out in the fall for older residents and those with disabilities. May Mobility had previously operated AV shuttles downtown through a partnership with Bedrock, but that ended when the pandemic started.

“Investing in reliable, sustainable last-mile transit options is crucial for creating a vibrant city core,” Bedrock CEO Ko Bonner said in a news release. “Implementing innovations like the Connect pilot further solidi es Detroit’s leadership in sustainable mobility.”

Anna Fifelski

yB Kurt Nagl

Magic Johnson is a guest of the pregame show for a matchup between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders on Oct. 5 in Landover, Md. | AP

An autonomous shuttle pilot program using four Ford E-transit vans is scheduled to launch this summer with a route through downtown Detroit and Corktown. CITY OF DETROIT

The 1 million-square-foot industrial building at 6836 Georgia St. was sold in 2020 for $110 million to Global Net Lease Inc. | COSTAR

FRAUD

However, the issue of attempted fraud has gotten to the point to which Troy-based LR Management Services Corp. is now seeing a denial rate of roughly 70% of prospective tenants as their screening measures root out more unacceptable applicants, according to Leslie Etterbeek, president of the property management company that manages about 13,500 units around the state.

Etterbeek said she believes around 30% of prospective applicants for the company’s units are applying fraudulently. Given gures like that, it means increased costs for managers like Etterbeek’s company and those costs trickle down.

“For the people that do bad things, the good people suffer,” she said. Etterbeek is hardly alone in expressing concern about instances of fraud in the rental application process.

Andrew Kuhn, founder and CEO of Royal Oak-based property manager Sunrise Communities, told Crain’s that his company is also going with more advanced, third-party screening to verify as much information on the front end as possible.

Such screening costs the company $20-$35 per applicant. Kuhn’s company charges a $45 application fee for prospective tenants, calling it an “operating cost” and

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noting that the fee generally covers the third-party screening, but usually winds up being a wash after paying employees and other administrative costs.

“ ese source of income verication companies have become very necessary,” Kuhn said. “It has increased the amount of (applicant) denials, but it also minimizes true costs on our end.”

At present, Sunrise Communities’ denial rate of prospective tenants is less than 10%, according to Kuhn, who also serves as president of the Apartment Association of Michigan, a statewide trade group for apartment owners and managers.

e Michigan State Housing Development Authority had no comment on the issue.

er-income tenants facing eviction, the topic of denials based on income or other factors is far from new.

McCarty and Ted Phillips, executive director of the Detroit-based housing justice nonpro t United Community Housing Coalition, told Crain’s in separate interviews that complaints by landlords of attempted fraud come as news to them.

“It’s never been raised as a defense,” McCarty said of cases he takes on, saying that the real issue he hears is landlords and property managers not investing in their properties.

But therein lies the rub, according to landlords.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

A survey released in January by apartment landlord trade group National Multifamily Housing Council found that 93.3% of respondents said they had experienced some form of fraud in the past 12 months. Another 84.3% of respondents have seen applicants falsifying or fabricating pay stubs, employment references or other income documentation, according to the survey.

Moreover, nearly one-quarter of eviction lings were due to fraudulent applications and subsequent failure to pay rent, per the NMHC report.

e issue of fraud and landlords tightening rental standards comes as concerns over housing costs are paramount for policymakers around the state, and with tens of millions of dollars being put to work to alleviate the shortage.

For Je rey Kaftan, president of South eld-based property management and apartment ownership company Kaftan Communities, that’s becoming harder to do. at’s because tenants being delinquent on rent is becoming far more common and having a direct impact on the company’s bottom line, according to Kaftan.

At one 132-unit complex in Detroit owned by the company, the delinquency rate stands at 25% compared to a more typical 6%. e delinquent renters are those “trying to game the system,” Kaftan said.

“We are nding much more fraud in our application process,” Kaftan wrote in an email to Crain’s. “Fake pay stubs and fake identities  are much more available and accessible. Additionally, the slowdown in the court system makes it much more advantageous for a fraudster to commit fraud as they can stay much longer in the home. is of course defrauds us business owners of much more of our inventory causing nancial hardship in many cases.”

Zeal Credit Union has promoted Ron Boehnlein to the role of Executive Vice President in addition to his role as Chief Financial Of cer. Boehnlein began his career in 1979 as an auditor with the Michigan Credit Union League. His commitment and passion put him on a successful path to his current role as CFO at Zeal. This new area of focus will help advise and guide key corporate planning issues and support business and strategic plans. These additional duties take place immediately.

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Kindsvatter, Dalling and Associates (KDA) is excited to announce the addition of Edward Davis II to its lobby rm as the Director of External Relations. Davis has over twelve years in fundraising in the non-pro t and for-pro t sectors. Having worked most recently in the area of electric vehicles and biotechnology in an advisory and lobbying capacity securing funding for operations and scaling across both industries, Davis will focus on the tech space and grant writing for KDA clients.

In the city of Detroit, the median monthly rent is $1,052 in April, about 11.2% lower than the broader metro area, according to data from Apartment List. Rent in the city grew just 0.1% from a year earlier, but in suburbs including Auburn Hills, Sterling Heights and Troy, rents are considerably higher and growing at a much faster clip, per the Apartment List data.

Called an ‘overreaction’

Perhaps not surprisingly, those working in the tenant defense and advocacy space aren’t exactly buying the concerns of landlords or feeling particularly sorry for their purported plight.

“It strikes me as an overreaction at the very least,” Donovan McCarty, a sta attorney at the Detroit-based eviction defense nonpro t Detroit Justice Center, told Crain’s when asked about the issue of fraud in the rental application process. He added that based on his history of work with low-

Similar to Etterbeek’s company, application denials at Kaftan Communities are up 100% since 2019, and the delinquency rate is up over 200% since 2019, which is down from 300% last year, according to gures provided by Kaftan.

In many cases, tenants don’t come in with the intention of not paying rent, but various circumstances drive them to that point, Kaftan told Crain’s in an interview.

“I’m not saying they’re all bad people,” Kaftan said, noting that the issues of fraud and delinquency have become considerably more prevalent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when more government assistance became available and the court systems slowed down. “People got kind of used to that in a way, and it’s tough because the (federal assistance) money is gone.”

Left: The Woodhues Apartments in Farmington Hills are managed by Sunrise Communities, a Royal Oak-based property management rm that is using third-party screening to verify as much application information on the front end as possible. Right: The Lafayette Park Place apartments in Detroit’s Lafayette Park neighborhood are managed by LR Management, a Troy-based apartment property manager that says it has seen an in ux of fraudulent rental applications. | SUNRISE COMMUNITIES AND NICK MANES

Andiamo’s latest expansion to plant a ag at Partridge Creek

A notable metro Detroit restaurant brand is expanding in a big way.

Warren-based Joe Vicari Restaurant Group this summer plans to open Andiamo Pasta & Chops at e Mall at Partridge Creek, taking over a space formerly home to Brio Italian Grille.

e latest extension of Vicari’s popular restaurant brand will be similar in concept to Andiamo Italian Steakhouse in Las Vegas, o ering prime cuts of steak, free-range chicken, sustainable seafood and handmade pasta from the storefront at 17430 Hall Road in Clinton Township.

e new Andiamo will take over a 7,670-square-foot space formerly occupied by Brio Italian Grille, which closed earlier this year. Vicari said in an email to Crain’s that he plans to invest more than $500,000 into the restaurant. Largescale renovations will include a re-

ASCENSION

From Page 1

It’s likely Ascension is shopping the four remaining hospitals — Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital, Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital in Dowagiac and Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital in Plainwell.

“A pattern is emerging between the divestitures in Southeast Michigan to Henry Ford and to MyMichigan,” said Rex Burgdorfer, a partner at Juniper Advisory in Chicago that specializes in health care mergers and acquisitions. “One could question whether the western Michigan hospitals might be next, and I’d be surprised if Ascension was not doing what most of their peers do of actively reviewing their portfolio and looking at the performance, and the growth prospects and their competitive position.”

But is there a suitor?

“Ascension Michigan, as with most healthcare systems, continually evaluates potential partnerships, collaborations and strategic business decisions that allow us to best serve our communities. e recent announcements, whether joint venture or divestiture, have been purposeful, are in alignment with our strategic plan, and will help ensure continued access to quality

Milwaukee-based consulting rm Wip i LLP. But that assertion is not without caveats.

“Ascension Borgess holds value, but how much is up for debate,” Arduino said. “Kalamazoo is a bigger population than many other hospitals, but it’s got competition in Bronson. Kalamazoo is sort of a one-anda-half hospital town with two hospitals. Corewell could lock up the market, but that would depend on how wrapped up they are being Corewell right now. ey’ve got a lot on their plate.”

Corewell was formed in 2022 when Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health acquired Beaumont Health. While the company continues to grow — it recorded $992.8 million in total net income last year, mostly from $822 million in investment income — it continues its massive consolidation of Beaumont.

And it’s also busy investing $60 million-plus in acquiring properties in Grand Rapids to expands its agship campus.

In other words, it may not have the capacity to turn around Ascension’s Southwest Michigan hospitals, Arduino said.

Representatives from Corewell did not respond to inquiries on whether it was courting or being courted for those hospitals.

“Systems like Ascension are recognizing there are other areas within their companies where margins are better and they are less capital-intensive.”

Rex Burgdorfer, partner, Juniper Advisory

health care across the state,” an Ascension Michigan spokesperson said in a statement. “With that said, Ascension Michigan continues to invest in Ascension Borgess and in its legacy of clinical excellence, and there are no current plans in place for it to close.”

Corewell Health makes the most sense to take on those three rural systems alongside a Kalamazoo agship, said Kelly Arduino, health care industry leader and partner at

Bronson is the largest health care operator in the Southwest Michigan region with four hospitals and a medical group and rehabilitation center. But it remains a bit player compared to Corewell and others. For example, Corewell has roughly 60,000 employees compared to Bronson’s 9,000.

It’s unlikely it has capacity to add an additional four hospitals, three of which are rural.

Instead, Arduino believes an outof-state system or a private equity owner would be more likely to takeover Ascension Borgess in Kalamazoo and maybe the remaining rural hospitals.

“

ere are a few private equity players that have come into the market, especially in rural communities,” Arduino said. “Would they

Vicari said opening a location on the Hall Road corridor is a great opportunity for his restaurant group, which closed Andiamo Trattoria near Lakeside Mall in 2020. ( e space is now home to a Portillo’s.)

“We feel that the Hall Road market is untapped for good Italian and steakhouses,” Vicari said. “We were popular on Hall Road and a lot of people have been looking for us to come back. is opportunity came about, and we are happy to be able to return to this community.”

con gured, redesigned space with a central bar anchoring the restaurant’s two dining rooms and lounge. A separate banquet area will have seating for 80. Andiamo Pasta & Chops will have a sta of about 70.

pick up some of those small ones? Maybe. If not, I think Ascension lets them die on the vine.”

ough those deals, so far, have mostly involved physician and surgical practices in the state. For example, Florida-based Solaris Health, backed by New York-based Lee Equity Partners, acquired the 15-location Michigan Institute of Urology in 2021.

Other options include South Bend, Ind.-based Beacon Health System and Toledo-based ProMedica.

Both already operate in the state. Beacon acquired the formerly independent ree Rivers Health in 2021.

ProMedica operates hospitals in Adrian and Coldwater, though it is seeking to sell its Coldwater hospital to California-based American Healthcare Services Inc. for $8.5 million. It also sold o its Tecumseh hospital last year and sold its nine rehabilitation centers in the state to Optalis Healthcare in 2022.

Ascension’s exit from Michigan shows how academic-based systems are dominating in the highstakes investments now required to compete in the health care arena, leaving many Catholic-based systems like Ascension in the lurch, Burgdorfer said.

Ascension’s two prior transactions in Michigan “are representative of what’s going on nationally, which is the power of academic medical centers that are driving innovation, technology and leading-edge care that as a grouping faith-based systems have been behind on making those sorts of investments,” Burgdorfer said.

“Systems like Ascension are recognizing there are other areas within their companies where margins are better and they are less capital intensive,” he said. “As a category, systems like Ascension are less and less interested in owning an operating large acute-care, inpatient hospitals, and stepping into that void is a new type of acquirer in academic medical centers that are now seeking growth.”

ough Livonia-based Trinity Health, also a Catholic system, isn’t paring down operations in the state and is in some cases investing, many times alongside its secular competitors. For instance, the sys-

Vicari projects the new restaurant to bring in about $4 million in annual sales.

e Joe Vicari Restaurant Group includes 25 restaurants across 11 brands, with locations in Michigan, Nashville and Las Vegas.

Partridge Creek mall is leased and managed by New York-based Spinoso Real Estate Group.

Spinoso CEO Carmen Spinoso in a statement said the company is excited to add Andiamo to Partridge Creek’s list of o erings.

“

eir dedication to o ering exquisite cuisine crafted from the freshest seasonal ingredients, prepared from scratch daily,” Spinoso said, “and providing exceptional service aligns perfectly with our mission to curate distinctive and high-quality experiences for our patrons.”

Vicari said Andiamo Pasta & Chops will be the only new opening this year for his company. He plans to open a new Andiamo in 2025 in Nashville, where the restaurant group opened a Joe Muer seafood location in 2023.

tem created a joint venture with University of Michigan-Health in 2018 to operate Chelsea Hospital together.

Nevertheless, the Michigan health care market is rife with sti competition that’s creating a mass consolidation event, leading hospitals to chase growth as a way to insulate themselves from market forces, such as expensive technology and treatments amid lower reimbursements from payors.

UM-Health, or its parent organization Michigan Medicine, is expanding rapidly throughout the state. e Ann Arbor system is building a new $900 million tower on its Ann Arbor campus and it closed on its acquisition of Lansing-based Sparrow Health in April last year.

It also announced last month that it plans to buy 7.28 acres of vacant land at the 40-acre former Kmart Corp. headquarters in Troy for $4.42 million. ere it plans to build a multi-specialty ambulatory center much like its operations in Northville.

HFH not only is assuming control of eight Ascension hospitals in Southeast Michigan, it’s investing nearly $2 billion to build a new hospital tower across the street from its legacy hospital in Detroit.

Traverse City’s Munson Healthcare has grown from a four-hospital system to now eight in the last decade. With MyMichigan taking over the three Northern Ascension hospitals as well, the state is well carved up between a dozen or so health systems.

Andiamo Pasta & Chops will open in the 7,670-square-foot space vacated by Brio Italian Grille, pictured at left in 2020. | LARRY PEPLIN

DOCTORS

“We are facing a shortage of family medicine physicians that is going to a ect the health of Michigan,” said Dr. Kristi VanDerKolk, program director for the family medicine residency program at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, also known as WMed.

VanDerKolk spoke during a recent media brie ng hosted by the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians, which represents more than 4,300 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students statewide. She and others advocated for increased spending to support medical education and students who decide to pursue primary care as a specialty.

“ e question really, I think, is how to do better, and one place to start with that is to invest in primary care,” VanDerKolk said. “We need increased investment by the federal government, state government as well as payers to be able to improve and increase the number of physicians that are working in primary care in Michigan and beyond.”

In the annual national Match Day on March 15, when medical students learn where they will serve their residency, four of the 75 students at the Kalamazoo-based WMed were placed in family medicine slots. Two of them were placed in positions at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. e other two will go to University of Utah Health and UP Health System in Marquette in the Upper Peninsula.

VanDerKolk cites how just onequarter of the medical students enrolled at Michigan universities plan to go into primary care. at compares to one-third nationally.  Fewer medical students are pursuing primary care because of administrative burdens, inadequate insurance reimbursement, a preference among many for a more limited scope of practice and an “underappreciation of family physicians,” said Dr. Beena Nagappala, president of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians and a family doctor in Clinton Township.

BHARGAVA

From Page 3

costs, and operating under a license agreement for Sports Illustrated that mandated a minimum payment of $15 million a year,” according to the complaint.

While the lawsuit says that revenue and pro ts improved considerably under Levinsohn’s leadership, additional capital was needed for general operations and growth.

An early warning sign for Levinsohn, the lawsuit says, came last fall shortly after Bhargava’s deal to acquire a majority stake in Arena Group had been announced. e complaint says that in November, B. Riley Financial — described as a “ nancial partner for Arena Group,” owning more than 40% of

is year’s Match Day data and the present trend “underscore the worsening shortage of primary care physicians as a concerning trend in Michigan and nationwide,” Nagappala said.

“More investment will go a long way to address this crisis, leading us toward a better health care future,” she said. “And we want to continue to strengthen and expand access to care, which becomes di cult with less of us in the eld.”

Pay gaps

As debt-ridden medical students weigh which specialty to enter, their nancial situation and potential earning power often can weigh heavily on the decision, said Dr. Aron Sousa, dean of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

Nationally, primary care physicians in 2022 earned a median $300,000 in total compensation, versus more than $500,000 for

the company’s equity and nearly all of the debt — “found itself in a precarious position.”

at’s because Bhargava and B. Riley Financial CEO Bryant Riley had struck a deal for the metro Detroit businessman to acquire all of the nancial rm’s debt and equity in Arena Group, in what the complaint says was a transaction worth $100 million.

“While the B. Riley transaction rst appeared to be an expression of Bhargava’s continued enthusiasm for the merger he’d negotiated and diligenced with Arena, it swiftly became apparent that his intentions were far more Machiavellian,” the complaint says.

Upon becoming the largest equity shareholder with 44% of the company’s stock, “Bhargava seized on the powers and privileg-

surgical specialists and more than $400,000 for nonsurgical specialists, according to the most recent compensation report from the Medical Group Management Association.

Signing and starting bonuses for primary care physicians also were smaller at a median of $20,000 in 2022. at compares to $25,000 for nonsurgical specialists, and a $25,000 signing bonus and $30,000 starting bonus for surgical specialists, according to the MGMA.

“One of the things that you see nationally is that primary care is not paid the way other parts of medicine are, and as students have large amounts of debt, it’s reasonable for them to think about their ability to pay o that debt in the future,” Sousa told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

Last year, 48% of MSU College of Human Medicine graduates chose a residency in primary care, which includes family and internal medicine and pediatrics. at was up from 42% in 2020, although the percentage declined to 37% for 2024.

Nationally, 46.8% of medical students sought residencies in family or internal medicine or pediatrics, according to the National Resident Matching Program.

MSU’s medical school graduates about 190 students annually and has always placed an emphasis on primary care during clinical train-

es this a orded him, including the immediate replacement of two B. Riley-appointed directors with two of his own representatives to the Arena board,” the complaint says. “However, in the days and weeks that followed, emboldened by a false sense of control, Bhargava and his sitting board members would take stunning actions that far exceeded their legal authority, in an e ort to take over the Company.”

e complaint by Levinsohn, whose career before serving as CEO of Arena Group included stints as interim CEO of Yahoo and several other tech and media properties, goes on to levy a host of allegations against Bhargava and his associates, including:

◗ Breaching the employment contracts of Levinsohn and other top

ago to steer graduates to serve a residency and then work in an underserved market for two years. In exchange, they receive a $75,000 grant to use to pay medical school debt.

Since 2019, MIDOCS has helped to ll 124 new primary care slots around the state.

More funding

In the current scal year, state legislators appropriated $6.4 million to MIDOCS. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal for the 2025 scal year would again allocate $6.4 million. e Michigan Academy of Family Physicians advocates raising the MIDOCS appropriation to $10.9 million, plus a $3.6 million one-time investment to increase loan repayments for existing medical residents.

ing, according to Sousa. “We work hard at it,” he said. “We are a community-based medical school, so they get a powerful experience in community with family physicians who are taking care of people in every part of life and are a key part of the health care system in their community. We’ve been intentional about this since founding in the 1960s. It’s a part and parcel of our culture and how we think of ourselves as a part of providing the workforce for the state of Michigan.”

At 17.2%, family medicine in 2024 ranked as the top area that MSU medical students chose for their residencies, followed by emergency medicine at 15.6% and internal medicine at 12.2%.

e Michigan Academy of Family Physicians advocates for continued or higher funding for MIDOCS as one solution to get more medical students to go into primary care. Short for Michigan Doctors Improving Access to Care, MIDOCS is an initiative the state and four medical schools — WMed, MSU, Central Michigan University and Wayne State University — started ve years

Arena Group executives.

“It’s important that we have funding for this program because we see these people that need care,” said Dr. Fermin Rankin, a family physician who graduated last year with the inaugural class for the Central Michigan University College of Medicine and works at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers in Bad Axe.

MIDOCS, which participating medical schools also fund, encourage students who graduate from a Michigan medical school to serve a residency in the state and practice here, Rankin said.

“We’re exporting more physicians in Michigan than we’re importing, so we need a way to main-

“One of the things that you see nationally is that primary care is not paid the way other parts of medicine are, and as students have large amounts of debt, it’s reasonable for them to think about their ability to pay off that debt in the future.”

Dr. Aron Sousa, dean of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

tain our people here,” he said. “We have half of our residents that are graduating, and I know quite a few of them leave the state of Michigan. MIDOCS is helping to maintain and retain those people.”

◗ “Unilaterally” reorganizing the company and disparaging top executives, despite being “a mere minority shareholder.”

◗ Retaliation against Levinsohn and others for a refusal to participate in various plans proposed by Bhargava.

◗ Providing false nancial information for his own media holdings, which have been slated to be merged into Arena Group as part of the deal.

Seeking to use Sports Illustrated swimsuit models to promote his own businesses and providing them with gifts such as diamond jewelry.

Bhargava’s looming takeover of Arena Group became the object of national attention in January when Sports Illustrated’s owner, Authen-

tic Brands, canceled the licensing agreement after the licensee missed an interest payment. Subsequently, nearly all of the sta was at least temporarily laid o . Levinsohn’s complaint states that Bhargava had issued a directive that the company cease paying debt payments, “thus putting Arena in default and allowing Bhargava the opportunity to take over Arena in the event of bankruptcy, all to the detriment of shareholders.”

Last month, New York Citybased Minute Media announced it had struck a deal to license the publishing rights of the storied Sports Illustrated brand.

Bhargava’s deal to acquire the majority stake in Arena Group has yet to close, but the proposed deal remains ongoing.

Dr. Beena Nagappala Dr. Kristi VanDerKolk

Michigan State University medical students on Match Day, March 15. | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN MEDICINE

HOTEL

“We should approximate being full, as should the bulk of downtown,” said Jay Fishman, CEO of Gri n Hospitality Management LLC, the Chicago-based company behind the Hotel Indigo on Washington Boulevard in the central business district.

“It will be a strong couple days. It’s a high-demand period of time, and if the demand is there, then you can ll your hotel at rates that would arguably be higher than other times.”

Hotels of all stripes are commanding top dollar for the April 2527 event.

A recent Expedia search showed just ve rooms left at the Comfort Inn on East Je erson Avenue available at $462 per night during the draft (compared to $146 on April 18-20). Rooms at Fishman’s Hotel Indigo were commanding $511 per night April 25-27, more than double the $217 rate for April 18-20.  e Quality Inn had one room left for $484 per night and the Baymont by Wyndham was commanding a smidge more than that at $497.    ose rates are well above average rates seen in the months leading up to the draft, according to

LAWSUIT

From Page 3

“

ese are people that are not suspected of any wrongdoing. It’s literally just creating a huge cache of information on small business owners,” Calley said, noting that while the law portends to focus on corporations, “make no mistake that it is individual citizens whose personal information has to be provided to a law enforcement agency of the federal government.”

“If we open the door to the government collecting information on individuals … and say it’s OK in that situation, it really does chip away at that requirement that the government and law enforcement have some reason to collect information,” he said. “ at’s where this is such a problematic piece of legislation and new law that’s in place.”

SBAM led the case against Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, with co-plainti s that include the 4,000-member Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce in Farmington Hills; Steward Media Group LLC and Power Connections Co. LLC, both based in Bloom eld Hills; and Semper Real Estate Advisors LLC in Rochester. Derek Dickow, who holds stakes in Steward Media Group and Power Connections, and Timothy Eisenbraun, who holds an interest in Semper Real Estate Advisors, also are named as plainti s. Attorneys D. Andrew Portinga, Stephen van Stempvoort and Amanda Rauh-Bieri of Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey PLC’s Grand Rapids office represent SBAM and the other plaintiffs. The case was assigned to

STR data provided by the local ofce of HVS Inc., a hospitality research company based in Tennessee. A sampling of 14 hotels in and around downtown with 2,634 rooms in all had an average daily rate of $245.29 last year. e average occupancy of those 14 hotels — ranging from the boutique Shinola and Siren hotels to hotels with ags by major brands such as Marriott and IHG — was 52.7%.   ose rates also dwarf April 2023 gures. On an average ursday a year ago, you could expect to pay $220.08 to stay in one of those 14 hotels. at increased to $225.05 on Fridays in April 2023 and $259.97 on Saturdays.

On an average ursday that month, those 14 hotels were 46.3% occupied, jumping to 50.7% on Fridays and 60.2% on Saturdays, ac-

Judge Robert Jonker. e lawsuit asks Jonker to declare the law unconstitutional and issue temporary and permanent injunctions against enforcement and prohibit FinCEN from sharing or disclosing data collected.

In court documents, SBAM’s attorneys wrote that “instead of meaningfully advancing its stated goals, the CTA imposes signi cant burdens, especially on small businesses and their owners, investors, directors, and o cers.”

“And the CTA allows all of this to occur without any court oversight over any step of the process. e Fourth Amendment does not allow the warrantless, suspicionless searches of American citizens and companies that the CTA authorizes wholesale,” according to the court lings. “ e CTA may make it easier for law enforcement agencies to prosecute American citizens. But that does not mean that the courts can overlook its signicant Constitutional aws.”

FinCEN estimates the law will affect 32.5 million businesses and cost $21.7 billion to comply with in 2024, according to court documents.

Law targets illegal activities

e bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act that Congress enacted in 2021 and took e ect Jan. 1 targets illegal activities such as using shell companies for money laundering, terrorist nancing and tax fraud.

e law requires legal business entities registered with a state to report their bene cial owners to FinCEN.

“Around the world, opaque corporate structures make it easier to conceal illicit activity and launder ill-gotten gains, and in the case of corrupt actors, facilitate theft from innocent populations often for direct personal gain,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said during an

cording to the HVS data.

Look outside the city and you’ll also see the NFL Draft a ecting pricing and availability. In the suburbs, the one remaining room at the Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Royal Oak as of April 1 would set you back $437 per night, while the Westin at Detroit Metropolitan Airport is charging $366 for one of its ve rooms remaining.

It’s not just hotels seeing an economic jolt.

For example, you could also rent an Indian Village mansion for $10,000 — per night. In Grosse Pointe, a house with nine bedrooms is seeking $3,000, also per night.

Airbnb searches have ballooned by 450% for the April 25-28 weekend, a spokesperson for the company said. e top cities of origin

address in February at an antimoney laundering symposium in Puerto Rico. “Access to bene cial ownership information will enhance our law enforcement colleagues’ abilities to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt nancial crimes; it will also facilitate compliance by nancial institutions with their customer due diligence requirements.”

e U.S. “must do its part to align” with global regulatory standards and “establish a robust bene cial ownership reporting regime,” Gacki said.

e law de nes bene cial ownership as anyone who has an ownership interest of 25% or more in a business, a majority of voting ownership or someone who exerts “substantial control” over the entity, such as executives, senior o cers and board directors — even if they do not hold an ownership stake in the company.

Business entities must update their ling to FinCEN when a change occurs. at could be the sale of the business, an exit by a limited partner, the relocation of a business or simply a change of address for a director. Failure to le required disclosure forms could result in civil or criminal penalties that include nes of $500 per day or up to $10,000, and a possible two-year prison sentence.

e law exempts from reporting requirements privately owned businesses that have more than 20 full-time employees and more than $5 million in annual sales.

Suit calls term vague

e SBAM lawsuit contends that “substantial control” is a vague term that’s left to wide interpretation and requires “a series of judgment calls to be made in terms of which management in an organi-

for Airbnb guests are Grand Rapids, Chicago, Traverse City, Jackson, St. Clair Shores, New Baltimore, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Canton Township and Toledo, according to the company.

e draft will result in “signicant income and (create) economic opportunity for hosts and the local community,” the spokesperson said.  at goes beyond the city.

“ e 45,000 rooms we have in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties will really, I believe, be full and beyond,” said Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit.

Not a surprise, he said.

He pointed to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Football Championship Game in December, when a single football game at the 67,000-seat Lu-

zation or potentially external stakeholders derive some bene t from the business,” Calley said. “When does it become ‘substantial’ that they have to report?”

e SBAM lawsuit also challenges the Corporate Transparency Act as exceeding the authority of Congress to regulate commerce.

at’s the same argument the National Small Business Association successfully used in an Alabama case in which a federal judge in March declared the law unconstitutional.

“By imposing requirements on the mere act of entity formation without any relationship as to whether the formed entity will engage in commercial activity, the CTA exceeds Congress’s power to regulate interstate, foreign, and Indian commerce,” the SBAM case contends.

Meanwhile, a federal court’s March 4 ruling on the law has limited scope and applies only to National Small Business Association members. FinCEN issued a notice on March 11 that it planned to appeal the ruling in Alabama.

Many owners unaware

Despite federal rules implementing the law and reporting requirements that took e ect Jan. 1, few business owners are aware of the Corporate Transparency Act, Calley said. He speaks often about the law to groups and via SBAM’s weekly online issues brie ng for members.

“ e overwhelming response is, ‘I’ve never heard of this,’ and it is in place right now,” he said.

Under the law, a company created or registered to do business prior to Jan. 1, 2024, has until Dec. 31 to le an initial bene cial ownership information report with FinCEN through an online portal.

cas Oil Stadium sold out the 12,000 or so rooms in that city’s central business district. With downtown Detroit’s 6,000 hotel rooms and an upcoming event attracting 300,000plus people, it’s a sh in a barrel situation for hotel owners.

So you need a bigger barrel, Molinari and others have said.

He and Visit Detroit have been pushing for more hotels — in particular, a new convention-style hotel — for years to meet demand from event organizers looking to hold conferences and big events here.

Visit Detroit says the greater downtown’s 6,000 or so hotel rooms are spread across dozens of properties ranging from the casino hotels to recently opened, newly-constructed buildings such as the Godfrey and the Cambria and renovated historic buildings like the David Whitney.

“A lot of the hotels in downtown are sold out,” Molinari said. “ at is not atypical for a major event of this kind.”

Molinari declined to comment on speci c hotel room rates, but noted that when Taylor Swift played two sold-out shows at Ford Field in June 2023, some hotels were charging triple what they typically do.

“It’s a supply and demand world,” Molinari said.

A company created or registered on or after Jan. 1, 2024, and before Jan. 1, 2025, has 90 days to le from the date when it receives notice from the state that its registration is e ective. Companies formed or registered on or after Jan. 1, 2025, will have 30 days to le an initial report to FinCEN.

A rst for SBAM

SBAM regularly advocates on public policy issues at the state level and has led amicus briefs in lawsuits brought by other parties. e challenge to the Corporate Transparency Act represents a rst in pursuing its own litigation challenging a federal law.

“We have a really important constitutional question in front of us: Can you require individuals to report sensitive information to law enforcement, even if they are not suspected of doing anything wrong?” Calley said. “In this case, it’s such an expansive and problematic new law that is aimed squarely at small businesses that we really couldn’t stay on the side and do nothing.”

Calley expects to see other lawsuits by business groups arise across the nation. He hopes court challenges will ultimately drive Congress to revisit the law and pursue other ways to crack down on illegal activities that the Corporate Transparency Act targets.

“Clearly, law enforcement needs to aggressively root out and prosecute those o enders, but they cannot do it at the expense of treating every single small business owner as though they were a criminal,” he said. “It’s just not an acceptable solution. Our hope is that Congress will just go back to the drawing board and say, ‘ is was just not well thought out, it’s not constitutional.’”

Newer downtown hotels including the Detroit Foundation Hotel (left) and the Shinola Hotel have helped push up the average rates. | COSTAR GROUP

CEO Elana Rugh is inspired to stabilize the Detroit Historical Museum for the long haul

When she took the top job at the Detroit Historical Society and Detroit Historical Museum in 2018, Elana Rugh knew it was a turnaround situation. She didn’t have a museum background, but she had led the MS Society’s Michigan Chapter through a nancial turnaround and was a “museum geek” — both things she believes helped her get the job. The idea now that she could help the museum become sustainable long-term by securing a joint operating millage with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History inspires her. The 55-year-old Michigan native grew up in Bloom eld Hills. She and her husband are already dreaming of retirement, but they don’t plan to go far. They’re rehabbing homes and a historic church in Northern Michigan and one day, will y north.

By | Sherri Welch

The Detroit Historical Museum and the Wright Museum had hoped to get an operating millage on the ballot later this year.  Where does that stand?

We basically ran out of time because of two things: One is our desire and need to spend more time working through the details with leadership of Wayne and Oakland County.  And then because of the current political state, not much business is occurring in the House because there are two empty Democratic seats. ere really is not a chance that it will be on the ballot this year. But we have our sights set on August of 2026.

So what’s next on the millage push?

Our focus is really on just getting the enabling legislation passed. e counties then could create an authority to actually put the millage on the ballot. We’re hopeful that it will be this spring. en we negotiate with the counties on the rate of the millage the value proposition to the communities, everything that’s going to be included and the timing of when it would be on the ballot. In the meantime, we’re working to hopefully receive additional transitional funding from the state as we’ve been fortunate enough to receive and split the last two scal years. We’re asking for an additional $10 million to be included in the budget for scal year ’25. We’re operating on an $8 million budget with transitional funding. We’ve been historically underfunded. Both institutions have, and we need a signi cant game changer. We believe that the residents of the region here are really supportive of its cultural institutions. We’re the last two remaining publicly held cultural institutions in the area. And this will allow us to be sustainable in perpetuity.

On the services agreements, the Detroit Institute of Arts offers free admission to residents of the counties supporting it with an operating millage. But the Detroit Zoo does not. What are you thinking on that?

We’re still negotiating, but we absolutely envision that the service agreements would include free admission to

residents of those counties. We’re also talking about free tours and transportation for school and senior groups and more collaboration with other historical institutions in the counties. ose are examples of the things that we’re already talking to them about.

What else is happening at the museum?

e most impactful project that we just are completing now is called e Hustle. is is our celebration of current Black Detroit-based entrepreneurs where we tell the story of 34 entrepreneurs. We had a series of exhibitions and programs, and that has been the most important work that we have done, certainly since the Detroit ’67 project, but maybe in our history, because it’s uplifting. It was a two-year project that’s just concluding now. We’ve received so much support and enthusiasm around this that we have already announced intentions to do the Hustle Two, which we will launch in 2025. I won’t say who quite yet, but I already have a couple of sponsors who have stepped up on that. We have some other signi cant exhibits that are coming up here. We have a really important one with the Jewish Historical Society that’s opening in a few weeks that is called Life on Hastings Street and tells the really early story of the Black Bottom area. And we are launching a huge exhibit on the history of Detroit Diesel.

Our visitorship at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum has never been higher. It continues to just be such a gem on Belle Isle. is past year, we had a really successful exhibition in partnership with the University of Michigan on microplastics.

The Detroit Historical Museum has been front and center with the Cultural District Project. Where does that stand?

We have been working diligently as a group of 12 institutions over time to ensure that this continues to move forward. e rst project has been identi ed, which is work on the DIA parking situation. ey’re going to reactivate and rebuild the underground parking at the DIA. And then the space above it will become new green space that all

of the cultural institutions will be able to activate. So that’s really exciting. As we move forward, we all recognized a need to create really kind of a new organization,

great bones, it is really a solid church. We just thought it would be a really fun project to buy something historic, which we both love, and modernize it and

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