Dan Gilbert buys former UAW-GM training center in Detroit
Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm has bought the former UAW-GM Center for Human Resources on Detroit’s east waterfront and is considering what to do with the large complex.
The 420,000 square foot center, 200 Walker St., has an 18 acre site that also includes an eight story office tower, a three story training center and a 40,000 square foot warehouse building.
Gilbert’s Bedrock bought the property for an undisclosed price, a new statement said on Wednesday.
The building’s previous owners were a partnership between Detroit metro developers Moceri Companies and 400 Monroe Associates, who bought the property in October 2020 for a price Crain’s Detroit reported at $ 34 million.
The old training center is adjacent to the 300 River Place office building that Bedrock purchased earlier this year.
Following:Detroit’s UAW-GM training center sells for a secret price
Bedrock said in his announcement he was “in the early stages of imagining a vision for the area,” which could potentially include housing, offices, retail and restaurants.
“The neighborhood’s proximity to the central business district and eastern neighborhoods provides a unique opportunity to connect the vibrancy of the downtown area with the vitality of the riverside communities,” said Kofi Bonner, CEO of Bedrock, in the announcement.
“The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and other stakeholders have spent years curating iconic, memorable, and world-class public amenities. Bedrock can build on this heritage. ”
The total cost of building the UAW-GM center in the early 2000s was said to have been $ 180 million, according to a 2001 Free Press article. The money to build it was part of past GM and union negotiations.
GM had been paying most of the bills for the centre’s operations for years. In the fall of 2019, during the UAW’s 40-day strike against the automaker, the two sides agreed to shut down the center and put it up for sale. At the time, the center was involved in a federal investigation into UAW corruption.
ContactJC Reindl at or [email protected]. Follow him on twitter . Learn more about the companies and sign up for our business newsletter.
