The suburban Detroit commercial real estate market remains a resilient one, something that was clear during Michigan REjournal’s Detroit Suburban State of the Market Summit held Oct. 3 at The Community House in Birmingham, Michigan.
A big group of more than 170 local CRE professionals gathered to hear the good news about commercial real estate activity in Detroit’s suburban communities. The consensus? Yes, the suburbs are facing their own challenges. But commercial real estate here is resilient.
As in most markets, the multifamily, industrial and retail sectors are especially strong today in the Detroit suburbs. All three sectors are still seeing solid activity and lower vacancy rates. And while the suburban office market’s vacancy rate is still too high, it’s not quite as alarming as the vacancy rates in Detroit itself.
The event also featured plenty of opportunity for networking, as attendees gathered to discuss the state of their markets, local deal flow and their hopes for the future.
Speaking on the Suburban Market Trends: State of the Market panel were AJ Bower, Vice President – Advisory & Brokerage Services, Friedman Real Estate; Brendan George, Senior Vice President, CBRE; Paul Choukourian, Executive Managing Director, Colliers; Kathleen Garmo, Senior Advisor, Keystone Commercial Real Estate; Scott Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer, S.R. Jacobson Development Corp.; Mason Capitani, Managing Partner, L. Mason Capitani CORFAC International; and Allen Weiss, Senior Vice President, Plante Moran Realpoint, the panel’s moderator.
Participating in the Design, Construction & Property Innovation panel were Nick Weise, Vice President, Principal, Rightsize Facility, the panel’s moderator; Lori James, Senior Principal, Interiors, SmithGroup; Mitch Hudepohl, Director of Business Development, ARCO National Construction; Larry Brinker Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Brinker; and Zack Boisvert, Director of Construction Services, Premier Construction & Design.
The Investment & Financing Opportunities panel closed out the summit. Participating in this panel were Craig Miller, President & Managing Partner, DUFFY+DUFFY COST SEGREGATION; Anne Galbraith Kohn, Senior Vice President, CBRE; Dennis Bernard, President, Bernard Financial Group; Barry Swatsenbarg, Executive VP, Detroit – Investment & Loan Sale, Auction Services, Colliers; Jeffrey Schostak, President, Schostak Brothers & Company Inc.; Robert Pliska, President, SPERRY – Property Investment Counselors; A.J. Weiner, Senior Managing Director, JLL; and Michael Vogt, Member, Dickinson Wright, who served as the panel’s moderator.
