Marelli, a global tier-one automotive supplier, has signed a multi-year lease to relocate its North American headquarters to Southfield, Michigan. The company will occupy nearly 200,000 square feet of the brownfield site at 26555 Northwestern Highway, with room to grow.
The mid-century modern building, which has been unoccupied since 2015, is conveniently located at the corner of Lahser Road and the John C. Lodge Freeway.
“While it’s important for us to be in close proximity to our automotive clients, it’s just as important to ease the transition for our employees,” said Gene Spektor, Senior Vice President Sales and Business Development North America, Marelli. “Our new location will have minimal impact on the average commute, and will provide employees with a modern, open and collaborative work environment.”
Bringing local teams together under one roof is a key step forward in Marelli’s integration process. In May 2019, Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei came together as Marelli, a move which created one of the world’s largest global independent automotive components suppliers.
The three-story building, which is undergoing extensive renovations, will feature modern workspaces for nearly 500 employees, 75 conference rooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, fitness room and plenty of indoor/outdoor meeting space. About 100,000 square feet will be dedicated to testing and lab equipment to support R&D activities for the company’s automotive lighting, electronics, exhaust, interiors, powertrain, ride dynamics and thermal solutions business units.
Marelli is leasing the property from Dembs Development, which purchased the building in 2017 from a New York-based investment company.
“Based on our extensive experience in designing and constructing new state-of-the-art facilities, we knew the minute we walked in to this building it had everything it takes, and then some, to become a world-class headquarters once again,” said Ryan Dembs, president Dembs Development.