"One of the most interestings has been the breadth of the job," Rothwell tells GlobeSt.com. "General Motors owns property around the country and around the world, so you are always dealing with a different set of laws, a different set of protocols."
One of Rothwell's main jobs has been overseeing the implementation of GM's Southeast Michigan Plan. "We are trying to relocate into campuses in Warren, Detroit and Pontiac," Rothwell says. "We're in the final touches stage of the plan now."
The Renaissance Center in Detroit, which GM purchased several years ago for use as its world-wide headquarters, has been the site of significant amounts of redevelopment, including new restaurants open to employees and the public. "There's a great deal of satisfaction on what's happened at the Renaissance Center," Rothwell says. "There's a tremendous amount of efficiency that is gained from bringing different departments under one roof here. And you can't beat it from a corporate image standpoint."
In Warren, the automaker is asking for property tax abatements from the city as it considers spending about $200 million on renovating several buildings at its Technical Center there. The latest plans for the Technical Center come about a year after GM wrapped up a roughly $1-billion multi-year building and renovation project on the campus, which runs basically from 12 Mile to 13 Mile roads, between Van Dyke and Mound.
In addition to waiting on action by the city council on the abatement request for more work at the Tech Center, where some 20,000 direct and contract employees are located, GM is also working with the city on developing some 330 acres it owns on the west side of Mound Road, across from the Tech Center. Developer Grand Sakwa has been retained by GM to develop that land.
Rothwell reports Grand Sakwa and the automaker are working on site plans with the city on exactly how that property will be developed. "We had some internal issues because we have been using that property for some vehicle storage and that took some time to deal with," Rothwell says. "Now we are working with the city. I don't expect construction to be able to start before the beginning of 2005."
The basic plan for the Mound Road property calls for the building of some 900 residential units, including both single-family and multifamily dwellings. Rothwell says about 100 acres of the property will be left open.
In Pontiac, GM has requested a tax abatement from the city council as part of the business case for a possible $380-million, 431,000-sf engineering and laboratory facility that would service GM's Powertrain division. If such a facility were to be built, it would have 1,200 employees, who would come from GM facilities in Pontiac, Warren Ypsilanti, Romulus and Troy. Other communities are said to also be under consideration for the project, according to GM spokeswoman Darla Parks.
Is GM shuffling employees from Warren to Pontiac and back to get tax breaks? "I don't think we are talking any giant numbers of employees moving from any one location," Rothwell says. "Again, it is more of an effort to consolidate where we already are."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
