Although Google officials declined to release the term or any other specifics about the lease, they did say that the company's search for office space continues in the Ann Arbor area. "We are reviewing all possibilities for our permanent location," says Grady Burnett, head of online sales and operations for Google Ann Arbor. Mountain View, CA-based Google, which announced in July that it planned to locate its AdWords online advertising sales and operations center in Ann Arbor, opened its local shop in September.
Google's future Ann Arbor home – McKinley Towne Centre -- is a mixed-use redevelopment that's one block from State Street and the central campus of the University of Michigan. The $75 million project, which is being rolled out in three phases, combines 100,000 sf of office and 50,000 sf of retail, with a mix of for-sale and rental residential units. "The environment that we offer – a mixed-use project in a central business district – fits well with their culture," says Marc Stein, national director of leasing with McKinley Associates Inc.
Staying downtown was important for Google, which plans to create 1,000 local jobs in the next five years. "The Ann Arbor community has been incredibly welcoming to us, and we wanted to remain downtown," Burnett says. "The facility is centrally located, easily accessible and provided an open floor plan that is necessary as we grow."
The McKinley Towne Centre project is spearheaded by locally based McKinley Associates Inc., which purchased TCF Bank's 100,000-sf Michigan headquarters building for $17 million in February 2005. The first phase of the project is the renovation of the former TCF Bank building, which was built in the mid-1980s, and the construction of a 4,400-sf retail building on the same parcel, according to Stein. Retail tenants include a TCF Bank branch, Cingular, Salsarita's Fresh Cantina and Bar Louie. Bodman, a Detroit-based law firm, took occupancy of its 10,000-sf office space in the building earlier this year. Quoted lease rates are $30 per sf gross for office space.
Other components of the project include Metro 202, a 10-story apartment building, and Citi Centre Lofts, a 10-story, 90-unit condo building with first-floor retail. Citi Centre Lofts is being developed by Palatine, IL-based Joseph Freed and Associates, which purchased the parcel for the project from McKinley. Prices have not yet been determined for the lofts, which will range from 800 sf to 1,200 sf. McKinley still owns the Metro 202 parcel, Stein says, adding that no timeline has been set for development of the apartment building.
Joseph Freed recently received site-plan approval for Citi Centre Lofts, says managing director Laith Hermiz. He adds that the Google deal is a big win for the project as well as the city of Ann Arbor. "We're very excited about the news that Google is coming to the location," he says. "The Google lease will bring the clientele that will help support the retail and residential."
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