Office & Mixed Use Portfolio
Legal Services
This former furniture store in downtown Ypsilanti had been vacant for so long that plants were starting to grow inside the building. It was purchased in 2017 for renovation by the MI Advocacy Program, an umbrella organization for several legal services nonprofits to house their growing staffs. The building now houses two floors of modern offices, as well as meeting spaces available to other public uses. Extensive repairs were done to the building, which was considered a contributor to the historic downtown area. New windows and skylights were added to bring natural light to the former retail areas.
McKinley Towne Centre (MTC)
McKinley, a large locally-based national real estate management firm, purchased this 130,000 SF former TCF Bank office building with the intention to redevelop it into a mixed use facility that made a much greater contribution to the liveliness of downtown Ann Arbor. About 4,500 SF of retail space was added, and about 6,000 SF of covered parking were enclosed to add retail space at ground level. Lobbies and other common areas were renovated, and windows were added into the former bank branch to enhance its street presence. The renovated building was able to land the most high profile tenant coming to Ann Arbor in years, Google, as well as other prominent tenants including Bodman (law firm), Bar Louie, AT&T, and Salsaritas (since replaced with Tio’s). Although Google has since moved to another building, their space was quickly filled with other growing tech firms.
MTC Liberty
Just down the street from McKinley Towne Centre, McKinley purchased another building with a checkered history: in this case a failed former food court (since replaced with offices, but vacant at the time of purchase) below a public parking structure; also included was a long-closed bank building. The outdated bank building was extensively renovated with a new façade, and the building interior completely redone to accommodate multiple new tenants including Tomukun, FedEx Office, and Menlo Innovations. CDI also provided architectural services for many of the tenant renovations.
United Bank & Trust
United Bank & Trust opened its new Dexter, MI branch in 2001. CDI provided full services from shepherding the project through the approvals process, to building and site design, and through construction.
Tech Center
These renderings were for a new office building, in the parking lot of an older building on the edge of downtown Ann Arbor, on a complicated site with extensive flood plain and easement issues. The owner decided the market wasn’t ready for new office construction yet, and ended up selling the site. CDI had also provided frequent services on tenant spaces in the older building.
Pondview
Pondview is an office and research & development structure on the south side of Ann Arbor. It houses the headquarters of NuStep, a developer of low impact step exerciser products. The building was designed to maximize views to the pond and surrounding landscaping.
Bank/Office Bldg
The Flagstar Business Center is a new 3-story building that was proposed for downtown Ann Arbor. The project, now canceled, was to house a bank branch and mortgage office for Flagstar, as well as speculative office space. This rendering shows the schematic design.
