Bedrock Expands Detroit Holdings

Aerial view of 200 Walker St. Image courtesy of Bedrock

Detroit developer Bedrock has acquired The ICON, a 420,000-square-foot Class A multi-purpose development at 200 Walker St. that was formerly home to a UAW-GM training center, on Detroit’s East Riverfront.

The acquisition adds more than 18 acres and 880 parking spaces to the growing downtown portfolio of Detroit’s largest real estate developer.

The 200 Walker St. acquisition includes:

• 420,000 square feet in three buildings:

— West Building, an eight-story office tower and 375-seat, two-story auditorium

— Center Building, a three-story training center and warehousing space

— East Building, a single-story partial mezzanine and full-service cafeteria.

• 880 parking garage spaces.

The West Building also features a 360-degree outdoor terrace on its top floor.

Financials were not disclosed. A Bedrock spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive that the seller was M & M Iconic Venture LLC, a partnership between Moceri Cos., of Auburn Hills, Mich., and Monroe Associates.

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The sellers had purchased the campus for $34 million in November 2020, according to CommercialEdge.

Bedrock has not yet revealed its plans for the Walker Street campus, but says it’s considering sustainable infrastructure, mixed-income housing, dining, office, public spaces and other uses.

Return-to-office delays

200 Walker St. is adjacent to Bedrock’s recent acquisition of 300 River Place, a 500,000-square-foot Class A office building, cementing Bedrock’s commitment to the Detroit Riverfront, which was named the Best Riverwalk in the country in the 2021 USA Today Reader’s Choice Awards.

Class A space in the Detroit CBD office market currently has a total vacancy of 10.5 percent, with year-to-date net absorption of 0.8 percent on an inventory of 6.7 million square feet, according to a third-quarter report from JLL.

Overall, the metro area’s office market has been seeing a slowdown in leasing, because of the Delta variant and the resulting delay in employees returning to offices. Metrowide year-to-date net absorption is a negative 740,000 square feet, total vacancy is up, and rent concessions are expected to rise, but JLL also notes that “acquisitions by out-of-town investors could signal confidence in the region.”