10/09/2026
3rd Quarter Industry Events. Here's What We Heard.
September put our team in rooms with the people actually shaping Southeast Michigan's next chapter — developers, owners, brokers, elected officials, economists, and the institutions building the region's map. Here's a fuller look at where we were and what stood out:
Detroit Construction, Development & Design Summit opened with a clear thesis: Detroit is in motion. The event came together under Mayor Mary Sheffield's first year in office and was headlined by H. Luke Shaefer, the city's first Chief Executive of Health, Human Services, and Poverty Solutions discussing how that agenda is translating into programs targeting youth outcomes and homelessness.
The panels that followed covered real capital movement necessary to foster growth: Opportunity Zone-backed workforce housing, mixed-income infill in Brush Park, and industrial recapitalization fueling advanced manufacturing. A separate panel tracked the anchor institutions redrawing Detroit's map — Olympia Development's build-out of The District Detroit, Wayne State University's $200 million Health Sciences Research Building, Greektown's newly reopened streetscape, and MDOT's ongoing $350 million I-94 rebuild tying those neighborhoods together.
With an entirely different format, Macomb County held a real estate exchange speed-networking event connecting developers, investors, and brokers directly with municipal representatives from across Macomb County. This included municipalities such as Center Line, Sterling Heights, Warren, Shelby Township, and more. The value of rooms like this aren’t the key note, but a direct line to the people who best understand site availability and permitting priority in a county that's been quietly absorbing a lot of the region's industrial growth.
The Michigan Real Estate Journal held its Annual Michigan Real Estate Awards at the Wabeek Club in Bloomfield Hills. Red Arrow Lofts, our adaptive reuse project in Corktown, was named a finalist in the Redevelopment / Reuse / Historic category. While we didn't take home the win, we stood alongside the strongest adaptive reuse work happening in the state this year. It was an exciting night and an event we were proud to sponsor!
Billed as "The Exit Interview," Sen. Gary Peters appeared at the Detroit Economic Club at the Masonic Temple as he prepares to leave the U.S. Senate in 2027 after more than 30 years in public service. The conversation covered his record, Michigan, Washington, and his view of what's next for the state — including his long-standing argument that Michigan's leadership in autonomous vehicle development could position it as a genuine center for AI, provided the state and private sector invest in retraining the workforce most exposed to automation. It was a thought provoking day and great connecting with people across all industries!
Just a week later we were back at the Detroit Economic Club this time to close out the month with Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr addressing economic conditions and monetary policy. Barr said the U.S. economy grew at roughly a 2% rate in the first half of 2026 and that, with growth solid and the labor market holding up, the Fed still needs to better balance the risks to its inflation target — he noted he does not yet see a clear trend back toward 2% inflation. He also pointed to the rapid rise of AI investment as a new source of economic demand, layering on top of supply shocks from tariffs and geopolitical conflict, with longer-term effects on productivity and living standards still genuinely uncertain. For anyone tracking financing conditions and material costs heading into Q4, that's about as direct a read as it gets.
What This Month Added Up To
Every one of these rooms sharpens how we think about the market our projects sit in — the capital actually moving, the politics shaping what gets approved and where, and the macro conditions setting the cost of building any of it. Looking forward to a great Q4 and finish for 2026!
