Business

Palace of Auburn Hills sold, set to be demolished fall 2019

MICHIGAN CHRONICLE — The Palace of Auburn Hills opened in 1988. This fall, it is scheduled for demolishment. Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores and Livonia-based Schostak Brothers & Company announced the formation of a joint venture to redevelop the Palace of Auburn Hills and its surrounding land. Schostak Brothers will serve as the lead partner and manage the future mixed-use development, which is expected to include corporate office, research & development and technology companies.

Published

5 years ago

July 20, 2019

Branden Hunter

By Branden Hunter

The Palace of Auburn Hills opened in 1988. This fall, it is scheduled for demolishment.

Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores and Livonia-based Schostak Brothers & Company announced the formation of a joint venture to redevelop the Palace of Auburn Hills and its surrounding land. Schostak Brothers will serve as the lead partner and manage the future mixed-use development, which is expected to include corporate office, research & development and technology companies.

In 2016, when Gores announced the Pistons’ return to the City of Detroit, he emphasized the importance of transitioning The Palace in a way that would benefit the region long term.

“We promised the people of Auburn Hills and Oakland County that we would find a solution that would be good for the community and make a positive economic impact,” said Gores. “Partnering with a proven, well-respected developer like Schostak Brothers is an important step in delivering on that promise.”

Gores said he retained a vested interest in the project because he believes strongly in the potential of the site and the future of the region.

“Auburn Hills has been a great home to our franchise for a long time,” he added. “This investment will allow us to stay connected in a way that will create new opportunities for people who live and work in the area.”

Schostak Development President Jeffrey Schostak said he views The Palace property as one of the premier parcels of real estate in me

Detroit based on its location in a growing area of northern Oakland County and its excellent accessibility on and off I-75.

“Schostak Brothers is ready to take the lead and use our expertise in complex redevelopments to create a new and exciting next chapter for The Palace and its surrounding property,” said Schostak. “We are looking forward to working with Tom Gores’ organization and our partners at the City of Auburn Hills, Oakland County and the State of Michigan on this project, and we’re excited about the prospects for this site.”

Schostak Brothers & Company, a fourth-generation family business, has held a development footprint in Michigan for nearly 100 years. Since 1920 and throughout the company’s long history, the firm has executed development, acquisitions and leasing of retail, office, industrial, residential and mixed-use projects in both urban and suburban settings. The company’s current activities include joint ventures, build-to-suit projects, mixed-use developments and necessity-based retail in 30 states.

Detroit Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem said finding a partner with strong local community presence was a priority.

“We want to work with people who are truly invested in the community and are committed to maximizing the potential of the site,” said Tellem. “Schostak Brothers is a strong, recognized name in the local real estate landscape. They also have national reach and a strong track record of delivering results, which makes them the ideal partner.”

A specific timeline for the development has not been announced. The Pistons organization is preparing to move its remaining team and business operations from The Palace to the new Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center in Detroit, which is on schedule to be completed this fall.

Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel lauded the sale and subsequent partnership between Schostak Brothers & Company and PS&E as a ‘win-win-win’ for the City of Auburn Hills, its business community, and its residents.

“There has been great cooperation and collaboration with the Pistons organization since the team announced it was moving to Detroit,” said Mayor McDaniel. “Recognizing the probability that the property would not continue as an arena, an internal planning activity took place within the City to establish the highest and best use for the land. News of this joint venture with Schostak Brothers aligns with a future for the property that is beneficial to the city while fostering innovation and job creation. We are enthusiastic about the redevelopment potential and what is expected to be an outcome that provides for future expansion of the city’s corporate business community.”

The Pistons played their final game at the Palace in April 2017, before moving into Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit for the 2017-2018 season.

This article originally appeared in the Michigan Chronicle.

Branden Hunter

Posts by Branden Hunter

Up Next

Women in Worship host Marketplace Panel

Don't Miss

Three special events headline Motown 60 Weekend

Branden Hunter

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

15 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Business

V.P. Kamala Harris: Americans With Criminal Records Will Soon Be Eligible for SBA Loans

Speaking in Las Vegas on Jan. 27, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a forthcoming federal rule that will extend access to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to Americans who have been convicted of felonies but have served their time. Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

On her daylong trip, Harris was joined by Horford, SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, Interim Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Eric Morrissette, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev).

By California Black Media

Small business owners typically apply for the SBA loans to start or sustain their businesses.

Harris thanked U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, for the work he has done in Washington to support small businesses and to invest in people.

“He and I spent some time this afternoon with business leaders and small business leaders here in Nevada. The work you have been doing to invest in community and to invest in the ambition and natural capacity of communities has been exceptional,” Harris said, speaking to a crowd of a few hundred people at the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall in East Las Vegas.

“Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers to economic opportunity once they leave prison and return to the community, with an unemployment rate among the population of more than 27%,” the White House press release continued. “Today’s announcement builds on the Vice President’s work to increase access to capital. Research finds that entrepreneurship can reduce recidivism for unemployed formerly incarcerated individuals by as much as 30%.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Business

G.O.P. Lawmakers: Repeal AB 5 and Resist Nationalization of “Disastrous” Contractor Law

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

File Photo: Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City)

By California Black Media

Republican lawmakers gathered outside of the Employee Development Department in Sacramento on Jan. 23 to call for the repeal of AB5, the five-year old California law that reclassified gig workers and other independent contractors as W-2 employees under the state’s labor code.
Organizers said they also held the rally to push back against current efforts in Washington to pass a similar federal law.

“We are here to talk about this very important issue – a battle we have fought for many years – to stop this disastrous AB 5 policy,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City).
Now, that threat has gone national as we have seen this new rule being pushed out of the Biden administration,” Gallagher continued.

On Jan. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule providing guidance on “on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”
“This final rule rescinds the Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act rule (2021 IC Rule), that was published on January 7, 2021, and replaces it with an analysis for determining employee or independent contractor status that is more consistent with the FLSA as interpreted by longstanding judicial precedent,” a Department of Labor statement reads.
U.S. Congressmember Kevin Kiley (R-CA-3), who is a former California Assemblymember, spoke at the rally.

“We are here today to warn against the nationalization of one of the worst laws that has ever been passed in California, which has devastated the livelihoods of folks in over 600 professions,” said Kiley, adding that the law has led to a 10.5% decline in self-employment in California.

Kiley blamed U.S Acting Secretary of Labor, July Su, who was the former secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, for leading the effort to redefine “contract workers” at the federal level.
Kiley said two separate lawsuits have been filed against Su’s Rule – its constitutionality and the way it was enacted, respectively. He said he is also working on legislation in Congress that puts restrictions on the creation and implementation of executive branch decisions like Su’s.
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez (R-Rancho Santa Margarita) announced that she plans to introduce legislation to repeal AB 5 during the current legislative session.

“So many working moms like myself, who are also raising kids, managing households, were devastated by the effects of AB 5 because they lost access to hundreds of flexible professions,” Sanchez continued. “I’ve been told by many of these women that they have lost their livelihoods as bookkeepers, artists, family caregivers, designers, and hairstylists because of this destructive law.”