20140414-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 4/11/2014 6:11 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 30, No. 15 APRIL 14 – 20, 2014 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2014 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Molina to move to bigger Troy HQ The company has about 300 em- Estimate: Medicaid biz could bring 150-300 jobs ployees in Troy. Yu said the com- pany does not know precisely how How did they pay for it? BY KIRK PINHO py 90,000 square feet. many employees it will add be- AND JAY GREENE The company also continues to cause of state contracts “still com- Some ballpark estimates CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS look for downtown Detroit office ing down the pipeline.” space for a satellite office. Jim Berkemeier, vice president The state’s third-largest Medic- Sunny Yu, a spokeswoman for CRAIN’S aid HMO plans to double down on Long Beach, Calif.-based Molina of Southfield-based Advocate Com- mercial Real Estate Advisors, said MICHIGAN BUSINESS headquarters office space in Troy COSTAR GROUP INC. Healthcare Inc., the parent company to keep up with a rapidly growing Molina Healthcare of Michigan will of Molina Healthcare of Michigan, 90,000 square feet could accommo- workforce tied to expanding Med- move into the Troy Corporate Center. said its operations in the state will date 450-600 employees, or 150-300 icaid business in Michigan. continue to “continue to grow and new hires, based on the industry Molina Healthcare of Michigan is in the Troy Corporate Center on West hire as needed.” Michigan’s expan- standard of 150-200 square feet of moving in the third quarter to a pur- Long Lake Road east of Crooks sion of Medicaid has been a boon office space per person. chased 197,000-square-foot building Road. It’s planning to initially occu- for business. See Molina, Page 33 Tourism dollars conjure dreams of fields, Page 19 Market rise Second Stage could help restore city Families on staying in biz, staying together, Page 11 pension cuts This Just In BY CHAD HALCOM CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Willow Run Airport names The pension benefit cuts Detroit retired Marine pilot as director has proposed for more than 21,000 retired city employees in bank- Christopher Mullin, 51, a re- ruptcy court could prove fairly cently retired U.S. Marine “We have stores or boutiques that you can’t find everywhere,” short-lived, depending on how Corps pilot and aviation offi- said Michelle Lewis, who opened Painting with a Twist in quickly the pension plans get out- cer, has been appointed di- Ferndale in 2010 and expanded three years later. side funding and whether the rector of Willow Run Airport. JOHN SOBCZAK stock market continues to thrive. Mullin will assume control Much of the narrative about of day-to-day operations at the post-bankruptcy pension benefits commercial and cargo airport has dealt in immutable numbers: that straddles Van Buren Compensation cuts of 6 percent Township and Ypsilanti and 26 percent, respectively, for Township after being hired Finding Ferndale the Police and Fire Retirement Sys- by Wayne County Airport Authori- tem and General Retirement System, ty CEO Thomas Naughton, ac- rector of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority. even deeper cuts if they oppose the cording to a Friday statement. In 2000, vacancy in downtown Ferndale was well City’s biz-friendly moves attract city’s plan of adjustment in court, Mullin replaces Sean Bros- over 30 percent, she said. Today, the core downtown no cost-of-living adjustments for nan, who was promoted to is just 2 percent vacant, and the outskirts of the years to come, and a drastic over- vice president of mainte- companies, spur expansions downtown are just 4 percent vacant. haul of retiree health care. nance and airfield operations Small-business expansions are only part of the But the plan allows for trustees for both Detroit Metropolitan BY KIRK PINHO story in Ferndale. Industrial companies are invest- to approve restoring some lost ben- Airport and Willow Run. CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ing in new space, a mixed-use development that will efits, and COLA, if at any time the Mullin retired from the add needed office space and parking downtown is hree years after Michelle Lewis opened her more conservative projections re- Marines in October. He was a being planned, and businesses throughout the inner first Painting with a Twist franchise in down- quested by the city call for the military jet pilot and served ring suburb are growing their workforces. Ttown Ferndale, business was so good that she plans to become more than 80 per- 29 years in aviation support City officials and business owners credit an im- needed to double the studio’s size to 5,000 square cent funded by 2023. and planning roles. proved Michigan economy and a simpler city busi- feet on West Nine Mile Road. And those restorations, once The airport authority is ness licensing and permitting process to Ferndale’s Lewis’ story isn’t an aberration downtown, where given, would be permanent. the seven-member board that latest investment spurt. 14 businesses have expanded into larger space dur- That sounds a long way off right oversees both airports. It hasn’t been easy, said Mayor David Coulter, ing the last two years or are opening this year, ac- — Bill Shea cording to Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive di- See Ferndale, Page 32 See Pension, Page 33 Rocking the Intellectual Property World WNJ.com ATTORNEYS AT LAW (see our ad on page 2) NEWSPAPER 20140414-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 4/11/2014 2:30 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS April 14, 2014 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Harsh winter weather damages Lake Michigan, The Associated Press reported. The modifications Michigan’s fruit trees, vines Is Buffett about to swallow Kellogg for breakfast? are intended to resolve a dispute Now that the thaw is upon us to with federal regulators over dump- Stories about Kellogg Co. usually begin with some targets or “elephants.” Kellogg also may appeal to stay (pause for prayer), the state’s ing the ash into the lake. The 410- reference to Tony the Tiger and usually riffs on PepsiCo Inc., owner of Quaker oatmeal, or Nestle SA, fruit farmers can check their trees. foot Badger offers 60-mile cruises be- “they’re great!” The humor probably was lost on said Edward Jones & Co. tween Ludington and Manitowoc, Some already have found damage, residents of Kellogg’s hometown of Battle Creek Kellogg spokesman Kris Charles said the compa- Wis., between May and October. the Michigan Farm Bureau said in a sometime in the mid-1970s, so let’s move on to the ny doesn’t respond to speculation. A 3G representa- report. “There certainly is going to Ⅲ Last month, Michigan Briefs fact that some folks think Warren Buffett may want tive declined to comment, and Buffett didn’t re- be some bud damage and potential noted that Kalamazoo-based Bron- to add Kellogg to his holdings. spond to a request for comment sent to an assistant. damage to the wood,” said Ken son Healthcare planned to open a Kellogg, maker of breakfast cereal and assorted Like Heinz’s ketchup, Kellogg’s products probably health clinic in a Meijer Inc. store in Nye, a horticulture and forestry snacks, surged the most since 2009 this month amid will be around a century from now, fitting Buffett’s specialist with the bureau. Portage. Last week, the Grand speculation it might become the industry’s next preference for brands with staying power, said Tom Rapids Business Journal reported Michigan is the national center takeover target, Bloomberg News reported. The com- Russo, a partner at Lancaster, Pa.-based Gardner for tart cherry production and also that the Walker-based retailer pany’s well-known products may entice billionaire Russo & Gardner. Kellogg also meets several of Buf- strengthened a relationship with a major producer of apples and Buffett, who teamed with 3G Capital last year to ac- fett’s financial criteria for acquisition candidates. He New Jersey-based U.S. Vision, sweet cherries. “Apples probably quire H.J. Heinz & Co., said analysts at Gardner Russo & usually prefers “simple” businesses with “consis- which operates in 50 of Meijer’s 200- weren’t affected too much, but Gardner. tent” earnings power and “good” returns on equity plus stores. Under the new relation- we’ll see some damage to cherries, In his latest letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s while employing little or no debt, according to his an- ship, U.S. Vision, the sixth-largest peaches, grapes and blueberries,” shareholders, Buffett said he’s still looking for big nual report. optical retailer, will be Meijer’s ex- Nye said in a statement reported clusive vision center. by The Associated Press. Ⅲ The health of this year’s crop de- industrial purchasing managers ents. The Grand Rapids Business MICH-CELLANEOUS Michigan State University is join- pends in part on how the spring every month, said his index of new Journal reports that The B.O.B. ing food and drink makers and sell- shapes up, he said. “The best-case orders showed strong improve- restaurant in downtown Grand Ⅲ Bank of America Corp. will sell ers to create the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety, The Associated scenario now is for us to stay cool ment, while his production index Rapids plans to devote a chunk of 11 branches in central and eastern Press reported. MSU and the Grocery as long as possible.” shows more modest gains. The em- a vertical garden — that is, a gar- Michigan to Columbus, Ohio- ployment index also improved.