John Gallagher

Detroit Free Press

Businessman Dan Gilbert said Wednesday that so many residents and businesses have been moving downtown that the city's central business district may be running out of room.

In an upbeat summary of 2015 progress downtown, Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans who with his partners owns or controls more than 80 properties downtown, said his Bedrock Real Estate Services signed 70 new tenants to downtown leases in 2015 after completing 53 new leases in 2014.

“The demand to be downtown is very strong, and we plan to continue investing and creating new opportunities so others can join us and participate in the fascinating story of Detroit," Gilbert said in a statement released by his office. "Soon, the biggest challenge will be lack of adequate supply for the anticipated demand in the marketplace.”

Bedrock's 2015 leasing activity filled up nearly 1.3 million square feet of retail and office space, after filling 1.1 million square feet in 2014.

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Among Bedrock's biggest deals last year: Ally Financial agreed to occupy 13 floors with 321,000 square feet of office space and bring 1,500 employees to the newly named Ally Detroit Center, the former One Detroit Center. Among other new tenants either moving in or committing to leases in 2015 were Nike, which plans to open its downtown store on Woodward Avenue in the spring, the House of Pure Vin wine shop, the organic juice store Drought, and the Townhouse restaurant, among many others.

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Meanwhile, construction continues on several projects not controlled by Gilbert, including most prominently the Ilitch family's arena project. The M-1 Rail project should wrap up construction by the end of 2016, and multiple new residential apartment projects are in various stages of construction or planning.

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“Detroit’s Central Business District grew substantially (in 2015) with the addition of more technology-centric businesses, new shopping and dining destinations and world-class art. Many additional new tenants will be announced in 2016,” Dan Mullen, executive vice president of Bedrock Real Estate Services, said in a statement. "The interest in Detroit is growing stronger every day.”

Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep.