Crain's real estate reporter Kirk Pinho interviewed Dan Gilbert, the founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc. and Rock Ventures LLC, after the billionaire mortgage mogul and real estate maven's rare public on-stage appearance with Christopher Ilitch, the president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc.

The two discussed Gilbert's pending and underway developments, Ford Motor Co.'s expected purchase and redevelopment of Michigan Central Station and the significance of the Urban Land Institute's annual spring meeting coming to Detroit with 4,000 real estate professionals.

What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation that took place Wednesday at Cobo Center:

Kirk Pinho: That was an interesting chat. I don't think I've ever actually seen you guys on the stage together.

Dan Gilbert: We have been. I'm trying to think, somebody asked me that earlier. It's been awhile. We did CNBC.

Pinho: It's rare.

Gilbert: I don't know how much media in general they do. Not that it's bad, it's just that I think he just chooses not to.

Pinho: Thanks for taking some time. Where are things heading with the jail site? I know it has to be demo'ed, but have there been any broad contours of what's going to go there, how many buildings ...

Gilbert: The first thing is we gotta get that thing down. We expect that to begin some time toward the end of the summer. Simultaneously to that, we will be continuing initial sort of design stuff on all that. Right now we are focused on Hudson's, Monroe, the Book, and some other things.

I was telling somebody earlier, I think that, because those projects are three or four years or whatever, there's gonna be overlap, for sure. It's not like we're gonna wait for those two (to finish in order to) start (the jail site project). But I think the demand, as Chris was eluding to when we sat down, the momentum and the type of companies is becoming more and more. Until these buildings are up, we don't have the space. The interest in Detroit continues to grow and business want to be here.

Pinho: Do you have any of the space pre-leased out, even before steel gets in the ground?

Gilbert: What property?

Pinho: Hudson's.

Gilbert: There aren't leases signed yet, but there is significant interest from larger companies, and smaller ones, but larger ones, too. Some of them are in our portfolio and others are not.

Pinho: Is one of them VW?

Gilbert: I wouldn't even know that. I don't think it is, but I don't know.

Pinho: You were mentioning this in your individual remarks ...

Gilbert: Did you like that I used a teleprompter? I used a teleprompter? Did you see?

Pinho: Was there a teleprompter up there?

Gilbert: That's a big secret? Ninety percent of it was notes down here.

Pinho: Well I heard you bring up the Ford thing (with the company redeveloping Michigan Central Station), and I was kind of curious, if that makes you, with your portfolio, go farther west along Michigan?

Gilbert: I haven't really thought of it in those terms. Certainly anything that happens like that is helpful for anyone who invests in greater downtown and Detroit in general. A company of that size, of that significant. Talk about doing some pretty big stuff, from what we understand. We don't have direct information, and sometimes we hear it from you first. We have a few parcels there (Corktown Lofts).

Pinho: What about how it works with regard to the transformational brownfield stuff? I don't think you guys have received final approval from the Michigan Strategic Fund yet. But with something along the lines of a train station, what the Ilitches are doing, what you're doing in addition to the stuff that's already been announced for brownfield, since there is only one approval per year ...

Gilbert: It's one start, I think. I think the way the legislation is written ... I think ours officially started in 2017. If Ilitch does 2018, (Ford) could do 2019 if that qualifies.

Pinho: Right, I was actually getting at whether there is some sort of gentlemen's agreement. "Chris, you go in 2018, Ford you go in 2019 ... "

Gilbert: I think there is some state agency.

Pinho: Michigan Strategic Fund.

Gilbert: I think they may try to choreograph it. Assuming we approve it all, they say it lines up.

Pinho: Obviously with the train station, the rest of Ilitches stuff, your guys' stuff, are you confident you can find the workforce for it?

Gilbert: I think that's still a challenge. That's still a challenge. This would be a shame, right? All this is happening and that we have able-bodied people who want to work who for some way we didn't have the training to get them to the position to take these jobs. We are very, very cognizant of it and very, very focused on it. I think there is some progress, but we have to do more, and the city and the state ... I mean, it's an investment that will come right back, right?

I just know the enormous amount of demand that seems to be in the marketplace. What I'm hearing anecdotally from general contractors and things is that we need to get more carpenters, plumbers, heating and cooling, electricians.

Pinho: In general has there been any progress or more refined plans on what you guys have been talking about with GM east of the Renaissance Center or the Uniroyal site ... —

Gilbert: Not the Uniroyal, I don't have anything on that. But we keep progressing (east of the RenCen). That's a significant site, a beautiful site. It's been two-three years, but it's been that way for good reasons. I think them understanding where they are, what they want, them coming out of their bankruptcy ... They have a better understanding of what they want to do now. We are working with them all the time, I just don't have any sort of newsy thing to say on it. But we are very excited about that site.

Pinho: Do you like the idea of the aquarium?

Gilbert: I think an aquarium downtown is brilliant. A few years ago I did some work and aquariums are one of the very few sort of attractions that, there are actually private aquariums on a for-profit model that work in this country. Atlanta.

Pinho: I was just talking to a guy about the Atlanta one and apparently it's supposed to be incredible.

Gilbert: It's one of these things where if you do a little bit of research, people believe, if you do it right ... A $150 million aquarium, if you do it the right way, can be a profitable thing, a very profitable thing, versus when somebody does a museum or a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I gotta dig that stuff up. I think aquariums are great.

Pinho: Is that the right site for it?

Gilbert: Where are they talking about?

Pinho: The Ford Auditorium site.

Gilbert: I gotta think about that, I don't know. Maybe.

Pinho: That's where you guys wanted to put Amazon, or at least some of Amazon.

Gilbert: It might be a decent site. How big is that site? Fourteen, 15 acres?

Pinho: I have no idea how big it is. Have there been any more conversations with Amazon? Obviously they are here in 150 West Jefferson, but have you guys reached out saying, "Hey, we still have all this office space coming online. If you wanna still put 1,000 workers here ... " Have you spoken with (Amazon CEO Jeff) Bezos since the decision?

Gilbert: I have not, but I hopefully will in the next few months in July at Sun Valley.

Pinho: What else is interesting?

Gilbert: This is a big deal for Detroit, this thing (ULI spring meeting). Talking to 4,000 commercial real estate builders and developers that are in one place in your city that you are showcasing, man? You almost couldn't ... It's like a dream.

Pinho: Have you been fielding leads individually from people from New York, L.A., whatever?

Gilbert: There are a few I've got in the next few days, but Bedrock has got a ton. There's retailers here, there's builders, there's developers.

Pinho: Yeah, isn't Bruce (Schwartz, Detroit ambassador who leads tours of Bedrock's portfolio) super busy the next three days?

Gilbert: We actually cloned Bruce. There is a clone of him. There are several clones.