The 251-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Detroit Troy/Auburn Hills has completed the final phase of its property-wide renovation, which includes updates to all guest suites, public spaces, exterior parking, and landscaping.
Representing a $15-million investment, the hotel, located in Troy near I-75 and the Crooks Road exit, changed its suites to a sleek, modern look. The hotel is managed by Hospitality Ventures Management Group and owned by Rockbridge Capital.
“From top to bottom, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Detroit Troy/Auburn Hills provides guests with a superior environment at every turn,” says Sara Milligan general manager of the hotel. “Our spacious suites continue to appeal to business travelers by affording more room to work and relax than the average standard-room hotel accommodations in the local market.
“Families also find the two separate rooms desirable as they look for accommodations with more area to spread out.” She adds the renovated suites all have the Hilton CleanStay door seal, which means the room was thoroughly cleaned by the hotel’s CleanStay trained associates.
The property is located at 850 Tower Drive, and is located near Flagstar, APTIV, Magna, and other North American corporate headquarters, as well as The Somerset Collection and Great Lakes Crossing Shopping Outlets.
The hotel features approximately 7,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including eight, flexible meeting rooms, as well as a business center, a swimming pool, a 24/7-market, and a fitness center.
All suites feature two-rooms with a separate living area and private bedroom, two, 55-inch flat-screen high-definition televisions, and a wet bar fitted with a microwave, mini-fridge, and a selection of gourmet coffee and teas from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
For more information about the Embassy Suites by Hilton Detroit Troy / Auburn Hills, visit here.
In related news, Colliers, an international diversified professional services and investment management company with local offices in Southfield and Birmingham, recently published real estate reports for metro Detroit, including 2020 activity and a 2021 outlook. Excerpts of the full reports include:
Industrial
The vacancy rate for industrial in metro Detroit closed 2020 at 4.3 percent, while the average asking lease rate was $6.56 per square foot in the fourth quarter 2020. As the recovery phase of COVID-19 proceeds, the industrial market continues to be the bright spot for commercial real estate in metro Detroit.
Imposed lockdowns in 2020 led to an immediate cultural shift in shopping habits over the last 10 months. The seemingly overnight conversion to online shopping out of circumstance and necessity caused e-commerce sales to skyrocket.
In the third quarter 2020 (the last time this data was available) U.S. e-commerce sales were 37.1 percent, up by 117 percent year-over-year from 17.1 percent in the same quarter 2019. This trend will be hard to shake even as the vaccination becomes more widely available and normalized shopping patterns return.
It is estimated that each additional $1 billion in online sales creates demand for 1.25 million square feet of warehouse space to fulfill those orders. As a result, e-commerce related occupancies drove demand in 2020. Active developments in the region, including speculative new construction developments, were met with optimism and newly constructed space is being absorbed quickly.
E-commerce giant Amazon remains active. In Pontiac, on the site of the former Silverdome, construction is nearly complete on a one-story, 200,000-square-foot delivery station, while construction of a 3.5-million-square-foot, five-story fulfillment center is underway. One of its most recent announcements includes plans for an 823,000-square-foot facility and warehouse space of 3.7 million square feet in Detroit that is expected to create 1,200 new jobs at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds at Woodward Avenue and Eight Mile Road.
The company’s largest facility in the area, the timeline to open is tentatively mid-2022. Nationally Amazon signed 173 leases for bulk distribution space amassing 87.9 million square feet in 2020. Amazon shows no signs of slowing down and is now America’s second-largest private employer, behind Walmart.
Home Improvement, 3PLs, and food and beverage sectors are also driving demand. During the second half of 2020 Lowe’s, Anji Logistics USA, FedEx, Performance Food Group, and Kroger announced plans to expand into industrial leases and build to suit opportunities of +/- 100,000 square feet throughout the region.
These sectors helped offset the impact of COVID-19 on the automotive industry, the economic backbone of metro Detroit. Moving forward, how automakers deal with supply chain issues globally will affect the automotive sector in Detroit, and the recovery is expected to take time.
COVID-19 remains a serious force effecting employment, manufacturing, retail sales, and consumer confidence. Economic growth will not be fully realized until pandemic worries subside, and the vaccines are widely available. Industrial demand is expected to grow with e-commerce driving demand in the warehouse distribution sector into 2021.
Office
The vacancy rate in metro Detroit increased to 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter, a 10-basis point increase from 10.3 percent in the third quarter. Continued uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 continues to delay any big moves. Sublease space hit the market at a pace not seen since 2010. The office market added an additional 317,977 square feet of sublease space since March, when the pandemic sent office workers home.
This includes 244,534 square feet added in the fourth quarter, for a total of 802,870 square feet available for sublease at the close of 2020. The average asking lease rate posted at $20.80 per square foot in the fourth quarter. Although the office market is softening, lease rates remained firm across most metro Detroit’s submarkets.
As we look ahead, the office market remains challenged but the deployment of vaccines will help the general public reach herd immunity required for government lockdowns to be removed. As immunity increases, business and consumer confidence will be restored. Many office users are opting for short term renewals until they figure out how their future office requirements shake out.
Retail
Metro Detroit’s retail market posted a 5.6 percent vacancy rate in the fourth quarter 2020. The vacancy rate for retail in Detroit’s CBD was 3.9 percent, while the average asking lease rate is $27.64 per square foot. The vacancy rate in Ann Arbor was 3.2 percent, and the average asking lease rate was $23.25 per square foot in the fourth quarter.
Total net absorption was negative throughout the year, but improved in the fourth quarter posting at (69,038) square feet. Despite uncertainty in the market, lease rates held face value in 2020. The asking lease rate was $15.29 per square foot in the fourth quarter from $14.69 per square foot in the fourth quarter 2019. However, the gap between the asking lease rate and net effective rate is widening as landlords continue to offer rent concessions.
For the full Colliers metro Detroit real estate reports, visit here.
