LGC Global Corp., a minority-owned contracting firm with expertise in federal and municipal infrastructure markets, along with facility management services, has reacquired its headquarters building located at the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and East Grand Blvd. in Detroit’s New Center. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The eight-story, 250,000-square-foot building, built in 1907 by Ford Motor Co., was owned by The Platform, a multi-faceted real estate development firm in Detroit. LGC Global had originally purchased the building in 2005 from the state of Michigan, and sold it to The Platform in 2018.
“We’ve been growing so fast that we needed to purchase our headquarters back,” says Avinash Rachmale, founder, CEO, and chairman of LGC Global, which has more than 500 employees. “We had purchased the former Helm building and campus along Hamilton Avenue in Highland Park (14310 Hamilton) for our new headquarters, and we have since made that our Technical Center.”
LGC Global’s headquarters, located at 7310 Woodward, is 68 percent occupied. Tenants include First Independence Bank, Wayne Metro, Assured Family Services, and Detroit Legal Aid. The building, which includes new elevators, a new HVAC system, and dedicated parking, is nearing completion of a complete restoration of the decorative, barrel-vaulted lobby.
The company’s portfolio includes new infrastructure at Water Works Park in Detroit for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and the Great Lakes Water Authority, multiple bases for the U.S. military, Detroit Public Schools Community District, Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority, Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, and more.
LGC Global has operations in Detroit, Highland Park, Flint, Florida (Tampa), New York (Niagara Falls), Texas, (Del Rio and Kennedy), and Kansas (Wichita).
The company’s technical center in Highland Park has been completely renovated after the building and surrounding property caught fire in 2016 when it was owned by a different landlord. The building, which has available space for lease, includes LGC Global’s technical center, field operations, and a skilled trades training center.
In addition, Rachmale, a 1989 graduate of Wayne State University, along with his wife, Hema Rachmale, a 1993 Wayne State graduate, have donated a total of $5 million to the Wayne State University College of Engineering under the auspices of The N. Rachmale Foundation: $1 million to create an endowed scholarship fund, and $4 million to build a structures and materials engineering testing laboratory in Highland Park (located at the north end of LGC Global’s property).
“The first employees I hired were Wayne State engineering students,” says Rachmale. “And I have roots at Wayne State and Detroit that go back more than 30 years. I owe so much to this city and university; it is my honor to give back to College of Engineering students, especially those who want to make a difference in Detroit.”
Founded in 1994, LGC Global has completed multi-million-dollar projects in multiple sectors, including water and wastewater treatment facilities, airport infrastructure, transportation, education, military assets, and health care.
“We have completed the sale of 7310 Woodward to the building’s largest tenant, LGC Global, from whom we purchased the building in 2018,” says Clarke Lewis, president of The Platform. “As an owner occupier, LGC Global is well positioned to steward the building going forward.”
For more information about LGC Global, visit lgccorp.com/.
