DETROIT — The Urban Land Institute Michigan will present Dan Gilbert with its 2014 Placemaker Award on May 15 at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit. As the founder and chairman of Detroit-based Rock Ventures and Quicken Loans, Gilbert is being recognized for his role in leading the transformation of Detroit through real estate investments, placemaking initiatives, and the relocation of many of his businesses and employees to downtown Detroit.
Gilbert began his plan in 2010 by moving his family of companies from suburban Detroit to downtown Detroit. Since then, Rock Ventures has invested more than $1.3 billion to purchase, and renovate more than 40 properties in the city’s Central Business District, many of them historic. These buildings, totaling nearly eight million square-feet of space, have included the First National Building, One Woodward, Greektown Hotel-Casino, and several storefronts and master leases along the Woodward Avenue corridor in downtown Detroit.
“Dan Gilbert has almost single handedly brought businesses, development and people back to Detroit,” said Mark LoPatin, ULI Michigan’s placemaker award committee co-chair. “Buildings are starting to fill up with new tenants, and Dan’s ideas and passion have created an environment where a new generation wants to live, work and play in downtown Detroit. Those in my industry look to Dan as someone to emulate.”
A reception will be held from 6 – 7 p.m. with dinner following. Attendance is expected to exceed more than 500 guests and will feature a “who’s who” of local business and real estate executives. Individual tickets can be purchased for $350. Group tickets and sponsorship opportunities also are available.
