A Farmington-based developer has begun site
work on a 50,800 square foot Briarwood office building, next to the 777
Building. Jagar, LLC has moved massive amounts of earth to prepare the
way for Eisenhower Business Center, a one-story, “spec” building located
at the northeast corner of Eisenhower Parkway and Boardwalk. Structural
steel work is to begin this month.
No leases have been signed, but leasing discussions with several prospective
tenants are underway, according to Tracy Poole at Jagar. Signature Associates
is the listing agent for the property. It is being marketed as a multi-tenant
building with floorplans starting at 5,000 square feet. The street frontage
on Eisenhower Parkway is 620 feet. Completion of the building is expected
by November.
The building’s architect is PDA Architects of Farmington Hills, which
has done several similar projects in Ann Arbor. It calls for a split face
masonry façade with brick accents. The contractor is Dembs Roth
Gyselinck Construction Co.
Unlike much of the Briarwood area development which is zoned for office
or commercial uses, this 4.7 acre site is zoned limited industrial (M-1).
This would allow tenants in the building to mix office and warehouse uses,
and to incorporate overhead doors and truck wells – if necessary – in their
buildouts. “Flexible” space is what it is sometimes referred to as.
Dana Land Sold
The underlying Jagar land was acquired from Dana Corporation earlier
this year. Prior to this sale, Dana also disposed of fifteen acres on State
Street, just north of 777 Building. That parcel was purchased last year
by Southfield, Michigan-based Jonah Realty Ventures. Jonah has applied
for a site plan from Ann Arbor – which is under review by the Planning
Department -- for a 60,000 square foot, 3-story office building on the
site. Estimated asking rents will be $22.50 to $23.50 per square foot,
plus the cost of electricity. The Howard Cooper auto dealerships are immediately
north of the proposed development.
Multiple Office Projects Underway
To the north, State Corporate Center plans to add up to 50,000 square
feet of office and "flex” space on the former Townsend & Bottum site.
Owned by a local partnership, and designed by Brad Moore Architects, the
three buildings would round out a total of approximately 72,000 square
feet in the complex.
On the west side of the south State Street corridor, Roland Frey’s
new 16,000 square foot Advance Interiors building is underway. It is primarily
office, but a lease has been executed with Kinko’s for 4,700 square feet
of State Street frontage.
Tight Office Market
Vacancy rates in the Briarwood submarket are low, indicating that the
new square footage that is in the pipeline ought to be enthusiastically
received. According to Swisher & Company’s office space survey this
Spring, Briarwood had a 5.7% vacancy rate. The overall vacancy rate in
Ann Arbor was 5.1%. The tightest market was northeast (Plymouth Road),
which posted a tiny, 2.8% vacancy rate.
Watch the West Side
The shortage of Class A office properties in the market has also given
rise to some new building on Ann Arbor’s west side, which is not a traditional
office market. In addition to the Jackson Boulevard corridor, which is
a sea of new faces this year, Forest Cove Office Park is under construction
on Miller Road at M-14.
The two phases of Forest Cove, when completed this fall, will constitute
100,000 square feet of office space in two buildings. ETAS, an affiliate
of Bosch Engineering is the anchor tenant and scheduled to move in this
month. Other leases have been signed with Second To None, the rapidly growing
“mystery” shopping service (10,000 sq. ft.); and Softworks and Enmark,
both of which are software development companies. Fiber optic cable will
serve the site, which is located within Ann Arbor City limits.
The M-14 expressway bypass, when construction is completed later this
summer, will offer smooth interchange access to Forest Cove.
Bill Milliken, CCIM