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A freshly-designed collaborative workspace in the heart of the Southfield City Centre has become the new Michigan footprint for RPT Realty, a New York-based organization that owns and operates open-air shopping destinations in metro Detroit and across the country. In August, RPT Realty moved its 60-person Michigan workforce into a newly-designed 11,000-square foot office space in Oakland Commons at 20750 Civic Center Drive in the Southfield City Centre.

The move offers RPT Realty the opportunity to create a more environmentally-friendly office space in a well-supported, amenity-rich urban community.

“Offering a modernized landscape highlighted by an open floor plan, fresh local artwork and natural light, RPT’s new centrally located office in Southfield fosters collaboration and teamwork, both of which are vital in continuing the company’s mission of building on the incredible culture that has evolved over the past year,” says Brian Harper, president and chief executive officer of RPT Realty. “Keeping consistent with RPT’s commitment to good corporate citizenship, the Southfield office’s footprint is 15,300 square feet smaller than the former Farmington Hills location, reducing both cost and environmental impact.”

The Southfield City Centre location capitalizes on plentiful natural light in an open, collaborative design that translates to workplace wellbeing for its associates.

“We universally agree that the large windows and abundant natural light in our new space are an extraordinary benefit,” says Renay Rath, asset management administrative assistant with RPT Realty.

“I cannot express how fantastic it is having exposure to natural light while working,” says Tanya Maglothin, accounts receivable specialist. “I cannot express how thankful I am for this change. It has brought more positivity and energy into my days.”

When RPT Realty associates aren’t soaking up the natural light in their new workplace, they’re gradually getting to know the Southfield City Centre’s many amenities. “There’s so much to do right here in the Southfield City Centre, both within walking distance, via bikeshare, and within a short drive that I haven’t even made it through half of what the area has to offer,” says Heather Roberts, lease transaction coordinator. “I truly appreciate the feeling of community, and I think others moving to the area, whether office or residence, will experience a similar sense of community. We’re not just working in Southfield; we get to be part of something positive and impactful.”

Leveraging and Celebrating Michigan Talent

For its unique workspace, RPT Realty blended elements that inspire and recognize local talent, says Harper. “We tapped several Michigan partners to assist in carrying out our mission to curate a space that would inspire our employees while enabling them to contribute their full talents and thrive,” Harper says. “Every aspect of the Southfield office was designed with intention.”

This commitment aligns with the Southfield City Centre’s mission to recognize art in various formats. One example is an original work called “Big Blue Two” which hangs proudly in RPT’s conference room.

“The piece was commissioned through Friendship Circle’s Soul Studio Program, which empowers special needs artists to create works of art and makes them available for sale in its Bloomfield Hills community,” Harper says. “Big Blue Two” was painted by a 26-year-old woman with autism. “The piece is particularly meaningful to the team, provided our organization volunteers with Friendship Circle.”

Other Michigan companies and artisans involved in the office design and development include Interior Environments Furniture, Capricorn Diversified Systems, Inc., 123Net, LogicalisUS, PLAYGROUND DETROIT, Kaiser Sudan, Scott Reeder, and Matt Wolcott.

Expressing an Evolved Corporate Culture

In tandem with a new workplace came a corporate “change in narrative” that touches many aspects of the business, according to Rath. “The move to Southfield is significant in that it represents more than just a change in our physical location but a major shift in our corporate culture as well,” Rath says. “It finally feels as though all the pieces fit together.”

Their new office environment helps associates live the company’s core values on a daily basis, says Roberts. “There are many thoughtful collaborative spaces throughout the office, allowing us to be bold in our creativity while pursuing excellence together,” she says. “We’re committed to improving ourselves, both personally and professionally, individually and collectively, and this new space provides us with the tools and the environment to be successful in such pursuits. All of these things lead to us enjoying what we do.”

Deanna Cain, head of human resources, agrees with her colleagues’ assessments, and she’s excited about the future here in Southfield.

“The RPT Southfield office will continue to have a positive culture where people can thrive. It is a place where ideas are cultivated, and creativity and teamwork are encouraged.”

Ask Katelyn Abell from IHS Markit what she thinks catapulted her team to the top of the charts in the Southfield CommUNITY Cup this summer, and she will probably shout that it was her team’s performance in the Amazing Race that sealed the win.

Abell, along with other IHS Markit team members, received the coveted Southfield CommUNITY Cup trophy at the Southfield City Council meeting on September 23.

As a first-time team chair and as a first-time participant in the Southfield CommUNITY Cup challenge, Abell is thrilled that her team performed so well. But she’s even more excited about sharing community involvement with other Southfield City Centre teams during the summer-long event.

“What really helped me was finding a person at IHS Markit to chair each individual event, and they got their teams together,” says Abell. “I was worried that people wouldn’t be able to attend after work events, but everyone was really excited to mingle with their coworkers and network and get to know people from other companies.”

IHS Markit, a global data management company, was one of 21 teams to participate this year. Teams competed to earn top points in events like goofy golf, kickball, trivia night, and bowling.

But Abell elected to chair the Amazing Race competition herself, and together with three IHS Markit colleagues, Abell worked hard to beat out competitors.

“We were all women on our team and we joked that it was girl power that helped us win,” she says. Twenty trivia questions led the team to various historical landmarks or challenged them to run with a random individual along the Southfield City Centre Trail while capturing the antics on video. “They probably thought we were crazy,” Abell laughs.

Strategic planning and physical fitness helped the team climb from sixth place to first place through the Amazing Race category, and they carried the No.1 score to the final kickball event.

“We knew that if we didn’t do well in kickball, that we would lose. But we kept winning and winning. We thought we would go home early, but we were there at 6:30, still playing,” says Abell.

While the DENSO North America team ultimately won the kickball event, IHS Markit had earned enough points to take home the cup.

In addition to being a fun team-building event, the Southfield CommUNITY Cup also works to support a local cause. This year, the teams worked together to beautify Southfield’s Bedford Woods Park. The centerpiece of the effort was a mural that adds color and excitement to the public park.

“Planning and painting the mural was a really nice way to give back,” Abell says. IHS Markit joined team members from The Mars Agency, Comau, Moncur and City of Southfield to design, prepare, and implement the plan. It was a true team effort.

Energized for next year’s event, Abell looks forward to further strengthening the community inside IHS Markit and in the wider Southfield City Centre.

“The people I work with a great, and it’s a united community, which you don’t always get to have,” she says. “Southfield is a larger city, but I feel the City Centre tries to do a lot with their community, and that’s huge. Everyone I have met here is really nice.”

When Heidi Morano was a mechanical engineering undergrad, she attended classes and completed assignments. Today, as director of the Entrepreneurial Engineering Design Curriculum at Lawrence Technological University, she can offer her students something even more relevant: a shot at solving a real-world engineering problem through a program called LTU Innovation Encounter.

On October 18-19, six collegiate teams with up to six team members each will gather at LTU’s campus in Southfield to experience a four-hour creativity and innovation workshop with LTU’s award-winning mechanical engineering professor Andrew Gerhart, followed by the unveiling of the problem by corporate sponsor Eaton. Teams will then work, likely into the wee hours, before meeting with their coaches to gain feedback, iterate, and strategize their final pitches to a panel of judges.

After two full days of competition, the winning team will walk away with $1,500, a trophy, and some serious bragging rights. Second and third place teams win $1,000 and $500, respectively.

As the coach and advisor for the LTU team that will compete in the Innovation Encounter, and as an engineer herself, Morano recognizes the value this competition can offer students. “I never experienced anything like this in school,” Morano says, adding that today’s engineers need knowledge that is both deep and broad to be most successful in today’s career marketplace.

Every problem has a solution

At this stage, Eaton’s selected challenge is strictly confidential, but it involves a pain point that the students quite possibly have experienced themselves, says Larry Bennett, director of vehicle technologies and innovation in the Vehicle Group at Eaton. It’s no spoiler to reveal that the problem is automotive related.

“This is a problem we have been looking at for years. It seems simple, but we are hoping to get a non-Eaton viewpoint from a population that is younger and has a different perspective,” says Bennett. Because Eaton will retain the intellectual property from the Innovation Encounter, students will learn the legalities of corporate IP. “They will learn what is confidential, and how to protect it,” Bennett says.

The competition is not limited to engineering students; in fact, teams benefit from a broader perspective, Morano and Bennett say.

“Business students are a valuable asset, because there must be some commercial viability to the solution,” says Bennett, adding that value to the end user is a critical component of the solution. “If it’s a $20,000 solution, the end user might not buy it, but they will if it’s a $20 solution. This is all part of the value proposition of problem solving.”

Students from just about any discipline could add value to a team, says Morano. “In the past we had a nursing student participate. It’s that variety of perspectives that different students can bring to the problem that offer great input to the solution process,” she says.

Keeping it local

In its 10th year, the Innovation Encounter has connected Detroit-area companies with teams of students from LTU and five other colleges who are ready to innovate with the latest classroom knowledge and available technology, says Morano.

“Every year the problem statements are incredible,” she says. “Carhartt last year provided a fantastic problem related to worker safety and wearables that can alert supervisors when workers are walking into dangerous situations or have experienced a fall.” Past participating sponsors include Durr Systems, Ford Motor Co., Visteon, Masco, Faurecia North America, and Reverie, Leon Speakers, Inc., and ElringKlinger Automotive Manufacturing.

For Eaton, the opportunity to work with students in its own neighborhood is a big bonus.

“We’re not just getting a potential solution, but we are neighbors and we use LTU for recruiting and internships and co-ops,” says Bennett, who also serves as a chair for the Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board at LTU.

“Giving back to the community is a core Eaton belief, and this is a great opportunity to do that. It’s certainly an opportunity for Eaton’s name to be better known in the community, and for Eaton to introduce itself to different universities,” says Bennett. “I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be fun.”

This year, LTU’s team will compete with teams from Ohio Northern University and the University of Toledo. Up to three additional teams can participate; those interested can contact Heidi Morano or visit LTU Innovation Encounter for more information.

A million-dollar idea that never makes its way to market is worth quite a bit less than a million dollars. To help product entrepreneurs in southeast Michigan get their innovations into the hands of their customers, the Southfield Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University provides all the resources necessary. And beginning in October, entrepreneurs can interact with the Centrepolis Accelerator in a whole new way.

On October 4, the Centrepolis Accelerator will open a 6,300 square-foot center on the campus of Lawrence Technological University. In addition to coworking desks, gathering spaces, and conference rooms, the center will feature something many accelerators lack.

“We are unique in that we will have a product development and prototyping lab,” says Dan Radomski, director of the Centrepolis Accelerator. “In that lab we will have product design tools, computer-aided design, engineering and analysis, plus the ability to prototype products using traditional metalworking tools to 3D printing machines.”

A state-of-the-art augmented reality/virtual reality studio will help clients conceptualize design and make important changes, which can eliminate time-consuming and costly redesigns of physical products or manufacturing processes.

What else do entrepreneurs need to know about the Centrepolis Accelerator? We’ve gathered five must-know details.

1. The Centrepolis Accelerator is laser focused on manufacturing and commercializing the physical product.

“We are unique in that we provide support in product development as well as business development,” says Radomski. “We are all about getting to manufacturing readiness.”

In short, the Centrepolis Accelerator is the go-to place for anyone who is developing hardware or another physical product using advanced manufacturing technology.

“No one else in the state focuses on that,” says Radomski.

Through hands-on events and programming, businesses can learn valuable lessons for scaling, design thinking, CleanTech, smart hardware, lean design, and more. Experts at the Centrepolis Accelerator can also help startups leverage funding through state and local business development programs.

2. Support is available to service providers, too.

Companies that specialize in product design, engineering, and prototyping can work with the Centrepolis Accelerator, says Radomski. “We want them to design, manufacture, and test their products in the Detroit area and utilize the expertise here to grow their businesses as well as the companies they are helping to build,” he says. “That economic multiplier supports the client and the extended group of product development services in the southeast Michigan area.”

3. The Centrepolis Accelerator isn’t just for startups. Big companies can benefit, too.

“These are the companies that recognize we are nurturing next-generation technology,” Radomski says. A company that is innovating a new automotive battery technology, for example, can prototype, design, and explore manufacturing techniques at the Centrepolis Accelerator.

An additional benefit for the large company working on-site is the opportunity to collide with entrepreneurs in the coworking space to network, collaborate, and spark new ideas and technologies.

4. The Centrepolis Accelerator taps into the wealth of Michigan’s manufacturing expertise – something that exists in very few cities across the country.

“When people speak about our manufacturing strength, they say that this is something Michigan is best at. We are still best-in-class in what I call the product development part of manufacturing,” Radomski says. “The automotive industry drove the discipline into our supply chain and we are best-in-class at it.”

The Centrepolis Accelerator deploys industry expertise in a deliberate way with the innovators it serves. “They don’t know where to go for design, testing, development, and validating, or they don’t have that skill set themselves. We bring that to the client, and where we don’t have the expertise, we get it from the wider industry.”

5. Talent from Lawrence Tech can improve your design and manufacturing processes.

Lawrence Technological University’s engineering focus produces research, labs, faculty, and students that can investigate the latest manufacturing and product technologies available. Radomski offers the example of smart devices. “One of the areas we are an expert in is embedded sensors in automation, and the movement toward smart devices, from the Fit Bit to the autonomous vehicle,” he says.

As part of LTU, the Centrepolis Accelerator is capable of nurturing industry 4.0 technologies that include smart hardware systems. “We’re teaching companies how to pick the right sensors, wireless systems, and custom designs of this technology. Companies interface with our faculty to develop proofs-of-concept of their products and get the students involved, too.”

Find the Centrepolis Accelerator at 21415 Civic Center Drive, in the Southfield City Centre. The Centrepolis Accelerator opens October 4. Public open house is 12-4 p.m.

On October 4, industries across Michigan will celebrate Manufacturing Day, when factories open their doors to students interested in pursuing a career in the manufacturing industry.

Here in the Southfield City Centre, all eyes will be on the grand opening of a one-of-a-kind workspace dedicated to supporting businesses that manufacture physical products.

The Centrepolis Accelerator will open its coworking and prototype workspace on the campus of Lawrence Technological University on October 4 with a public open house from 12 to 4 p.m.

The center is located at 21415 Civic Centre Drive. In addition to collaborative workspaces and meeting rooms, the 6.300 square-foot center features a prototype lab with wood and metal millworking machines, bench grinders, mitre saws, 3D printing, and an augmented/virtual reality studio.

As a collaborative effort between LTU and the City of Southfield, the Centrepolis Accelerator supports businesses by providing resources to help clients conceptualize and refine viable product designs, establish mentor relationships, recognize consumer markets, scale product-based businesses, connect with leading industry professionals, and leverage student engineering and design talent.

Learn more about the Southfield Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University and register to attend the October 4th open house by clicking here.

Eat To The Beat will wrap up the 2019 summer lunchtime concert series on September 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Southfield City Centre residents, workers, visitors, and friends will have one final chance to sway to the music while enjoying fare from from the area’s best food trucks.

In addition to food trucks and fun, a mobile health unit called “Henry” will be participating in Eat To The Beat in September. Henry is a mobile unit for the All of Us Research Program, a National Institutes of Health initiative to gather health information to further precision medicine. This “new era” of medicine allows patients, health care providers, and researchers to work together to advance individualized care, according to the NIH site.

Henry Ford Health System is one health care organization that is participating in the initiative.

Overall, the program aims to gather one million participants who will share health information over time. At September’s Eat To The Beat, and in partnership with Entercom Radio Stations, Henry is making it easy to participate in the program.

You can enroll onsite and participate in activities to help you learn more about the All of Us Research Program. And after you complete your visit, you will receive a $25 gift card.

For more information about the program, additional events near you, or to get a jump start on the enrollment process please visit HenryFord.com/JoinAllofUs or call 1-844-893-3908 (Option 1).

When breaking into the Southfield property market, Foster Financial Company, Inc. considered different properties in various business districts of the city. The properties they viewed weren’t always the right fit for Foster Financial’s business model, but the experience opened their eyes to what Southfield has to offer.

They got to know Central Park Plaza, a 6-story, 130,000 square foot office building at 26211 Central Park Boulevard, near Arbor Lofts. Pretty soon, they knew they had found their sweet spot. The building was at 50 percent occupancy and badly needed updates, but that didn’t deter Brad Foster, owner of Foster Financial, and his business partner Doug Noble. They purchased the building in September 2017, and in just 16 months, have increased occupancy to 93 percent.

“It had been foreclosed on a couple of times. It was 50 percent vacant. It was a cursed building that no one could ever make work,” says Noble. “We knew it was perfect. Right up our alley.”

With an improvement mindset, Foster Financial’s ownership style is unique. The first thing they did was renovate both lobbies, and met with current tenants to discuss their individual plans. They created their own construction company to outfit more space when tenants wanted to expand, and selected standard finishes that are of a higher quality that most office owners.

“We have full-glass conference rooms, chandeliers, and subway tiles in the kitchens, LVT and hardwood flooring, and creative reception spaces,” says Noble.

The diverse tenant mix at Central Park Plaza includes government agency, medical administrative, legal, insurance, automotive supply, security, charter school management, and home healthcare.

Detroit gets a lot of credit for making a comeback, but Foster and Noble are impressed with the accessibility of the Southfield City Centre and the significant improvements and added amenities throughout the district. Foster, in particular, likes the ease of traffic movement that the dual traffic circles on Evergreen Road provide.

“You never get congestion on Evergreen because there are no lights to get stuck at,” he says.

Central Park Plaza was Foster Financial’s first investment in Southfield, but it is not the company’s last. In January Foster acquired Lahser Center, a 175,000 square-foot building at Lahser Road and the Lodge Freeway. Since closing, the company has signed $35,000 in new leases in the building.

“We are big fans of the Southfield story, and it doesn’t get enough publicity,” says Foster. “Everything you hear is about Detroit and new developments. But there is a strong demand for people to have beautiful offices with half the rent [of Detroit].”