Rainy Hamilton Jr., is captivated by trains — so much so that he has transformed the basement of his English Tudor home in Detroit's University District to make room for a massive model train setup.

Trains are colorful, he says. They move people and goods. And they are always going somewhere.

"I'm tempted to actually write a song or a poem in terms of what is the attraction to model railroading," he said. "People that know me have come to listen to the sound of the train whistle..."

Hamilton's career is definitely on track these days, with his architecture firm Hamilton Anderson Associates having a hand in one of the largest projects in the city, the Hudson's site development, as well as smaller efforts like The Hamilton apartments, his firm's building at Harmonie Park and the Motown Museum expansion, among others.

Hamilton was born, raised, and educated in Detroit – and built his business here in the city. He’s a graduate of Cass Tech and The University of Detroit Mercy. His firm, started in 1992, is one of the largest African-American-owned architectural firms in the U.S. He is committed to sustainable architecture and planning projects — and he’s remained committed to building up his hometown and preserving its history.

He never wanted to leave the city where he was born.

"I'm glad I didn't leave," he said, "because adding to that lifelong knowledge of Detroit just added to our ability to craft design solutions for any project that occurs in the city."

Listen in to hear Hamilton talk about:

1:30 - Updates on his current projects

4:25- Trends he has seen in workspace design after the pandemic

6:35 - Diversifying the field of architecture

10:30 - Keeping local jobs with local firms

14:05 - His passion for model railroading and opening his hobby store

16:40 - Why he stayed in Detroit and what he sees in his hometown

19:50 - His favorite projects

21:35 - How he found his dream home

23:30 - Succession planning

24:30 - His biggest failure in business and how he overcame it

25:10 - How he came up with one of the catchiest political slogans in Michigan

We are joined by the family behind Friedman Real Estate. Headquartered in Farmington Hills, the firm handles brokerage, property management, construction and design services in metro Detroit and around the country. It’s all led by patriarch David Friedman – the co-founder, president, and CEO – whose company’s portfolio includes more than 15 million square feet of commercial space and more than 13,000 multi-family units. We’re also joined by his sons Jared, the senior managing director, and Jordan, a managing director. Together they are responsible for properties like the Galleria Officentre complex in Southfield, Oakland Technology Park in Auburn Hills, North Troy Corporate Park and the Arboretum Office Park in Farmington Hills among others.