The Build Up

1:03 - His ambitions for Invest Detroit

2:05 - What he plans to do with the New Markets Tax Credits Invest Detroit was just awarded.

A breakdown of the episode:

5:45 - How the changing economic environment impacts his organization

7:45 - Why he’s concerned about the future of commercial real estate in the next few years

9:30 - Where the next wave of investor interest will be in Detroit

13:35 - How Invest Detroit is expanding in target neighborhoods

15:30 - When he would get involved on the developer side of commercial real estate

16:45 - Why Invest Detroit created the Ebiara fund

18:55 - What development tools does he wish were accessible in Michigan that aren’t yet

21:10 - Why he supports reform on tax policy

24:10 - How has development financing changed in the last decade

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

1:00 - Why she doesn't have a cell phone

1:30 - Her latest vision for Midtown

4:30 - Challenges for the neighborhood and how to keep people in homes

9:45 - Why the pandemic didn't Midtown as bad as other areas

11:30 - Her desire to preserve buildings as part of redevelopment

16:05 - Balancing preservation with new construction

18:10 - How Cass Corridor became Midtown

21:55 - Her succession plan

22:30 - What's still on her bucket list

24:35 - Her biggest failure in business and how she overcame it.

1:20 - Housing shortage issues and questions of a new recession

2:45 - The state of the office market 

4:05 - Converting office space into residential

7:00 - A glut of office space in the suburbs

8:05 - Rising rents 

9:00 - An example from Calgary

11:05 - What happens when office leases start to come up

15:25 - The interview with Mason Ailstock begins

1:20 - How he balances dual careers 

4:15 - The Four Corners Square project

6:25 - How he has learned so much in his 20s.

8:50 - What he sees as the future of retail

10:05 - What is coming next and how he blends his interests in medical and real estate

12:15- How to bring creative development from downtown to the suburbs 

13:40 - How he balances working with his father

16:20 - How he handles when his careers are in conflict and whether he can continue to do both

18:05 - Which career is harder

18:55 - What he does in his precious free time 

19:55 - What it was like to go into residency at the start of the pandemic and did he ever want to quit

23:55 - His biggest failure in business

Among the topics Hosey addresses in the podcast:

1:30 – Why he feels confident the Fisher Body 21 plant project will succeed.

2:45 – Why having the largest black-led development in the city is important.

4:05 – What attracts him to historic preservation.

6:15 – The one building he would want to take on.

7:55 – How financial incentives can be expanded to help development.

9:35 – The unique challenges of working in Detroit.

11:50 – What more can be done to preserve affordable housing in Detroit.

15:40 – Balancing secrecy and transparency on big development projects.

21:05 – Why he came back to the city to be a developer.

25:55 – How to remove barriers for Black developers.

30:15 – His biggest failure in business.

1:10 – Whether he always wanted to join the family business.

2:25 – What steps he is taking to make sure the family has a robust staff. 

4:10 – How he handles not having elder relatives in the business and whether he’s prepping the next generation of Maibachs for the business.

9:05 – Why he loves Lego.

10:25 – His favorite project that he's worked on.

13:10 – How hard it is to innovate in the construction industry. 

15:30 – How he diversifies the Barton Malow portfolio.

17:40 – How construction will change in the downtown Detroit core in the years ahead after COVID. 

20:45 – Why Barton Malow employs a psychologist.

23:00 – Why Barton Malow has a chaplain program and offers grants to employees.

26:50 –  How to get past the red tape in the regulatory environment.

28:55 – What his biggest failure in business was and how he overcame it. 

1:05 -What it was like working for a Coca-Cola bottling plant and what he learned from that experience.

3:40 - What has changed in design and architecture throughout his three decades in the business.

6:40 -How hybrid work changes workplace designs.

11:55 - Why HED is moving to Royal Oak.

15:05 - Promoting diversity in the architecture field and what changes should be made to encourage it.

21:20 - Why he keeps a photo of the original Microsoft staff in a garage on his desk.

24:10 - Why he's a fan of independent filmmaking.

26:25 - His biggest failure in business and how he overcame it.

3:10 - Why he goes after public-private partnerships in his projects

5:00 - How he dealt with criticism in his Royal Oak project

6:40 - What his plans are for Birmingham development

12:35 - What other areas he feels are ripe for development

13:55 - The status of United Wholesale grocery

15:20 - How being an immigrant impacts his business philosophy

16:55 - What it was like working with his father and whether his daughters will join the business

21:00 - Why he's selling his family's $10 million estate in San Diego

23:20 - His politics and why he keeps an open mind

26:45 - His biggest failure in business and how he overcame it

Inside its 26th-floor offices at the Fisher Building, Christman Company has a special souvenir that hangs on the wall with ties to an iconic moment of political history.

Joe Luther, vice president and general manager of Southeast Michigan Operations, spilled the beans during this week’s podcast of how Christman ended up with a piece of the platform where then-president Barack Obama stood during his first inauguration in 2009.

“We’ve got one of the pieces of plywood actually in the Fisher Building… come down to the office and see where Obama stood,” he said. “Two little Sharpie half circles that say left and right. It’s just exciting to have that piece where he stood that day.”

It’s long been known that the Lansing-based general contracting firm builds the platform used by the incoming president at inaugurations in Washington D.C. – they did it for Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013, for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

And they plan to bid again in two years. The whole platform is wood, and several pieces get saved and reused for later years. But for that one piece, it has a place of honor on the wall in Luther’s boss’s office.

“That team out there really enjoys that project. It’s a smaller project for that region, but a really exciting, high-profile project. And I think they’ve got the method now pretty well licked,” he said. “There’s a short time to set it up and a short time to tear it down. And we’re certainly excited to be a part of it.”

Christman, which was founded in 1894 and has been doing business in Michigan for more than 100 years, has plenty of other projects closer to home. They include the renovation of the Michigan Central Station in Corktown, the Accident Fund national headquarters in Lansing, multiple Detroit Public Schools projects and the redevelopment of the GSA Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit. 

Luther has been with the company since 2008 and said it has grown from 300 employees to almost a thousand across the country during that time. He spoke to Crain’s about:

1:25 - His career trajectory and how Christman Co. has changed over time

2:25 - How they are handling labor shortages

3:25 - What is being done to bring new people into the trades

7:30 – Overcoming rising building costs

9:30 – Delayed projects

10:40 – Handling union battles

11:50 – Other challenges in the industry

12:40 – How they choose their projects

14:25 – If preservation strategy in Detroit needs to change

16:15 – Christman’s tie to the presidential election and a very special souvenir

18:05 – Why going after clients is more important than projects

20:15 – How to promote diversity in the construction industry

22:25 – The importance of mentorship

23:35 – Life outside of work

24:25 – His biggest failure and how he overcame it