Condos for cars
Unique vehicle storage facility and racetrack play up Detroit’s automobile culture
A sprawling complex including a racetrack, private luxury garages, restaurants, retail and meeting space opening in the Detroit area this summer promises to be a hub of automotive activity year-round.
Built on the grounds of a factory that manufactured transportation goods beginning in the 1800s — including military vehicles in World War II and decades of GM cars and pickups — M1 Concourse will be the largest complex of its kind in the world, developer Brad Oleshansky says.
He’s already sold more than 130 1,200-square-foot “car condos” where owners can store the vehicles they collect and work on. Prices for those garages, which include utilities and a loft-style area secondfloor owners can use as an office, apartment or storage for tools and parts, start at $280,000.
When the complex is done, it will contain 250 car condos ranging from 509 to 2,400 square feet. They’ll be priced from $105,000 to $550,000. It’s a significant development for the city of Pontiac, which has struggled to attract investment.
“It’s another part of Detroit’s comeback,” Autotrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs said. “It builds on car culture, which is one of the region’s strengths.”
Oleshansky, who grew up in the Detroit area before a career in marketing and law led him to Los Angeles, has been working on the project for about five years. He bought the site from the company that took over GM’s “bad assets” when the automaker was in bankruptcy. Investment should total $50 million when construction is done in 2018. Work on the site began a year ago.
“I’ve got an owner who will keep a million-dollar Ferrari next door to another who has 10 vintage VWs,” Oleshansky said. “Nobody cares who you are here; they just want to see your car.”
Private facilities with car storage and race tracks have become popular in recent years, but M1 is unique. Owners will have individual garages, rather than floor space in a warehouse,
and private areas for work or leisure. Garage owners can join the M1 Motorsport Club for guaranteed evening and weekend track time.
“It’s perfect for hobbyists who want space,” said Larry Roberts a Jupiter, Florida, real estate investor and car fan.
“Cars and Detroit are like peanut butter and jelly,” said Roberts, who grew up in the area. “It’s a terrific project for an area that’s in desperate need of development.”
“If it wasn’t for the 1,500mile commute, I’d get one,” he added.
In addition to car owners, Oleshansky plans to offer M1 to car clubs, demonstrations by automakers and suppliers, and events like drive-in movies and the Michigan Rib Fest.
M1 will be a cornerstone of Pontiac’s plan to attract more visitors the week of the Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual classic car event. M1’s official grand opening will be Aug. 14, the Saturday a week before Cruise Day. Events during the week will include the annual Corvettes on Woodward parade for charity Wednesday, a drive-in movie festival Thursday, a car-focused festival Friday and food trucks, car shows and more Saturday.
The meeting facility will hold 500 people and the retail space facing Woodward should eventually include three or four restaurants. Landscaping will create green space between the garages, track, retail and parking areas.
The scale of the project is daunting. The site comprises 87 acres. Cooper Tire donated 25,000 tires to serve as crash barriers around the track. Oleshansky said the track, which will be called Champion Motor Speedway in a sponsorship deal with Champion spark plugs, used 8 million pounds of asphalt and is the first new racetrack built in Michigan in at least 40 years.
Clearing the remains of the factory on site left two million square feet of concrete, which was crushed and lies under the track and buildings. About 230 workers are on the site, which is run by general contractor George W. Auch Co. of Pontiac.
“People are calling every day, asking ‘When can I move in?’” Oleshansky said. “I was here on a Sunday a couple of weekends ago when no work was going on and the site was locked. A couple was sitting in front of one of the garages in folding chairs. When I went over, they were the owners. They wanted to see what it would be like to relax out here, so they snuck in even though there are no cars, or grass or anything, yet.”