Billionaire Buys Hotel Near General Motors’ Global Headquarters

General Motors has sold the Marriott hotel that's neighbors with its global headquarters in Detroit to a company owned by billionaire Dan Gilbert, who has been expanding his investments in the Motor City.

The Courtyard Marriott at 333 E. Jefferson Ave. was bought by Detroit-based Bedrock for an undisclosed price from an affiliate of GM, a GM spokesperson said in an email. Bedrock, Gilbert's real estate and development firm, also confirmed the seller was GM.

The Courtyard by Marriott contains 242 rooms and was built in 1985, according to CoStar data. The Marriott is located in the Millender Center, which contains the hotel and an apartment complex. The Millender Center connects via skybridge to the GM Renaissance Center, a cluster of seven towers that comprise GM's headquarters along East Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River in downtown.

Gilbert founded Quicken Loans, the Rock Family of Cos. and is the chairman of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, among other endeavors, and his net worth is valued at around $7 billion by Forbes. In May, Jack Entertainment, which is part of the Rock Family of Cos., sold a hotel and casino in Detroit’s Greektown district for $1 billion. At the time, Gilbert said he planned to reinvest those funds into real estate and business development opportunities in Detroit.

“Bedrock has played a tremendous role in the transformation of downtown Detroit and we’re confident they will do great things with the property,” a GM spokesperson said to CoStar News in an email.

In May 2018, Bedrock secured $618 million in public financial assistance that was expected to "clear the final hurdle" in allowing the firm to proceed with four projects valued at $2.15 billion in downtown Detroit. Those projects included a $313 million mixed-use complex renovation; a three-acre, $830 million block development that will include office and apartment developments; and a 310,000-square-foot office development.

In addition to GM’s global headquarters, the 5.5 million-square-foot Renaissance Center is home to 2.3 million square feet of office space, 165,000 square feet of retail space and a 40,000-square-foot exhibit space.

Paul Delmotte