DETROIT—Cooper Standard Automotive Inc.'s new Northville headquarters building has sold for $42 million to a New York City-based buyer.
Northville Township public records list REIS-Northville L.L.C., registered to David Schostak of Livonia-based developer and landlord Schostak Bros. & Co., as the seller of the building at 40300 Traditions last month and Hamilton Northville L.L.C., which has a mailing address matching the Hamilton Equity Partners address on the 46th floor of 1633 Broadway in New York.
Joseph Borenstein, portfolio manager for Hamilton Equity, a family office, said Wednesday afternoon that this is their first purchase in southeast Michigan and that, since the building is new, there are no capital improvements planned.
"It's a gorgeous building and we like the suburban Detroit market," he said, adding that Hamilton Equity has about 2 million square feet of office space under ownership, primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina and Syracuse, N.Y.
Chris Andrews, director of global communications for Cooper Standard, said 570 employees are assigned to the headquarters, although most are working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This model has proven to be very successful, and as a result, the company decided to transition to a hybrid model of remote working and shared office space," Andrews said in an email. "While much of our work force continues to work from home, some teams are visiting the office as needed for collaboration."
Andrews said employees moved into the new headquarters on March 16, 2020—less than a week after the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Michigan.
The materials science and manufacturing company also has its 137,000-sq.-ft. global technology center in Livonia. Its products include rubber and plastic sealing, fuel and brake lines, fluid transfer hoses and anti-vibration systems.
Cooper-Standard detailed plans to build its new headquarters near in December 2018. It vacated its old headquarters, located in nearby Novi, Mich. That building is owned by an affiliate of Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate.
The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $1.3 million grant to offset the expansion costs on the project, which was anticipated to cost up to $15.3 million.
The building was to house 400 employees.