WEBVTT - The Man in Control of Transforming Detroit

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<v Speaker 1>National Association Member FDIC erness What's Up? You ever walk

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<v Speaker 2>So we talked about, you know, you being the CEO

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<v Speaker 2>of Bedrock and you guys have deployed billions of dollars

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<v Speaker 2>in capital. So how did you land at that position?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know, it's actually interesting. As you pointed out,

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<v Speaker 3>I'd been in California for a significant part of my

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<v Speaker 3>professional life as a real estate developer, and I certainly

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<v Speaker 3>had also been in Cleveland. When I left my position

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<v Speaker 3>as executive vice president and the chief administrative officer of

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<v Speaker 3>the Cleveland Browns in two thousand and five, went to

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<v Speaker 3>San Francisco and was recruited there by a company called Leonage.

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<v Speaker 4>It's the largest home builder in the US.

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<v Speaker 3>And I ran the San Francisco Bay Area office doing

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<v Speaker 3>master plank communities.

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<v Speaker 5>But I did that for about ten years, and the

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<v Speaker 5>company was spun off that endeavor, which was called five

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<v Speaker 5>point and five point essentially focused. It took all the

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<v Speaker 5>experience and diligence we had in building master planning communities

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<v Speaker 5>in the urban community setting, and we began to continue

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<v Speaker 5>develop i should say, properties in San Francisco, Irvine, and

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<v Speaker 5>in Valencia.

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<v Speaker 4>And I did that for five years. We took that

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<v Speaker 4>company public.

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<v Speaker 3>I did that for five years, and then in twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty I actually retired.

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<v Speaker 4>I'd been at it for quite a while.

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<v Speaker 3>And those of you who are in real estate development

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<v Speaker 3>may know that it can be fairly taxing, and I

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<v Speaker 3>can tell you that in California it is doubly taxing.

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<v Speaker 3>I can tell you in San Francisco is triply taxing.

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<v Speaker 3>So I felt I had done what I needed to

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<v Speaker 3>do and retired in twenty twenty. But if you all recall,

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<v Speaker 3>the beginning part of twenty twenty was also the beginning

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<v Speaker 3>of the five letter word COVID, and so there we

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<v Speaker 3>were retired with nowhere to go, nothing to do, nowhere

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<v Speaker 3>to go, and everybody sort of hunker down. And it

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<v Speaker 3>was about that time that I received a call from

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<v Speaker 3>a headhunter. And I always joked that the only reason

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<v Speaker 3>that I picked up that call was because I had

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<v Speaker 3>nowhere to go. Otherwise my wife and I would have

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<v Speaker 3>been halfway around the world, maybe even in Ghana. But

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<v Speaker 3>as it turned out, there I was at home and

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<v Speaker 3>the headhunter invited us to take a look at Detroit

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<v Speaker 3>and asked me if I would consider becoming the CEO

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<v Speaker 3>of Bedrock, and I frankly, initially I had turned it down,

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<v Speaker 3>but again, after two months of frankly sitting at home,

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<v Speaker 3>I decided my wife and I decided to check out Detroit.

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<v Speaker 3>And as I had just mentioned, I had spent a

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<v Speaker 3>significan amount of time about almost eight years in Cleveland,

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<v Speaker 3>so I had a sense of Detroit and frankly the

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<v Speaker 3>Detroit from ninety eight to two thousand and five.

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<v Speaker 4>I was there.

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<v Speaker 3>When I was in Cleveland, I'd been through Detroit and

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<v Speaker 3>Detroit wasn't doing that well.

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<v Speaker 4>But my interest was piqued and we flew out to Detroit.

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<v Speaker 4>And I will tell you that I was very, very.

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<v Speaker 3>Pleasantly surprised this city was on the rebound and had

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<v Speaker 3>a certain energy to it.

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<v Speaker 4>But I had yet to meet the chairman, Dan Gilbert.

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<v Speaker 6>So when I met with my wife and I met

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<v Speaker 6>mister Gilbert and his wife, we talked to him about

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<v Speaker 6>what he was looking for in terms of this company

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<v Speaker 6>and what his vision was.

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<v Speaker 3>And when he explained his vision, it was really bringing

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<v Speaker 3>these cities of Detroit and Cleveland back to their prominence

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<v Speaker 3>as twenty first century world class cities, it resonated with me,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's essentially why I decided that I would, indeed,

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<v Speaker 3>as I say, get off the couch and take.

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<v Speaker 4>The helm of this wonderful company. So that's how I

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<v Speaker 4>ended up in Detroit.

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<v Speaker 1>So we got to say thank you for getting off

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<v Speaker 1>the couch. That wasn't an easy task. We've been due

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<v Speaker 1>to Detroit. Shout to everybody in Detroit. We get a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of support there. We've been there. I wonder when

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<v Speaker 1>you took on the task. Looking at it, right, there's

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<v Speaker 1>the downtown area where we know that Ally and Rocket Mortgage,

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<v Speaker 1>and we could see all the infrastructure being built downtown.

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<v Speaker 4>What was the plan?

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<v Speaker 1>Looking at it from a five to ten year. Standpoint

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<v Speaker 1>of how we revitalize this is it we start here

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<v Speaker 1>and build out, or do we build out?

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<v Speaker 4>Like what were you guys.

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<v Speaker 1>Looking at before you said all right, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>I'm taking this task one.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, candidly, the folks who had been in before me

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<v Speaker 3>had done a tremendous job, as I say, building up Detroit.

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<v Speaker 7>And I think there's no question that the city's developed

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<v Speaker 7>from the core downtown out, primarily because the downtowns are

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<v Speaker 7>the biggest revenue generators of any city, and the revenue

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<v Speaker 7>generated from the downtown is fundamentally what funds a significant

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<v Speaker 7>amount of the services for the rest of the city.

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<v Speaker 7>So a downtown that has declining tax revenues is a

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<v Speaker 7>downtown that frankly can barely sustain the quality of services

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<v Speaker 7>required for the rest of the city. And so I

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<v Speaker 7>think it was very obvious that the downtown areas of

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<v Speaker 7>Detroit needed resuscitation, and that's the work that had begun

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<v Speaker 7>before I got here, and being here, I think has

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<v Speaker 7>been very clear that not only do you have to

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<v Speaker 7>build the physical elements of the downtown, and certainly, and

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<v Speaker 7>we take pride in the fact that we're able to

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<v Speaker 7>take these classic buildings, renovate them, re energize them, and

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<v Speaker 7>frankly repopulate them. But it's also just as important for

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<v Speaker 7>us to think about the spaces in between the buildings,

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<v Speaker 7>and those spaces belong to the whole city, and those

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<v Speaker 7>are the spaces that we create activities and energize those

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<v Speaker 7>spaces to ensure that folks in the broader city will

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<v Speaker 7>have a reason to come downtown.

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<v Speaker 4>And we've been spending quite a bit of time doing

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<v Speaker 4>that in the.

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<v Speaker 3>Public spaces and places between the buildings, to the point.

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<v Speaker 4>Where we had a roller rink downtown.

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<v Speaker 6>We created a wonderful winter festival area downtown.

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<v Speaker 4>We also support major national and international events.

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<v Speaker 3>We're coming up soon to the Grand Prix Detroit Grand

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<v Speaker 3>Prix coming downtown. We followed quickly by Movement, which is

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<v Speaker 3>electronic music festival, and then soon thereafter we are bringing

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<v Speaker 3>in the Afro Nation Festival again to really fight the

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<v Speaker 3>rest of the world to come to Detroit, and in

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<v Speaker 3>doing so, I think refresh their memories of what a

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<v Speaker 3>great city this is and perhaps just encourage them to

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<v Speaker 3>maybe think about a relocation into this city.

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<v Speaker 8>An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child

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<v Speaker 8>in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador

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<v Speaker 8>accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with

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<v Speaker 8>filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just

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<v Speaker 8>some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President

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<v Speaker 8>Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States

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<v Speaker 8>Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border

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<v Speaker 8>crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over

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<v Speaker 8>one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you

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<v Speaker 8>are here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly

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<v Speaker 8>one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported. You will

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<v Speaker 8>never return. But if you register using our CBP home

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<v Speaker 8>app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.

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<v Speaker 8>Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws,

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<v Speaker 8>border and families will be protected.

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<v Speaker 4>Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,