Flint Commerce Center, Phase I, Named 2024 Sale/Acquisition of the Year CoStar Impact Award Winner

Winners were selected by a panel of more than 660 esteemed industry professionals across 128 markets at the third annual commercial real estate awards 

The Flint Commerce Center, Phase I, today was named the 2024 Sale/Acquisition of the Year CoStar Impact Award winner in the Detroit market. Winners — chosen for their growth, diversification, and ability to overcome unique challenges in their markets — were selected from a panel of more than 660 industry professionals drawn from each respective market.

The Flint Commerce Center, Phase I, is the beginning of a $300 million industrial park redevelopment by Ashley Capital that, when finished, is expected to have 3.5 million square feet of logistics and light manufacturing space across 10 buildings and create 3,000 permanent, full-time jobs at the site of the former Buick City automotive manufacturing complex in Flint. Ashley Capital, a New York-based company whose acquisition, development and redevelopment of industrial and office properties has placed it among the largest privately held industrial real estate investment companies in the country, purchased more than 300 acres from RACER Trust in two transactions, both of which closed in 2023.

Phase I, a 330,000-square-foot building for light industrial tenants, is expected to be completed this spring. The remainder of the project will be built out in accordance with market demand.

“We are thrilled that a team of respected industry colleagues has recognized and honored our work to transform a long-vacant industrial site into a thriving new hub of opportunity in Flint,” said Susan Harvey, a senior vice president of Ashley Capital who oversees the developer’s operations in Michigan. “The Flint Commerce Center is the culmination of tremendous effort and dedication from multiple parties, including community and state leaders who have supported us, regulators who worked with us to advance redevelopment plans and a dedicated team at Ashley Capital who saw in this property an opportunity to create something with a lasting, positive impact for the community.”

“RACER Trust strives in all its transactions to seek buyers who are capable of maximizing a property’s redevelopment potential with respect to job creation, investment and benefits to the community,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust, which took title to the Buick City property and dozens of other former General Motors Corp. properties following the automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy. “Ashley Capital has been a tremendous partner with RACER, purchasing and successfully redeveloping a former auto manufacturing property in Livonia that today employs more than 1,500 full-time workers. We congratulate Ashley Capital for this well-deserved recognition.”

The CoStar Impact Awards recognize exemplary commercial real estate transactions and projects completed in 2023 that have significantly influenced neighborhoods or submarkets across 128 major international markets in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The awards honored over 380 winners for their commercial real estate transactions across five categories: Lease of the Year, Sale/Acquisition of the Year, Commercial Development of the Year, Multifamily Development of the Year and Redevelopment of the Year. 

“Now in its third year, the CoStar Impact Awards are an incredible opportunity to recognize the real estate projects fundamentally transforming the industry landscape,” said Andy Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group. “Our diverse panel of judges worked diligently to identify the most impactful commercial real estate projects across a range of categories that are shaping the future of the industry and the communities in which they serve. It’s an honor to recognize the companies and projects propelling the real estate sector forward.” 

To learn more about the CoStar Impact Awards and review the full list of winners, please visit www.CoStarImpactAwards.com/.

About Ashley Capital, LLC
Founded in 1984, Ashley Capital has become one of the largest privately held real estate investment companies in the United States. Based in New York, the firm has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Norfolk, Va. Ashley pursues opportunistic investments, creating value by acquiring and redeveloping underperforming industrial and office properties; developing and managing new business parks; helping corporations reposition their real estate holdings; and advising financial institutions and tax-exempt investors on asset enhancement. For more information, please visit www.ashleycapital.com.

About RACER Trust
The Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response (RACER) Trust was created in March 2011 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to clean up and position for redevelopment the properties abandoned by General Motors Corp. in its 2009 bankruptcy. At its effective date, RACER Trust’s real property portfolio consisted of 336 tax parcels; 34 million square feet in 167 buildings; and 6,776 acres of land at 83 locations in 14 states. When it was formed, RACER was one of the largest holders of industrial properties in the United States, and the largest environmental response trust in U.S. history. Since then, RACER has completed more than 90 property sales and achieved a no further action status or similar regulatory closure for more than 50 components of cleanups. Investments by RACER Trust’s buyers and end users have generated annual, recurring impacts of more than 59,600 permanent FTEs, $4.5 billion in labor income and $16.4 billion in regional economic output, creating new opportunities and revenue for RACER’s communities. For more information, please visit racertrust.org. 

About CoStar Group
CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets. Founded in 1987, CoStar Group conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of real estate information. CoStar is the global leader in commercial real estate information, analytics, and news, enabling clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on property values, market conditions and availabilities. Apartments.com is the leading online marketplace for renters seeking great apartment homes, providing property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked online commercial real estate marketplace with over twelve million monthly global unique visitors. STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Ten-X offers a leading platform for conducting commercial real estate online auctions and negotiated bids. Homes.com is the fastest growing online residential marketplace that connects agents, buyers, and sellers. OnTheMarket is a leading residential property portal in the United Kingdom. BureauxLocaux is one of the largest specialized property portals for buying and leasing commercial real estate in France. Business Immo is France’s leading commercial real estate news service. Thomas Daily is Germany’s largest online data pool in the real estate industry. Belbex is the premier source of commercial space available to let and for sale in Spain. CoStar Group’s websites attract over 100 million unique monthly visitors. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar Group maintains offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Asia. From time to time, we plan to utilize our corporate website, CoStarGroup.com, as a channel of distribution for material company information. For more information, please visit CoStarGroup.com.