Gilbert's Bedrock adds Sakthi Industrial property to portfolio

Dan Gilbert's Bedrock is adding to its real estate portfolio with the purchase of the former Sakthi Industrial Campus along West Fort, just west of downtown Detroit.

The nearly 37-acre site includes 529,000 square feet of industrial and manufacturing space, 89,000 square feet of office and flex space, Bedrock said Tuesday. The site also includes more than 10 acres of land available for development. The purchase price was not disclosed.

“Acquiring this property provides us with a rare opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for industrial space in Detroit,” Sam Hamburger, vice president of acquisitions and leasing for Bedrock, said in a statement Tuesday. “By investing capital into this industrial complex, we believe that Bedrock will be well positioned to strengthen the surrounding neighborhoods by delivering a site that will create local jobs and serve as a catalyst for broad economic development efforts in the City of Detroit.”

Bedrock's announcement comes as other companies expand their investment in industrial land in Detroit, carrying on despite a pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is undergoing construction to transform the idled Mack Avenue Engine Complex on Detroit's east side into the city's first new assembly plant in nearly 30 years. And General Motors Co. is revamping its Detroit-Hamtramck plant to be the automaker’s first fully electric assembly plant.

Hamburger said Tuesday that the property offers Bedrock the ability to offer warehouse, distribution and manufacturing space close to downtown Detroit that is also "attractive to regional and national companies that serve an international clientele."

There is one tenant on the property, MOBIS, an automotive parts supplier for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Hyundai.

cwilliams@detroitnews.com