John Ferchill with the Ferchill Group, a Cleveland real estate developer is going to bring over 400 employees to the city of Detroit starting in the Fall of 2008. The group bought Detroit’s legendary hotel the Book Cadillac in 2006. The 33-story luxury hotel hasn’t been open in over 2o years. There were will be 60 condos, and a Westin Hotel added to this historical renovation. “Everybody’s got a story about the Book,” said John Ferchill, the Cleveland-based developer behind the renovation. “I think that’s probably our No. 1 marketing tool.”
The day the Detroit Tigers were going to the World Series last year, the Ferchill Group put the Book-Cadillac condos on the market., which were marketed as real estate on top of the Westin Hotel. The 60 condos were forcasted to be sold in 3 years. The developer sold 40 condos in four hours the day they went on the market, earning the Ferchill Group $22 million. Prices have ranged from $279,500 to $1,375,000. The renovation will include recreating the Grand Ballroom and the Italian Garden.
The Ferchill group has the niche of developing in the rust belt of the Midwest. John Ferchill followed cities who recently constructed new baseball parks, such as Cleveland and Detroit. He has seen results of sold out hotels, when of course the home team is winning. Ferchill had also developed Detroit’s Hilton Garden Inn, which opened in 2004. Ferchill has over 75 projects costing over $1.5 billion with the track record of only one project failing.
Bizdom U had the opportunity to listen to John Ferchill last week. He has the business attitude of a solid rock and nothing will get in his way. It is impressive to know how much success he has had with only nine employees. His success of work in the Rust Belt shows that the Blue Collar market is still vibrantly alive. He has found his niche in the real estate business, and won’t stop there. The urban cities are where he would like to stay, mixed retail maybe the next thing coming for Ferchill. Being an entrepreneur he has seen the window of opportunity here in Detroit.
The USA Today: Developer unveils revival of shuttered Detroit landmark hotel, November 11, 2005.
