New Huntington Tower in downtown Detroit officially opens

Huntington Bank celebrated the grand opening Wednesday of its new 20-story Huntington Tower, the first large new downtown Detroit building to be completed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Located across from Comerica Park at 2025 Woodward Ave., the glass-clad tower was designed by Neumann/Smith Architecture and houses Huntington's commercial banking operations.

Half of the tower — floors two through 11 — is devoted to indoor parking. The top nine floors are mostly offices. On the ground level, there is a lobby and, starting next month, a Huntington branch.

While Huntington for now is the tower's sole occupant, others could join the bank in the future.

“Today is a momentous day for our bank, for the city of Detroit, for the county of Wayne and for the state of Michigan," Gary Torgow, chairman of Huntington Bank's board of directors, said at the grand opening. "We never faltered through that promise that we made to Detroit, to that obligation, to occupy this new green glowing high-rise tower, representing the largest bank building built in Detroit’s history."

More:How costs ballooned for Gilbert's Hudson's site in downtown Detroit

More:Michigan officials tweak subsidies for 4 big Dan Gilbert projects in Detroit

Construction of the tower began in fall 2019, back when the intended occupant was still known as Chemical Bank. Following some pandemic-induced delays — plus two bank mergers — construction finished up late last month.

Huntington officials declined Wednesday to give the tower's total final costs. It was originally announced as a $104 million project.

Huntington Tower is the first large new downtown building to open since the nine-story Little Caesars World Headquarters, 2125 Woodward Ave., in 2019. Dan Gilbert's Hudson's site development, which is still under construction, includes a 12-story office building.

The new tower is a central office for about 750 Huntington Bank employees in southeast Michigan.

While some of those employees are full-time remote workers, many of them follow a hybrid remote/in-person arrangement that brings them into the office two to three days a week, according to Huntington's Southeast Michigan Regional President Eric Dietz.

“Some of us are there every day," Dietz said. "Some of our executives I’d say are there four to five days a week, and then our hybrid model is two to three days."

The hybrid employees were spread among several different Huntington offices, including one in Troy and one on West Fort Street downtown.

Huntington Tower was built in the footprint of a surface parking lot and an empty 10-story, 1950s office building known as the Michigan Mutual Liability Annex that was demolished. 

The tower was originally envisioned to be headquarters for Chemical Bank, prior to Chemical's 2020 merger with TCF Bank, and TCF's subsequent June 2021 merger into Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bank. As part of the TCF-Huntington deal, Detroit became the headquarters for Huntington's commercial banking operations.

Mayor Mike Duggan recalled Wednesday how with each successive merger announcement, he worried about Detroit possibly losing the bank to another city. He now appreciates Huntington's commitment to Detroit, and to finishing the tower.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also attended the grand opening.

“Right after I took office, I came down here and it was just an empty lot — on which we are all celebrating today," the governor said. "It’s an honor to be here less than four years later, to see what has gotten accomplished here, and what it is going to mean for the people of this community, for the people of our state.”

The developer of Huntington Tower was an affiliate of Detroit-based real estate firm Sterling Group. The affiliate, known as GPC Adams LLC, is 50% owned by the five adult children of Torgow, the board chairman.

Initially, GPC Adams was expected to not only build, but also to own the completed tower and be Huntington's landlord. However, according to a Huntington spokesperson, the bank "recently learned the building was sold to a third party."

"Huntington Bank is a tenant in the building, and we have no ownership interest — therefore are unaware of any deal terms," the spokesperson, Samantha Myers, said.

The group of five Torgow children in GPC Adams includes Elie Torgow, the Sterling Group's chief executive officer.

During the grand opening, Huntington's President and CEO Steve Steinour congratulated him and other Torgow family members at the Sterling Group for completing the tower.

"You’ve done a remarkable job with this," Steinour said. "You did a great, great job — and a landmark building."

Also during the grand opening, Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young II bestowed Gary Torgow with a Spirit of Detroit Award.

“Leadership is the ability to compel people to do the right thing," Young said, "and I think that that tribute does not embody a person more than Mr. Gary Torgow.”

Gary Torgow co-founded the Sterling Group back in 1988. In 2009, he handed off the real estate firm to his children to focus on banking.

Torgow and a business partner, David Provost, went on to buy numerous distressed banks and build what became Talmer Bank. Talmer merged with Chemical Bank in 2016, forming what was the biggest bank headquartered in Michigan.

The Torgow family relationships were disclosed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and Gary Torgow was said to have recused himself from any board votes and meetings that involved the GPC Adams deal for the tower.

A 2019 Crain's Detroit article identified the other 50% owner of GPC Adams as New York businessman Sol Werdiger, reportedly a close friend of Torgow's.

Werdiger, the founder of youth sports apparel manufacturer Outerstuff, did not return a message seeking comment. Elie Torgow, who also was the manager of GPC Adams, would not comment Wednesday for this article.

As for development incentives, Huntington Tower was approved in 2019 for a Brownfield future tax capture of $16.7 million and a 10-year property tax abatement valued at $12.7 million. 

Other new downtown Detroit buildings of recent years:

• A four-story building with offices and a Capital One Café opened in 2021 at 511 Woodward.
• The nine-story Little Caesars World Headquarters, 2211 Woodward Ave., opened in 2019
• The 10-story One Kennedy Square, 777 Woodward Ave., opened in 2016 
• The 15-story One Campus Martius building, formerly known as the Compuware Building, opened in 2003.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story had the wrong address for the new Little Caesars World Headquarters.

Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl.