Construction on an $80 million, four-story mixed-use building in downtown Birmingham has begun, starting with demolition.
Developer Ron Boji’s new project on East Brown Street west of Old Woodward Avenue, next door to the new RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) store under construction, comes armed with a splashy new anchor tenant: New York City-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is taking all 42,000 square feet of office and commercial space on the first and second floors as it consolidates a pair of nearby Oakland County offices into one. Wealth management and commercial banking services will be offered in the space.
Boji — noting that his Boji Group was founded on May 8, 1998, almost 26 years ago to the day, and celebrated its new Birmingham headquarters on May 8, 2023 — said construction on the 135,000-square-foot building should wrap up in April 2026. Demolition of the existing buildings on the property is underway.
The property had been owned by an entity registered to Kathleen Trott, wife of former Republican Congressman David Trott. Boji said David Trott is a development partner on the project. It is now owned by 370 Brown LLC, a Boji affiliate.
JPMorgan Chase is moving from 1116 W. Long Lake Road at Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills and the Munder Capital Center building at 480 Pierce St. in downtown Birmingham to be the anchor tenant in Boji’s project, called 370 Brown, the developer said. More than 200 employees could ultimately be housed in the building.
In a news release, Terrah Opferman, Michigan region manager of middle market banking for JPMorgan Chase, said the bank’s 90-plus-year presence in the region is “further strengthened” by the new office.
CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, says JPMorgan Chase takes about 15,100 square feet in the Munder building and all of the 27,900-square-foot Bloomfield Hills building.
In addition to the office and commercial space, there are 28 luxury apartments commanding rents of $6 per square foot or so, Boji said. They are primarily two- and three-bedroom units that are expected to be second or third residences, with half on the third floor and the other 14 on the fourth.
There is also expected to be rooftop amenities like a water feature, cabanas, an eco-grass lawn and grills and firepits, the release says.
In the release, Boji said 370 Brown “represents a significant step forward in our mission to blend strong economic development with understated exclusivity. This development isn’t just a building; it will help create a dynamic lifestyle designed to thrive.”
The building has been in the works for years.
Victor Saroki, the project’s architect, said in the release that the development team worked to integrate 370 Brown with the under-construction RH site with things like walkways and courtyards “that enhance pedestrian movement not only for building users, but for people in adjacent buildings and the general public.”
Detroit-based Sachse Construction is the general contractor. Dallas-based CBRE Inc.’s local office in Southfield represented JPMorgan Chase in the lease. Lutz Real Estate Investments, based in Birmingham, is managing and leasing the residential space to tenants, and Boji Group manages the commercial space.
