Gilbert adds retail properties to downtown Detroit portfolio

Dan Gilbert's Bedrock LLC has added two new downtown properties to its ever-growing real estate portfolio: The Cash City pawn shop at 1300 Randolph St. and the J.L. Stone men's clothing s tore across the street at 1231 and 1237 Broadway.

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In a statement, owner Sheldon Stone, 78, said he is retiring and approached Bedrock about purchasing the properties.

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The sale closed Tuesday for an undisclosed price.

"This is not a sad day, it's exciting to see the rebirth of the city and everything going on downtown and I look forward to seeing the continued development," he said.

Liquidation sales at both businesses are expected before they close. A time frame for that is

expected to be released soon.

"We are excited Sheldon approached us about acquiring his properties," Bedrock CEO Jim Ketai said in an email to Crain's. "The intersection at Broadway and Randolph is an important one as it relates to the bulk of our footprint as well as downtown Detroit itself. We are developing plans to bring in several retail, dining and entertainment destinations for the properties to add another few elements to the positive momentum Detroit continues to experience."

The buildings are near Gilbert's planned redevelopment of the Monroe Block site, which is 3.5 acres. A groundbreaking is expected on the $830 million Monroe Block development this year.

The Cash City building is about 4,700 square feet, according to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service.

The building at 1231 Broadway is about 2,000 square feet and 1237 Broadway about 1,400 square feet, a Gilbert spokesperson said.

Stone opened Cash City Pawn in 1992, and his family owned J.L. Stone; he bought the business in the early 1970s, according to the news release.

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