Adient has announced the company has acquired the 10-story, 164,000-square-foot Marquette Building located at 243 West Congress in Detroit’s historic financial district, across from the Cobo Center. Adient debuted as an independent, publicly traded company after its separation from Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls on Oct. 31.  

The company will invest approximately $50 million into renovating the building to establish its global headquarters and bring roughly 500 jobs to the city of Detroit, of which approximately 100 will be newly created. Adient will work with the city to fill as many of those jobs as possible with Detroit residents.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) CEO Steve Arwood and Adient Chairman and CEO R. Bruce McDonald announced the plan at a joint press conference. They were joined by MEDC leadership, Detroit City Council members, Adient employees, local elected representatives and business leaders.

“Adient’s decision to choose Detroit from among a large field of competitors to base its global headquarters is another major vote of confidence in where we are headed as a city,” said Mayor Mike Duggan.

Adient is the first Fortune 500 company to establish headquarters in Michigan since BorgWarner moved from Chicago to Auburn Hills in 2003.

“We are excited to be a part of the growth occurring in the City of Detroit,” said McDonald. “It’s only fitting that we locate Adient’s global headquarters in the Motor City, and we have to thank the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan for the opportunity. Not only will we be bringing 500 jobs to downtown, we will also bring our history and commitment to supporting and partnering with communities where we operate. We are committed to being a good neighbor, a good corporate citizen and a vital part of the community.”   

Adient’s Detroit presence is expected to generate approximately $17.2 million in income and property tax revenue for the city over the next 12 years.  

For selecting Michigan as the site of its global headquarters, Adient will receive approximately $2 million from the Michigan Business Development Program for new job creation. The company looked at 40 potential sites within and outside of Michigan for its headquarters and ultimately selected the Marquette Building. In the coming weeks, a proposal will be sent to the City Council on a package of city incentives expected to include property tax abatements and brownfield tax credits.  

“Adient’s decision to locate its global headquarters in Detroit is both strategic and symbolic. We welcome Adient and appreciate their long-term commitment to the economic viability of Detroit and to being a key player in the automotive industry in Michigan, where they become part of a manufacturing and R&D community that is transforming the future of the auto industry and transportation around the world,” said Arwood.

“We are going to undertake a complete renovation of the Marquette Building while preserving and honoring its place in the history of Detroit,” said Neil Marchuk, Adient chief human resources officer. “Our employees, customers and suppliers will have a world-class facility to work in and visit, complete with collaborative work spaces, a product showroom, fitness center, food services, rooftop terrace and technologically efficient work spaces.”

Adient will be consolidating corporate functions from various Michigan locations to the downtown Detroit building once renovations are completed in approximately 24 months. In addition to the Detroit investment, Adient intends to refurbish its technology and engineering center in Plymouth, Michigan.

“We are launching a 3- to 4-year project to completely restructure our Plymouth Technology Center,” said Marchuk. “Plans include creating agile team spaces that promote collaboration among internal teams, customers and suppliers.”

The company is still determining the required level of investment for its Plymouth facility.