In one of the biggest industrial real estate deals of the year, Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group LLC signed a 400,000-square-foot lease in Redford Township.
The deal brought the 800,000-square-foot building from 35 percent occupancy to 87 percent occupancy, according to a statement from Farmington Hills-based Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, which represented the owners in the lease transaction.
Chrysler will now use the space for parts distribution.
The building near Telegraph Road and I-96 was once used by Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. for logistics. However, it has been largely vacant for the past few years.
The largest industrial deal of the year was the renewal of 632,000 square feet of space by U.S. Manufacturing Corp. in Macomb Township, according to Washington, D.C.-based CoStar Group.
However, the Chrysler deal represents the biggest new lease of the year, topping the 320,000-square-foot lease by Tognum America Inc. in Brownstown.
By Daniel Duggan, Crain’s Detroit
