DETROIT -- Princeton Enterprises has purchased the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center building in Detroit.
The center is at the heart of a $4.5 million federal corruption case involving allegations that money meant to train workers was funneled into the pockets of union and company officials instead. It has led to plea deals with a former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executive and the widow of the late UAW Vice President General Holiefield.
Peter Jankowski, vice president of brokerage services at Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, said UAW-Chrysler moved out of the 78,892-square-foot building last year to consolidate with its national training center in Warren, Mich. He said two smaller tenants are still in the building but could not say what plans are in store for it.
He did not disclose financial details of the transaction.
Matt Lester, founder and CEO of Princeton Enterprises, said a two-phase, $2 million to $3 million capital improvement plan will update the building with new windows, parking lot repairs, additional security and signage "over the next year or two."
That figure doesn't include a likely reconfiguration of the first floor, he said.
"The real puzzle is trying to figure out what to do with the first floor, which currently contains a full commercial kitchen and dining hall. Also ... conference centers, including a theater that holds 200 or more people. In all likelihood, that first floor will be repurposed," he said.
The property is about 10 percent occupied. Lester anticipates it to remain a multitenant building.
"Originally, I thought I may drive it in the direction of a signature building; we've got inquiries from large single users," he said. "We've also been contacted by literally a dozen or more smaller tenants, so we'll probably go with a multitenant."
Requests for comment from the seller were not returned Friday.
The structure was built in 1970 and purchased in 1989 by the National Training Center, a joint entity funded by FCA US, for $6.3 million, according to City of Detroit records.
