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Peter Karmanos Jr., a Detroit native, clearly is giving downtown Detroit every opportunity to win the new headquarters of Compuware Corp.
But can the city afford to lure the computer-services giant to the only Detroit site Karmanos wants -- a slice of the central business district known as Campus Martius?
Experts say it could cost $100 million more to fit Compuware, and the 6,000 headquarters employees it plans to have in 10 years, into the 9.2-acre Campus Martius property than it would to build on a more spacious site in the suburbs.
The reason: The site's small size means Compuware would have to build expensive eight- to 10-story buildings rather than three-story, suburban-style office buildings.
Also, Compuware wants on-site parking -- meaning a 5,000-space garage, the same size as the one for Joe Louis Arena. Estimated cost: more than $50 million, far more than a big suburban surface lot.
The decision will have huge implications for the future of downtown Detroit. Compuware would bring 3,000 high-paying jobs to downtown as soon as its new headquarters opened, estimated between 2001 and 2003. By 2008, Compuware thinks, its headquarters work force will number 6,000. That means plenty of related development in restaurants, retailing and housing.
"This is the most important project to come downtown in years," said Charles Mady Sr., CEO of Exclusive Realty L.L.C. in Detroit. "This would be a dream for downtown." Compuware wants a building of 600,000 square feet initially, expandable to 1.2 million square feet within 10 years.
Karmanos, the founder, chairman and CEO of Compuware, cannot make the call alone, however. He has to justify any additional expense to shareholders.
"Our position is, we're a public company, and it shouldn't cost us any more to build on a site in downtown Detroit than to build a new headquarters at 12 (Mile Road) and Haggerty," Karmanos said last week. "There are differences on both sides of that equation. There's the city income tax and the cost of parking downtown. And there's building limitations and land costs in the suburbs."
However, one analyst who follows Compuware stock says even a cost difference of $50 million...