General Motors purchased the former Warren headquarters of an advertising agency that recently moved to downtown Detroit.
The automaker plans to convert the 150,000-square-foot property — formerly owned and occupied by Lowe Campbell Ewald — into more space for its sprawling Tech Center campus. The building is located on Van Dyke Avenue north of East 12 Mile Road, across from the Tech Center.
The acquisition comes as GM is expected to continue consolidating some engineering operations at the Tech Center, which has about 19,000 workers in product development, design, information technology, R&D and customer service.
“We are in the process of determining a renovation plan,” GM spokeswoman Renee Rashid-Merem said in an email. “Ultimately, the building will serve as an extension of the Technical Center, providing us with additional office space for our employees and visitors.”
She said it is too early to reveal additional details.
The acquisition comes several months after Interpublic Group division Lowe Campbell Ewald moved to the renovated former J.L. Hudson Co. warehouse connected to Ford Field — a 122,000-square-foot space recently transformed into a five-floor office building.
The agency’s decision to shift its headquarters and 500 employees to the renovated complex marked a win for downtown Detroit. It came about 36 years after the company moved to Warren.
Lowe Campbell Ewald offices in New York and Detroit are handling Cadillac advertisements. Previously, the firm was involved in a consortium called Rogue that was jointly handling Cadillac, but that partnership ended Monday.
GM shifted ad work for its luxury brand away from Minnesota-based Fallon Worldwide last year.
A spokeswoman for Lowe Campbell Ewald said the company’s Warren building was empty when it was sold two weeks ago to GM.
Photo Credit: Lowe Campbell Ewald
