CAR CONDO MECCA TO RISE ON EX-GM FACTORY LOT

USA TODAY
By JC Reindl
June 23, 2015

PONTIAC, Mich. — The weed-choked lot of a former General Motors factory here is about to be reborn as a private playground for hardcore car enthusiasts, with a race track on site and private car condos for sale.

The $60-million M1 Concourse project is to break ground Wednesday and could roar to life as early as next spring.

The project’s $25-million first phase will involve construction of a 1.5-mile track and 80 car condominiums, which are finished climate-controlled garages that can double as entertainment rooms.

M1 Concourse would be one of just a handful of car condo complexes in the country with their own performance tracks.

For car buffs with the cash to spare, M1 Concourse offers a place to store, show off and test drive high-end vehicles while socializing with those who share a similar passion. Use of the track would generally be reserved for condo owners and their guests.

Two early condo buyers were David Fischer Sr. and David Fischer Jr., owners of the Suburban Collection, Michigan’s largest automotive dealership group. The father and son bought side-by-side condo units and anticipate rotating the cars that they store and show.

“When someone takes delivery of a new Lamborghini or Porsche and they want to do a hot lap on the track, we’re going to help them facilitate it,” Fischer Jr. said.

Another buyer is professional drag racer Tom Bailey of Lake Orion, Mich., who plans to bring several of the 1969 Chevy Camaros he races to show at M1.

“It’s a great concept,” Bailey said.

“You’re in an environment with a lot of other enthusiasts like yourself, so everyone shares a common interest.”

Brad Oleshansky, M1’s founder and CEO, said he has the financing in place and purchase agreements in hand for all of these initial units, which include bathrooms and carry price tags of about $110,000 for a 600-square-foot condo that fits two to four vehicles and $250,000 for a 1,200-square-foot unit for five to eight vehicles.

“There’s been a lot of skeptics and naysayers, so we’re putting them to rest.”
– Brad Oleshansky

Oleshansky said the buyers of his condos all hail from metro Detroit and represent about 400 vehicles, “from ultra-rare classic cars to million-dollar Porsches and Lamborghinis and Ferraris and everything in between.”

The buyers are “everyone from CEOs of auto company suppliers and auto dealers to lawyers and doctors,” he said.