The former Borders properties in Ann Arbor continue to fill with new tenants.
The latest is Gold Star Mortgage, which signed a lease to move into the former Borders headquarters at 100 Phoenix Drive.
The mortgage company, founded by Dan Milstein in 2000, employs approximately 250 people at two offices in the area.
Milstein said he plans to move all of his local employees to the new location and to double his Ann Arbor employees within the next 12 months.
Dan Milstein (left) is moving Gold Star Mortgage to the former Borders headquarters on Phoenix Drive. His brother Alex Milshteyn (right) is listing the company's current offices.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo
The new jobs will be a combination of loan officers, underwriters, and other employees.
The move will occur in the late summer, with employees from the company’s current headquarters on Packard Road moving into the new space, followed by employees from an office at Avis Farms.
“We signed the lease about two weeks ago, and we are going to be a major tenant there,” he said.
“Demolition is underway and the landlord expects to have the place ready for us by June 10. We estimate about 60 days after the keys are turned over we’ll start moving in, and we’ll do it in stages.”
Gold Star has grown into a national company, employing more than 500 people at over 40 offices around the country. The company will occupy about 68,000 square feet at the building on Phoenix Drive, with an option on an additional 32,000 square feet.
“It’s a three story building, and we’re taking one and a half stories out of the gate, but we have an option for the remaining half of the third floor,” Milstein said. “So we can get up to 100,000 square feet altogether at the location.”
Milstein said he negotiated the lease directly with local developer Gerald Spears who he said was part of a management group that is now in charge of the building.
There is an additional 240,000 square feet still available at the property that is listed by Colliers International. Colliers agent Jim Chaconas said he has two parties who are looking into leasing the space.
Gold Star owns its office building at 3879 Packard Rd. Milstein said he is listing the building for lease or for sale with his brother, local Realtor Alex Milshteyn. The asking price on the 12,130 square feet of office space is $1.35 million.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2