War II, for emotional greetings of 
refugees reaching Detroit for the first 
time, and for receptions to welcome 
dignitaries to the state. An early 1931 
cover of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle 
exclaimed: “City and state officials this 
week signified their readiness to join 
the Jewish communities of Michigan in 
welcoming to Detroit the world president 
of the Jewish National Fund, Menachem 
Ussishkin, on Sunday and Monday, 
Jan. 18 and 19. Plans outlined by the 
committees in charge of arrangements 
include a reception at the Michigan 
Central Depot on Sunday morning, Jan. 
18.”
In October 1946, an emotional 
gathering took place when nine survivors 
of the Nazi terror who traveled from 
Shanghai were received by a delegation 
at Michigan Central before they were 
provided housing. They were graduates 
of an esteemed yeshivah that previously 
taught 500 students, almost all of whom 
perished in the Holocaust.
In January 1948, Tel Aviv Mayor Israel 
Rokach was welcomed upon his arrival in 
Detroit by a large reception committee at 
Michigan Central. A few hours later, he 
would be a guest of Ford Motor Company 
for lunch and be taken for a tour of the 
Ford plant. In front of an audience of 
5,000, donors raised a record amount to 
develop land in Israel, which equates to 
nearly $2 million in 2022 dollars. 
In recent years, Bill Ford and Mary 
Culler have visited Israel, which is home 

to a growing presence of Ford Israel. 
Culler, who also now serves as the 
president of the company’s philanthropic 
arm, the Ford Fund, recalled an early 
assignment of assisting the Shoah 
Dinner in Dearborn, when Bill Ford was 
recognized by Steven Spielberg.

NEARBY DEVELOPMENTS
The development of Michigan Central’s 
campus has led to several other newswor-
thy investments in recent years. Matthew 
Kalt, a senior vice president at Chicago-
based Oxford Capital Group, has moved 
home to oversee the firm’s developments of 
the Detroit/Corktown projects, including 
the co-development of the Godfrey Hotel 
and Perennial apartment developments. 

His firm will also manage the 
hotel. Hunter Pasteur, based 
in Farmington Hills, are also 
partners on the Perennial and 
Godfrey developments.
Kalt, 32, grew up in 
Franklin and attended Hillel 
Day School, Detroit Country 
Day School and the University 
of Michigan. He moved back to his home-
town from Chicago last year with his wife 
and now resides in Birmingham. His firm 
also bought the Westin Book Cadillac 
Hotel in Detroit last year. 
“We were drawn to Corktown and 
Detroit because of all the existing and new 
demand being created by the dozens of 
recent and forthcoming corporate reloca-
tions and expansions Downtown, includ-
ing Ford’s investment in Michigan Central 
right by our developments,” he said. “The 
Godfrey Hotel Detroit is on track to open 
Spring 2023 and Perennial Corktown 
Apartments are on schedule to open a few 
months after that.” 
Sirefman, whose future in-laws live in 
Bloomfield Hills, added, “I have a strong 
belief that here in Detroit, anyone’s suc-
cess is everyone’s success. And I think 
it’s actually one of the great things about 
both the market and the community, in 
that we’re all working toward the same 
objectives. 
“There’s no shortage of opportunities or 

continued from page 35

BUSINESS
COVER STORY

36 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022 

Earlier in the summer, Josh Sirefman 
celebrated the city’s groundbreaking 
on Roosevelt Park with other officials, 
including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

The transformation includes 
preserving some of the 
original architecture of 
Michigan Central Station.

Matthew 
Kalt

