Borders' Has Sold Former Ann Arbor Headquarters

Story first appeared on The Detroit News -

Price Not Disclosed; Buyer Asked For Confidentiality

The former Ann Arbor headquarters of defunct bookseller Borders Group Inc. has been sold to an unidentified buyer who requested a confidentiality agreement, the Ann Arbor office of Colliers International said Friday.

The development follows an October statement by the site's broker, Jim Chaconas, that the 330,000-square-foot campus for the former bookstore chain that liquidated and closed in 2011 would soon be sold.

The headquarters building and campus was listed for $6.9 million in early 2012, and Chaconas said in October that the prospective buyer came "pretty close" to that number.

Chaconas said then that he was working with three tenants to move into the property.

One would occupy all of the smaller, 87,000-square-foot building and others would share the larger, 243,000-square-foot building.

Because of the confidentiality agreement, it is not clear whether new tenants will move in or whether a new owner has bought the building and has different plans for the property.

Chaconas was not available for comment. In October, he said the site is large enough to allow tenants to expand and has more than 1,200 parking spaces.

Before Borders decided to liquidate in July 2011, it had 440 staffers at the corporate campus at 100 Phoenix Drive and occupied only a portion of a building.

The headquarters' former owner, Farmington Hills-based Agree Realty Co., defaulted on a $5.6 million loan in 2011. Colliers International was hired to handle the sale of the property after a settlement agreement was reached with Agree Realty.