Eric Means Is Extracted From Humanity

#maytheheavensfall

Detroit developer Eric Means dies suddenly at 48

Eric Means

Detroit businessman and developer Eric Means, who had roles in several recent redevelopment projects in the city, died suddenly Monday at age 48.

The cause of death was not available.

Means was owner and CEO of the Means Group, a small development and construction management firm. He was a partner in the high-profile redevelopment of a long-empty downtown building, the old Metropolitan Building, 33 John R, which reopened to rave reviews last year as the boutique hotel Element Detroit at the Metropolitan.

He also helped redevelop a stretch of Woodard Avenue in Midtown known as the Woodward Garden Block project, which finished in 2014 with a new upscale apartment building, restaurants, the redone Garden Theater events space and a popular Great Lakes Coffee shop.

Most recently, Means began work last year on a new Cambria Hotel project in downtown that is still under construction.

Fellow developer David Di Rita, whose firm The Roxbury Group worked with Means on the Element Detroit hotel project, said Means was devoted to helping his hometown rebound and very well-liked in development and business circles.

“There are a lot of developers who are in it for the money, and everybody wants to make a living doing this, but Eric was really passionate about the mission," Di Rita said. "He just always wanted to do the right thing. He had an enormous heart, and he also was a good businessman."

He added, “You hate losing guys like Eric because we need more of them. So we are really really sad over here today.”

Means grew up in Detroit's Grandmont Rosedale area and was a 1990 graduate of Benedictine High School in Detroit

He served in the U.S. Navy, and received an engineering degree from the University of Florida.

Brian Holdwick, a business partner and a longtime friend, said Means returned to Detroit with a determination to contribute to the city's resurgence.

“This is the place where he grew up, and he wanted to come back and give back to it," Holdwick said.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement that Means' projects will leave him a lasting legacy in the city.

"I was terribly saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Eric Means, a bright young star in Detroit's redevelopment and one of the finest examples of Detroiters rebuilding Detroit," the mayor said. "My deepest sympathies go out to his wife and young children."

In a statement issued Tuesday, employees of the Means Group said their founder "was dedicated to mentoring the next generation of developers and always put the focus on his team instead of himself."
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