ADRIAN — When Mike Howard puts his name on something, he wants to be proud of it.

That is one reason the longtime commercial real estate developer plans to rename the former Adrian Mall the Howard Center as he begins what could be a years-long transformation of one of Adrian’s most visible commercial properties.

“When I put my name on it, I want to walk in and be proud of it,” Howard said.

For Howard, who lives nearby at Round Lake, the project is not simply another piece of real estate to buy, improve and quickly sell. He remembers coming to the Adrian Mall as a kid, buying tapes at Musicland and cruising the strip. Now he owns it.

“I really care about this,” he said. “I honestly care about this.”

Howard said he has already had offers involving portions of the property, but he is willing to wait.

“This is my thing,” he said. “I named it after myself, so I have to make it nice.” 

That philosophy comes up frequently in conversation. Howard likes taking properties that have seen better days and finding a way to make them useful  and attractive again.

He points to architectural details he has added to other developments that cost more but do not necessarily bring in additional rent, for example the exterior additions to Barron Commons, which he is developing on the site of the former Wendy’s restaurant in Tecumseh.

“I don’t care,” he said. “I want it to look nice.” 

Howard expects the Adrian project could eventually represent an investment of about $70 million. Plans include an upscale indoor self-storage facility in the former JCPenney space, to be called Captain Emma’s after his beloved Maltese who died recently at the age of 17, and a new 7,000-square-foot retail center on property just south of the existing mall. 

He also is talking with a large national grocer and other national retailers, although he is not yet identifying them.

Howard said he is in no hurry to fill space simply for the sake of filling it.

“I just want the right fit,” he said. “My decisions will have an impact on the community and I’m going to be here. I don’t think of the quick deal. I know a lot of people just do the quick deals and move on. I don’t do that.” 

Howard has been learning how to buy, sell and make deals since he was 15.

He grew up in Toledo, graduated from Ottawa Hills High School and worked in gas stations and convenience stores owned by his father. He stocked beer, sold lottery tickets, dealt with customers and began selling used cars from the parking lot of his father’s station at Monroe Street and Upton Avenue.

After Howard saved about $14,000, his father asked how much money he had and announced that he was buying a house. 

“Congratulations, you got a house,” Howard recalled being told. “Now you’ve got to figure out how to fix it up.”

Howard and his brother scraped wallpaper, repaired sinks and learned as they went. 

Education was also important in his family. After attending Ohio State University, Howard transferred to the University of Toledo, where he earned an undergraduate business degree, an MBA and a law degree.

His grandfather had encouraged him to finish his education, telling him that money and possessions could be lost, but an education could not be taken away.

Even while pursuing graduate degrees, Howard continued in real estate, at one time managing 115 residential properties.

Today, commercial real estate is his focus and his passion.

“It’s like a dream,” Howard said.

Getting there, however, included failed deals, mistakes and losing his own money.

“You’re learning as you go,” he said. “A lot of it’s just doing the deal and making a million mistakes.”

Eventually, he said, experience builds confidence. 

Howard now has projects and properties across Michigan and northwest Ohio, including developments in Milan, Saline, Hillsdale, Muskegon, Dundee and Toledo.

A large part of making those projects work, he said, is networking — talking with existing tenants about where they want to expand and noticing which businesses are missing from a community.

“You go to a city and you see everybody else there and you don’t see a Jimmy John’s or a Dunkin’ or something,” he said. “Hey, why aren’t you here?” 

Area residents will see the results of another Howard project much sooner in Tecumseh.

Work is moving ahead at the former Wendy’s property, where the Barron Commons development will include Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Domino’s Pizza.

Howard said he currently has multiple letters of intent for the fifth space and is waiting to decide which tenant will be the best fit. He expects to turn the individual units over to tenants by the end of September. Each business will then complete its own interior build-out. Howard said Jimmy John’s is likely to open first because its plans have already been approved and the company is ready to begin work. 

Barron Commons is named for Howard’s 15-month-old son, Michael Barron Howard.

Howard lives at Round Lake with Barron and his fiancée, Carrie Lynn, an assistant professor at Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Becoming a father has added another dimension to the way Howard thinks about his work.

Asked what drives him, he answered, “Just to leave a legacy for my kids, I guess.”

Real estate appeals to him partly because it is visible, he said. He can drive past a property and see what he created — a once-vacant building transformed and people employed there.

And sometimes, little Barron comes along to see it, too.

Howard frequently takes his son to job sites and hopes someday Barron might share the enthusiasm for real estate that began for his father in a Toledo gas station parking lot at age 15.

“I hope he loves it as much as I do,” Howard said.