Lichter told me in a phone interview from California this morning that he expects to close on the two properties in mid-January and bring the space online for two tenants that would take a total of 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of the building space next year.

Lichter said the total renovation investment is expected to be “well into eight figures.”

“As soon as those LOIs (letters of intent to sign leases) become actual leases, I think we’ll have some fairly significant announcements,” he said.

The two companies — one of which is foreign — have operations in the region and would primarily use the space for an expansion of manufacturing capabilities, but need some office space there as well, Lichter said.

“This is exactly the kind of work our company specializes in, and I look forward to preparing these properties for reuse and jobs as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

The main building Lichter is under contract to buy at Centerpoint Campus West was formerly used for research and testing. A maintenance building and wastewater treatment facility also occupy the site, as well as parking for about 2,400 vehicles, according to a RACER Trust marketing brochure.

Built in 1934, the property sits on 80 acres on the northwest corner of the Pontiac Central Manufacturing and Assembly Plant campus, according to the brochure. Two additions were later added.

The Centerpoint Campus Central building was formerly used for engineering and has about 4,000 parking spaces. It was built in 1994 and has first- and second-floor office space.

RACER, which stands for Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response, was created following General Motors’ bankruptcy to clean and sell 89 unwanted or closed GM properties in 14 states.

“RACER Trust continues to meet its mission to make these properties productive, job-providing sites again,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a statement. “IRG has an excellent reputation for converting industrial locations to new uses. There is no doubt they are poised to contribute to the economic growth of Oakland County.”

Earlier this year, Industrial Realty also purchased most of Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.'s 2.5 million-square-foot former Detroit Manufacturing Complex at I-75 and Holbrook.

Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412, [email protected] Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB