In the 1880’s a young Thomas Duke left Nova Scotia for Detroit, tools in hand. He set about using them to construct commercial buildings, like the Detroit Sanitarium, in a city fast expanding with new manufacturing and business. His son George left grade school to work with cement crews. Later he expanded his skills and began constructing not only commercial buildings but also hundreds of semi-custom homes from Detroit to Ypsilanti, before the depression and following World War II. George's son, named Thomas for his grandfather, learned from both men, and then launched his own independent business, building commercial structures, custom homes, and apartment properties, as well as founding and acquiring banks.

In 1976 a fourth-generation Duke entrepreneur also saw an opportunity. Great-grandson of the immigrant Thomas, this Thomas Duke plunged into business independently and singlehandedly, having seen in his elders the value of learning from the ground up. He determined he would grow his one-man shop into aa highly regarded commercial brokerage firm serving Southeast Michigan.

Today the Thomas Duke Company is a well-respected, trusted resource for commercial property brokerage in virtually all the communities surrounding Detroit. Over four decades the firm has perfected a broad menu of brokerage services for both user and investment properties as well as land for development, and established rock-solid property management services, all grounded in a deep understanding and appreciation of the region.

The result: thousands of brokerage transactions closed, dozens of properties built, dozens more acquired, refurbished, and successfully repositioned and profitably managed. The Duke Company has built a history of achievement. And now the fifth generation is beginning a new chapter, full of promise.