Nothing is free these days... except class A office space in Plymouth. OK, so it's not that easy. All you need is to do is demonstrate a profitable business model and "Poof" some free space (after a careful application process, of course).

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705 South Main, Plymouth's premiere business incubator and class A office space, said this week that it is accepting proposals for free office leases.

This opportunity is extended to start up ventures that have a great product or service but lack the capital to secure office space.

"There are so many new ventures in the area that could benefit from an office environment like ours," said Trowbridge Realty vice president and property manager Ryan Richmond. "This will allow entrepreneurs to establish a presence in a class A building without the expense."

Read the entire article here.

Sesame Street is now 40 years old. And, in honor of the great children's program, here is a shout-out to cooperation. A bill designed to allow the Detroit and Wayne County land banks to work together was announced with bipartisan support this week.

See, we do learn things from television.

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Bills that would allow land banks operated by Detroit and Wayne County to merge into a redevelopment entity with expanded powers were announced Monday, with bipartisan support.

The legislation would provide for a Detroit/Wayne County Redevelopment Authority that would "enable the city and county to have a cohesive strategy for stabilizing and redeveloping tax-reverted properties," said Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, in a news release.

Read the entire article here.

It's the future. No need to get out of the car to scout land for development when 3-D models are being created. And that's what Plymouth-based Lun Tech Designs have done for Woodward. All we need now are flying cars.

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Plymouth-based Luna Tech Designs has partnered with the Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3) to provide an online three-dimensional virtual globe application, using Google Earth, to help promote development, existing businesses and amenities along the entire 21 mile stretch of Woodward Avenue from Detroit to Pontiac.

The virtual globe application, or LunaGlobe, will take visitors on the WA3 Web site along a 3-D virtual tour of Woodward Avenue, giving them interactive opportunities to explore the rich heritage of this designated National Scenic Byway, as well as locate shops and restaurants along the way.

Read the entire article here.

When a major Hollywood stylist decides to move to Plymouth, Mich., and open up a hair and makeup studio, well, something is bound to happen... like a pilot for a reality TV show.

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Enter Carl Kendall, a television producer who also lives in Plymouth. Kendall is putting together a reality show featuring Sadler, his business ventures and his life in Plymouth, and says the drama, and humor, Sadler and those around him bring to different situations will make for compelling television.

"Dean was a major stylist in Hollywood," said Kendall, who works with producer partners Bill Hunt and Jerry Taylor at The Idea Mill (they also have separate businesses). "We've got so many elements here. ... He's a superstar wherever he is."

Kendall said his show has drawn interest from two television networks, though he added he couldn't say which ones. He's been taping for about two weeks and should be wrapped with that part of the production in another two, he said.

Sadler is the star, Kendall said, though people who work with him will also be spotlighted. "A lot of fascinating people are drawn to this kind of business," he said.

Read the entire article here.

Whether you like Dearborn's Miller's Bar or Royal Oak's Red Coat Tavern, you favorite burger joint is bound to show up somewhere on the Freep's list of best burgers in town. Not into red meat? Don't worry, check out No. 24. Ferndale's Flytrap has a salmon burger just waiting for consumption.

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When we asked readers this fall to point us toward Detroit's best hamburgers, hundreds of you sent recommendations. We read every one, picked the places that sounded best and then hit the streets in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to taste them. Six weeks and innumerable antacids later, here are our favorites.

Read the entire article here.

Any city can be entrepreneurial, that's the whole point, right? But what cities rise to the top? Well, you're in luck. A study just released by the University of Michigan-Dearborn found exactly that.

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The 2008 “eCities” study (also called "the Entrepreneurial Cities Index”) found that many southeast Michigan municipalities “are hard at work attracting, cultivating, building and holding entrepreneurial firms.”

The study, conducted by iLabs, the Center for Innovation Research in the UM-Dearborn School of Management, focuses on entrepreneurship because of its importance to expansion and diversification of Michigan’s regional economies and the impact small businesses have on job creation.

This second annual UM-Dearborn study found that successful communities work with entrepreneurial businesses to determine their needs and carry out relationship marketing akin to private sector firms.

“Economic development agencies, local chambers of commerce, and state agencies all are instrumental in helping bring firms to a community,” said Timothy Davis, director of iLabs. “Successful local governments also have professional and empowered staffs who champion new businesses, leading them to solutions and acting as a conduit for networking.”

Read the entire article here.

RelocateAmerica.com, an online resource for people on the move, released their 11th annual America's Top 100 Places to Live. Plymouth and Rochester made the cut. The list is based on neighborhood details, school performances, rec activities, beauty of the area, and economic growth.

Battery development is charging ahead of the pack in the Ann Arbor region. A number of local companies, including the university, are developing new, improved, and innovated batteries, turning the area into a development hub.