Student housing is the “In” project in downtown Ann Arbor these days. Excerpt: More and more development pressure for new student housing in downtown Ann Arbor is mounting. The latest example is the City Place development, which hoped to bring more density to downtown. Unfortunately that won’t be anytime soon after the City Council voted […]
Money, money, money… Money! Money! That's what the developer behind the Lot 9 project in downtown Pontiac is looking for.West Investments is still trying to line up financing for the project. City officials expect him to come back with an update by the end the month.The Pontiac Downtown Development Authority chose West Investments (headed up by Kyle Westberg, owner of Pontiac-based West Construction) to develop the 6.7 acre parcel at the northeast corner of Saginaw and Pike streets. The property is currently a surface parking lot at the knot end of the Woodward Avenue loop that surrounds downtown.The development calls for building a 4-story, mixed-use structure. The building will feature ground floor retail space with a yet-to-be-named anchor tenant. Above that will be three floors of residential space. The number of units and whether they will be rental apartments or for-sale condos has also not been determined.Source: Pontiac Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke
Oakland University has long been known as a commuter school, but university officials are looking to broaden the local definition of commuting.For years and years students have mainly gotten to and from the school via personal transportation(re: cars). University officials have begun talking with their counterparts from Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation about linking the school to a number of local institutions.Now that the university has strengthened its ties with the Royal Park Hotel, school officials are looking for new ways to get students and staff to and from downtown Rochester, along with several other destinations like shopping malls.Local education, municipal and business leaders have been talking about the idea and appear to support it. It is also popular with students, according to a recent survey conducted by the university.The road block to all of this appears to be the cost, creating a route costs about $400,000 annually. Local officials are still trying to figure out where that money will come from. Source: Oakland UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke
Riley Skate Park might not look like much now, but it will definitely be a sight to behold in a few short months, according to Bryan Farmer, a recreation supervisor with Farmington Hills.The skate park is nearly 70 percent complete and construction is set to resume this spring. Farmer expects it to be done and open by June. A number of skateboarding teams and vendors from across the U.S. have already inquired about it."We have had a lot of skateboarders interested in coming out for the grand opening," Farmer says.Riley promises to be one of the most innovative skate parks to come around southeast Michigan in a long time. It goes beyond the normal concrete hills, ramps and rails of the standard Midwestern skate park. It includes features such as an 8-foot-tall cylinder that looks like a sewer pipe built into the ground instead of above it. There are also a variety of in-ground pits and ditches, giving the park a "West Coast" feel.Local officials are raising money to bring in extra features such as lighting and webcams to the 29,000-square-foot park. Riley occupies a corner of Founder's Sports Park at 35500 Eight Mile Road between Gill and Halstead roads near the Farmington Hills Ice Arena. More than 722,000 people come through the park each year. That number is expected to dramatically increase after the skate park is finished. City officials believe the skate park will become a regional attraction, bringing in nearly 200 people each day.The skate park is named after George Riley of the Riley Foundation who gave $500,000 toward the $850,000 project. For information on the project, contact Farmer at (248) 473-1805 or BFarmer@fhgov.com.Source: Bryan Farmer, a recreation supervisor with Farmington HillsWriter: Jon Zemke
Dexter is getting ready to make a major expansion to its park system next year. Excerpt: Dexter officials now have an idea of what the new Mill Creek Park will look like and they hope to start construction on it sometime next year. The plan calls for a combination of urban park with recreational resources and natural areas filled with trees, shrubs and small woodland creatures. The concept is the work of Ann Arbor-based JJR. Village officials plan to add more design details this year while applying for state funding. "It could change once we get into the design phase," says Allison Bishop, community development director of the village of Dexter. Read the rest of the story here.
The University of Michigan-Dearborn has been setting more than a few fundraising records this year. The latest is the largest gift given to the school ever, $2 million.Ed Elliott made the gift to the university's School of Management just before the new year. Elliot graduated from the school in 1967 and is now the principal of an international investment group based in Chicago. Elliot recently served on the Chancellor’s Campaign Council. Part of that $2 million will pay for a chaired professorship in memory of his late wife, Betty F. Elliott, whom he met at U-M Dearborn. The rest of the money will be used to recruit and retain faculty, academic curriculum and research. U-M Dearborn recently broke its record for latest capital campaign that concluded last year. The university brought in $45 million from 11,000 donors, including alumni, faculty and staff and other campus supporters since 2004Source: University of Michigan-DearbornWriter: Jon Zemke
Ann Arbor's ForeSee Results is looking forward to some formidable growth this year.Excerpt:ForeSee Results isn't suffering from survivor syndrome, but people would understand why if the Ann Arbor-based came down with a case of it.As the economy continues its downward spiral, ForeSee Results continues to enjoy success and grow. "We've been growing at a pretty significant rate in the last couple of years despite the economy," says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results.The 7-year-old company is moving to bigger spaces on the city's north side, expanding from 15,000 to 40,000 square feet. It needs to after hiring about 50 people last year to create a staff of 140, 85 of which work in Ann Arbor. Freed expects to hire another 30-60 this year.Read the rest of the story here.
The people behind XCEND Group don't think of their business as small, at least not in the way it does business."We like to think our firm as a small business with a big business mentality," Schoenherr says.Looking at the three founders explains why. All three spent years working for big corporations before striking out on their own four years ago. They ended up creating an IT management and consulting firm.The Brighton-based company now employs 20 people and takes in millions of dollars in revenue each year. Schoenherr expects that growth to continue in 2009. The company is aiming for more than $10 million in revenue and adding about a dozen people to its payroll."It's very aggressive but we're trying to be careful at the same time," Schoenherr says. "It's the only way we can hit our revenue target."Source: Ron Schoenherr, vice president of business strategy for XCEND GroupWriter: Jon Zemke
Peoplemovers hopes to do for community outreach what LinkedIn did for business networking. Excerpt: Keith Zendler's Peoplemovers has upgraded with a new look and more changes are planned this year. The web site, which he launched from his Boston-Edison home in 2003, serves as a social networking community, like Facebook or MySpace, that focuses on community outreach. "We're providing a low-cost way for communities and organizations to work together so these communities can thrive," Zendler says. Read the rest of the story here.
Single Source Procurement is about to open another office, this time in Ann Arbor. Excerpt: Bob Engster is picking up the pieces left behind by Pfizer and making quite the nice chunk of change. The Kalamazoo resident founded Single Source Procurement in 2003 after Pfizer bought Upjohn. It was the corporation's move that left Engster looking for a new job, so he created his own. He was Single Source Procurement's only employee those first few years, helping small companies and start-ups save money whenever they bought, stored or fixed biotech and life sciences equipment. Today he oversees a staff of six in Kalamazoo and plans to open an Ann Arbor office with three employees later this month. It's looking for instrument repair people right now. Read the rest of the story here.
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