Economic Development

Detroit Mayor Bing, local leaders to speak on mass transit, urban vitality

Downtown Grosse Pointe storefronts get facelifts

Robert Wood, owner of Grosse Pointe-based Robert Wood & Associates, says both buildings, on Kercheval, are getting old and were ready for a revamp. The single-story Blockbuster building has new overhangs, a repaired roof, new lighting, and drainage. Faulty drainage can lead to a lot of an old building's problems."It always surprises when you open up these old buildings, but everything was solid behind the facade," Wood says. "You never know what you're going to get into when you peel the face off the building. You kind of hold your breath and hope that there's nothing major."The Ann Taylor Loft building is next for a facade redesign, but there's an issue to work through: A neighboring building's condition is causing Wood and his team to reevaluate the original plan to pull the brick off the facade. Instead, they may tuck point and save it, but they'll likely have to come up with a new plan, which will probably have to go back to the city for re-approval, Wood says."It is an upscale store, and the building right now doesn't reflect that."Something else to keep in mind as he works on the building is that most of the traffic comes through the back door, from municipal parking lots a block from the main street. "You really end up with two fronts to the building," he says. "Trash cans, lighting, all of that has to look equally good. It encourages people to park in the back and off the street."Among the renovations are updated windows and doors, to make the building more energy-efficient and to be ADA-compliant. Plus, the business of restoring old buildings, as opposed to knocking them down and building new ones, is not only green, but saves time and money, and preserves the past, he says."It's good for the city, and it's good for the whole block," Wood says.Source: Robert Wood, owner of Robert Wood & AssociatesWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Wayne County wins economic development award for Aerotropolis

Wayne County's Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) is flying high after it received an Excellence in Economic Development Award Tuesday in recognition of the Detroit Region Aerotropolis.At the International Economic Development Council annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, earlier this week, the Aerotropolis was recognized in the category of Regionalism and Cross-Border Promotion, for communities with a population greater than 500,000. It also received an Honorable Mention in the category Multi-Year Economic Development.The Detroit Region Aerotropolis Initiative includes four cities, three townships, two counties, Wayne County's Airport Authority, and private partners. The idea is for everyone to work together as a unified regional alliance to promote the region. In the past few years, almost 6,000 jobs and $1 billion in investment have been created by projects looking to be in the Aerotropolis.The Excellence in Economic Awards program annually recognizes the world's best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year's most influential leaders for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban and rural communities. The IEDC is dedicated to helping economic development professionals create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities, and improve the quality of life in their regions.Source: Wayne CountyWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Work wraps on Inkster’s Human Services building

A local developer hopes his project not only puts a new face on Inkster's portion of Michigan Avenue, but also brings about a resurgence.Boji Group president Ron Boji is wrapping up work on the first phase of the Michigan Avenue development, a Department of Human Services Wayne County office building he began constructing two years ago. That will be ready for occupancy Oct. 1, and workers will physically be in the building by Dec. 1.Two other portions of the project are set to begin in the next few weeks -- a new YWCA building and retail center, which will include a Secretary of State office and a restaurant. A house and laundromat have been demolished to make way for the construction, which should start in about three weeks with a planned wrap-up by May, Boji says.Then, with the construction of the new YWCA, the old building will be retrofitted for a justice center, with an Inkster police station and 22nd District Court. He expects the retrofit to start next June and be ready by February 2012.Boji credits the success of the project so far to the collaboration between the county, city, state, and his company: "It was a team effort," he says. "It was a concerted effort among everybody to make it happen."The location of the project, at Michigan Avenue and John Daly Street, had previously been an abandoned automotive dealership. All four parts include 100,000 square feet of office and retail space, and the whole price tag comes to about $25 million. Its brownfield designation earned it $1.2 million in Michigan Business Tax credits. The county also awarded $850,000 in neighborhood stabilization funding from the county. The YWCA property was also awarded $750,000 in neighborhood stabilization funding. Another $8.5 million came from Recovery Zone bonds.Boji says that as a developer, sure, he's excited about building and making a few bucks to do it, "but this is different. We're actually putting a face on Michigan Avenue for the next 50-plus years. We're reshaping how it will look."Source: Ron Boji, president of The Boji GroupWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Video Hooot Dooogs! Fashion, baseball and mustard Metro Detroit-style.

Quick, we say: Frankfurters, men's fashion, and locally made mustard. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Should be Charley Marcuse. A true Metro Detroit original, this singing hotdog vendor at Tiger Stadium (and budding entrepreneur) embodies the indomitably funky spirit of our region. The mustard's tasty too!

Accelerate Michigan expands with $50K Student Idea Competition

Auto engineers go solar with Applied Energy Technology

Automotive worker refugees have found a new home in alternative energy with their start-up, Applied Energy Technology. The 1-year-old business based in Clinton Township got its start when the automotive world took a dive recently. A small group of friends who did everything from engineering to manufacturing decided to put their skills to work creating rack systems for solar panels."It made a lot of sense to us," says Craig Winn, president & CEO of Applied Energy Technology. "We know automotive product development and energy."Today the company employs 12 designers of solar rack systems and another 10 people at a manufacturing plant. It also has a couple of independent contractors and summer interns. It expects to double its staff within the next year on the expectation that the solar industry will continue to grow for the foreseeable future."We survived the crisis," Winn says. "Now is the time when the people who will prosper in the next economy start doing things."Source: Craig Winn, president & CEO of Applied Energy TechnologyWriter: Jon Zemke

American CyberSystems opens HireGenics subsidiary in Rochester

American CyberSystems, an Atlanta-based IT firm, has picked Rochester Hills as the home of its new subsidiary, HireGenics.HireGenics will have a staff of five people in Metro Detroit and expects to add to it in the near future. American CyberSystems, which employs about 1,000 across the U.S., choose Metro Detroit for its "wealth of knowledge" in the software and IT industries, according to Charles Halash, executive vice president for sales & marketing for HireGenics."We're going to create jobs not only here in Michigan but on a national basis," he says.HireGenics will specializes in workforce compliance, risk mitigation, payroll services, and related consolidated payments. Its HGComply software makes sure each service provider or contingent worker is properly vetted with the necessary documentation and compliant with all governmental regulations and guidelines. The software can provide repeatable and auditable results.Halash and Barry Olson, both Metro Detroiters, will lead the new subsidiary. The two of them have more than 55 years of experience in payroll technology and workforce management systems.Source: Charles Halash, executive vice president for sales & marketing for HireGenicsWriter: Jon Zemke

Danotek Motion Technologies’ shift to wind turbines generates 25 hires

A year and a half ago, Danotek Motion Technologies made the shift to wind turbine technology and hasn't looked back.Since then it has moved from Ann Arbor to a bigger facility in Canton and gone on a hiring spree. The 50-person company has doubled its staff in the last 18 months and expects to hire more. Don Naab, president & CEO of Danotek Motion Technologies, says his company is on "the cusp of significant growth.""We're in a hiring mode," Naab says. "I have something like 15 positions I need to fill this year." Those positions are mostly engineering jobs. Naab expects to add another 15-20 people in 2011.Danotek Motion Technologies got its start in the automotive industry in 2001, but switched to wind turbines after a significant infusion of venture capital from the likes of Silicon Valley-based Khosla Ventures and San Francisco-based CMEA. Today the company makes the larger generators for the big wind turbines. Its current operations are designed to produce 4,000 of those generators annually. Source: Don Naab, president & CEO of Danotek Motion TechnologiesWriter: Jon Zemke