Coverage of schools from pre-k and kindergarten through higher education, including trade and online classes.
A river runs through it. Or once did. Forced below ground (and concrete), folks in downtown Pontiac haven't seen the Clinton River since 1963. Now, there's talk of daylighting the river, which is seen by some as a too-costly proposition and by others as a necessary step toward revitalizing the city's core.
L’esprit Academy, a cosmetology school, is opening a second education center in downtown Royal Oak, a move that helped the company double its workforce over the last year. The 9-year-old business now employs 20 people after hiring 10 over the last year. It also has about half a dozen open positions now, mostly for administrative areas. It currently has six people working in downtown Royal Oak and expects to double that staff there by the end of the year. The Livonia-based business choose downtown Royal Oak because of its location in Oakland County and because its urban setting is a nice contrast to its suburban-style headquarters. Plus, downtown Royal Oak is attractive because it has lots of energy, is a trendsetter and is home to a large concentration of creatives. "It seemed like a natural fit on an aesthetic level," says Stacy Wells, CEO of L’esprit Academy. L'espirit Academy has enjoyed high growth in recent years because of the staying power of the industry (hair stylist jobs can't be outsourced to India) and the flexibility it provides to its workforce (working moms can do this part-time on their schedule). Wells also points out cosmetology can be a more cost-effective career compared to getting a professional degree at a traditional university. "People are getting four-year degrees and $150,000 in debt and still don't have a job," Wells says. "We find a lot of people who have either done a year or two of college or have graduated and can't find a job." Source: Stacy Wells, CEO of L’esprit Academy Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Ferndale is showing more love to bicyclists by offering another on-street bike rack, this one on Woodward Avenue, the busiest street in town and a location that state transportation officials see as a model for other cities to follow. The 12-bike rack will be installed by the end of May on the east side of Woodward, just north of 9 Mile, making it the city's sixth on-street bike rack but its most significant given its location on a major state road. This same time last year, the city's first on-street rack and a piece of bike-related art were installed, and since then four others have been added to less busy streets. Over the last four years, about 35 bike racks were added to sidewalks around Ferndale. "Many of our residents prefer the ease of riding their bike to town, enjoying an extra bit of exercise, avoiding traffic jams and reducing their carbon footprint," says Cristina Sheppard Decius, executive director of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority. "The DDA is committed to doing what it can to make that mantra work.“ The new rack will be protected from 35-mph traffic along Woodward by Michigan Department of Transportation barriers and be bright yellow. “One on-street bike rack can accommodate the transportation of 12 or more people,” says Sheppard-Decius. “We have an ideal situation for making that kind of trade-off." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority
A plan to turn a busy 27-mile, automobile-loving stretch of Woodward Avenue into a road that's safe and welcoming for all forms of transportation is rolling along with a series of public planning events to begin soon. The changes -- part of the Complete Streets approach that's happening in cities around Michigan and across the country -- would move Woodward away from a wide-swath of auto-centered roadway to one that's inviting and safe for bicyclists, pedestrians, disabled users, bus riders -- and, if it comes to pass, light rail passengers. The Woodward Avenue Action Association, WA3, is heading up the effort in partnership with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Working with them are reps and policy makers from 11 Wayne and Oakland county municipalities that have Woodward running through them. The Michigan Department of Transportation, M1 Rail, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments are also part of the project that's been in the works since August 2011 and has $752,000 in federal funding to work with. The next step is to host five interactive public events, a design charrette, in several of the Woodward-connected communities. From those meetings could come a master plan that will determine what changes and updates are needed to accommodate public transit, pedestrians, bicyclists and, ideally, economic development. “We want to create a street that truly works for everyone. Imagine a corridor that accommodates people of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, seniors, mobility-challenged individuals, transit riders and motorists,” says Jason Fowler, WA3 and Woodward Complete Streets program manager. “By engaging the residents and businesses along the corridor, as well as industry experts in this visioning process, we can develop a wide variety of innovative solutions and create a successful master plan.” The first meetings, a three-day event, will focus on north Woodward in Detroit from McNichols to 8 Mile and Ferndale and be held at St. James Catholic Church, 241 Pearson Street in Ferndale, April 17-19. During the meetings in Ferndale, Dan Burden, a walkability expert from the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, will present a walking audit of Woodward and explain what lies ahead for a re-design he says "could be the single largest Complete Streets planning effort ever undertaken in North America.” Other meetings will be held in Birmingham/Bloomfield Hills, May 20-22; in Bloomfield Township/Pontiac, June 3-5; Pleasant Ridge through Berkley, June 10-12; and in downtown Detroit/Highland Park, June 17-19. Click on www.transformwoodward.com for exact locations, times and topics to be discussed. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Lori Ella Miller, spokesperson, Woodward Avenue Action Association
Francesca's, a women's clothing store chain with differently-themed stores around the country, will open its first on-the-street, Main Street location in Michigan in downtown Birmingham. Francesca's is expected to open by mid-April at 115 S. Woodward Avenue and become the fifth store in metro Detroit and the 10th in Michigan. All of the others are in shopping centers and malls. Houston-based Francesca's is moving into a spot previously occupied by Ann Taylor Loft and will bring a very different approach than the Loft with its all-the-same-style stores. At Francesca's, store managers are given creative control over store design, giving each store its own identity. One thing that carries through to all stores is a unique, "treasure hunt" feel created by offering only a few pieces of the same merchandise. Francesca's is known for an always changing, trendy, mostly affordable selection of clothing and accessories Birmingham's Principal Shopping District recruiters are seeking out companies such as Francesca's as part of a push to attract younger shoppers to the city, says PSD spokesperson Ed Nakfoor. "Recruiting a retailer like Francesca’s is part of the PSD tenant recruitment strategy of targeting fashion merchants reaching a younger demographic," he says. "The average age of the PSD core shopper was 39 in 2012 compared to 41 in 2006." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Ed Nakfoor, spokesperson, Birmingham Principal Shopping District
Automotive supplier Faurecia will build its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, combining some of its Oakland County offices into the new location at the Oakland Technology Park. The 278,000-square-foot, three story building near I-75 and University Drive will bring two Auburn Hills offices and a Troy technical center into one spot, employing about as many as 700 employees once it opens in early 2014. Another Auburn Hills office will remain open with more than 300 employees. Faurecia, which supplies automotive seating, emission control technology, interior systems and automotive exteriors, will be neighbors to other auto-related companies that are not only surviving but thriving the auto industry lull. Faurecia employs 94,000 people in 34 countries. Also operating from the Oakland Technology is US Farathane’s world headquarters. It makes plastic injection molding, and Henniges Automotive, a supplier of anti-vibration systems, will operate a world headquarters and research and design center. “Auburn Hills is thrilled to add Faurecia’s North American headquarters to our roster of leading national and international manufacturers headquartered here,” says City Manger Pete Auger. “Companies like Faurecia, Henniges and USFarathane are terrific corporate citizens and bring tremendous value to Auburn Hills, solidifying our reputation as the premier global manufacturing address in the Midwest.” Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Stephanie Carroll, Pete Auger, city of Auburn Hills
Cirrus Group has found its niche providing back-end software for school districts and after-school programs and is growing across North America. The Rochester Hills-based business' software is now being used in a majority of states in the U.S. and parts of Canada. The company has watched its revenue grow 70 percent over the last year, which has allowed it to hire two software programmers, expanding its staff to 10 people. "We have plans to hire a couple more," says Michael Garrett, COO of Cirrus Group. "We're also doubling our space and moving into a suite." Cirrus Group's principal product is software that handles operational, financial and customer management functions for child-care facilities, community centers and school districts. The platform manages enrollment, participant payments and communications, scheduling and government compliancy requirements including state and local subsidy payments and food care programs. "We're one of the only software companies in our area that handles the subsidy payment of before- and after-school care," Garrett says. Most of the 10-year-old company's growth has come from school districts and after-school programs outside of Michigan. Garrett expects that to continue as more and more school programs look to leverage the firm's flexible platform. "The last three years have been our highest-growth years," Garrett says. Source: Michael Garrett, COO of Cirrus Group Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
After spending its infancy as an online business, moving into toddlerhood as a brick and mortar store in Ferndale and then another store, Modern Natural Baby is moving again, this time to a larger space and with bigger plans. Emily Murray, who started Modern Natural Baby with her husband, John Murray, in August 2009, says the move from Modern Natural Baby's store at 224 W. 9 Mile Road -- it once was on Woodward Avenue -- will let the new store at 200 W. 9 Mile offer more products and bigger ones such as strollers and car seats and high chairs. There wasn't enough room to display such items in the prior location. At about double the size, the new Modern Natural Baby will not only sell more products but also seek out and sell those that keep with its organic, earth-friendly, socially-responsible business model. "It'll be nice because we have a ton of gift registries, but before they had to register at other places for the strollers and car seats and larger items. Now they can register for everything here," Murray says. The new 5,300 sq. ft. store is replacing Dollar Castle and will be the anchor of the 12,000-plus sq. ft. space that will soon be occupied by three tenants. The owner is renovating the building inside and out. "The owner is putting a ton of money into it," Murray says. "Three businesses will be there instead of one. It's going to be one of the nicest buildings in Ferndale. This is really good for the city." She expects to move into the new spot a few doors down from the current shop in August and be open later that month or in early September. Though customers come from across metro Detroit and even from Canada, Murray attributes the success that started with an online business run from a home basement to a retail store to busting at the seams to Ferndale's way with attracting families and fostering progressive attitudes. "Ferndale is definitely a place where there's a lot of nightlife…We've come from a time where families did kind of leave Ferndale…they're coming back…a lot of my customers are Ferndale customers. It's a great place for us because there are so many families, and it's a green area, it's such a hip area. It's perfect for our business." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Emily Murray, co-owner, Modern Natural Baby
A start-up with the goal of producing an easy-riding bike with an automatic shifter that will appeal to recreational and casual bike riders has moved into a 7,000-square-foot warehouse in Troy as the company prepares to enter the mainstream marketplace. There, AutoBike, which formed about two years ago, will build its bikes and in the process the work to carry out the motto to "Evolve the Bike." Shipping is expected to begin in late April to early May, says CEO and co-founder Sean Simpson. The company will also work on designing and building a new commuter-style bike to complement its cruiser/comfort bikes, he says. Employees at AutoBike are re-applying their auto industry experience and engineering backgrounds to AutoBike. Like all bikes, the AutoBike is pedal-powered but unlike others it shifts on its own so that the gear is always where it should be, whether going up a hill or riding fast. No clinking, clacking, missing gears or ignoring gears, something that makes bike riding less fun and more exhausting. While automatic bikes have been tried before, Simpson and company have invented a promising continuous shifter, something they're refining. It's apparently catching on as sales are reaching the many states that AutoBike travels to for bike shows and special events. AutoBike is getting a lot of press in the bike world. It was selected as one of the coolest products at the Seattle Bike Show and it took the $10,000 top prize at the University of Michigan Victors' Challenge -- a contest for the best entrepreneurial ideas -- just one of several pieces of funding it's received to get off the ground. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Sean Simpson, CEO, AutoBike
The fifth-generation recipe for Holy Cannoli's cream-filled pastries has caught on so much that the downtown Rochester business has opened a second location in Berkley. The new store is at 2752 Coolidge Highway. The first, which opened about a year ago, is at 415 South Main St. in Rochester. The business has been in the making since at least 2010, when owners Nicole Franey, her mother Cathy Schulte and grandmother Sharon Beheler decided to sell to friends, to their friends' friends, and at festivals and farmers markets, and then make the jump from family service to anonymous consumers. Franey calls the expansion "an anniversary gift to ouselves." Holy Cannoli's cannolis come filled with traditional creams and specialties such as key lime, pistachio, Michigan cherry, cookies and cream, and revolving choices. The creams are piped in after customers order. Holy Cannoli's is also known for baked goods like its cassata cake. Although it's moved into retail spaces, Holy Cannoli's hasn't abandoned farmer's markets. Every Saturday, Eastern Market shoppers will find Holy Cannoli's at Shed #5 in Eastern Market. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Nicole Franey, co-owner, Holy Cannoli's
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