Kids and Education

An Ann Arbor campus for Washtenaw Comm College?

By Newsroom

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April 1, 2010

Washtenaw Community College is expanding its horizons beyond the suburban campus outside of Ypsilanti all the way to a downtown Ann Arbor outpost.Excerpt:Washtenaw Community College is looking at opening a new satellite campus, and downtown Ann Arbor is at the head of its list.The college's leadership seriously considered signing a lease for 30,000 square feet in the Talley Hall Building (behind Border's downtown location) but backed away when budget constraints pushed the option onto the back burner. McKinley offered the space at $10.50 a square foot and offered a build-out."The price was very, very attractive," says Larry Whitworth, president of Washtenaw Community College. "We almost struck a deal with them."Read the rest of the story here.

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Auburn Hills sets sustainable example; green roof on police dept

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 1, 2010

Auburn Hills city leaders are making the effort to talk the sustainability talk and walk a greener walk. The city has incorporated a number of environmentally friendly features in its facilities as a way of showing potential investors that green building has plenty of benefits. That has led to a number of privately funded sustainable-oriented projects that wouldn't have necessarily been, such as Metro Detroit's first LEED certified dental office."We're really surprised that a lot of developers and engineers are not aware of them," says Pete Auger, city manager for Auburn Hills.Storm water management is one of the principal green features on Auburn Hills' municipal campus. The 57-acre parcel has seven rain gardens, a couple of filtration ditches, and a bioswell, all of which absorb large amounts of water. The Auburn Hills Police Dept's shooting range also has a green roof to soak up the rain water runoff.The city has also installed LED street lights on its municipal campus. LED lights are seen as the gold standard for energy efficient lighting. "We had a five-year payback on that," Auger says. "It's been quite successful for us."Source: Pete Auger, city manager for Auburn HillsWriter: Jon Zemke

New $14M Royal Oak cinema has green gusto

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 1, 2010

Emagine Entertainment is lining all of its financial ducks in neat rows as it gets funding to build a new movie theater in downtown Royal Oak.Right now the Plymouth-based firm is planning to begin construction this summer. It's also making design tweaks for LEED certification and incorporating big green features like solar panels."We're going to build a very green entertainment complex," says Paul Glantz, founder and chairman of Emagine Entertainment. "I think it will be well received in the marketplace. Folks will value that in Royal Oak."Emagine is also putting the final touches on an application for brownfield tax credits from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Glantz plans to pair that with a Small Business Administration loan and some traditional financing to make the deal work.Glantz expects the tax credits, which the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority supports, to be approved within the next few weeks. He hopes to have the construction cash in hand shortly afterward so he can break ground in June or July. That's key so he can kick construction into full gear before the extra costs of winter construction come into play."We're trying to get the building closed before the weather hits," Glantz says.Emagine Entertainment plans to build a 10-screen movie theater complete with food, alcohol, and bowling options. The new complex will go on the parking lot on 11 Mile Road just east of Main Street behind the Main Art Theatre.The plans call for a two-story, 73,000-square-foot brick and limestone clad building that will resemble its theaters in Novi and Canton. It will show first-run movies and is not expected to provide direct competition with an indie-and-foreign movie house like the Main Art Theatre.The new cinema's entrance will face the back of the Main Art Theatre, while the section facing 11 Mile will have windows similar to a traditional storefront but will otherwise be an inactive space. Traffic will be routed off of 11 Mile around the theater and then out onto Troy Street.The $14 million project will house 1,680 seats and 16 lanes of bowling. There will also be a private party area/meeting room on a second-floor mezzanine level over the main entrance. The theater is expected to create 40 new full-time jobs and another 60 part-time positions.Source: Paul Glantz, founder and chairman of Emagine EntertainmentWriter: Jon Zemke

Detroit Medical Center’s new owner has plans for $800M in upgrades

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 25, 2010

A major change in health care is coming to Metro Detroit now that the non-profit-based Detroit Medical Center has been sold to a for-profit firm from Nashville, Vanguard Health Systems.Excerpt:Tennessee-based Vanguard Health Systems has acquired the Detroit Medical Center. The company plans to invest $800 million in its city of Detroit facilities and create a number of new jobs over the next five years."We would expect to hire additional clinical personnel and management personnel," says Phil Roe, CFO of Vanguard. He added that his firm expects to use local resources (contractors, construction workers, materials, etc.) for the new construction and renovation projects.Those proposed projects include a new Children's Hospital tower, new modern patient units at Detroit Receiving, a doubling of the Sinai Grace emergency room, a major renovation of Harper, and new physicians' office buildings at Harper and Sinai Grace hospitals.Read the rest of the story here.

OCC green lights $2M in campus improvements

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 25, 2010

Oakland Community College is moving forward with almost $2 million in improvements, with more possible later this year."I am sure there are some on the books," says George Cartsonis, a spokesman for Oakland Community College, adding that those projects will probably be announced after the fiscal year ends in July.For now the college plans to spend $1.87 million on repairs to facilities at its Highland Lakes and Orchard Ridge campuses this spring and summer. Highland Lakes will receive $849,500 to repave the parking lot next to the Campus Pavilion. Lighting will be added and the pavilion made accessible to the handicapped.Orchard Ridge will get emergency structural investigations and repairs to Building K ($375,000), replacement of the emergency generator, distribution panels and lighting in Building J ($199,500), and replacement of 152 campus doors ($473,800).Source: George Cartsonis, a spokesman for Oakland Community CollegeWriter: Jon Zemke

Meadow Brook Hall to open renovated kitchen to public

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 25, 2010

The renovation of Meadow Brook Hall is just about complete and ready for its first public viewing on April 6.Oakland University spent $700,000 to completely gut and replace many of the structural and mechanical systems in the hall's kitchen. Think upgrading the ventilation system, providing new equipment, refurbishing the counter tops, and replacing flooring, plumbing, and lighting. The refrigeration system now also meets modern standards.The kitchen was previously renovated in the 1970s and '80s. The hope is that modernizing it again will allow Meadow Brook Hall to put its best culinary foot forward for catered events.The Matilda R. Wilson Fund is financing the project. The grant also supports a number of other smaller efforts over this decade. Among those are the restoration of the dining room portraits of Matilda and Alfred Wilson, as well as ongoing preventative repair projects and ecological systems preservation. Source: Shannon O'Berski, marketing manager for Meadow Brook HallWriter: Jon Zemke

Video DIY Business Incubation In Ferndale

By Tom Hendrickson

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Arts and Culture

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March 25, 2010

Government-funded business incubators can't be all things to all people. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves and fill the niche no one wants to scratch. Meet Andy Didorosi, who wants to turn the Paper Street Motors building into a creative hive for small businesses in Ferndale.

Real estate firm plans to renovate Birmingham building

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 25, 2010

The former home of Century 21 in downtown Birmingham is about to become the new home of Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel, with some significant upgrades.Two Coldwell Banker offices are consolidating in the mid-20th Century building at 294 E Brown St. The proposed project calls for a renovation of the 20,000-square-foot, three-story structure. The adjacent parking lot will also be upgraded to improve traffic flow and add a few more spaces. "We're going to add new finishes and details to to the exterior and interior that will make it a real-estate office of the 21st Century," says Victor Saroki, president of Birmingham-based Victor Saroki & Associates Architects.The plans are going before the Birmingham Planning Commission. Saroki hopes to begin the project this summer and complete it by fall. Source: Victor Saroki, president of Victor Saroki & Associates ArchitectsWriter: Jon Zemke

Your People PR firm adds staff, plans Ferndale move

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 25, 2010

There is a reason Lynne Schreiber's public relations firm is called Your People. The Southfield-based firm specializes in helping companies maximize their PR and marketing through their existing people and relationships."I basically help companies get organized and focused," says Schreiber, chief creative officer and founder of Your People. "I help them tell the stories that are already there. These stories are always lurking around in a company. We help them find and package them."Schreiber was a journalist for 15 years in Washington, D.C., New York, and most recently for The Detroit News. She started Your People in 2007 and now gives regular work to five independent contractors. She expects to make her first hire this fall and move to office space in downtown Ferndale later this year."I have always been fond of urban settings," Schreiber says. "I lived in Ferndale when I moved back to Metro Detroit."The company has an eclectic client list, including businesses like the Orchard Mall and AVE Office Supplies. It also recently signed five new clients, including Panache Entertainment and AskInYourFace.com.Source: Lynne Schreiber, co-founder and chief creative officer for Your PeopleWriter: Jon Zemke

Macomb Comm. College, Wayne State split $5M federal stimulus grant

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 25, 2010

Wayne State University and Macomb Community College are splitting a $5 million federal stimulus grant to help further research and development of electrical vehicles.The new electric drive vehicle engineering program known as E3 - Electrifying the Economy, Educating the Workforce is in accordance with President Obama's goal of putting 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.The program will develop advanced educational programs in electric drive vehicles at both institutions of higher learning. These degrees will feature a master's in electric drive vehicle engineering and a bachelor's in electric transportation technology. National workshops and outreach programs to secondary education classes will also be on offer.E3 received the grant last fall and just formed its executive advisory committee. It expects to begin kicking the program into high gear later this year.Source: Wayne State UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke