Inkster

First phase of $25M Inkster Marketplace opens

By Newsroom

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December 16, 2010

Tenants will be moving in soon to the Inkster Marketplace, after the opening of its first phase was celebrated last week. The State of Michigan Dept. of Human Services District Office officially moves in Jan. 15, says developer Ron Boji. The YWCA of Western Wayne County will then move into new space for outreach and community programs and its Head Start preschool program. After that, the old Y space will be redeveloped into a City of Inkster Justice Center, which will house the Inkster Police headquarters and 22nd District Court. That's anticipated to be completed by March of 2012.The actual buildings are up, the brick is on and the crews are starting on the interior, Boji says. "Everything is going wonderfully. The city's been just a gem to deal with, and the county's been great."The structure at Michigan Avenue and John Daly Street had previously been an automotive dealership, vacant since 2002. All four parts include 100,000 square feet of office and retail space, and the whole price tag comes to about $25 million, part of which is being funded with Michigan Business Tax credits, neighborhood stabilization funds, and Recovery Zone bonds.Source: Ron Boji, president of The Boji GroupWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Community Spotlight: Inkster

By Pat Dostine

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Community Development

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March 26, 2010

A good place to start when talking about the City of Inkster is Michigan Avenue. The focal point for the city now, Michigan Avenue was once a system of trails created by Native Americans. In the antebellum period and through the Civil War, it was a route along the Underground Railroad. African-Americans escaping slavery would travel the trail from the west to the east, all the way to the Detroit River where Canada and freedom awaited them.

Michigan Future secures $13M for Detroit schools

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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March 4, 2010

Michigan Future is bringing a 21st Century education to more high school students in Metro Detroit with its new Michigan Future Schools initiative.The Ann Arbor-based think tank has lined up $13 million in grants from four local foundations to get the initiative off the ground. The principal goal of the new initiative is to "figure out how to connect urban high school students to the economy of the future," according to a blog post written by Michigan Future's president and co-founder Lou Glazer.The effort will target creating new, small high schools in the city of Detroit and its surrounding suburbs. Previous local priorities of who runs the schools and where they're located will take a back seat to establishing schools that provide a high-quality education."It's al about the kids," Glazer says. "What matters to me, and I assume everybody else, is the quality of the school not the form of governance."Michigan Future Schools has made a commitment to its funders that revolves around the number 85. That means Michigan Future is aiming for at least an 85 percent high school graduation rate, with 85 percent of those graduates enrolling in college and 85 percent of those enrollees earning a college degree. The students targeted are both economically disadvantaged and minority students in the central city and its inner-ring suburbs. Each new school, which must take students from the city of Detroit, is expected to handle up to 500 students. So far seven new schools have been funded. The goal is to create 35 new high schools in eight years. That means the effort could reach 17,500 kids annually. "It's a big number," Glazer says. "The whole purpose is to do this on a big enough scale that it changes the system."Source: Lou Glazer, president and co-founder of Michigan FutureWriter: Jon Zemke

Wayne County children’s study means dozens of healthcare jobs

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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February 18, 2010

The Michigan Alliance for National Children's Study is about to start spending its research dollars in Wayne County.The ambitious study plans to enroll Wayne County families this fall, which will lead to dozens of new health care and administrative jobs within the next few years."There is a considerable employment potential," says Nigel Paneth, principal investigator for the Michigan Alliance for National Children's Study. "We're pretty much targeting the county we are focusing on for those new jobs."The study will focus on researching children's health in 100 counties across the U.S. over at least the next five years. Michigan has five counties in this pool, including Macomb and Wayne. Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital are partners in this study.Each county will enroll 1,000 families. That includes studying not only children, but mothers, both before and while they're pregnant. Researchers will thoroughly study the mothers' and children's health and the environment they live in, including water and air quality. The hope is to follow these people until the children are 21."They will be giving us quite a comprehensive picture of children's health in Wayne County," Paneth says.Source: Nigel Paneth, principal investigator for the Michigan Alliance for National Children's StudyWriter: Jon Zemke

State, foundation grants spread across Michigan

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 18, 2010

Grant money continues to pour into Metro Detroit from a number of different sources. The latest comes from the state of Michigan, the Community Foundation, and the McGregor Fund of Detroit.Making the biggest splash is the $716,000 recently awarded by the Community Foundation's New Economy Initiative. Among the recipients are Macomb Community College ($35,110 to help grow defense industry research), Oakland County-based Michigan Security Network ($300,000 to help grow the local defense and homeland security sectors), Michigan Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs Program ($356,250 to help foster entrepreneurs) and Brookings Institution ($25,000 to help automotive communities). More grants are expected to come out within the next few months."They're constantly approving grants," says Theresa Fraley, communications director for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. "They approve them as soon as they’re ready."The Michigan College Access Network also dished out $250,000 in grants. Among the local recipients are Career Transitions (Inkster and Wayne/Westland), Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development (Brightmoor Neighborhood) and the POH Riley Foundation (Pontiac), which received $8,000 each. The Early College Alliance in Washtenaw County also received a slice of that pie.The $8,000 grants will allow local education and community leaders to determine what their areas can do to encourage more people to achieve a college education. This will serve as the basis for the creation of a broader plan that incorporates mentoring, career exploration, tutoring, college placement test preparation, and college admission advising.The McGregor Fund of Detroit also gave $250,000 over two years to Madonna University. This will help support development of new science courses and other enhancements in conjunction with opening a new science building.Source: Theresa Fraley, communications director for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, the Michigan College Access Network and the McGregor Fund of DetroitWriter: Jon Zemke