Royal Oak

Metro Detroit grows crowd of creperies with What Crepe? in Royal Oak

By Newsroom

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June 18, 2009

Detroit can boast two creperies - one downtown and one in Corktown. So, what do you have to show for it, suburbs? Well, look no further than Royal Oak. What Crepe? has opened its doors and is ready to sling some sweet and savory crepes.Excerpt:If you're a fan of crepes -- the delicate, filled French pancakes having a mini-renaissance in metro Detroit lately -- check out the area's newest destination in Royal Oak.Opened by Paul Jenkins Jr., the tiny but elegantly appointed cafe at 317 S. Washington is called What Crepe? -- perhaps a reference to the wide variety of sweet and savory choices, including vegetarian and vegan options.Jenkins opened the 28-seat restaurant May 30 in Café Muse's old location after giving the hall-like space a more polished, upscale look in a palette of black, gray, sage and burgundy. Small crystal chandeliers, fresh flowers and tables covered in black fabric with white butcher-paper toppers set a chic tone, but the vibe is still casual, fresh and fun.Read the entire article here.

Main Street Oakland County brings in AIA Michigan for workshops

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 18, 2009

Main Street Oakland County is bringing in a big gun to help keep the investment in its downtowns going - the American Institute of Architects Michigan.The renowned association for architects is helping Oakland County with issues vital to vibrant city centers, such as sustainability, revitalization, and preservation. AIA Michigan members will provide advice about how to best take advantage of tools and opportunities that spur growth and development."The idea is to help businesses understand what is going on," says Ron Campbell, principal planner/preservation architect of Oakland County and president of AIA Michigan.The first workshop will be held Friday, June 19 and will focus on dealing with and taking advantage of today's economic situation. It will also take a macro view of development in downtowns, including how to find the best design and identify financing.The downtowns present opportunities for all sizes of projects and firms," Campbell says.The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph Road, in Waterford. Architects, planners, preservationists, Main Street staffers, developers, business and building owners, community officials, and downtown stakeholders and activists are invited. For information, click here.Source: Ron Campbell, principal planner/preservation architect of Oakland County and president of AIA MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

New LA Fitness in Royal Oak aims for fall finish

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 11, 2009

The new LA Fitness is really building itself up in downtown Royal Oak this summer.Work on the new 2-story building at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Washington Street is expected to wrap up later this year. The 45,000-square-foot building is built on stilts so vehicles can park on the ground floor and the gym will be housed on the second floor."We expect to have it open by Christmas," says Stephen Duczynski, vice president of Schostak Brothers, the developer behind the project.The Woodward lot is the consolation prize for the Livonia-based company. It first proposed putting the facility in the Gateway Plaza parcel at the corner of Main Street and I-696. It was designed as a suburban-style, single-story building surrounded by surface parking, City officials didn't approve and decided to trade the Woodward parcel to regain control of the Gateway Plaza property. Royal Oak has planned to build a dense, urban, multi-use development on the former car dealership space for years.Source: Stephen Duczynski, vice president of Schostak BrothersWriter: Jon Zemke

Royal Oak’s Memphis Smoke plans to expand roof deck

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 11, 2009

More space is coming to one of downtown Royal Oak’s best known locations - Memphis Smoke.The restaurant on the corner of Main Street and 12 Mile Road is expanding its rooftop deck, giving a few more patrons views of the Main Art Theatre kitty corner from their vantage point. The 1,200-square-foot expansion will expand the current space by about 25 percent. The current deck covers a little less than half of the single-story building."There is still a lot of unoccupied roof up there," says Jim Schneider, president of downtown Royal Oak-based Schneider+Smith Architects, which is handling the project.The project received site-plan approval earlier this week. Work is expected to begin as soon as possible, meaning as soon as they can get the work permits in hand. The expansion will open late this summer or in early fall. Source: Jim Schneider, president of Schneider+Smith ArchitectsWriter: Jon Zemke

Royal Oak makes ready for new 10-screen theater

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 11, 2009

Entertainment options could become much more plentiful in downtown Royal Oak, as plans for a movie theater/bowling alley materialize.The developer behind the Main North building is working on plans to build a 10-screen movie theater and bowling alley in the large empty lot at Troy and 11 Mile Road. The complex will have 1,700 theater seats. The screens will range in size from 86 to 395 seats. It is expected to be similar to the Emagine Theaters in Novi and Canton."They have not submitted anything formally," says Tim Thwing, director of planning for Royal Oak.But that doesn't mean it's not coming. Thwing says the plans he has seen show a one-story building, similar to modern-day cinemas. It would be different than the multi-story theaters in downtown Birmingham. Nothing is planned to be built above the screens so far."Obviously it would be (slightly) taller than one story to fit in all of the screens," Thwing says.Source: Tim Thwing, director of planning for Royal OakWriter: Jon Zemke

Oakland County to hold workshop on zoning flexibility

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 4, 2009

Oakland County officials want local governments to become more flexible in their zoning rules and master plans, and now they're ready to teach them how to do it.The county wants municipalities to be ready to welcome and facilitate growth from new economy firms; hence, it will hold a Technology Planning Toolkit workshop on Monday, June 8."We hope they can use this as a basis when they update their own planning documents," says Bret Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland County.It introduced this program as a way of making local governments friendlier to knowledge-based firms. By streamlining the old bureaucracy, the hope is to make these cities more attractive for new economy start-ups and their new jobs. For instance, buildings zoned for one purpose can be diversified to include a number of uses."It's very important, especially with how quickly the market is changing," Rasegan says.The free workshop will be held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph in Waterford. For information, call (248) 452-2166 or send an email to browningj@oakgov.com.Source: Brett Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland CountyWriter: Jon Zemke

Downtown Royal Oak has first-run theater potential

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 4, 2009

Royal Oak already has the Main Art Theater, which is a gem of a place. Yet movie goers in the area still need to drive to Birmingham or the Star John R to see first-run flicks. Well, it's possible that this trek might not need to be made in the future as Emagine Theaters is setting its sights on the RO. Excerpt: To go forward in Royal Oak, Glantz needs the approval of the City Commission to transfer a liquor license from Berkley. If accepted, he will apply for an amendment to the planned unit development for the vacant site where plans for a second high-rise condominium or Plum Market were scrapped, according to Tim Thwing, Royal Oak's director of planning. A four-deck parking garage behind the condominium tower and on-site parking could serve theater patrons, Glantz said. "It turns out to be an ideal site for us," he said. Read the entire article here.

Ferndale’s Livio plans to cash in on Internet radio

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 4, 2009

Internet surfers are increasingly jamming out to online radio stations like Pandora these days. Ferndale-based Livio wants this to continue, but also wants to free listeners from their computers.The start-up just released an independent Internet radio for Pandora fans. The small box, about the size of a toaster, uses Wi-Fi or an Ethernet connection to tune into Pandora. That way users can enjoy commercial-free music without the ball-and-chain of a laptop or desktop computer."There is no AM or FM dial," says Greg Kim, sales and marketing manager for Livio. "It works completely off of wireless Internet."The radios sells for $150 a pop. The guys at Livio think this market, with 69 million listeners and counting, has a lot of room to grow. "We see ourselves taking off and doing well, especially with the ups and downs of Internet radio," Kim says.When that happens it will mean growth for Livio's payroll. Right now the start-up employs 10 people and hopes to add more later this year. Staff will be on display June 12 at the official Livio Launch Party at D’Amatos, 222 S. Sherman St. in Royal Oak.Source: Greg Kim, sales and marketing manager for LivioWriter: Jon Zemke

Main Street Oakland County hosts downtown preservation workshops

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 28, 2009

Oakland County's downtowns have spent decades turning themselves into some of Michigan's most vibrant urban centers, and the county isn't going to allow a few bad economic years to retard that progress.That's why Main Street Oakland County is being proactive this summer, with three workshops aimed at helping keep these downtowns thriving and continuing their development momentum. And this is while those downtowns are in slightly better shape than the overall state economy."The whole thing is about how to make it in a tough economy," says Bret Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland County.The workshops will feature local, state, and national experts for a range of urban issues, such as preservation and obtaining grants. The idea is to help downtown stakeholders get new perspectives on these topics and see how they can help each different downtown. The first workshop, set for June 19, will tackle issues like dealing with declining property values in a down economy and financing projects in a tough credit market. The second (July 17) will examine how to encourage new economy development in the downtowns and take advantage of historic assets. The last one (August 14) will tackle sustainability issues like LEED architecture.All will be held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford. For information, call (248) 858-1848.Source: Bret Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland CountyWriter: Jon Zemke

Bongotones.com rings up new jobs in Royal Oak

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 28, 2009

A trio of recent college graduates is going all Silicon Valley on Metro Detroit with their new website, BongoTones.com.Grads from the University of Michigan (David Pakhchanian and Nareg Sagherian) and the University of Toronto (Soheil Banifatemi) launched BongoTones last fall as an easier way for cell phone users to get more custom multimedia applications. They operate the company virtually, but are in the process of setting up a base in Royal Oak or even TechTown."We are inquiring about relocating closer to the city of Detroit, since most of the opportunities and our immediate connections are based there," Sagherian says.The trio began the start-up as an easier way to get content to cell phones and to allow artists to build awareness of their work. Today its Beta platform delivers 15,000 user-generated ringtones with an easy search function. It also allows bands and musicians to convert their original music into ringtones. All of this is available for free. The BongoTones trio is working with users, advertisers, and carriers to create revenue streams.Source: Nareg Sagherian, co-founder of BongoTonesWriter: Jon Zemke