Oakland County

Film incentives sends S3 Entertainment soaring

By Newsroom

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October 2, 2008

It takes a lot to make a movie and Ferndale's S3 Entertainment Group is ready to lend a hand.The 3-year-old firm supplies production services and equipment to filmmakers, and has watched its business take off as more and more movies crowd into Michigan to take advantage of the state's tax incentives. Some of its credits include major Hollywood productions like Gran Torrino, the Butterfly Effect 3, WhipIt! and Youth in Revolt."We have provided production support and services to six feature films that have shot in Michigan since April," says Jeff Spilman, managing partner of S3 Entertainment Group.Spilman expects that number to increase rapidly and his business to grow just as fast. It now has seven employees and its subsidiaries employ about 80 more people. That's up from when Spilman and Hollywood producers Marc Sternberg and Jeff Stern started the company.The plans are for the company to grow to 200 employees by handling 15-20 major pictures per year. "We expect to grow exponentially in the next few years," Spilman says.The firm first set up shop in Troy, but moved to Ferndale soon after. Spilman says its open-minded community with a strong arts background made it attractive to him and his partners. He said those same qualities should be echoed throughout the state providing yet another reason for Hollywood to come here."They are coming here because of the incentives," Spilman says. "They're having a great experience because the crews are great and the places to shoot are beautiful."Source: Jeff Spilman, managing partner of S3 Entertainment GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Oakland County

Historic Loft Building in downtown Royal Oak nearly done

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2008

One of the most visible redevelopment projects in downtown Royal is getting ready to wrap up in November.The people behind the Historic Loft Building (there's an original name) plan to have two of their tenants moved in post Halloween to the structure at the corner of Harrison and Main streets on the south side of downtown. The two business, a medical group and a pharmacy, will occupy most of the ground floor space. The remaining 1,500 square feet on the ground floor is still available.The second and third floors of the 3-story building are being turned into Class A office space. Each floor has 8,600 square feet of space. The space is being built as loft-style office space with exposed brick and utility lines. "It's one of the few loft-style office spaces in the downtown area," says Mason Capitani, leasing agent for the Historic Loft Building.The structure was originally built as a Ford car dealership nearly 100 years ago. It has housed a few other businesses, including as a furniture store most recently. Source: Mason Capitani, leasing agent for the Historic Loft BuildingWriter: Jon Zemke

Royal Oak’s Farnum Apts nearly completed

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2008

Work is wrapping up on another apartment building renovation by Urbane Apartments in Royal Oak – Urbane on Farnum. Six of the 16 units in the 1960s-era apartment building will be ready for residents by late October. Work on the exterior of the building is also nearly finished. The apartment building is located on the corner of Farnum and Washington streets. It is across the street from Royal Oak's old Dondero High School and a few blocks north of downtown. It had fallen into disrepair before Urbane invested $400,000 into restoring the building. The structure's 16 units are a mix of large studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. They include a number of modern amenities, such as brand new bamboo floors, recycled carpet, efficient water fixtures, granite bar tops, black appliances, glass French doors, dual shower heads and high-speed wireless Internet. Urbane owns 14 apartment buildings in southeast Oakland County. These buildings are near vibrant downtowns, such as Royal Oak, Ferndale, Clawson and Berkely. For information on Urbane Apartments offerings, call (248) 988-7125. Source: Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments Writer: Jon Zemke

Pontiac chooses developer for downtown’s Lot 9

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2008

Decisions have been made but details still need to be ironed out for the Lot 9 development in downtown Pontiac.The Pontiac Downtown Development Authority choose the plan from West Investments (headed up by Kyle Westberg, owner of Pontiac-based West Construction) for the 6.7 acre parcel at the northeast corner of Saginaw and Pike streets. The property is currently a surface parking lot at the knot end of the Woodward Avenue loop that surrounds downtown.The development calls for building a 4-story, mixed-use structure. The building will feature ground floor retail space with a yet-to-be-named anchor tenant. Above that will be three floors of residential space. The number of units and whether they will be rentals or for-sale has also not been determined.Sandy McDonald, executive director of the Pontiac Downtown Development Authority, says the units will play a key role in creating a critical mass of residents in a downtown dominated by business space."Both projects were excellent mixed-use developments," McDonald says.The project is far from a done deal, though. The DDA still has to take the project to the mayor’s office for approval and must still iron out other development details with the developer. An update is expected by mid October, which is why details remain scarce."We don’t want to say too much, too fast," McDonald says.Source: Sandy McDonald, executive director of the Pontiac Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Oakland County receives $26 million in neighborhood stabilization funds

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Arts & Culture

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September 29, 2008

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through a new Neighborhood Stabilization Program, granted Oakland County more than $26 million in assistance. Excerpt: Oakland County and three Oakland County communities hit by a high rate of property foreclosure and delinquencies will receive more than $26 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The NSP will provide targeted emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. “In a county hard hit by foreclosures, coupled with a terribly strained budget, these funds are a welcome addition,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “Hopefully, we will soon get our hardest pressed residents back in affordable homes.” The City of Pontiac will receive $3.5 million, Southfield will receive $3.2 million, Waterford will receive more than $2 million and Oakland County will receive almost $17.4 million. Find more Oakland County info here.

Reel Insight

By Dennis Archambault

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2008

Did Shirley Temple have an oral fixation? Did Luke Skywalker want to sleep with his mother? The Reel Deal is a local film discussion group lead by psychotherapists and psychoanalysts. Along with the audience they examine the unconscious inspiration behind our favorite flicks. Think of it as group therapy with explosions and movie stars.

Lighthouse Pontiac rentals nearly full, prices on Ferndale houses cut

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2008

Lighthouse of Oakland County is planning to sell and lease out most of its remaining projects.The Pontiac-based non-profit specializes in creating affordable housing. It does this mostly through renovating existing structures, mainly in its own backyard. The organization is close to have two of its refurbished apartment buildings completely leased and is cutting prices on three houses in Ferndale.Lighthouse spent $7.7 million earlier this year renovating the Beacon Square Apartments and the Beacon Town Homes. The apartment building on 101 Mechanic St. went from 50 dilapidated units harboring drug activity to 28 new apartments. The 12 town homes on 449 Whitemore now each feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an attached garage and a full basement.Both projects are in Pontiac's Unity Park neighborhood where Lighthouse built 98 new owner-occupied homes and renovated another 180 existing houses over the last decade. Both projects are expected to be fully leased by the end of the month.Lighthouse has also cut the price of the three homes it renovated last year on the east side of Ferndale between 8 and 9 mile roads. The prices now range between $89,900 and $110,000."We have had a lot more interest since we have lowered the price," says Karen Staley, spokeswoman for Lighthouse of Oakland County. She adds that her organization has noticed more activity in the lower-price-range of the housing market recently.Source: Karen Staley, spokeswoman for Lighthouse of Oakland CountyWriter: Jon Zemke

B. Nektar Meadery expanding in Ferndale to keep up with demand

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2008

What is commonly believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man is the newest drinking fad in Metro Detroit.If you haven't heard of Mead, a honey wine, then you should try some. The only problem, good luck finding some. The ancient drink is a very popular choice at drinking holes across southeast Michigan."Most people know it through renaissance festivals and books like 'Beowolf'," says Brad Dahlhofer.He and his wife Kerri started Ferndale's new B. Nektar Meadery a few months ago in 1,500 square feet on Jarvis Street. Their product has become so popular that they have sold out most of their first product run. Plans are now in the works to more than quadruple their production space, taking over 5,600 square feet next door.The Dahlhofer's first brewed 500 gallons. It only took a matter of weeks to sell out of all except one of their brews. Now, the wine has been selling as far away as Jackson and Saginaw and as close as the Holiday Market in Royal Oak and Woodward Avenue Brewers in downtown Ferndale."They (the WAB) went through nine cases in a month," Dahlhofer says. "They said it was one of the fastest selling brands they had."So fast that the Dahlhofers haven't been able to keep up with the demand right. They brewed a skeleton sampling at first to keep costs down for their fledging business. Now they are preparing to brew 12,000 gallons by the end of the year."It's such a niche market we don't know what the demand would be," Dahlhofer says.Source: Brad Dahlhofer, co-owner of B. Nektar MeaderyWriter: Jon Zemke

Pontiac weighs competing development proposals for downtown

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2008

Downtown Pontiac has a big development in its cross hairs.The city's Downtown Development Authority is choosing between two development proposals for the Lot 9 property. The parcel is a parking lot on the northeast corner of Saginaw and Pike streets.Although details on the competing projects are scare, they both have similar characteristics. Both developments call for building mixed-use structures, combining retail and residential space. Both projects are urban in design, meant to complement the surrounding historic building stock.The DDA was set to make a decision Wednesday night, after this story had gone to print.Source: Pontiac Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Intellitrends adds 3 people, looking for 2 more

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2008

If there is any truth to the cliché that good business begets more good business, then Intellitrends is proving the point.The Clarkston-based company has slowly-but-steadily grown since 1989, employing eight full timers, 40 independent contractors and a spare intern or two.Its revenue has grown about 30 percent over the last few years. During that time it has added three people and has two more job currently open for people with marketing expertise."We're trying to grow by another 50 percent revenue-wise," says Marlene Stone, CEO and president of Intellitrends. "We are expanding."...Both by employee counts and office space. The firm is scheduled to open its "Idea Center" this fall. It's a 2,000 square feet office where clients can come to share ideas and collaborate on improving and expanding their business.Source: Marlene Stone, president and CEO of IntellitrendsWriter: Jon Zemke