Oakland County

Birmingham approves brownfield tax credits for Catalyst project

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September 18, 2008

It takes a little green to turn brown into beautiful, even in downtown Birmingham.The Birmingham City Commission approved important brownfield tax credits that will make the construction of the new Greenleaf Trust building (commonly known as the Catalyst project) possible. The $1.36 million in tax incentives will help pay for clearing and cleaning the old, abandoned gas station at the corner of Woodward and Maple."It's incredibly important because of the contamination on those sites we wouldn't see any development on them, especially a beautiful, 5-story gateway building like this," says Jill Robinson, a city planner with the city of Birmingham.In its place, Greenleaf Trust plans to build a mixed-use structure, featuring space for retail, commercial and residential. Five rental apartments will go on the fourth and fifth floors. The second and third floor of the 50,000-square-foot building will be dedicated to office space. Kalamazoo-based Greenleaf will move its Metro Detroit offices to the third floor. The first floor will be occupied by Zazios, a modern Italian restaurant that is popular in Kalamazoo.The cherry on top of the 5-story structure is its pending application for silver LEED certification for a variety of environmentally friendly features. Those will include a 1,500-square-foot green roof, natural lighting and numerous water- and energy-efficiency fixtures.Work is set to begin this fall and be done by May 2010. Source: Jill Robinson, a city planner with the city of BirminghamWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Oakland County

Dancing Fish sculpture finds permanent home in Birmingham

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

One dancing fish is about to start dancing in the streets now that Birmingham plans to give it a permanent home.Birmingham officials are planning to return the Dancing Fish sculpture to the city, giving it a permanent home overlooking Quarton Lake. The sculpture is a large piece of metal painted white and shaped like an upright fish and apparently abandoned by its artist James Clover.The city has taken it in and plans to refurbish it. Once it's ready it will be permanently installed on a small pad of concrete in the middle of a grassy field on West Maple near Baldwin Avenue. Birmingham's Public Arts Board is quarterbacking the efforts. The board has been on a tear this year, installing public art throughout the city. Earlier this summer, the board kicked off its Cityscape public arts program by installing a dozen different pieces of public art in the city. The principal piece, "Rou A Lou" by Mark di Suvero, was installed at the southern end of downtown where Old Woodward and Woodward avenues intersect.Source: City of BirminghamWriter: Jon Zemke

Noir Leather helps anchor, define downtown Royal Oak for 25 years

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Twenty five years ago, Downtown Royal Oak was practically a ghost town, desperate for a store like Noir Leather. Today it's one of Michigan's most vibrant urban cores. And it should be desperately trying to keep Noir Leather around for another 25 years.Keith Howarth started what is now a local institution out of his love for punk bands and alternative clothing. It soon became his dream job, creating a career from "what you do on the weekends." "I wanted to create a business for myself that I loved and I wanted to be my own boss," Howarth says.The always edgy Noir Leather also served as one of downtown Royal Oak's main boutique stores, sparking an urban revival. It was probably the best-known of the 13 prominent downtown boutiques during its heyday in the early 1990s.Unfortunately, today only three of those trendsetting shops survive (Noir, Incognito and Footprints). Howarth estimates that 98 percent of the downtown's retail tenants have changed since he opened up shop a quarter century ago. Many of them were squeezed out by the restaurants and bars (too many of them chains) that have flooded the district, robbing Royal Oak's core of the eclectic stores that gave the strip its unique flavor.Howarth reminds us that it was his store and a few others that started the downtown Royal Oak's nightlife many years ago, by keeping their stores open late and hosting events when the rest of the lights turned off at 5 p.m. Today foot traffic is at its highest on weekend nights, when yuppies and bikers roar into town.What's lost when boutiques are squeezed out is a sense of local ownership. Local retail owners play a pivotal role in shaping downtowns, often making decisions in the best interest of the area. Sometimes instead of their own bottom line."You have involvement in the community," Howarth says. "The store owners have stake in how the city transforms. Chain stores can't do that."Howarth has no plans to move Noir Leather from downtown Royal Oak as it celebrates its 25th birthday (at The Crofoot in downtown Pontiac this weekend), but he is mindful to add, "you never know what the future holds."Source: Keith Howarth, owner of Noir LeatherWriter: Jon Zemke

25 years of whips and chains; Happy Birthday Noir Leather

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Whether you've been there since the beginning when Noir Leather was located on 3rd Street or if you bought your first chain, whip, or leather vest just last year, Oakland County's most famous fetish shop invites you out for their silver birthday bash. Yep, 25 years later, and a few moves, Noir Leather is still selling their black patent leather fare to people looking for some black patent leather fare.On Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. at the Crofoot, the party unfolds with a Noir Fetish fashion show, burlesque acts, artist exhibits, and 12 musical acts.Get more information and directions visit Noir Leather here.

Oakland U wraps up summer projects, set to start Macomb expansion this fall

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Just as Oakland University is swallowing up its construction projects this summer, the Rochester Hills-based college is preparing to bite off another big expansion eastward.OU is opening up a satellite campus in Macomb County. The new Oakland-Macomb campus will offer classes in health care, education, international business, engineering and communications artsWhile the new campus is based out of the headquarters for XXX, classes will be held throughout the county at various facilities at Macomb Community College, the Macomb University Center and the Macomb Intermediate School District. OU aims to have 2,000 students at the campus by 2010 and 5,000 by 2020.OU also recently finished extensive work on a number of construction projects on the college's 1,500-acre campus. The $3 million in work ranged from upgrading 40-year-old labs and classrooms to repairing roofs, elevators and sidewalks.Another $2 million in improvements is scheduled for this fall.Source: Oakland UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Redford charter school is turning cooking oil into cheap biodiesel

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

If the future is biodiesel, might as well get the future involved. Students at Michigan Technical Academy, a charter school in Redford, are turning cooking oil from a tortilla factory into biodiesel to fully power to school buses at a mere 80 cents a gallon. Excerpt: The program is the brainchild of Depowski, a master certified automotive technician who manned the technical hotline at Ford Motor Co. before becoming a teacher. Depowski recruited Garden Fresh Foods, the Ferndale-based maker of salsa and tortilla chips, which agreed to donate the oil left over from producing its chips. The students are working on solving a problem with the fuel: how to keep the biodiesel warm. Right now, two of the district's five buses are running on 100 percent biodiesel; warranty rules limit the other three to no more than 10 percent. Once the temperature drops down to about 40 degrees, they'll have to switch to about 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular diesel, because the biodiesel will start to congeal. Read the entire article here.

More redevelopment set for Birmingham’s Rail District

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Redevelopment in Birmingham's Rail District is starting to pick up steam as some projects close out and others begin.Finishing up first is the District Lofts, a mixed-use project that will start moving in people and businesses this fall. Beginning is the redevelopment of 2010 Cole, from an industrial building into a commercial structure on the district's south side.The developer wants to turn the 1-story structure into an commercial building. The redevelopment will include repainting (dark grey) while adding doors, windows and awnings so the building can be divided into eight spaces. The three truck bays will be replaced with brick to match the building.It's just the latest example of how the area is transforming from its Rust Belt industrial past into a vibrant urban center. The district is primed to take advantage of a proposed extension for the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line, straddling nearby railroad tracks. City planners are also looking at it as the potential hub for an east-west streetcar line connecting Birmingham and Troy.Source: City of BirminghamWriter: Jon Zemke

BTR Associates looks at big acquisition, triple-digit growth

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Bingham Farms-based BTR Associates states that their focus is on helping companies optimize their use of technology. But its real philosophy is capitalizing on the jobs other companies aren't taking advantage of. "We try to find niches that people aren't doing well and build infrastructure around it," says Bob Breitman, president and CEO of BTR Associates. And that's something they do well; growing 75-100 percent and doubling their employee base to 12 people over the last two years. The firm is banking on more growth, looking to increase revenues 30-40 percent organically, form a joint partnership with a Nashville company and perhaps acquire yet another one within the next year. "We could literally grow by 400 percent if we acquire this company," Breitman says. That would probably mean big jumps in its local employment. The company would do this by pursuing potential partners, as well as clients. BTR (which stands for Business Technology Resource) Associates helps small- to medium-sized firms better use technology so they can grow their business. Much of this is centered on hosting services. For instance, if a company doesn't want all the problems and expenses of running its own email system, it can outsource it to BTR Associates. Source: Bob Breitman, president and CEO of BTR AssociatesWriter: Jon Zemke

Metro Detroiters are easing up on driving, SEMCOG says

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

There are fewer cars on the road, according to SEMCOG - two percent less, to be exact. The easing up on vehicle usage can be felt in a number of areas. There is less strain on the road, less emissions in the air, and less fuel being used. If you're part of the two percent, well, you might be noticing a little more of something... and that would be cash in your pocket due to fewer trips to the pump. Excerpt: Preliminary numbers from a Southeast Michigan Council of Governments study now under way show that the seven-county region overall has seen a decrease in weekday traffic volumes of 4.5% to 6.5% from 2002 to 2007. SEMCOG said the numbers are based on an analysis of traffic counts taken at 3,000 or so locations around Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, St. Clair and Monroe counties. The agency said weekend or discretionary driving is down about 2%. Read the entire article here.

Flash fuels growth for iDashboards, expects to triple in size

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Arts & Culture

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September 18, 2008

Shadan Malik the potential in Flash programs years ago. It's why he started iDashboards."There are tremendous possibilities with the Macro Flash program. Some very cool stuff," says Malik, president and CEO of iDashboards. "But it's not being leveraged for business applications."And so his Troy-based company stepped in, using Flash to create real-time interactive computer dashboards for businesses. The personalized dashboards analyze, track, and organize a wealth of data into critical information tidbits for companies. It has been used for a variety of enterprises, including this summer's Olympics.This innovative approach to Flash has made iDashboards very successful. It's revenue has grown nearly 100 percent each year since the company was founded four years ago.And that growing revenue is leading to more jobs. The firm expects to hire another 5-6 people by the end of this year. It also expects to triple its employee base within the next two years to compliment the expected continuation of the 100 percent revenue growth years."With a little strike of good fortune or luck we could grow even more," Malik says.Source: Shadan Malik, president and CEO of iDashboardsWriter: Jon Zemke