Transportation

Ground breaks for new Greenleaf Trust building in downtown Birmingham

By Newsroom

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October 23, 2008

Today, the shovels go into the ground to start construction on the latest building in downtown Birmingham. Tomorrow, the Greenleaf Trust building will start to rise, overlooking Woodward Avenue.The 5-story, mixed-use structure will replace an old abandoned gas station at the corner of Woodward and Maple. The building is seen as a key piece of the puzzle toward bridging Birmingham's vibrant downtown and its emerging Triangle District.The building, designed by Kalamazoo-based Eckert Wordell Architecture, will feature 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 based in Kalamazoo.The building will also be the latest in what is becoming a lengthy line of environmentally friendly structures in Birmingham. The Greenleaf Trust building is going to silver LEED certification with a variety of environmentally friendly features, such as a 1,500-square-foot green roof, natural lighting and numerous water- and energy-efficiency fixtures.Work is set to finish by May 2010. Greenleaf is a 10-year-old bank that manages 7 billion in assets for individuals, foundations, endowments and corporations. The Kalamazoo-based bank specializes in personal trust, wealth management and employee benefits.Source: Greenleaf TrustWriter: Jon Zemke

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Developer puts finishing touches on Briggs Building in Birmingham

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

One of downtown Birmingham's most innovative redevelopments is wrapping up its final loose ends. The last of the businesses will move into the Briggs Building in November.Fuller Central Park Properties gave new life to the historic building at the corner of Old Woodward Avenue and Maple Road. It added a third floor and filled in an adjacent parking lot with a 5-story addition.Today the project features 42,000 square feet of Class A office space, 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and another 10,000 square feet of luxury apartments. It's a big step up from the 2-story office/retail building constructed in 1930. It's also an even bigger step forward that the entire structure is leased and occupied in this tough economy.A 175-space structure behind the building replaces 165-space surface parking lot, helping create more density in the already vibrant downtown.Office tenants that mainly consist of money managers and attorneys will occupy the second, third and fourth floors. Universal Watch and Tactical Alliance Group (commonly known as TAG) will occupy the ground floor retail space facing Old Woodward.Source: Ted Fuller, developer of the projectWriter: Jon Zemke

From Scratch: Ring Ring

By Jordan Miller

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

When opportunity rang Aaron Beals answered. The West Bloomfield 26 year-old realized that not only is there power in numbers, phone numbers specifically, there's money in what those numbers can spell. Thus was born Ring Ring, the place where companies go for their vanity phone number. It's a pity M-e-t-r-o-m-o-d-e has too many letters.

Farmington Hills plans to build new, environmentally friendly city hall

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

It seems like a little more space is added onto Farmington Hills' City Hall every few years. The original 1950s structure has received 4-5 additions, increasing the space from 6,000 square feet to 34,000 square feet."Some of them have been little dinky things," says Nate Geinzer, management assistant for Farmington Hills.Little things that have created big inefficiencies and bigger headaches for city officials. It's the main reason why city officials plan to renovate the existing structure and add yet more space. It's a project that promises to make the City Hall more efficient and greener."We're looking at everything and anything," Geinzer says. "We're still pretty early in the design phase."One thing city officials agree on is they want the new City Hall to be as environmentally friendly as possible. City officials are aiming for gold LEED certification with the project. Among the green stripes they are looking at are geothermal heating, solar panels and a green roof.For now city officials are conducting public meetings to see what city residents and employees want. They have yet to decide on how big addition will be, let alone what environmentally friendly features they will use.Plans are to start construction in the spring and finish by end the of year in 2010.Source: Nate Geinzer, management assistant for Farmington HillsWriter: Jon Zemke

Prosper Spotlight: Rita Brown

By Prosper Oakland County, MI

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

Rita Brown, senior partner of Detroit Drafting, a steel manufacturing company she started with her husband Doug three years ago, talks with Prosper about talent cultivation and retention, keeping smalls business culture small, and how to stay strong and small in the future.

Oxford Biomedical Research receives $730,000 grant for cancer research

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

Rochester Hills-based Oxford Biomedical Research is working on a new blood test that could help detect anti-cancer agents in patients. A Small Business Innovation Research contract from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Helping is helping fund the development of this test with a contract worth nearly $730,000.The test measures a blood-borne protein that may be a biomarker for the efficacy of anti-cancer agents. A team of scientists, led by Dr. Thomas Eling at the National Institute of Health, discovered that treatment of animals with low doses of drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen reduce the occurrences of cancer and help produce more anti-cancer agents.The idea behind the test is to allow doctors to monitor cancer-fighting agents and study their effectiveness. It could also help them discover new anti-cancer agents.Oxford Biomedical Research develops, manufactures and markets more than 700 products for biomedical research. Its primary focus is on tests for oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, two major contributors to a variety of diseases. The firm has been named as an Oakland County Emerging Sector Company. It launched a new venture called Wellness Indicators to leverage the company's 25 years of expertise Source: Oxford Biomedical ResearchWriter: Jon Zemke

Grants give Oakland County arts organizations a boost

By Prosper Oakland County, MI

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

Waterford, Michigan – October 23, 2008 – The Oakland County Office of Arts, Culture & Film has announced grants local cultural institutions totaling $13,400. Grant dollars are from the State of Michigan through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) Regional Regranting program. As one of only 19 regranting agencies in the state, Oakland County recognizes exemplary programs that encourage locally developed, high quality arts projects to address local arts needs and increase public access to the arts. A wide variety of project ranging from school residencies to community performances were awarded grant funding. Notable projects include: Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings are partnering with Troy Schools for a residency program with the Troy High School Band for the 2008-09 school year Detroit Dance Collective is presenting “The Power of Green,” a school and community outreach dance project Farmington Public Schools is hiring Eisenhower Dance Ensemble for a dance residency at Harrison High School and to present lecture demonstrations for the four Farmington Middle Schools Village of Holly DDA is hosting the 29th annual Dickens Festival in downtown Holly, December 6-2 Huron Valley Council for the Arts will present three student enrichment programs for children of the Huron Valley School District during the 2008-09 school year Michigan Classical Ballet’s educational outreach program “Nutcracker Knowledge” will be held on December 5 at Mercy High School. The program includes two performances of the Nutcracker Ballet for elementary students and curriculum guides for the participating teachers Orion Township Public Library’s 2008-09 Second Sunday Concert Series Stagecrafters, community theater of Royal Oak, will offer American Sign Language (ALS) interpreted performances for the 2008-09 Main Stage season The office is accepting grant applications for arts and cultural projects that take place from April 1 through September 30, 2009. The application deadline is February 1, 2009. Non-profit

Innovative Learning Group salvages business, makes it flourish

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

There's turning lemons into lemonade and then there's turning failed businesses into successful businesses. Guess which one is harder?Lisa Toenniges and five of her co-workers faced this perilous situation nearly five years ago when the business they worked for went under. Rather than accept defeat she and her comrades decided to turn the company into Innovative Learning Group."The owners didn’t want to start a new version, so we decided to give it a go," says Toenniges, who became the president of Innovative Learning Group.Today the Royal Oak-based firm employs nine people and as many as 20-30 independent contractors at any given time. It went from six clients to 30 Fortune 500 customers today."So far so good, knock on wood," Toenniges says. "We were quite pleased."Pleased with the progress and looking forward to the near future. The firm has enjoyed double-digit revenue growth every year and expects to settle into an average of low double digits. Toenniges also hopes to add another 1-2 people each year as the firm grows."We want to grow steadily," Toenniges says.Source: Lisa Toenniges, president of Innovative Learning GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Quantum Software creates 11 jobs, plans to add 5 more

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

Most businesses wish they could grow in ten years as quickly as Quantum Software has in its first year.The Troy-based firm is only 10 months old and has gone from 1 to 11 employees in that time. The software-development company hopes to grow its revenue by 40 percent within the next year and grow its employee base by 50 percent in the same time."We're working on some exciting plays with out partners that could dramatically increase our revenue growth," says Sam Mancuso, president of Quantum Software.The firm develops and sells applications, a.k.a. solutions, for SAP software programs. These programs, called Blocks, help make other businesses more efficient and profitable. They range from the Time Block program for consulting companies to the Rent Block program for equipment rental companies.The firm now plans to expand the channels of its distributors on a worldwide basis with the idea of expanding its client list and its profit base."We invested in the business as a start-up," Mancuso says. "We believe it will make a return for our investors."Source: Sam Mancuso, president of Quantum SoftwareWriter: Jon Zemke

Teoma Systems diversifies and expands, creates 5 jobs

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 23, 2008

Teoma Systems started with a lot of people (12) in 2003, but the company has added quite a few people since then.Today the Troy-based firm employs about 25 people, a handful of interns and the occasional set of independent contractors. Of those people, five of have been hired within the last year.And Teoma plans to hire another 3-5 people within the next year as it continues to diversify and expand its client base."We have been able to leverage our strategic business partners," says David Robinson, relationship manager with Teoma Systems.The company designs, implements and supports voice, video surveillance and data solutions. It works with the likes of Avaya, Axis Communications, Cisco, Compellent Technologies, HP, IBM, Juniper, Microsoft, Objectworld, Symantec and VMware. It serves clients in more than 30 states. It was also named one of Michigan’s 50 companies to watch in 2008.Source: David Robinson, relationship manager with Teoma SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke