Dexter : Development News

Source: Rob D'Oria, Bits and Pizzas
Writer: Natalie Burg

Source: Peter Orr, MedHub
Writer: Natalie Burg

Source: Coy Vaughn, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation
Writer: Natalie Burg

It's full-on winter now, but that's not stopping the Border to Border Trail from growing. In February, work begins in Dexter on a new three-mile segment of what will be a 35-mile non-motorized trail connecting Washtenaw County to Livingston and Wayne Counties along the Huron River.

This three-mile leg is expected to be completed by fall 2013. At that point, 23 miles of the planned 35 will be completed, says Coy Vaughn, deputy director of the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission. This new portion will run from Hudson Mills Metropark to Dexter, linking up to Warrior Creek Park. It will be mostly asphalt, but there will be a boardwalk through the wetlands and a small pedestrian bridge.

"Once this is done, it will create a 13-mile round trip that you can take from downtown Dexter up through Hudson Mills Metropark. They already had three miles of trails on the other side of the [Huron] River, so overall it will be a 13-mile round trip bike ride, walk, run, or whatever from downtown Dexter," Vaughn says.

On the east side of Dexter, work has concluded on a 1.25-mile trail headed towards Ann Arbor and ending at Dexter-Huron Metropark. That segment connects to the DPW yard in the village, with a small section adjoining Central St. Vaughn says it's not open to the public yet, as the county is in the process of obtaining a railroad easement.

Hudson Mills Metropark is north of Dexter on the river, and to the southeast of Dexter is Dexter-Huron and Delhi Metroparks. "We're trying to connect all the Metroparks to the village [of Dexter] and the city of Ann Arbor," sayas Vaughn.

Source: Coy Vaughn, deputy director, Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Downtown Dexter is less than 10 miles west of Ann Arbor, but it's looking more like Montana if Hotel Hickman's Chuck Wagon BBQ has anything to say about it. You might recognize the catering and take-out joint, which opened in the former sheriff substation at 8050 Main St. in late November, by the chuck wagon parked out front from time to time.

Owner Scott Thomas does a brisk business cooking up Texas beef brisket and ribs on his 1889 chuck wagon, which also often sits outside the Dexter Feed Mill. He smokes all of his meats and makes everything from scratch – dishes like buttermilk biscuits and gravy, and mac and cheese.

Four people staff Hotel Hickman's Chuck Wagon BBQ, open Friday through Sunday all winter long. The foursome also does Wild West reenactments and cooking for private parties. Thomas plans to hire more staff and add outdoor picnic tables during the busier summer season.

"It's kind of a hobby, a little passion doing a little barbecuing," Scott says.

Source: Scott Thomas, owner, Hotel Hickman's Chuck Wagon BBQ
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

In time for the winter indoor-project season, a new statewide low-interest rate program for businesses making energy-efficient upgrades to their properties has come into effect.

Under the Michigan Saves Business Energy Financing Program, businesses can obtain 2-5 year loans ranging from $2,000-150,000, at rates starting at 5.9%. The financing is provided through Ervin Leasing for businesses using program-authorized contractors, according to Julie Bennett, executive director of Michigan Saves.

A special incentive in the form of a 3.99% rate and a $2,000 rebate from Michigan Saves is available to food industry companies cutting energy use by 20%. That includes grocers, convenience stores, food wholesalers, and restaurants.

"We're really targeting that industry because they use a lot of energy, but they typically don't have the time and resources to make the improvements," Bennett says.

The incentive program is grant-funded and short-term, so Bennett encourages food industry business owners to apply as soon as possible. The loan program, however, has about $50 million in committed funds and is intended to be perpetual, according to Bennett.

"There's a recycling that happens with this money as loans are paid down, so we're hoping that we'll never have to stop this program. But at this time we can do 1,000 businesses...if we had a rush to the door, we could do 1,000."

Qualifying projects include energy-efficient lighting, heating, and cooling, insulation, refrigeration, and motor, door, or window replacement.

The program is targeting business enrollment, and employment as well. "We're always looking for more contractors to enroll in the program," Bennett adds. "It's a kind of job creation angle - that we're really trying to get contractors enrolled."

Source: Julie Bennett, executive director of Michigan Saves
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

The Detroit Tigers may have been ousted in the World Series, but the ballpark hotdogs served at area Coney Islands are here to stay. Dexter's Coney Island is the latest new outpost of this southeast Michigan culinary emblem.

The new eatery, at 8124 Main St. in downtown Dexter, is in the space formerly occupied by Lorene's Village Cafe. Cacini plans to paint and reconfigure seating areas, adding booths. There are currently 99 seats, "plus my own," Cacini says.

Dexter's Coney Island has eight employees, including three part-time staff, serving breakfast and lunch between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Cacini plans to serve dinner and extend the hours until 8 p.m. starting at the end of March.

Source: Jim Cacini, owner, Dexter's Coney Island
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

In the aftermath of Dexter's tornado last spring, a new services business has sprung up. Allstate Insurance agent Jennifer Johnston has opened Johnston Agency at 8071 Main Street in downtown Dexter. The office is located in a historic purple-painted building which formerly housed the Dexter Leader newspaper.

Johnston, a licensed insurance agent, was looking for a business location with a small-town feel, where people look out for each other. Inspired by the quick reaction of Allstate personnel to the tornado: "They were there before the Red Cross," and the manner in which the village pulled together afterward, Johnston says, "we wanted to be part of the Dexter community."

The office opened in early September with three insurance agents and an office manager. Johnston plans to add one or two more agents and telemarketing personnel. "We're already expanding," she says.

Source: Jennifer Johnston, owner, Johnston Agency
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

The village of Dexter has a walkability score of 66 out of 100, according to Walkscore.com. But with the completion of another segment on the county-spanning Border to Border Trail, that score may rise.  

Construction on the remaining portion of the first phase of the 1.42-mile River Terrace Trail, a segment of the Border-to-BorderTrail that connects downtown Dexter with Dexter-Huron Metropark, is to commence in September and should be finished up later this fall, says Coy Vaughn, deputy director of the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission.

This stretch includes another 650 linear feet of boardwalk and 235 feet of paved trail. An additional 3,195-foot length of trail base will be laid, with plans to pave it as part of the second phase next spring. The county is also working to obtain an easement from Norfolk Southern Railroad to install the last 1,400-foot length to run up to Central Street.

And another three-mile asphalt and boardwalk segment running north from Dexter to existing trail in Hudson Mills Metropark is now going out for bids, and should be finished by late summer of 2013, according to Vaughn. "When this is completed, from downtown Dexter, you'll be able to take a 12-mile roundtrip bike ride through the metro parks and stay all on off-road trails."

Once that section is laid, over 20 miles out of 35 Border-to-Border Trail miles will be complete, Vaughn says. "We're just getting over the halfway mark, but we're piecing it together and it's one of our priority projects. It's having a lot of impact on the communities along the Huron River."

Source: Coy Vaughn, deputy director, Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

The village of Dexter has a new face on the waterfront after the official opening of Mill Creek Park during the Dexter Daze festival last weekend.

The $1.24 million, 2.15-acre downtown park has an amphitheater, a pair of boat launches, observation and fishing decks, plazas, and a quarter-mile pathway bridging Mill Creek around the park's perimeter. Workers are completing the stairway from the park to the library and farmers market and installing more railing on the boardwalk.

"I think that the benefit to the community with respect to creating a destination in our downtown is going to have a huge economic impact, both with residential development and people visiting our community," says Allison Bishop, Dexter's community development director.

Included in the village's master plan is Mill Creek Park Phase 2, a trail segment connecting the park south to Shield Road, but the need for more grant funding and collaboration with local schools will probably push that project out for another five years, Bishop says.

Source: Allison Bishop, community development director, village of Dexter
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

In time for the back-to-school rush, a new daycare center is opening in Dexter. Honey Bee Academy owner Melissa Pangle is accepting new enrollment and plans to open the center, located at 7415 Dexter Pinckney Road, during the first week in September.

The 2,100-square-foot building was home to another daycare facility that closed about nine months ago. "It's basically move-in ready," Pangle says.

Honey Bee Academy will have room for 40 children. Pangle has been running a home-based childcare for the last seven years. However, with her capacity limited to six children, "I've always had a waitlist," she says.

The center will provide all-day care for infants aged six weeks through pre-schoolers, along with before- and after-school and summer care for school-aged children.

Staffing at the center will grow to 8-9 employees as it reaches capacity, according to Pangle.

Source: Melissa Pangle, owner of  Honey Bee Academy
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

The distance between farm and table is being measured in feet rather than miles, with Zingerman's Roadhouse chef Alex Young's recent purchase of the Hoey Farm property on Island Lake Road in Dexter Township.

The 27-acre property at 8540 Island Lake Road adjoins Young's Cornman Farms, a sustainably raised livestock and vegetable supplier to Zingerman's Roadhouse. Over 27 types of vegetables comprising over 130 varieties are grown at Cornman Farms.

Young's new farm purchase accompanies his recent participation in the James Beard Foundation Food Activist Boot Camp, whose goal is to "try to effect more positive change in terms of agriculture in this country."

Hoey Farm will be used for school tours, as a catering destination, and for livestock raising. "We have a small dairy goat herd," Young says. "We're going to be milking goats there as well. And we're going to grow some pigs. A small herd of pigs, a medium-sized herd of goats, and then a handful of cattle."

On the near-term horizon is a major restoration of an 1854 farmhouse on the property, a couple of barns, and a smokehouse. "They haven't received any love or care in 20 years, probably," he notes. One building will be converted into a dairy parlor, another is to be a shelter for school tours and a place to eat.

Cornman Farms currently has five people on staff. "We'll probably be nearly double that next year," Young says. He plans to open the property to the public in the spring of 2013.

"My work through Cornman Farms has been very rewarding, and being able to share it with kids and make great food for the restaurant is fun."

Source: Alex Young, chef, Zingerman's Roadhouse
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Those not wanting to wheel out the grill this summer can drop in to Jake's BBQ, Dexter's new restaurant devoted to all things cookout. The restaurant space, which opened earlier in June at 8050 Main St., formerly housed owner Bart Aniolczyk's Jake's Place, a venue for Polish cuisine takeout.

The European concept didn't pan out, Aniolczyk says, but his luck has turned for the better with the new barbecue menu. He's in the process of adding more smokers to meet the demand for, among other things, pulled pork and other artisanal comfort foods.

While Jake's BBQ's primary business is take-out, the revamped interior now seats 10 and has 12 outdoor seats. Aniolczyk will add umbrellas and bring the outdoor seating up to 20. He cites Dexter's "family feel" as reason for keeping his eatery there.

He has added two jobs, with more planned, but there is no firm count yet. "I'm sure I'll have to add more people as I go," he says.

Source:  Bart Aniolczyk, owner, Jake's BBQ
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

At long last, the Dexter Wellness Center is getting in shape to open its doors. The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation has signed on to operate the center, which will be constructed by A.R. Brouwer at 2810 Baker Road, a half-mile's walking distance from downtown Dexter.

The 46,000-square-foot family center will be a full-service facility with a swimming pool, a therapy pool, mind-body space for pilates and yoga, massage therapy, a gym, and strength and aerobic conditioning equipment.

Programming for children of all ages will be offered, as will assistance for medical patients. "We'll work with local providers to transition patients from the hospital ... We have programs for them when they're discharged so we can help with strengthening and make their quality of life better," says Amy Heydlauff, executive director of the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF).

A physical therapy practice run by Medical Rehabilitation Specialists, but not affiliated with CWF, will occupy 2,000 square feet in the building.

Construction will commence after the builder removes some existing structures on the property. "We're anticipating an opening date of either summer or early fall of '13," Heydlauff says. Usage fees have not been set yet, but will be commensurate with comparable facilities in Ann Arbor and Chelsea.

She figures the center will employ, at minimum, 100 people.

Source:  Amy Heydlauff, executive director, Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

With the GetDowntown Commuter Challenge coming to an end, what would the quality of life in Washtenaw County be like if it embraced mass transit every month, not just in May?

One significant impact of residents embracing the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's (AATA) vision for mass transit in Washtenaw County would mean that everyone in the county could get around, sans car. The AATA has just concluded a final series of meetings to acquaint the public with its five-year transit program, the first stage of the county's 30-year transit master plan completed last year.

The most significant aspect of the proposed program, says Michael Benham, AATA's special assistant for strategic planning, "is that every single person in the county has access to the transit system, without a car."

The program calls for extended service on the current core Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor network of bus service that would be fed by a series of fixed routes consisting of express bus services in the outlying communities, and also community circulators, small bus networks to transport people within Chelsea, Dexter, and Saline, and link them to express bus routes. The final component is a system of would-be demand responsive services that can bring people from their doors to fixed-route bus stops.

Seniors and the disabled would get the added option of door-to-door service anywhere in the county. "Over the next 20 or 30 years there's going to be a more than doubling of the senior population," Benham notes, adding, "We're really trying to focus on either giving people mobility or letting them keep their mobility as they age."

Plan execution is contingent on creation of a countywide transit authority. "Over the years, one community after another has come to us and they are basically asking us to sell them transportation on an annual basis," Benham says.

The city of Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, and Pittsfield Township have purchase-of-service agreements, subject to the vagaries of municipal funding. "It's not a particularly stable arrangement, and that's why we'd like to go with a countywide authority. A countywide transit authority would have its own funding base so these townships wouldn't have to come to us and buy the service anymore."

Funding would also need to be in place. Possibilities include increased fares, a .5-mill countywide transit tax, and bills pending in the state legislature, such as a motor vehicle registration fee applicable to counties with a regional transit authority.

When, exactly, the clock could start ticking on the five-year program is the question. "If the funding comes into being within the next six months and if we can get our countywide board pulled together in, say, the next six months, then the service could be operating in a year and a half. But those two ifs are big ifs. I can't stress that enough," Benham says.

Source:  Michael Benham, special assistant for strategic planning, AATA
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar