2009 – Page 22 of 98

Downtown Ann Arbor, U-M expand Zipcar fleets

By Newsroom

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September 30, 2009

Ann Arbor's Zipcar fleets continue to rise in the downtown/university area of the college town.The downtown fleet plans to add two more (six total) this fall. That's on top of the two Ford Escapes that are about to be delivered to the University of Michigan's fleet, which will total 15 by the end of the month. About 1,400 students, faculty and staff at the university utilizing its Zipcar fleet. The fleet has a 45 percentage utilization rate over a 24-7 basis, which is considered ideal because it makes sure a car is always available."More and more people are taking advantage of it," says Nancy Shore, director of Ann Arbor's getDowntown program that oversees the downtown Zipcar fleet.Also up is the number of go!passes being ordered in downtown Ann Arbor. About 5,195 go!passes had been order at this time last year. So far that number is up almost 300 with 5,455 ordered. The go!pass is part of Ann Arbor's getDowntown program. The pass allows free unlimited usage of Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's buses to employees located downtown, except U-M employees. Businesses can purchase these for $5 per employee as long as it buys one for every full-time employee. For information on go!pass or Zipcar contact Shore at (734) 214-0100 or at nancy@annarborchamber.org. Source: Nancy Shore, director of getDowntownWriter: Jon Zemke

Local residents rally to “Save the Livery” in Chelsea

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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September 30, 2009

A small but talented group of Chelsea residents are fighting to save a piece of their history from the wrecking ball.The "Save the Livery" group is trying to safeguard the oldest part of the Longworth building, a horse livery that dates back to the turn of the 20th Century. The city wants to tear down the building for redevelopment, however, there isn’t a current plan to build anything on the space right now.The 2-story building sits on Main Street just south of Jackson Street. The now closed Longworth Plating Service occupied the 11,800-square-foot industrial building most recently. The structure is divided into three main sections of varying ages, and oldest is the livery that served as a 10-cent barn.City officials hired a structural engineer who painted a grim picture, stating that the building was failing structurally and located on a brownfield space. The report prompted a grassroots group to stand up and "set the record straight". Among the members are architects, historic preservation experts, structural engineers and MDEQ employees who disputed the city's findings and advocated for saving this piece of Chelsea's history."One of Chelsea's major selling points and reasons why people care to visit is its historic character," says Greg Raye, owner of Chelsea-based Greg Raye Architects. "It's also connects to the Main Street buildings around the corner. If it was gone it would be a missing tooth in the commercial fabric."The group has been able to win a stay of execution for the livery until Oct. 19. They are advocating for turning the structure into a mixed-use building. Although possible, Raye adds it won't be cheap. He foresees it costing a couple hundred thousand dollars to stabilize the building and up to $800,000 to have it completely redone."There is a wide range of things that could be housed there," Raye says.Source: Greg Raye, owner of Chelsea-based Greg Raye ArchitectsWriter: Jon Zemke

A Strange Brew Of Beer And Community

By Julianne Mattera

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Arts and Culture

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September 30, 2009

Michigan has the fifth highest number of microbreweries in the nation, and the Ann Arbor area is doing more than its fair share to keep those numbers up. From Ypsi to Dexter to Milan, locally brewed ales, lagers and stouts are not only becoming the beverage of choice, but also bringing community together in unexpected ways.

Cybernet Systems opens Fla office, has 4 openings

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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September 30, 2009

Cybernet Systems is spreading its tentacles beyond its Ann Arbor home.The company of 50 people and a few summer interns is opening a new office in Orlando. The handful of people will serve as information assurance capacity for clients of its military vehicle work down south. In the meantime the company has four jobs openings, including a mathematical engineer for its Ann Arbor headquarters."We're almost always accepting resumes and hiring," says Patrick Lewis, a spokesman for Cybernet Systems. The 20-year-old firm specializes in research and development in the defense and medical fields. It deals mostly with federal contracts. Among its products is the Large Caliber Automated Resupply, which loads ammunition into tanks and unloads unwanted casings or ammunition remotely. Its Automated Tactical Ammunition Classification System sorts ammunition, a costly and time-consuming task in the military. Cybernet Systems medical division developed a telemedicine service that enables physicians to remotely gather and review outpatient physiological data over the Internet. It was used in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Source: Patrick Lewis, a spokesman for Cybernet SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

MetaSpring adds 4, plans to do it again in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 30, 2009

MetaSpring didn't just move because its old space was too small and the start-up was growing too big. The Ann Arbor-based firm needed a space that represented its creative personality."We really wanted to define ourselves with our space," says John Paul Narowski, strategic marketing director for MetaSpring.So the web-development-and-marketing firm moved out of its subleased corner of SpamStopsHere's office and set up shop in 2,000 square feet near Briarwood Mall. About one third of that building was office-space and the rest was warehouse. MetaSpring built the rest of it out in chic loft-style office space, decked out in bright colors and creative spaces. That is expected to give the company space for is burgeoning growth. MetaSpring (Meta is programmer jargon for fancy code and spring is a reference to a river or brook) started with four people in 1999. Today it employs seven people, two interns and an independent contractor. Two employees and two interns were brought on within the last year. "We have been expanding at a pretty consistent rate," Narowski says.It plans to develop internal software this year that it plans to turn into software as a service product. That would allow the firm to diversify into both a consulting and subscription-as-a-service model. MetaSpring plans to use that as a launching pad for hiring 3-4 more people (programmers and designers) within the next year.Source: John Paul Narowski, strategic marketing director for MetaSpringWriter: Jon Zemke

ICON Creative Technologies grows staff in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 30, 2009

There is a reason ICON Creative Technologies Group is moving into a bigger space, mainly to accommodate the new hiring its doing right now.The Ann Arbor-based firm super sized from its old downtown digs to the former second home for the Ann Arbor Art Center just outside of downtown. That nearly tripling of space is allowing the company to continue to hire. It recently brought two more people to its payroll and plans to hire more soon."The more business we bring in the more we will hire," says Jennifer Peak, a spokeswoman for ICON Creative Technologies Group. The 14-year-old Internet firm now employs 27 people around the world, including with people in as far away as Germany and as close as Northern Michigan. It's Ann Arbor contingent measures out to 20 people. It hopes to hit 60 people within the next five years.ICON Creative Technologies Group is an interactive marketing agency focusing on Internet marketing. Its 60-some clients include firms in the bio-tech, automotive and service industries.Source: Jennifer Peak, a spokeswoman for ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Systems in Motion exec discusses what his company will bring to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 30, 2009

The leader behind one of Silicon Valley's most promising start-ups shoots from the hip on why his company needed to invest in Ann Arbor early.Excerpt:The new jobs at Systems in Motion's IT services delivery center near Ann Arbor will offer salaries between $30,000 and $80,000 along with benefits, and the company plans to offer a certain amount of on-the-job training to employees.Debashish Sinha, the firm's top marketing executive, said a recent media report listing the above salary range for new hires "by and large" was accurate. The firm told the state its average weekly wage would be $557 and that it would pay a portion of health care benefits."We are building a business that needs ... people motivated to do work for us and for our customers by a broad range of things, not just because it pays them the most money, because we will never be the company that pays them the most money," he said. "So we'll build an environment that fosters innovation, that fosters a sense of community, where our employees come and can feel like they can belong to a community other than working in a job."Read the rest of the story here and here.

Michigan tailgate aims for zero waste

By Newsroom

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In The News

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September 30, 2009

Tailgating on football Saturdays isn't exactly sustainability in action, but some University of Michigan fans are trying to change that.Excerpt:In Ann Arbor on Saturday, the visiting Hoosiers came up three points shy in a homecoming game against the University of Michigan football team. Final score: 36-33.And at a pre-game tailgate hosted by the UM Alumni Association, a team of Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI) volunteers came up at least three coffee creamer containers shy of their goal: a “zero waste” tailgate.Those three coffee creamer containers came from Edward J. Vander Velde – from the 50th reunion class of 1959 – who kidded the volunteers who were staffing one of the waste stations inside Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, saying, “We’re still short of perfect!”Read the rest of the story here.

Announcing the FLY Children’s Art Center in Ypsilanti

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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September 30, 2009

Even the kids are getting into Ypsi's emerging arts identity.Excerpt:My friend Ruth Marks is launching an incredibly cool children’s art program in Ypsi called FLY, and I had an opportunity this weekend to ask her a few questions about it… Here’s the interview:MARK: So, what’s FLY?RUTH: FLY Children’s Art Center is a non-profit organization that makes meaningful art making experiences accessible to children ages 5-10 in Ypsilanti. We chose our name FLY in reference to flight, in reference to the 90’s hip-hop term for amazing, and to signify For the Love of Ypsilanti. We offer open studio style classes in the community for a small fee, as well as activities inside public schools at no cost to the students.Read the rest of the story here.

Skype president reflects on business, following his heart and time in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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September 30, 2009

A big shot in the start-up world (president of Skype) reflects on the lessons he learned growing up in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:MY life has been punctuated by points where I followed my heart rather than my head. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., and went to the alternative high school there. It was called Community High — Commie High for short — and it had an unstructured format. I spent much of my junior and senior years traveling the country in a six-member jazz ensemble.Read the rest of the story here.