2009 – Page 7 of 98 – Concentrate

Wolverine Tower to undergo $6.3 million renovation

By Newsroom

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December 2, 2009

One of the University of Michigan's biggest renovation projects isn’t even taking place on any of its campuses. The university's Board of Regents approved a large renovation and consolidation project at the Wolverine Tower on Ann Arbor's south side.The $6.3 million project will breathe some new life into 61,000 square feet on seven of the building's 11 stories. The development will allow the university to consolidate a lot of its staff, spread throughout the building. The MHealthy office will also be moved into the renovated space upon completion of the project.The idea is to concentrate all of the employees in one part of the building, allowing them to share more common areas, such as training rooms, kitchens and conference rooms. This will save the university on overhead costs. The project will also add a lunchroom, wellness area and showers.The renovation is expected to proceed in phases and be finished by the fall of 2011.The 220,000-square-foot building was built in 1973. The University of Michigan purchased it in 1992.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

EMU teams up with Chevron to make campus more sustainable

By Newsroom

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Development News

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November 18, 2009

Eastern Michigan University intends to tighten its energy belt by forming a partnership with Chevron Energy Solutions.The two will conduct energy audits of the university's 16 buildings. Some of these buildings are a 100 years or older, but most were built in the mid 20th Century. Many have gone decades without updating their infrastructure, if it was upgraded at all."We're looking at more than $30 million in potential savings> And that is just in our housing buildings," says Steven Moore, energy and sustainability manager for Eastern Michigan University, a post that was created early last year. "There is a large potential for energy savings on this campus."Some of the biggest gains will be realized in the Wise, Brown-Munson, Hoyt and Pittman halls. A number of the easy improvements expected to be done soon include lighting retrofits, replacing toilets and faucets and upgrading heating and cooling controls in the building.The university was able to realize $500,000 in savings through a few improvements last year, hitting its goal. It has already surpassed its goal for this year and expects to accomplish more gains.Source: Steven Moore, energy and sustainability manager for Eastern Michigan UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Chelsea’s Pierce Creek Elementary rehabs wetland, trail

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 18, 2009

A small group of people did what they do best at Chelsea's Pierce Creek Elementary School. They made it better.A group of school staff, students and parents helped bring new life to a seven-acre wetland behind the school at Old U.S. 12 and Freer Road. They rebuilt the 500-yard walking path, added some infrastructure for recreation and education, and helped refresh the marshland around it.The school was built in 1997, leaving the wetland behind. Then school volunteers created the walking trail and took measures to preserve the wetland around it. Unfortunately it fell into disrepair until a group of volunteers reclaimed it this year."Over time there hasn't been a lot of development of it," says Lucy Stieber, principal of Pierce Creek Elementary School.The group added a platform for the school's 380 students to take water samples and installed a few benches and bird boxes along the trail. A $5,000 grant from Lowe's made the project possible.Source: Lucy Stieber, principal of Pierce Creek Elementary SchoolWriter: Jon Zemke

Construction begins again on Upland Green’s apt units in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Development News

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November 18, 2009

The Upland Green project is in much more start than a fit these days, now that work has begun again on the multi-use development on Ann Arbor's north side.New investors out of New Jersey have taken over the project --which has been on-again / off-again since 2004-- with plans to finish off the residential section by the end of the winter. Model units should be open by the beginning of the new year, bringing more life to the Plymouth Road corridor, adjacent to the University of Michigan's North Campus.The 20 units have been switched from condos to apartments, ranging in size from 1-3 bedrooms. The apartments will be on the second and third floors of the 3-floor structure. Parking will be provided on a surface parking lot behind the building."They will have some loft features like high ceilings but it will have some fine finishes," says Damian Farrell, owner of the Damian Farrell Design Group, which finished off the design work on the project. "It will be a nice blend."Also added to the mix are a number of sustainable features. Insulation and sound proofing is provided by a recycled paper product in the walls. Energy Star appliances and fixtures have also been added and Low Voc paint will be used."We have done as much as we can at this point," Farrell says.Also open is the Great Plains Burger on the ground floor. It joins Qdoba and Panera, which opened before the new partners took the project over. There is still 780 square feet of ground floor retail space that is still up for lease.Source: Damian Farrell, owner of the Damian Farrell Design GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti’s non-motorized plan begins to roll out

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 18, 2009

Ypsilanti's new non-motorized transportation plan isn't just about making it easier to get from Point A to Point B. It's also about money."It's a lot easier to get a grant if you have a to-do list," says Bonnie Wessler, a planning intern with the city of Ypsilanti who created the plan.The plan will help pedestrians, bicyclists and other alternative transit users get around easier by pointing out where city's current strengths and weakness are. That means everything from rebuilding sidewalks to adding bike lanes and enhancing mass transit options. It will also lay out the plan of action for making improvements."This plan will help Ypsilanti provide an accessible and equitable transportation system so residents, businesses and visitors can enjoy Ypsilanti," Wessler says.Source: Bonnie Wessler, a planning intern with the city of YpsilantiWriter: Jon Zemke

Single-stream recycling expected to produce big gains in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 18, 2009

All of the little streams of recycling in Ann Arbor are about to be combined into one big river, and that river is expected to grow exponentially.The City Council has approved switching from the traditional sorting method of recycling (papper, plastic, etc.) to what is called single-stream, which allows homes to throw all of their recycling into one container. The material is then sorted out at the recycling plant, making the process more user-friendly. Among the other cities that use single-stream recycling are Austin, Texas and Baltimore, MD."We expect to basically double recycling from single-family homes with the program," says Tom McMurtrie, recycling coordinator for the city of Ann Arbor. "There will be a number of materials added and new incentives.Currently, Ann Arborites recycle about 50 percent of their waste. The goal is to hit 70 percent by 2012. Helping make that possible is adding a number of materials to be recycled, such as all plastics except No. 3.The city will invest $3.5 million into upgrades at its recycling facility to accommodate this transition. The staff levels would stay the same with machines handling the extra sorting. The switch would also require new recycling containers, costing $1.3 million. Gone will be the green and brown bins. Replacing them will be one large container for all recycling. Each of these containers will come with a bar code as part of the RecycleBank system, which rewards recyclers with coupons and prizes in proportion to how much they recycle. This system has helped significantly increase recycling efforts in both Rochester Hills and Westland.Source: Tom McMurtrie, recycling coordinator for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Video Jacobsen Daniels: Planning Airports and the Aerotropolis

By Keith Jefferies

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Arts and Culture

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November 18, 2009

In eight years this airport planning firm has grown more than ten fold, bought a building in downtown Ypsilanti and count many of the nation's biggest airports as their clients. From internships to aerotropolis development, Jacobsen Daniels is not only the kind of new economy business Michigan needs more of, they are passionately invested in their community's future.

Patient Provider Communications in Ann Arbor adds 2

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 18, 2009

With the constant stream of advancements in medicine today, one would think we would be beyond the equivalent of smoke signals to communicate between patients and medical staff.That's the problem the Patient Provider Communications is tackling today. The Ann Arbor-based firm sees a lot of room to improve the standard call-light system patients use signal they need assistance."It would hopefully improve many outcomes for patients and nurses," says Lance Patak, president and CEO of Patient Provider Communications.Patak began the start-up with Bryan J Trathber and Thomas Morphopoulus in February. It now employs five people, an independent contractor and sub contracts work out to Ann Arbor-based Menlo Innovations. Patient Provider Communications is applying for a federal grant to create a functional model of its new technology. It plans to commercialize it, along with other technologies it is working on, within the next 2-3 years. It also plans to grow internationally and has brought in three new distributors to help achieve that goal.Source: Lance Patak, president and CEO of Patient Provider CommunicationsWriter: Jon Zemke

NIGHT & DAY: The Asylum Street Spankers, The Latest Debate Over Funding Public Art

By Jeff Meyers

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General

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November 18, 2009

From profane old-timey music to hilariously awful film and video footage, irreverent ironic entertainment seems to be the rule of thumb this week in FilterD. Editor Jeff Meyers points you to the best cultural consumables while weighing in on Ann Arbor's debate over the fate of public art.

MASTERMIND: Chrisstina Hamilton

By Constance Crump

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Arts and Culture

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November 18, 2009

The Penny W. Stamps lecture series brings 24 thought-provoking artists to the Michigan Theater each year to talk to Ann Arborites (and U-M students) about their work, ideas, and inspiration. And Chrisstina Hamilton is the program's director, tasked with choosing who will attend and how to keep it chugging along.