2009 – Page 86 of 98

Jackson asks for westward extension of Detroit-Ann Arbor line

By Newsroom

●

February 18, 2009

It's easy to make the southeast Michigan connection when thinking about Detroit and Ann Arbor, but Jackson?Most people wouldn't consider the birthplace of the Republican Party part of the Metro Detroit mix, but Jackson's leaders are lobbying to be let into the game by including it in one of the region's marquee projects - the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line.Currently the project's first phase, set to become a reality in the fall of 2010, stretches between Ann Arbor and Detroit with stops at Ypsilanti, Metro Airport and Dearborn. That's it for now, according to Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which is spearheading the project.He added there is talk of extending the line north into Oakland County with stops at Royal Oak, Birmingham/Troy and Pontiac as part of a second phase. SEMCOG is also looking at utilizing Jackson's rail yard as a base for the line, but extending the line to downtown Jackson isn't in the cards, at least not for the project's first phase.Local leaders in Jackson are trying to change that. They argue that if the line uses it rail yard, which would save the project significant money in start-up construction costs, it makes sense to extend the line less than a mile into downtown Jackson's existing train station.Jackson is about 35 miles west of Ann Arbor. Bruce Inosencio, a spokesman for the Jackson Citizens for Economic Growth, points out that section of I-94 that connects the two communities is heavily travelled, making the extension of the line no-brainer."It's very busy. It's very heavily utilized," Inosencio says. "There are a number of companies here in Jackson who have a lot of workers from Washtenaw and Wayne counties."He claims that 61 percent of the 300 employees of one Jackson company --he declined to name it-- live in the Ann Arbor area or east of it, hoping to make skeptics warm to the idea bringing Jackson online with the project.Source: Carmine Palombo, director of transportation programs for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and Bruce Inosencio, a spokesman for the Jackson Citizens for Economic GrowthWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor makes plans for waterscape public art project

By Newsroom

●

Development News

●

February 18, 2009

Leave it to Ann Arbor to find a way to fuse two of the community's favorite pet causes - sustainability and public art.Local officials are putting the finishing touches on the main piece of public art for the City Hall expansion, which also looks to play a significant part in the building's sustainability. The work of art, a key piece of the project's LEED application, is a rain garden designed by Herbert Dreiseitl, who was commissioned by the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission.Dreiseitl is a world renowned artist and urban planner who specializes in integrating drab things like storm water into sexy subjects such as public art. His rain garden for the City Hall expansion will be the most visible piece of art in the project.The rain garden will also go a long ways toward satisfying Ann Arbor's new "Percent for Art" ordinance for new public buildings. The ordinance calls for projects to dedicate 1 percent of the project's budget for public art. Similar policies have been used for decades in other cities, such as New York and Portland.In December, AAPAC Chair, Margaret Parker, presented the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission’s (AAPAC) 2009 Annual Public Art Plan to City Council. One of AAPAC’s 2009 priorities includes the installation of interior and exterior artwork at the Ann Arbor Municipal Center.Source: Margaret Parker, chair of the Ann Arbor Public Art CommissionWriter: Jon Zemke

More student housing coming in small doses to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

February 18, 2009

Another single-family-home-turned-student-rental house is about to bite the dust to make way for a small-yet-denser building in Ann Arbor.A developer plans to raze 930 Church to and replace it with a small apartment building geared toward student rentals. Gone will be the 2,000-square-foot house. Coming soon is a 7,800-square-foot apartment building with four units.This is part of a trend in the student ghetto tenements that surround the University of Michigan. More and more century-old, single-family homes with no chance of returning to their intended use are either being enlarged or torn down to allow for bigger buildings. This is happening just as developers are lining up to build student-rental high-rises adjacent to campus or in downtown. These vertical developments are expected to shrink the reach of the ever-expanding student ghetto and take pressure off traditional single family neighborhoods.The development at 930 Church is located at the northeast corner of the intersection with Oakland Avenue. The house there now has been around since 1913 and used to house up to six tenants. It is now vacant.The new building will have three apartments with six bedrooms and another unit with three bedrooms. It will also have six parking space and another 14 covered places for bicyclists to lock up their wheels on the north side of the property. The building will also have a green roof and is designed with a modern, minimal, square design.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Atwell-Hicks plans to invest $5 million, hire 131 in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

February 11, 2009

Wind power projects are blowing into Ann Arbor these days now that Atwell-Hicks plans to invest $5 million to create alternative energy infrastructure.The Michigan Economic Growth Authority recently approved tax incentives that would allow the Ann Arbor-based firm to build production and transmission corridors for wind power and other alternative energy sources. This will be utilized mainly by wind farms.Atwell-Hicks plans to hire 131 over the next seven years for the project. The company is also looking for a location for its new Energy Market Group, which will coordinate activities and design alternative energy projects. Atwell-Hicks was also considering Tennessee as a location for the project, but instead choose to expand its Ann Arbor location. Michigan is giving $1.4 million in tax breaks to the company over seven years. Source: Michigan Economic Development CorpWriter: Jon Zemke

Michigan Difference takes in $3.2 billion for U-M

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

February 11, 2009

The Michigan Difference is making quite...er... the difference for the University of Michigan. The endowment fund has so far raised a little more than $3.2 billion. That's more than the university has ever raised before, far surpassing its original goal of $2.5 billion. It's also believed to be most money ever raised by a public university. That puts it on par with Ivy League endowments, which are worth several billion each.U-M started the campaign in 2004 and closed it at the end of last year. About 365,000 people donated to the endowment. That money will go toward student financial aid, new student programs, hire and retain faculty, research and constructing new buildings.The endowment is putting $545 million toward student financial aid, such as 1,969 new endowed scholarships valued at $260 million. It also upped the funding of endowed professorships by 69 percent, and built 22 new structures, including the Ross School of Business, Ford School's Weill Hall and Mott Children's Hospital.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Kadushin Architects designs urban housing

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 11, 2009

Abraham Kadushin got his start as his own boss when his boss moved on up the ladder.The Ann Arbor resident was working for a non-profit architectural and planning firm in 1975 when his boss was tapped to be the city planner for the city of Detroit. Kadushin took the reigns of the company and created Kadushin Associates Architects Planners.The Ann Arbor-based firm now employs six people, a handful of independent contractors and the occasional intern. It also has an office in Florida.Kadushin specializes in urban developments and affordable housing. It has done lots of projects in Ann Arbor, Florida and Detroit, among other places. Its most recent accomplishments are the highly successful Woodbridge Estates in Detroit and the recently launched Gardenview Estates in Northwest Detroit.The firm plans to take on more sustainable projects, especially with regard to the readaptive use of old buildings, such as old factories turned lofts. "We hope to work with a major landowner (in Detroit) to do sustainable plans for readapting old industrial buildings," Kadushin says.Source: Abraham Kadushin, principal of Kadushin Associates Architects PlannersWriter: Jon Zemke

Start-up iConnect adds to staff as it grows in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

February 11, 2009

One thing has been consistent for iConnect – growth.Against current trends, the Ann Arbor-based start-up keeps growing and adding people. It has brought a couple of people onto its payroll recently, reaching a total of 13 employees and a couple of independent contractors. It hopes to keep hiring with continued growth."Every quarter has been better than the previous quarter for us," says Kishor Sapre, president and CEO of iConnect. "We even grew in the fourth quarter of last year."The company started in 2000 when a couple of IT guys working the cubicles of another firm figured out they could do the same jobs only better. iConnect now helps small-to-medium-sized companies manage their electronic communications.It does this primarily for automotive-based firms that are really good at their specialty but don't have the reach to cover electronic communication. Sapre hopes to diversify iConnect's client base in the near future.Source: Kishor Sapre, president and CEO of iConnectWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor hosts seminar to “Help Employers Thrive”

By Newsroom

●

Entrepreneurship

●

February 11, 2009

It's a tough economy. There's no way around the fact. But businesses don't have to face the challenge alone. A number of Ann Arbor-area organizations are teaming up to lend a hand.Thus the "Help Employers Thrive" seminar on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Washtenaw Community College's Morris Lawrence Building."Employers both big and small are dealing with issues that they have never before faced," says Jesse Bernstein, president of the Ann Arbor Chamber. "This event will connect employers to a wide variety of vital and affordable information and services available right here in our community."The group coming together to lend a hand includes prominent organizations, such as Michigan Economic Development Corp, Ann Arbor SPARK and Washtenaw County ETCS, among others. They will have information on programs that can assist businesses develop, diversify, find efficiencies, locate financing, attract talent and pursue tax incentives."We know the single most important thing we can do to help the community is to help employers not only survive but thrive during these challenging times," says Trenda Rusher, executive director of Washtenaw County ETCS.There is a nominal registration fee of $25 per person. For information, click here.Source: Washtenaw County ETCSWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Cielo MedSolutions hits triple-digit growth in 2008

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

February 11, 2009

Cielo MedSolutions growth is starting to break a few barriers, posting triple digit gains in 2008, bad economy or no.The Ann Arbor-based company's revenues grew 300 percent while its base of clinician users jumped 400 percent. The number of clinical sites using the firm's software also increased 220 percent. That's a lot of percents!The University of Michigan spin-off develops new software for the healthcare industry. That technology helps make sure doctors connect with their patients when its time for a checkup, test or treatment they might otherwise forget. It claims that the software, if used properly, can help cut down on unnecessary procedures and provide doctors with up to a 200 percent return on their investment.The company employs about a dozen people today, but expects to multiply that number a couple of times over the next few years to keep up with its growth.Source: Cielo MedSolutionsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ex-Ann Arborites who moved with Pfizer now laid off amid Wyeth merger

By Newsroom

●

General

●

February 11, 2009

Oh, the cruel irony. Looks like those Pfizerites who choose to stay are becoming the champions. And the ones that left? Some are slated to be laid off.Excerpt:As Pfizer preps to lay off some 20,000 employees in connection with its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth, several workers who accepted transfers from Pfizer's ex-Ann Arbor site can expect to be among those losing their jobs, several sources said.David Canter, former site director of Pfizer's 2-million-square-foot Ann Arbor campus, said it's likely that some ex-Ann Arbor Pfizer workers who accepted transfers would be laid off."It's inevitable that some of them will just be hit by that," he said.Stephen Rapundalo, who left Pfizer in 2003 and serves as executive director of MichBio, the state's life sciences association, said he knew of several ex-Ann Arbor Pfizer employees who stayed with the company and have been laid off."Some of them have already gotten their notices. Quite a few actually," he said.Pfizer announced in January 2007 that it would close its Michigan research operations as part of a global restructuring plan. More than 2,100 Ann Arbor employees, including thousands of world-class scientists, were displaced.Read the rest of the story here.