Lots of cities and communities like to talk about how they're "open for business" and ready to help companies wherever they can. Ann Arbor and Chelsea now have the credibility to back up those claims. The two burgs were listed as 5-Star Cities (top rankings) by the University of Michigan-Dearborn iLabs program for their efforts with listening to local businesses and acting upon their needs. See the whole list here.
Michigan will be receiving $150 million to develop a high-speed rail corridor between Kalamazoo and Dearborn. And it will go right through Ann Arbor.The announcement was made Monday and the funding will come through the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program. The U.S. Dept of Transportation also announced a second grant, for $3.2 million, that will pay for planning involved in the project.Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje has long been working on the commuter rail portion of the wider regional rail project. It was announced in May that the tracks would be upgraded to handle train traffic to speeds of 110 miles per hour, and also recently, it was announced that Dearborn would be getting funds for a new station."What we've needed are improvements ... that allows freight and passenger trains to pass," Hieftje says. "With this money, we're probably just a year and a half, two years away from Amtrak running full speed the whole route."This is one of the last pieces to be put into place for a high-speed system. Hieftje points out the advantage over Europe or Japan in that there is an existing rail system and a new line wouldn't have to be built. With high-speed and a commuter train in place, Ann Arbor begins to look like a modern European city, he says: People can live in the city without a car, or have one family car instead of two.Hieftje says the Ann Arbor stop is the busiest for Amtrak in Michigan, so this step is important because of the potential for commuter rail and what it could do for the city. An estimated 70,000 people commute to work in Ann Arbor daily, most by car."What we need is to bring more of these 70,000 people into town without their cars," he says. "If we can provide a new avenue, that's going to be very important."A Fuller Street station at the base of the hospital would be important for the large hospital work force and would relieve the massive congestion at Depot Street in the mornings and afternoons, he says. "Depot is blocked by traffic," he adds. "That whole area is inundated with people coming from US-23 trying to get into the medical complex, and people leaving on that same corridor in the afternoon."Also part of the larger vision is an inner-city commuter that could connect with the regional commuter."It's a pretty exciting announcement," Hieftje says. "It's another step in something that we've been working on for quite some time. I think it's going to make life better for everybody in the region."It was also announced in January that Michigan would be receiving $40 million in high-speed rail funding for train station development. The high-speed rail news comes on the heel of another funding announcement to the tune of $13.9 million for the rebuild of two Stadium Boulevard bridges over State Street and the railroad tracks.Source: John Hieftje, mayor of Ann ArborWriter: Kristin Lukowski
Work is wrapping up on three downtown Ypsilanti storefronts, with businesses soon to move in and work on the lofts also set to begin soon.Eric and Karen Maurer have been renovating 120, 122, and 124 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Ypsilanti, among other historic buildings they've turned into retail space and lofts. Eric Maurer, co-owner of Maurer Management & Properties, says work is wrapping up on the retail spaces, with one planned to be a high-end salon which should be moving in sometime in the next few weeks, and another to be occupied by The Rocket candy and novelty store, to take advantage of his larger space.Because they're old buildings, the 10-12 lofts in the combined upstairs space will have to be designed to fit, with details like stairs placement and allowing maximum light all to be addressed. "Every building's a little bit different," he says. "We're working with the architect to figure out the best plans."Once the lower floor is rented out, they can get funding for the lofts part of the project. He hopes to have the lofts ready for move-in by next fall.The properties need a full gut rehab, including a new roof, windows and interior. The mid-20th century metal facades were removed in favor of what the buildings originally looked like. The old drop ceiling and tin ceiling in one of the storefronts needs replacement.The buildings were built in the 1850s and served as the home to Mellencamp's, a retail store, for their first 124 years. They fell into disrepair in recent decades and the ground floor recently served as the home to accounting, retail, and tax firms.Source: Eric Maurer, co-owner of Maurer Management & PropertiesWriter: Kristin Lukowski
One small equation solved by a research team at the University of Michigan has the potential to become one giant leap forward in solar technology.That team is lead by U-M Vice President of Research and Electrical Engineering Prof. Steve Forrest. It came up with a new variation of the Shockley equation that should allow for the use of semiconductors made of organic material. That could mean that solar technology becomes more energy efficient in terms of significantly reducing the amount of harmful waste created by electronics.The Shockley ideal diode equation made the math work on semiconductors, helping enable their wider adoption and making the modern day computer possible. Pre-1949, when William Shockley, the inventor of the transistor, came up with the equation, computer electronics took up whole rooms. The equation describes the relationship between electric current and voltage in inorganic semiconductors such as silicon. The U-M variant on this equation could have a similar impact on semiconductors in solar cells by creating a better understanding of how electric current and voltage flow through organic material. "This leads to a better and deeper understanding of how these materials work," Forrest says. Forrest and his team have been working on the equation for the last couple of years. They found it while revisiting the math behind the electronic generating process in organic material.Source: Steve Forrest, vice president of research at the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke
If there was a recession going on, New Eagle largely missed it if it experienced it at all. The Ypsilanti-based company has watched its orders and staff grow recently and expects to double in size within the next year.New Eagle specializes in creating electronic control modules (think of the computer systems that help make your car run) for hybrids and their supporting engineering services. It is continuing to grow sales of its core products and expand into specialty parts."We've experienced continual orders," says Rich Swortzel, founder and president of New Eagle. "That's a good indicator because people are still investing in new technology."Rich and Mickey Swortzel started New Eagle two years ago when the company they worked for (MotoTron) was acquired and moved many of its operations to Colorado. The Swortzels stayed and brought the MotoHawk, New Eagle's principal product, to the market. "This year has been good to us and next year should be good to us," Swortzel says.Source: Rich Swortzel, founder and president of New EagleWriter: Jon Zemke
If nothing is as valuable as information (well, maybe time) then the people behind DealSavant believe they have something special on their hands. The Tech Brewery-based startup is developing software that will be able to tell retailers specifically who saw their latest bargain and how they found it.The brand-spanking new startup is developing a smartphone application that uses a QR code (think a checkerboard-like bar code that can appear on a touch screen) so people can claim discounts on purchases. Those codes tell the business whether the buyer found the ad on Facebook or from a friend. The software also reveals the gender and age of the buyer."They'll be able to measure where they got their customers from the point of sale," says Joe Minock, one of DealSavant's three co-founders. "Most of us carry our phones wherever we go, so we thought that was a pretty good vehicle."DealSavant has already signed up a few local businesses to participate in its pilot project and is looking for more. The company hopes to have between 50-100 participating businesses in the next 45 days.Source: Joe Minock, co-founder of DealSavantWriter: Jon Zemke
Scio Security is beginning to hire as the IT-security startup gets ready to formally launch its first product."We're gearing up for our public launch," says Dug Song, co-founder of Scio Security. "We'd like to launch by the end of the year."The Ann Arbor-based firm focuses on providing new Internet security solutions for sensitive data, such as health-care information and financial transactions. Hackers have recently focused efforts on shadowing users or stealing their passwords and other security information to access financial data. Scio Security is creating a variety of solutions, some patent pending, such as an immediate call back to confirm the correct person is trying to access information.The nearly 1-year-old firm, which calls the Tech Brewery home, has a team of six people. It is looking for two mobile web developers, one that can cover the front end of the new product and the other to handle the back end. "It could be more," Song says.Scio Security landed $1 million in venture capital earlier this year. That money came from Silicon Valley-based True Ventures, which led the initial round of fundraising, and Resonant Venture Partners, a new venture capital firm in Ann Arbor.Source: Dug Song, co-founder of Scio SecurityWriter: Jon Zemke
Joe Minock really liked the name Adrenaline Commerce for his new startup, but like turned to love when he saw the URL was still available. One year later the Ann Arbor-based e-commerce firm is gaining traction, and, getting ready to make its first hires.Adrenaline Commerce, which calls the Tech Brewery home, creates software platforms for businesses to sell their products online. Minock and his team of four (two co-founders and two independent contractors) saw a need to help small businesses that normally don't have anything to do with the Internet expand into the venue.One of those companies is Riders Hobby Shop. The Ypsilanti-based retailer of model planes and the like formerly had just a simple, static webpage. Adrenaline Commerce is about to help the retailer put its entire catalog of products online later this year."We'll have about 7,000 products online when we launch," Minock says.Projects like this and more have allowed Adrenaline Commerce to grow its budding business by 100 percent over the last four months. Minock expects that to continue, which should allow him to bring the two independent contractors on as employees within the next year."We've seen strong growth going forward," Minock says. Source: Joe Minock, co-founder of Adrenaline CommerceWriter: Jon Zemke
'Tis the season to eat, drink and be scary. Halloween brings troops of trick or treaters to Ann Arbor's neighborhoods and, on one quiet residential street, Brandywine Cemetery opens its haunted gates. The evil brainchild of former Disney animator Robert Beech, it attracts hundreds of locals every year. Concentrate's Constance Crump takes an early tour of its ghoulish grounds.
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