Courtyard Marriott expands options for business travelers

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Development News
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August 4, 2010

What makes life easier for the business traveler? Good coffee, plenty of electrical outlets, and a place to print out your boarding passes.The Courtyard by Marriott in Ann Arbor has renovated its lobby to cater even more to the business traveler by offering direct connectivity, pods for people and their laptops, a library, and flexible seating, including communal tables and a semi-enclosed lounge area.The lobby also features a 52-inch LCD touch screen with local information, maps, weather, and news, business, and sports headlines for guests to navigate to find restaurants, local attractions, and directions. A free printer and separate computer stations are dedicated to printing airline boarding passes and checking flight status. The hotel's bistro, now re-opened for dinner, offers healthier menu options and Starbucks coffee. In the bistro are recycling bins for the green-minded guest; guests can also opt out of having fresh sheets and towels every day to save water and energy. The lobby renovation took about six weeks.Source: Courtyard by MarriottWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Old Shaman Drum is renovated into new offices
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Community Development
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August 4, 2010

The building that formerly housed Shaman Drum Bookstore is now being transformed one space at a time into more energy-efficient offices.308 S. State in downtown Ann Arbor, near Liberty Street, has a new fire escape, with new windows coming soon. Deb Pearson, leasing director for Oxford Property Management, notes other ongoing improvements as office space comes up for rent."We're putting in windows that are energy-efficient and in compliance with the historical society standards," Pearson says. "Preserving the nature and character of the building is at the top of the list. As a property management company, we're very interested in making it more of an efficient building.”Improvements include rear window replacement, old panel removal, plaster restoration, and changing out the lighting. "We've been doing interior renovations as space gets leased -- carpet, paint," Pearson says. "We have quite a few new tenants, so we're quite pleased that the property is doing well. A lot of businesses like to be downtown."Currently the retail space on the first floor is leased out to a Great Wraps sandwich chain, which will be coming up for lease in February. Most of the office space on the two floors above is leased out.Other plans to erase its former identity as a hotel include replacing the interior doors and removing a "funky" mailbox system. "In the common areas the paint is in good condition, but the carpeting on the list for replacement," she says. The current boiler used to heat the building is also under review, but nothing has been decided.Source: Deb Pearson, leasing director for Oxford Property ManagementWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Zaragon Place 2 up for approval in downtown Ann Arbor
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Community Development
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August 4, 2010

If all goes according to plan Thursday, there will be a new apartment building coming to downtown Ann Arbor offering 99 units and ground-floor retail space. Chicago-based Zaragon is proposing Zaragon 2, a 14-story high rise by the Cottage Inn Pizza restaurant at William and Thompson streets. That corner was formerly home to a long-time vacant bank branch before Zaragon leveled the two-story structure. The building, a total of 96,685 square feet, includes the apartments and retail space, facing East William, and 40 off-street parking spots. The building’s first floor will also include a lobby, manager's office, and exercise room; the second and third floors will be 40 parking spaces and 40 bicycle spaces. The next 11 levels include nine apartments each: a four-bedroom unit, six two-bedroom units, and two one-bedroom units. Ray Detter, chair of the Downtown Area Citizens' Advisory Council, says the council strongly supports the building. It fits in with the other tall buildings downtown, and in terms of design, follows the original Zaragon Place building quite closely. There was some concern with the ground-floor windows being opaque as in the original Zaragon Lofts at 619 E. University, which isn’t the experience the council wants pedestrians to have, he said. But one thing they did like was the number of one- and two-bedroom apartments. "If the demographics change, there might be people other than students who live there," he says. He said he's not heard of any real opposition to the project. "We feel this is in compliance with our expectations," he says. "It fits into downtown." The original Zaragon Lofts was built in the spot of the historic Anberay Apartment building. That building features 66 apartments above ground-floor retail space and about 40 underground parking spots, just north of East Quad. It was one of the first in a new crop of luxury high-rise living options geared primarily toward students in downtown Ann Arbor. Source: City of Ann Arbor and Ray Detter, chair of the Downtown Area Citizens' Advisory Council Writer: Kristin Lukowski

Meet U-M’s iWolverine app, your friendly tour guide
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Economic Development
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August 4, 2010

As the methods with which people digest information evolve faster and faster, the University of Michigan and a few other local institutions are hustling to keep up. The latest example is the University of Michigan iPhone app, which is also iPad-compatible."We are getting ready to do the Android version of the Michigan app," says Cassandra Carson, project manager of mobile applications and Wolverine Access at U-M.The free app allows users to track buses in real time through the popular Magic Bus web application, check dining hall menus, and search for buildings, among a bevy of other features. Think of it as a tour guide for those who are new to U-M, and even for more established students who are trying to make their lives a little more efficient.Computer science and engineering students Kevin Chan and Mark Yang first created the iWolverine app last year as part of a class project. The university's Information and Technology Services Dept purchased iWolverine in March and updated it to its current version. The department is also working on other university-based apps due out later this year and next.U-M is not the first to come out with a locally oriented smart phone app. The Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce came out with its own last year. The city is also home to a number of start-ups in the app universe, such as Mobiata.Source: Cassandra Carson, project manager of mobile applications and Wolverine Access at the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor, Clean Energy Coalition deploy new hydraulic hybrid trucks
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Community Development
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August 4, 2010

The city of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti's Clean Energy Coalition have partnered to make Tree Town's newest green toy (single-stream recycling) a little more sustainable.The Depot Town-based non-profit is using some of its federal grant money to outfit four of the city's trucks with a fuel-saving hybrid technology. Those trucks will be the first to collect Ann Arbor's newly established single stream of recycling, a process where residents put all of their recyclables in a single container."It represents a large amount of fuel savings," says Lisa Warshaw, a spokeswoman for the Clean Energy Coalition. "It's also a reduction in vehicle emissions."The project is funded with approximately $120,000 from the federal stimulus to purchase four hydraulic hybrid trucks, which utilize technology pioneered by the EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor. That technology stores braking energy in hydraulic fluid instead of in a battery pack. It's designed for heavy-duty trucks that do a lot of stop-and-go driving."I was kind of awestruck by this technology," Warshaw says. "I would like to see this technology distributed to more sectors of the transportation system."Source: Lisa Warshaw, a spokeswoman for the Clean Energy CoalitionWriter: Jon Zemke

Life Magnetics spins out of U-M, lands investment from Arboretum Ventures
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Economic Development
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August 4, 2010

Life Magnetics was a combination of technology and an idea to commercialize it before Arboretum Ventures gave both a chance at life earlier this month.The Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm invested an undisclosed amount in the University of Michigan spin-off. The two-person start-up will use the funds to begin clinical testing on an infection test and build out its management team to 5-10 strong over the next year."This money is helping us launch the company," says Brandon McNaughton, founder and chief technology officer of Life Magnetics. "We're looking for some laboratory space now."Life Magnetics' technology provides a rapid diagnostic test for bacterial infections, providing both the identity of the bacteria and recommendation of an antibiotic for treatment. "What that translates to is you get the best antibiotic as soon as possible," McNaughton says.Source: Brandon McNaughton, founder and chief technology officer of Life MagneticsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Locavorious spreads local produce
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Entrepreneurship
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August 4, 2010

Many locavores want to raise all of their own food, with a few dedicated diehards coming pretty close to accomplishing that. An Ann Arbor start-up is putting that goal within reach for more and more people.Locavorious partners with local farms to freeze fresh produce and keep it in a community freezer. The 3-year-old start-up then sells that produce on a subscription basis. The idea is to capture produce at its peak freshness and then save it for locavores who would rather eat Michigan-grown vegetables than those trucked up from the other side of North America or beyond. "I just wanted to be part of a solution," says Rena Basch, owner of Locavorious. "It just seemed like the right thing at the right time."The company employs five people on a part-time basis. It started with 100 subscribers and now has 200 on its list. It hopes to hit 300 within the next year. All of this growth comes from viral marketing and word-of-mouth campaigning at local farmers markets.Basch got started on promoting local food when she left the auto industry in 2006. The Ann Arbor Township Clerk became involved in government efforts to preserve local agriculture. One of the ways was to find more customers for area farms, so Basch began experimenting with pickling to maximize the shelf life of produce. The CFL went off over her head when a friend and serial entrepreneur suggested freezing the food."My experience with the township got me interested in preserving local agriculture," Basch says. "I wanted to be in sustainable agriculture but my husband didn't want me to plow up the front yard."Source: Rena Basch, owner of LocavoriousWriter: Jon Zemke

Solidica plans for more jobs, passes the blast test
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Community Development
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August 4, 2010

Solidica has enjoyed some modest growth over the last year, but is gearing up for something bigger and better next year.The Ann Arbor-based firm has added three people to its staff of 25 employees, three independent contractors, and two interns. It now has two job openings in software development."We've got big plans for growth," says Ken Johnson, president and CEO of Solidica. "I'd be surprised if we're not twice this size by next year."The 10-year-old company develops and creates wireless systems that utilize everything from Wi-Fi to cellular networks. These systems often have built-in wireless sensors that create real-time feedback. One of its applications allows fleets of heavy-duty U.S. military vehicles to speak to each other and send real-time information to a central command.Solidica also has an armor division. One of its principal products recently passed its first blast test and is moving quickly towards commercial development. "That's a big milestone for us," Johnson says.Source: Ken Johnson, president and CEO of SolidicaWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti’s LookInTheAttic hires 2, looking for interns
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Economic Development
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August 4, 2010

LookInTheAttic is a small miracle in downtown Ypsilanti. Small because it's a small-but-growing business in the city's center; miracle because it's a small-but-growing business that is firmly rooted in the housing sector.The store specializes in selling antique reproduction hardware and housewares both at its storefront and online where most of its sales (about 85 percent) are made. It also owns and operates Silver & Gold, an online jewelry store. "Our sales are solid," says John Coleman, president of LookInTheAttic. "This July will be our best July ever."The 13-year-old company has been able to hire two people over the last year, expanding its staff to 11, with three independent contractors. It's also looking for a few good interns. LookInTheAttic achieved this growth by continuing to expand its product base and finding smarter, leaner ways to manufacture those products. For instance, it found that the same brass plate can be used to create four different products, such as a push plate or a door knob. Coleman credits this mass customization idea to the likes of Dell Computers."It works a lot of different ways," Coleman says. "By doing it smartly like that we can reduce our inventory and use that to grow."LookInTheAttic expects to continue to experience 10 percent revenue growth over the next few years. That should allow it to add another employee or two within the next year.Source: John Coleman, president of LookInTheAtticWriter: Jon Zemke

Vortex Hydro Energy tests hydrokinetic generator in St. Clair River
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Economic Development
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August 4, 2010

One of Michigan's most innovative alternative energy start-ups began testing its technology this week when Vortex Hydro Energy put its hydrokinetic power generator into the St. Clair River.This technology, birthed from University of Michigan research, doesn't use propellers to harness the energy of a river current. It utilizes the physical phenomenon of vortex-induced vibration, where water current flows around cylinders, inducing transverse motion, which is then turned into electricity."This first test is really looking at the mechanics of the system," says Jim MacBain, vice president of Vortex Hyrdo Energy. "We don't expect to generate a lot of energy."The generator will remain in the river for the next three months, where it will be monitored by an underwater camera and divers. The 3-year-old start-up expects to begin commercializing the technology by 2013."We're about 2-3 years away," MacBain says.Source: Jim MacBain, vice president of Vortex Hydro EnergyWriter: Jon Zemke

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