2010 – Page 60 of 78

Beal plans to tackle Ypsi’s Thompson Block in phases

By Newsroom

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March 17, 2010

The Thompson Block development in Ypsilanti's Depot Town isn't going to magically complete itself today, tomorrow, this month and probably not even this year. But that doesn't mean developer Stewart Beal doesn't plan to get something done.The Ypsilanti-based businessman plans to rehab the historic building at the eastern edge of Depot Town in phases. The first of these phases calls for turning the third of the building that wasn't heavily damaged in last fall's fire into a home for a new bar/restaurant. "Our current plan is to do a mini-Thompson Block development," Beal says.The project will convert about 5,000-7,000 square feet of the 3-story building into a new entertainment venue. The first floor will become a service area while the second and third floors will be combined into a bigger space, which could serve as a live entertainment venue. Beal is coy about when construction could begin."I don't have any comment on that," Beal says.Beal and his partners are self-funding the project, because "there is no financing available for projects like this," Beal says. His company has six other apartment rehab projects ready to go in Ypsilanti and another one in Toledo but can't move forward on any of them because he can't line up financing.The Thompson Block is one of Ypsilanti's oldest buildings, dating back to the Civil War when it served as an impromptu barracks for Union soldiers. It has since served as the home to the city's fire department, the first place to buy a bicycle and one of the first Dodge dealerships.The building had fallen on hard times in the last generation or two when decades of neglect left it in bad shape. Beal acquired the building in recent years with plans to turn it into a mixed-use structure with 10,000-square-feet ground-floor retail space and 16 second-floor lofts. A combination of securing tenants and the financial crisis had stalled the project from keeping its financing in line. That left work moving at a snail's pace until a fire ravaged through much of the building this fall. Beal, who has renovated a number of buildings in Ypsilanti into rentals, remains unfazed by the setback, pushing the project forward. Some city officials have pushed for Beal to remove wall supports that take up a lane of traffic on East Cross St. Both sides are trying to work out a deal that permits the opening of the entire road to traffic and Beal to continue to push the development forward.Source: Stewart Beal, developer of the Thompson BlockWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor adopts single-stream recycling program

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 17, 2010

Recycling in Ann Arbor is changing this week now that the Ann Arbor City Council has given the green light for single stream residential recycling.The time-honored tradition of sorting recyclables will soon be gone, allowing city residents to put out all of their recycling in one new container. The new system, set to begin in XXX, will supposedly allow residents to recycle even more materials in process called a single-stream.The recycled waste will be sorted out at the recycling plant, making the process more user-friendly. While some critics contend that contamination from mixed waste decreases the quality of recyclables, supporters say this loss is more than compensated for through increases in recycling rates. Ann Arbor officials hope the new system will bump up the city's 50 percent recycling average to 70 percent by 2012. Other cities have already made the jump to single-stream recycling, including Austin, Texas and Baltimore, MD.Ann Arbor 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. 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, MI.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Skatepark gets $400K match from Washtenaw County

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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March 17, 2010

Washtenaw County is providing a potential cash infusion for the Ann Arbor's Skatepark plans, pledging to match up to $400,000 for the project."They're pretty confident they can raise this amount of money," says Bob Tetens, director of the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation. "We couldn't fund the whole thing but we could serve as a catalyst for their efforts."Ann Arbor has been working to establish a skatepark for years, which is a bit out of character for a town that often sees itself as a leader in progressive causes and recreational offerings. Local volunteers and officials plan to build the city's first skatepark at Veterans Park near the corner of Maple and Miller roads on the city's northwest side. The cause has gained momentum in recent years."You want to invest money in successful programs," Tetens says. "There is clearly a groundswell of grass roots support for this project and a lot of institutional support."He sees the skatepark serving a regional draw that should make Veterans Park, with its baseball fields and sledding hill, an even more intensely used park. "I fully expect people to be driving 2-3 hours there to take advantage of it," Tetens says.Source: Bob Tetens, director of the Washtenaw County Parks & RecreationWriter: Jon Zemke

New concert venue opens in downtown Ypsilanti

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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March 17, 2010

A new mid-size live music venue is taking the stage this weekend in downtown Ypsilanti when Savoy opens its doors in the space that was once Club Divine.The new two floor, two stage venue can accommodate up to 700 people in a space so large even the organizers behind the bar struggle to define its size. It joins The Ark, Michigan Theater and the Blind Pig (all located in downtown Ann Arbor) for mid-size venues in Washtenaw County."It's really filling a void in Washtenaw County for a mid-market venue," says Don Scheneder, talent buyer for Savoy. He adds that Savoy is more in line with the Bling Pig, which can only seat 400 people. It will also have smaller second floor stage that will host things, like comedy performances.He adds that there is a quality sound and light system and eclectic space filled with art in the middle of a vibrant city center. The closest comparable venues are in downtown Detroit (St. Andrews Hall) and Pontiac (Crofoot Ballroom) or Royal Oak (Royal Oak Music Theatre). Savoy joins the Elbow Room as a significant performance venue of note in Ypsilanti, a city that is starting to flex its artistic muscle. "We've got such a strong talent base here in Washtenaw County," Scheneder says. "We need a venue that will support it and the area."Source: Don Scheneder, talent buyer for SavoyWriter: Jon Zemke

Video Chelsea Center for the Arts

By Keith Jefferies

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Arts & Culture

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March 10, 2010

Music. Art. Theater. Kids. Chelsea Center For The Arts has turned a former Catholic school into a community hub that brings creativity and expression to residents of every age. Check it out!

Avicenna Medical plans to hire in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 10, 2010

The leadership behind Avicenna Medical Systems sees 2010 as a break-out year for the University of Michigan spin-out. The Ann Arbor-based firm creates healthcare software and thinks it can add six people this year as it claims a small piece of the federal stimulus funds. It also landed a bit of money from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program to help shore up its marketing efforts."We recognize that our biggest weakness is in marketing and sales," says Erdwing Coronado, president and CEO of Avicenna Medical Systems. The company got its start when a small group of doctors and IT professionals at the University of Michigan Hospital started developing healthcare software applications in 2001. They incorporated the company in 2006 and Avicenna now employs four people and an independent contractor.The firm has two primary products, including one that catalogs and manages patients with chronic health conditions. The other program deals with clinical procedures. Both can cover dozens of specialties, such as cancer and infectious diseases."We saw they had a commercial potential so we decided to take advantage of the opportunities and work with the University of Michigan," Coronado says.Source: Erdwing Coronado, president and CEO of Avicenna Medical SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor start-ups take big bite of microloans

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 10, 2010

The Current Motor Co sees a promising future for its business, especially now that it has received a small-yet-significant chunk of change from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program.The company and its staff of six makes electric mopeds and motorcycles. It will use the money to develop a new moped scooter, among other things."We're using it to help expand our market and protect our intellectual property by writing patents," says John Harding, founder of Current Motor Co.The Ypsilanti-based start-up is one of four companies to split $155,000 in loans from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. The other company's include Avicenna, Shepherd Intelligent Systems and TRIG Tires and Wheels. These other companies will use the loans, which range between $10,000 and $50,000, to help further develop and market their products and build their core business.Avicenna, a University of Michigan spin-off based in Ann Arbor, develops health-care software applications. Shepherd Intelligent Systems, another U-M spin out based in Ann Arbor, creates software that predicts arrival times for mass transit vehicles, like buses. Southfield-based TRIG Tires and Wheels, based in Southfield, is developing a anti-roll off and run-flat system for vehicle tires.The $1.5 million Michigan Microloan Fund Program is made up of three distinct microloan funds, including the Eastern Washtenaw Microloan Fund ($225,000), Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund ($1 million) and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Local Development Financing Authority ($275,000). The Michigan Microloan Fund Program, which is administered by Ann Arbor SPARK, has distributed $911,500 to 23 companies since last year.Source: John Harding, president of Current Motor Co.Writer: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s ERT Systems adds 1, plans for growth

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 10, 2010

ERT Systems growth has been slow, steady and growing enough to expand its employee base.The Ann Arbor-based software start-up has added one person over the last year, bringing its staff to six people. It is also in the midst of hiring another person, expects to add one more person this year and hopes to bring on a couple more in 2011."We should pretty easily double in size this year," says Dennis Carmichael, president of ERT Systems. "We're also signing some contracts for 2011 that should allow us to maintain that growth rate."ERT Systems creates a product that allows first responders and military-style commanders know exactly where their forces are at all times. Its core product, Onsite ERT (Emergency Resource Tracking), uses a GPS-like system to provide a complete view of the operating theater in real time using lightweight tags and a fast IT system that transmits the information on rugged laptops. The start-up has signed on 30 new customers and a Canadian reseller in 2009. It's in negotiations to land a national reseller this year.The business was born four years ago when John Ellis, a veteran firefighter, ran into Dennis Carmichael, an IT services company owner. Source: Dennis Carmichael, president of ERT SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Hook adds 4 people in downtown Ann Arbor, plans more hires

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 10, 2010

Hook is growing in just about every way imaginable. The downtown Ann Arbor-based firm is adding people, clients and office space as it starts to assert itself in the city's growing service-based economy."We've been lucky," says Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of Hook. "We have some great clients who keep coming back to us. There is a great demand for our services right now."That means the commercial-art start-up has expanded its payroll to 10 people by adding four new employees since the last time we checked in with it in late 2008. It has also quadrupled its office space to 2,500 square feet.The 4-year-old firm has also grown its client base and moved itself up the advertising food chain. It has gone from producing auto show materials to moving onto a broader range of interactive advertising. Think: Building micro sites and taking over Internet homepages.The refocusing has allowed the firm to plan for even more growth. It hopes to hire three more people this year and take over some more of its space in its second-floor commercial space in downtown Ann Arbor."We hope to continue growing," Schwartz says. "We get new business every other day. We hope to add more people."Hook got its start when two former University of Michigan students, Schwartz and Michael Watts, decided to take the entrepreneurial leap. Some of its first work incorporated 3-D imagery into commercial art, such as animation and illustrations. One of the firm's first clients included part of Toyota's North American International Auto Show display in Detroit.Source: Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of HookWriter: Jon Zemke

Miilo targets Internet sales for minority cosmetics

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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March 10, 2010

The problem: Finding the best cosmetics for people of color. The solution: Miilo.At least that's what the three budding entrepreneurs at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business are hoping happens with their new start-up. Kimberly Dillon, Oswaldo Maxwell and Kelley Washington are creating a website that specializes in selling cosmetic and hair-care products for women of color."There is a contingent of us who regularly go to Ypsilanti or Detroit to buy beauty products," says Dillon, a U-M MBA student and founder of Miilo. "It's a universal problem. Anytime you go to a new city you have to find the store that sells the products b because they aren't sold at mass retailers."The Ann Arbor-based start-up recently won $1,000 from the Michigan Business Challenge, which is sponsored by U-M's Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. The trio of women is using that cash to finish developing their website, which they hope to launch before the end of the year. Source: Kimberly Dillon, founder of MiiloWriter: Jon Zemke