Author

Tanya Muzumdar

Tanya Muzumdar's Latest Articles

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems invests $4.9M in Ann Arbor facility
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Development News
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August 8, 2012

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems is augmenting its 45-plus year lifespan in Ann Arbor with a new $4.9 million capital investment project. With the help of Ann Arbor SPARK, Terumo CVS, a maker and global exporter of heart and lung machines and other devices used in cardiac surgery, has secured a tax abatement from Scio Township of up to 12 years for the project. Included in the investment are a manufacturing execution system to automate the collection and reporting of manufacturing and quality data in real time, an expanded and improved recycling center, the deployment of compact florescent lighting technology on an industrial scale, a new service training room, and a new HVAC system for the chemistry lab, according to Barbara Schmid, the company's communications director. The 600-employee firm purchased over $20 million worth of products and services from Michigan-based suppliers last year, according to Schmid. "The improvements are making possible continued business expansion and investment," Schmid says. We are still hiring...We have about 30 open positions right now." Schmid says the project is expected to be complete by April of 2013. Source:  Barbara Schmid, corporate communications director, Terumo CVS Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

New gateway signs, banners to be unfurled in Ypsi
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Development News
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August 8, 2012

By this winter, moto-tourists, businesspeople, and commoners alike may find themselves in Ypsi once new wayfinding signage has been installed at the city's gateways off of I-94. Together with the city of Ypsilanti, its downtown development authority, and the Eastern Leaders group, the Ypsilanti Convention and Visitors Bureau (YCAVB) is spearheading a new wayfinding signage project. "It's not unusual these days for [convention and visitors] bureaus to get a little bit involved in community development, especially communities that are a little strapped for cash, like Ypsi is," says Debbie Locke-Daniels, the bureau's president. The top priority is the installation of directional signs at the Huron Street and Michigan Avenue exits off of I-94, pointing the way to the city's downtown and Depot Town districts and Eastern Michigan University, among other possibilities. Those signs could be in place by year-end, with others to follow over the course of a multi-year project, Locke-Daniels says, adding: "My goal, over three years, is to see an overall cohesive look that has a feeling about it," perhaps in concert with a branding effort the YCAVB is kicking off next year. Fact finding is now in progress: The bureau has hired a project intern, is viewing examples of signage from other communities, obtaining cost estimates, and plans to solicit three bids. In the meantime, EMU's design department is working on pole banners to be hung throughout Depot Town, downtown, and Cross Street. Locke-Daniels says they will be installed by September. Source:  Debbie Locke-Daniels, president of the Ypsilanti Convention and Visitors Bureau Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

mash cocktail lounge opens in downtown A2, adds 10-15 jobs
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Arts and Culture
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August 8, 2012

Nearly two weeks after its debut, Jon Carlson, co-owner of mash, has found the new whiskey, bourbon, and beer lounge meshes well with his barbecue joint upstairs. The lounge, in the basement of the Blue Tractor barbecue restaurant and brewery at 207 E. Washington St. in Ann Arbor, replaces the cellar lounge of Café Habana, Carlson's Latin-themed restaurant and salsateca, which will be re-opening at the corner of Main and Liberty Streets the week before Labor Day. "It does allow our kitchen to concentrate more on barbecue," Carlson says. When the kitchen was doing two styles of food, Latin and barbecue, concurrently, "it just didn't function well for us ... Mash really goes well with Blue Tractor," Carlson says. Carlson is a partner in 2 Mission, LLC, owner of mash, Blue Tractor, and Café Habana, among other restaurants. The 150-seat-capacity lounge underwent a conversion from a salsa nightspot to a retro feel with Edison lightbulbs, vintage wallpaper, a '60s-style fireplace, and live folk music. Mash has about 10-15 new employees, according to Carlson, with a total headcount of 90 spread between Blue Tractor and mash. Source: Jon Carlson, owner of mash, Blue Tractor, and Café Habana Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

U-M’s Institute for Social Research to get new $29M wing
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Development News
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August 1, 2012

As the interdisciplinary field of social science research stretches into new areas, the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR) is embarking on a $29 million expansion and renovation project. The 56,700-square-foot addition will accommodate more hires and provide data archiving capacity and biospecimen laboratory and storage space. The five-story wing equates to a one-third increase in floor space at the Thompson Street building. Another 12,800 square feet of the existing facility will be reconfigured to blend with the addition. The ISR also has a 123,632 square-foot building on Perry Street. The above-ground floors will contain more research offices, collaborative work areas, and a meeting room for up to 220 people. Data archiving and lab space are planned for the basement level. "There's going to be the ability to hold specimens and conduct assays on the specimens that we don't currently have the capacity for," says Anna Schork, assistant director of the institute. The project will commence in August and is estimated to be complete by the summer of 2014. It is being funded through U-M's Office of the Provost, ISR resources, and a $14.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. "We're fortunate from a funding environment that we're continuing on the upward trend, but we're also being mindful not to overbuild," Schork says. Source: Anna Schork, assistant director of the Institute for Social Research Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Bradley Cross of Harmony Hollow Bell Works
Let the Bells Ring
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General
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August 1, 2012

Art Fairs as a business incubator? There was a time when that was possible ...and Bradley Cross is proof. Founder and owner of Harmony Hollow Bell Works, he's built his successful Ann Arbor studio into one of the only three bell making companies in the United States.

Honey Bee Academy childcare facility to open in Dexter
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Development News
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August 1, 2012

In time for the back-to-school rush, a new daycare center is opening in Dexter. Honey Bee Academy owner Melissa Pangle is accepting new enrollment and plans to open the center, located at 7415 Dexter Pinckney Road, during the first week in September. The 2,100-square-foot building was home to another daycare facility that closed about nine months ago. "It's basically move-in ready," Pangle says. Honey Bee Academy will have room for 40 children. Pangle has been running a home-based childcare for the last seven years. However, with her capacity limited to six children, "I've always had a waitlist," she says. The center will provide all-day care for infants aged six weeks through pre-schoolers, along with before- and after-school and summer care for school-aged children. Staffing at the center will grow to 8-9 employees as it reaches capacity, according to Pangle. Source: Melissa Pangle, owner of  Honey Bee Academy Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Ypsilanti Heritage Festival to Show Solar
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Arts and Culture
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August 1, 2012

Solar power will be taking the stage at the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival from August 17-19. Solar Ypsi will be installing a 26-panel, 6KW ground-mount system, on loan from Stefan Graf of IlluminArt, at Riverside Park. The temporary installation will provide a small percentage of the festival's power, according to Dave Strenski, Solar Ypsi's volunteer coordinator. "It's targeted as a very educational solar demonstration," Strenski says. "...It's ground mount, so anyone who's interested in putting solar in their backyards, they can replicate this system very easily." Cost information will be available and Solar Ypsi volunteers will staff the installation. Solar Ypsi's permanent solar installations at City Hall, the Ypsi Food Co-op, and the River Street Bakery have been running from about 76-84% efficient from June 2011 through May 2012, according to data tracked by the non-profit. However, DTE Energy's recent installation of new smart meters has interrupted Solar Ypsi's ability to track energy production at the co-op and bakery. Strenski is looking for help in building a device to read the new meters and push the data to SolarYpsi. "If we can read this radio frequency coming from the meters and we make a little device, then anybody can build one and monitor their own house ... more than Solar Ypsi, we can build a little DIY home energy monitoring system," Strenski figures. Interested parties may look for details here and email solar@ypsifoodcoop.org with offers of help. Source: Dave Strenski, volunteer coordinator of Solar Ypsi Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Always Running: Ann Arbor Track Club
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General
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July 25, 2012

It's no surprise when Ann Arbor gets singled out for its academically inclined achievements. Writers, thinkers, researchers, and innovators are an obvious by-product of the University's presence. Add to that list runners. For nearly 45 years the Ann Arbor Track Club has produced not only topnotch runners, but world-class Olympic hopefuls.

Downtown Chelsea lays groundwork for streetscape project
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Development News
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July 18, 2012

A new streetscape is afoot for downtown Chelsea, on M-52 (Main Street) between Summit and North Streets. Bids on the project are in, and the city is in the process of reviewing them. In the blueprint are stamped concrete crosswalks, bumpouts on Main Street to accommodate more outdoor seating for restaurants. The work could begin later in August or may be delayed until spring, due to other street work in progress. "What we're concerned about is with the construction going on at the south end of town on M-52, we want to make sure that if we move forward with the streetscape project in late summer or early fall, that we're not completely shutting traffic down on 52 at both ends," Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan says, adding, "The nice feature about the streetscape is it's a fairly modest construction program and it won't take longer than a month. It'll really create more of a pedestrian scale in the DDA district." Source: John Hanifan, Chelsea city manager Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

CityFARM plots out urban gardens in Washtenaw County, Detroit
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Development News
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July 18, 2012

CityFARM, an Ann Arbor-based provider of urban farms and gardening services, continues to expand the fresh food supply in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Plymouth, and is plotting out its impact on the city of Detroit. The company has installed two new gardens there and is digging deeper into the city. Since its inception in January, CityFARM has amassed 30 garden installations, some of which are up to five beds in size, according to Lauren Maloney, business director. Maloney has partnered with real estate developer Stewart Beal in the venture. All gardening clients have been residential thus far, Maloney says, but "I think as it gets more popular, we will see more commercial spaces with gardens." She anticipates having 50 clients by year-end. Urban packages include the design, installation, and materials to grow a season's worth of produce in a yard. "All of the gardens I've been back to are just huge and bountiful..." Maloney says, adding, "I just went to a client last week and she had green beans and cucumbers and eggplant and basil and cherry tomatoes already, and right now, kale, and just everything bursting out of the box. She was really happy." With each bed purchase, cityFARM installs a matching one in its donation garden at 103 N. Adams St. in Ypsilanti and then donates the produce crop to Food Gatherers. In its first year alone, the garden is already 1,500 square feet. So what happens if space runs out? "Luckily [Beal] owns a lot of properties, including open space and lots of apartments with yards and things, so we will be able to expand in Ypsi. We'll just have to move maybe down the street a few houses," Maloney says. Source:  Lauren Maloney, business director of cityFARM Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

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