Economic Development

Coverage of projects, big and small, and the people who create them, which promote the economic health of a community, including manufacturing, retail, office, and hospitality developments.

Stony Lake Brewing Co. nanobrewery to open in Saline

As a concept, Jerry Tubbs's forthcoming Saline business has been brewing for years now. Come February, however, the nanobrewery Stony Lake Brewing Co. will finally be ready for patrons to get their first hoppy taste of the new local watering hole.  "My wife and I have always played around with different business ideas over the years," says Tubbs. "My love for beer and brewing made it just kind of fit." The 3,300 square foot Stony Lake Brewing Co. on E. Michigan Ave. in Saline has been under construction for months now, after Tubbs began his lease in June. Building a brewery from scratch takes time, however, and Tubb is just now getting his brewing equipment installed and ready for operation. His microbrewers license will allow him to brew and serve his own beer at the location. Offering food and and selling his beer to other local establishments may come further down the line.  "My kettles are three-barrel, which is on the small side, so I follow what a lot of these nanobrewes have done," Tubbs says. "I'm hoping with a year or two under our belt we'll be planning for larger tanks". While Stony Lake Brewing Co. will offer a variety of different beers, the menu will include a number of IPAs — Tubbs's own personal favorite. While he will brew the beer himself, he expects to hire a staff of about seven to operate the taproom when he opens in February.  Source: Jerry Tubbs, Stony Lake Brewing Co. Writer: Natalie Burg

Latest in Economic Development
Lansing and Ann Arbor, economic rivals as well?

Oh, how the mighty might fall. Not only is U-M's football in decline, overshadowed by the green and white, Ann Arbor may soon see its economic dominance eclipsed by Lansing as well. Excerpt: "But if growth trends continue, perhaps Lansing is poised to take the lead here as well after trailing Ann Arbor for 13 years. In the Lansing region, which includes Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, GDP grew by 2.4 percent in 2013 over the previous year, with more growth expected from a series of recent plant investments by General Motors. But in the Ann Arbor region, which includes Washtenaw County, 2013 growth was an anemic .7 percent." Read the rest here.

Now, Then & Again brings cards, classes, antiques to Milan

A longtime knitter and card maker, Cindy Day has wanted to open a shop that included both for some time. Combined with her mother's experience as the former owner of Victorian Garden in Blissfield, the concept for Now, Then & Again in Milan finally came together: an antiques, thrift and vintage shop that includes her handmade cards and knitted goods.  "It's been going really wonderfully," says Day's mother Sandra Suchy. "Milan has been very responsive. I've from Milan and all our children were raised here, so it's like coming back home." Now, Then & Again opened about three months ago and celebrated their grand opening earlier this month. Many of the antiques came straight from from Suchy's own collection of displays from her former shop, as well as garage sale and auction finds she's collected along the way. In the future, Day, who is a nurse in Adrian by day, would like to add knitting and card making classes to the shop's offerings.  For now, the store will focus on a wide variety of new, used and antique items.  "We have unique treasures and price ranges for everyone," Suchy says "from 50 cents to hundreds of dollars. We have a lot of beautiful antiques, good quality used furniture and brand new items." Now, Then & Again is located between Roy's BBQ & Burgers and Chase Bank in Milan. Day manages the store herself with the help of Suchy.  Source: Sandra Suchy, Now, Then & Again Writer: Natalie Burg

Local Habitat for Humanity revitalizes more than just houses

When most people think about Habitat for Humanity, they think about volunteers building houses and renovating them for those in need. For Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley, that's only part of the story, and their commitment to revitalizing more than just houses has landed them a $70,000 grant from Lowe's. "About three years ago we took a more concentrated approach to investing in the communities in a bigger way than just renovating houses," says Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Community Development Director Sarah Teare.  ?That expanded approach includes community planning meetings, visioning, surveys and more to determine how Habitat can help the entire neighborhood become a better place to live. "Long term, we will work with the residents to help make those things that are most important come to life in their community." The local Habitat affiliate was one of 11 national affiliates and the only in Michigan to receive the grant award from Lowe's. The funds have already been put to use for community planning meetings, home exterior improvements, improvements to a pedestrian and bike path, door-to-door surveys and a clean-up day, all in Ypsilanti Twp.'s West Willow neighborhood. The funds, which came in a combination of cash and Lowe's gift cards, will also help with the construction of a pavilion in the future. "We hope to give people more of a sense of pride and comfort in their community," Teare says. "We've really seen a lot of connections made and friendships made."  Source: Sarah Teare, Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Writer: Natalie Burg

NASA tests Ann Arbor firm’s wing innovation

Flexfoil, a company that's no stranger to Concentrate, is having their flexible flap design flight tested by none other than NASA. How cool is that? Excerpt: "The flap design is a variable geometry airfoil system called FlexFoil, which was designed and built by Ann Arbor, Michigan-based FlexSys Inc. The FlexFoil has already been installed and the first flight-test has been completed on a Gulfstream III test airplane." Read the rest here. 

Chin-Azzaro opens Ypsilanti storefront for art and photography

Three years ago, Yen and Nick Azzaro were in Chicago working as an art dealer and photographer, respectively. When they moved back to the Ann Arbor area, the husband and wife University of Michigan grads retargeted their services to the local market, creating Chin Azzaro, an art, design and photography studio. Now, the pair is expanding their operations to a new storefront in downtown Ypsilanti.  "Part of it was client necessity. People would say, 'Where's your studio?'" says Yen Azzaro. "A lot of things just came together at the same time, and a lot of it was happening in Ypsi. So even though we were located in Ann Arbor, it just made sense to open in Ypsilanti." In addition to Nick Azzaro's commercial work, he's been partnering with local schools to teach studio photography and taking photos for families in Ypsilanti's Hamilton Crossing. In their new downtown space, Chin Azzaro will offer weekly photography discounts to Ypsilanti residents. Yen Azzaro's services include art consulting, as well as marketing and publicity.  "As people have learned more about us, our services have expanded, and our partnerships too," Azzaro says. "We are really open to working and collaborating with people in the community." Chin Azzaro opened their new, 800 square foot studio Tuesday, which includes both studio space and an office. The Azzaros plan to continue to expand their services and find even more ways to work with the community and local students.  Source: Yen Azzaro, Chin-Azzaro Writer: Natalie Burg

The Bridge breaks down Ann Arbor’s economy

Did you know we rank third among Michigan's economic regions but 241st among the nations top 382 metro areas? Check out The Bridge's thumbnail analysis of Ann Arbor's economy and enlighten yourself! Read it here.

Yeo & Yeo more than doubles staff, expands into new, 10,000 sq ft location

The Ann Arbor branch of Saginaw-based accounting, audit, tax and business consulting firm Yeo & Yeo is now the company's second largest with about 25 employees and a brand new office that is 2.5 times the size of their original location.  "We are outgrowing our previous location," says Kimberlee Kelley, director of marketing for Yeo & Yeo. "Last year we merged with a firm in Southgate, Hungerford & Co. We wanted to bring some staff from that office into one office so we could make a stronger foundation of resources for our clients."  Between the merger with the Southgate company and their own growth, the Ann Arbor staff has more than doubled in size over the past year, even as some Southgate employees remained in a satellite office in the metro Detroit office. Such growth attracted the firm to a 10,000 square foot space less than a mile from their former location on E. Eisenhower.  "It's not too far from our current office, so it's convenient for our clients," Kelley says. "We're happy to be able to grow and expand in the Ann Arbor area. It's been an ideal location for us." Construction began on the new space in July and included a complete remodel of the office. The firm moved in on Oct. 31.  Source: Kimberlee Kelley, Yeo & Yeo Writer: Natalie Burg

Build bike lanes and they will come

Gotta love a story that starts "...from the Journal of Duh…". Apparently, research shows that if you provide people with good biking infrastructure they'll -gasp!- use it. Crazy, I know. Excerpt: "In short, folks who live near the off-road trails switched to cycling to work at a higher rate than people who don’t. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of U.S. bike commuters has increased 60 percent over the last 10 years. The shift to pedal power in Minneapolis has been even more pronounced: Bicycling among workers who live within three miles of the Greenway shot up 89 percent during the decade of data." Read the rest here.

SkySpecs wins Accelerate Michigan, spot at Techstars incubator

Third time turned out to be the charm for SkySpecs. It took the Ann Arbor-based drone startup three tries at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition before it won it all and a hefty payday to go with it. SkySpecs first participated in Accelerate Michigan's student competition in 2012 when the startup was being launched by some University of Michigan students. It took third place in the student portion that year. It came back again in 2013 and made the semifinals of Accelerate Michigan. This year it went all the way and took home $500,000 in seed capital. "The biggest things for us is it's going to really accelerate our product development," says Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs. "It will enable us to do what we need to do to get our project out into the world and hire more people." SkySpecs is developing aerial drones that use artificial intelligence to inspect infrastructure in dangerous locations, such as the blade of wind turbines. It's WingMan platform allows the aircraft to hover near an object without fear of hitting it. Check out a demonstration company’s WingMan technology here. SkySpecs has hired two people (business development and computer programer) over the last year, expanding its staff to nine employees. Those nine people are currently working in New York City at the Techstars incubator. The company plans to wrap up its tour there and return to Michigan by February when it hopes to have 10 prototypes working in the field. "We thought (Techstars) was going to help us to take it to the next level," Ellis says. "They have the right network and the right skill set." Source: Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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