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.

Local Habitat for Humanity revitalizes more than just houses

By Natalie Burg

●

Community Development

●

November 12, 2014

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

Latest in Economic Development

NASA tests Ann Arbor firm’s wing innovation

By Newsroom

●

Arts & Culture

●

November 12, 2014

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

By Natalie Burg

●

Arts & Culture

●

November 12, 2014

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

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

November 12, 2014

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

By Natalie Burg

●

Community Development

●

November 12, 2014

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

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

November 12, 2014

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

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

November 12, 2014

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.

Cribspot adds $100K to seed round with Accelerate Michigan win

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

November 12, 2014

Cribspot announced raising a $660,000 seed round a little more than a month ago. Add another six figures to that number after its win at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The Ann Arbor-based startup, it also has an office in downtown Detroit, took second place at Michigan's pre-eminent business plan competition. That showing comes with $100,000 in seed capital the startup can use in the best way it sees fit. "We want to add more features that cater more toward landlords," says Jason Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot. "We also want to have a larger footprint across the country." The 1-year-old startup and recent Bizdom graduate is creating an online portal that creates one central website for off-campus housing in higher education. The co-founders, mostly University of Michigan students, recognized that finding off-campus houses is an exercise of searching craigslist ads and signs on the sides of buildings. Cribspot offers a central location where students and landlords can come together to find/offer/manage student housing. Cribspot landed $660,000 in seed capital early this fall with the round led by Huron River Ventures. It plans to put most of the $100,000 it won at the Accelerate Michigan competition to hiring another software engineer, expanding its staff to six full-time employees and four interns. It is also looking to expand into an other few university markets (it’s currently in 15) including Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy. Source: Jason Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Caelynx expands bottom line on growth of software platform

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

November 12, 2014

Three years ago Caelynx made all of its money from its engineering consulting and staffing services. By next year its only going to get about half of its bottom line from those sources. The other half, from its rapidly growing software platform. "Software is continuing to be the major growth area," says Hans Steiner, director of business development for Caelynx. "All areas are growing but software is leading it." The Ann Arbor-based company's computer-aided engineering platform works as a simulation platform for the company. "This allows them to test it virtually so they can see if it performs," Steiner says. Caelynx recently notched another 20 percent revenue growth year, making it the sixth consecutive year to do it. Ann Arbor SPARK has now recognized Caelynx as one of its FastTrack award winners for exponential revenue growth. Caelynx has also hired one person in the U.S. and three for its Romania office over the last year. It now has a staff of 12 people in the U.S. and six in Romania. The company also recently moved from Ann Arbor's southside to a new office just north of downtown near the Amtrak train station. "It's smaller but it's the right size for us," Steiner says. Source: Hans Steiner, director of business development for Caelynx Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Cayman Chemical hires 17 as it fills out Ann Arbor offices

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

November 5, 2014

Interns are an important part of Cayman Chemical's growth. The bio-tech firm has hosted a steady stream of interns over the years and turned a number of its former interns into full-time positions. The Ann Arbor-based company hosted 15 interns over the summer, and has three right now. Over the last year, the company has turned seven into full-time employees making up nearly half of its new hires. And the firm is looking for more. "We are working to hire interns all year," says Christine Booher, vice president of human resources for Cayman Chemical. "We want to hire five right now." The 34-year-old company provides researchers with bio-chemical tools and research services. It has hired 17 people over the last year, and is currently looking to hire another four people right now. Those new job openings include two entry-level scientists, a regulatory affairs professional, and a facility management professional. Check out its open positions here. That growth puts Cayman Chemical’s staff to 225 employees. A consistent growth in revenue (Booher declined to say how much) has lead to the constant hiring. That has allowed the firm to continue filling up newly acquired space. The company doubled its building count in Ann Arbor to four last year, and recently just opened a new product shipping area. "We have our facilities pretty much full at this time," Booher says. Source: Christine Booher, vice president of human resources for Cayman Chemical Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.