Ann Arbor

Rudolf Steiner Schools go solar, get energy efficiency audits

By Newsroom

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April 20, 2011

You can say that this spring, students will graduate from Rudolf Steiner High School with green distinction. The high school and Lower School are the only ones in Ann Arbor thus far to receive grants from Energy Works' Michigan Renewable Schools Program for both a renewable energy project and energy efficiency upgrades. At the end of May, Rudolf Steiner High School will be installing a 10kW photovoltaic solar panel system on its roof. The $85,000 system cost was covered through a $42,500 grant from Energy Works, $24,000 in rebates from DTE Energy, and the school paying the remaining $18,500 balance, according to Katrina Klaphake, development director at the Rudolf Steiner School. As part of the grant, science teachers attended a workshop on how to integrate the renewable energy system into their curriculum, and there will be opportunities to bring speakers in to discuss careers in the renewable energy field with students.The solar panel installation is in line with the high school's eco-friendly ethos, which includes a Conservation Club that has preserved an acre of hardwood forest and planted another with prairie flowers. Students have made field trips to a working organic farm and also run recycling and composting programs.And the Lower School recently received a $5,000 Energy Works grant to conduct an energy efficiency audit. The school has implemented most of the recommendations, including a new boiler installation and replacement of all lightbulbs and ballasts with compact florescent reflector flood lamps and screw-in lamps, Klaphake says.One piece of anecdotal evidence of energy savings at the Lower School over the last few months, Klaphake says, is that DTE Energy sent service people out to check on the electric meter. "So they actually thought the meter wasn't working because it looked like we hadn't been using as much energy as we had in the past at the same time during the year."Cost savings factors into the schools' eco-conscious model, Klaphake says, "but it also shows our students and educates our families on how solar energy works and what you can do with it."Source: Katrina Klaphake, development director, Rudolf Steiner SchoolWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

Pixel Velocity has triple digit growth on strength of gov’t contracts, expects to add positions

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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April 20, 2011

All this talk of federal budget balancing and project slashing hasn't scared Pixel Velocity or its executive team. The Ann Arbor-based firm continues to grow at a triple-digit rate thanks mainly to federal and local government contracts for its digital image processing products.The 10-year-old company clocked a 400 percent revenue increase over the last year with contracts for its products at Wayne County Port Authority and Midway Airport in Chicago. "It's better than ever in regards to federal sales," says Eric Sieczka, president and CEO of Pixel Velocity. "This is a significant year for us. We're doing some significant roll-outs. We see a pretty prosperous horizon."Pixel Velocity creates high-speed digital image processing products for the surveillance and medical imaging markets. One of its biggest markets is installing this technology at points of entry throughout the country, such as ports, airports, and border crossings. Sieczka also expects his company to expand into the petrochemical (oil and gas) market.He expects to add about two new hires to the company's staff of 15 people later this year, depending on Velocity's business.Source: Eric Sieczka, president and CEO of Pixel Velocity Writer: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Modern architecture tours to circle Ann Arbor ‘hoods

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 20, 2011

Modernism in architecture is defined in broad strokes as building design that employs a simple, unadorned form. Washtenaw County, particularly Ann Arbor, has a plethora of residential examples built between about 1940 and 1970, many designed by professors at the University of Michigan School of Architecture, an embracer of the Modernist movement. To that end, the county has just received a $6,000 grant from the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to develop walk/bike/drive tours of residential neighborhoods with large concentrations of Ann Arbor's Modern architecture. This grant falls under the SHPO's sponsoring of a statewide survey to document Michigan's rich Modern design heritage. "We're hooking into that and we're saying, 'You know what, Michigan was very important in the development of midcentury Modern design, and here's some evidence.'" Milton-Pung explains.The focus area will be just east of the University of Michigan campus, in the Ann Arbor Hills neighborhood and north of Geddes Road, says Melissa Milton-Pung, a project manager in the Washtenaw County Office of Economic Development and Energy. Many of the homes are located on Arlington, Devonshire, Heather Way, and Avon Roads. While it's largely too soon to release specific locations, Milton-Pung mentions 830 Avon Road, a home built in 1954 for H. Richard Crane, a professor and physicist who was involved in the Manhattan project and instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb. And Indian River Place, off the north side of Geddes Road, has four properties inspired by modern interpretations of Japanese architecture.The county is working with homeowners, the a2Modern group, archivists at the Bentley Historical Museum, and U-M's Taubman College of Architecture, to list about 40 properties that are fine stylistic examples of Mid-century Modern homes. The collection spans the work of about 11 architects, many of whom are or were U-M professors of architecture and had connections with luminaries such as Mies van de Rohe and Charles and Ray Eames. The work of Robert Metcalf, a former dean of the Taubman College, will be featured prominently, Milton-Pung says. The tour will also include the designs of George Brigham, Bennett Wells, William Muschenheim, and Alden B. Dow, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright's Palmer House.The properties will be designated on a downloadable map and brochure to be used for self-guided tours. The county is shooting to have the brochure ready by late summer or early fall, but definitely by year-end, Milton-Pung says. She also sees the potential to widen the scope to include guided tours and other neighborhoods county-wide, and commercial properties as well. The goal is not just touring, but to draw eyes to Modern architecture potentially at risk of being flattened."I think anybody who's interested in Mid-Century Modern understands that oftentimes because these don't look like traditional "historic" properties like you would think of, say, a Beaux Arts courthouse or a Victorian house on the West Side, these properties are somewhat vulnerable because you'll have somebody come in and say, "you know I like the property but I just want to tear it down and put something new where they are because it isn't really that important.'" Milton-Pung would also like to see the restoration of a former victim of budget cuts - an updated countywide survey of Modern residential and commercial properties. "We are in the process of seeing one of the icons of eastern Washtenaw county being lost to the community...the Ann Arbor-Ypsi bowl sign. If that property had been designated or there had been other ways to protect it, we wouldn't necessarily see it go away." Source: Melissa Milton-Pung, project manager, Washtenaw County Office of Economic Development and EnergyWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

Washtenaw County’s 6.8% pop. growth counters state’s regional decline

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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April 20, 2011

Population trends in Washtenaw County are moving at crosscurrents with much of the region represented by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). Collectively over the last decade, the seven-county area lost 2.7% of its population, or 128,625 people, while Washtenaw County gained 22,021 residents, for a 6.8% increase, according to the 2010 U.S. Census figures. That growth rate was second only to that seen in Livingston County, which saw a 15.1% jump in residents."Washtenaw County has the advantage with the universities, and some of the other businesses...the economy is already more diversified than other parts of the region, and that is probably the biggest reason that Washtenaw County did better than the rest of the region," says Paul Tait, executive director of SEMCOG.The county's two largest cities posted flat to declining numbers, with headcounts in Ann Arbor dropping .1% and Ypsilanti losing 12.6%. Much of the growth was in the townships and outlying communities, with the village of Dexter's 74% rise as the standout exception. The cities of Milan, Chelsea, and Saline gained 23%, 12.4% and 9.7%, respectively."These are good numbers for Washtenaw County," Tait says. But maintenance and enhancement of the county's core infrastructure is still of concern. Tait points to U.S. 23, slated by the Michigan Department of Transportation for a major rebuild and widening - a project that will probably not be daylighted, for now. "We're driving more fuel efficient cars, and in part because of the economy, we're not driving as much. We're driving alternative fueled vehicles, hybrids and electric vehicles, so we're not getting the gas tax money that we need to again, even maintain what we've got." Tait still calls the 6.8% rise "fairly sustainable growth". And that figure is lower than the overall U.S. population growth, a remarkable 9.7% over the decade. Much of that, he says, was due to immigration to the south and southwest to fill entry-level jobs not necessarily requiring a college degree. The Census Bureau will be releasing educational demographic data this fall. By comparison, Tait says, "when you look at immigration in our region, it tends to be much more highly educated people with advanced degrees."Source: Paul Tait, executive director of SEMCOGWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

The Re-Investors

By Constance Crump

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Economic Development

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April 19, 2011

With the successful exits of Esperion and Accuri, CEO's Roger Newton and Jen Baird could have taken the money and run. Instead, they're establishing new local ventures, reinvesting in Michigan's future, and helping to grow our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Raw Talent: Chef Swaroop Bhojani, PhD

By Tanya Muzumdar

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Arts & Culture

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April 13, 2011

Whether it's in a research lab or restaurant kitchen, the ability to perfectly mix ingredients is vital for success. Dr. Mahaveer Swaroop Bhojani has got both domains down but until now has only made a career of one. Last week, however, the U-M researcher opened A2's very first Chaat House. Don't know what that is? Read on.

The Michigan Department Of Zingerman’s?

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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April 13, 2011

"Bureaucrat" and "customer service" are two words that seem incompatible and contradictory. Nevertheless, Governor Rick Snyder thinks Lansing employees could learn a thing or two from Zingerman's "service culture" training. Does that mean license renewal will include a complimentary bagel with cream cheese? One can dream, right? Excerpt: "The state of Michigan wants to raise its service game, and it is turning to entrepreneurial businesses for help. Zingerman's, an Ann Arbor–based deli and food company at which doing the right thing by customers is bred in the bone, has stepped up to train government employees in service culture. Michigan's new governor, Rick Snyder, posed the idea to Paul Saginaw, a co-founder of Zingerman's, when the two crossed paths at an awards dinner last winter. "I said, 'Are you serious?' " recalls Saginaw. "But I thought, Wouldn't it be great if the orientation of public servants was, My job is to be your resource. You are paying my salary. How do I help you get your business open?"" Read the rest of the story here. And a local follow up here.

Beer mag celebrates what ales Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 13, 2011

Maybe our little burgh will finally be known for something other than U-M and football. Which some may view as redundant. If we had to pick a virtue, beer seems as good as anything else. Excerpt: "While the area surrounding the University of Michigan campus has the usual mix of vintage stores and college bars, Ann Arbor does have a grown-up side: Picturesque streets encourage meandering through art galleries, coffee houses and upscale eateries. But this is the city Bob Seger croons about in “Mainstreet,” and since it is the Midwest, beer isn’t obscured by all the fancy." Read the rest of the story here.

LLamasoft adds new hires, opens China and UK offices

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 13, 2011

LLamasoft is hiring, a practice the downtown Ann Arbor-based firm is planning to keep up in the near term.When we last checked in with LLamasoft a year ago, the logistics company had just moved into new space in the First National Building and expanded its staff to 30 people. Today it has 50 employees and a few summer interns, thanks to a 120-percent revenue jump in 2010."We're hiring as fast as we can," says Toby Brzoznowski, executive vice president of LLamasoft. "We'll likely hit 65-70 employees by the end of the year. We've also opened an office in the UK and we're opening an office in China."LLamasoft has become a go-to solution in its space over the last 18-24 months, Brzoznowski says. That has led to increased demand across the board, with growth in the retail sector leading the way. The company has expanded its space in the First National building, including taking over another floor."We want to stay downtown," Brzoznowski says. "Our clients are Fortune 500 companies, global companies. They appreciate our location with the restaurants and the retail."Source: Toby Brzoznowski, executive vice president of LLamasoftWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Q LTD thrives on refreshing client brands

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 13, 2011

Q LTD knows brands. It knows when they're old, when they're new, and when they need refreshing. That last part is what is helping the Ann Arbor-based company grow these days. It recently refreshed the brand for the University of Michigan's School of Nursing, redoing its website, marketing materials for prospective students, and creating a strategy to coordinate these things. It also has done similar work for other local institutions, such as the Ypsilanti District Library. "They're 20 years old and realizing they need to have a current brand that matches what they do," says Paul Koch, creative strategist for Q LTD.The 30-year-old company has slowly grown through partnerships (it regularly collaborates with a European firm on its corporate culture) and good old slow, organic growth. It now has an employee base of 15 people and two interns, who work mostly in its Kerrytown office.This month Q LTD added a new employee, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan performing arts technology program who has worked as a media consultant for the University of Michigan Health System, Guitar World magazine, and Ghostly International. He will focus on digital media and has a decade of experience in creating websites. Source: Paul Koch, creative strategist for Q LTDWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.