Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor starts to develop skate park design

By Newsroom

●

September 23, 2009

Plans for Ann Arbor's first skatepark are starting to take shape as organizers of the grass roots initiative start to figure out what they want it to look like.To start, the group will be going to Farmington Hill’s new Riley Skatepark later this month to get an up close view of one of the region’s best skateboarding facilities. "It is in our view the closest to what we want to build in Ann Arbor," says Trevor Staples, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Skatepark. "It’'s a very good example of what a skatepark can look like."The Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee will also hold a design charrette for the skatepark on Oct. 18 at Slawson Middle School. Several different designs will be on display. The audience will also have an opportunity to offer their own suggestions.The committee plans to raise $800,000 to $1 million within the next year through donations and grants to build the skatepark. The facility will require 30,000 square feet of permanent concrete at Veterans Memorial Park. It will have a skateplaza and possibly even a full pipe. For information on the project, contact Jim Reische at HYPERLINK "mailto:jreische@a2skatepark.org" jreische@a2skatepark.org or Trevor Staples at (734) 223-9837.Source: Trevor Staples, spokesman for the Ann Arbor SkateparkWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M’s Crisler Arena project grows, soccer field shrinks

By Newsroom

●

Development News

●

September 23, 2009

Upcoming development projects on University of Michigan athletic facilities are calling for a bigger Crisler Arena construction project and a smaller version of a new soccer stadium.The U-M Board of Regents approved designing a new $23.5 million player development center (aka new practice facility) as an addition to Crisler Arena. Also in the works is an upcoming proposal to replace and upgrade Crisler’s infrastructure, such as plumbing, heating and cooling and electrical. The regents are expected to green light construction on the player development center project earlier next year.The university is also downsizing its plans to expand the school's soccer stadium next to the Varsity Tennis Center. Earlier this year the university planned to spend $6 million to create 2,200 seats and 26,000 square feet of locker rooms, offices and other facilities. That is now down a few thousand square feet and a few hundred seats. However, Athletic Dept. officials are hopeful they can get the project closer to the original goals if bids come in low enough."We will build what we can afford," says Michael Stevenson, executive associate athletic director for the University of Michigan.Source: Michael Stevenson, executive associate athletic director for the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor City Council approves City Place plans

By Newsroom

●

Development News

●

September 23, 2009

The City Place development got its approval from the Ann Arbor City Council Monday, clearing the path for the downtown development, or not.The future of the project that has become the poster child of downtown development gone awry is about as clear as mud. Yes, the development now has the city's blessing, but it doesn't with the recently enacted demolition moratorium on the small neighborhood on the southern edge of downtown. The city is studying the idea of designating the newly named "Germantown" neighborhood a historic district.Ann Arbor Builders wants to raze seven historic homes (including one of the city's oldest) along Fifth Avenue just north of Packard Road to create a dense housing development. Original plans called for 90 brownstone-style condos in a long 4.5-story building that is reminiscent of Beacon Hill. Several months of wrestling with local neighbors and city officials created a number of different versions of the plans, but a consensus has proven elusive.The latest plans call for two apartment buildings separated by a surface parking lot. The 3-story buildings will have 144 bedrooms in 24 units geared for college students and 36 surface parking spaces. The developer says this suburban-style development (a far departure from the original plans) is what city ordinances and regulations call for. It's not clear whether there is a construction timeline for the project. A call and email to developer were not returned by press time. Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Systems in Motion to hire 1,084, invest $15M in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

September 23, 2009

One of Silicon Valley's fast growing start-ups has chosen Ann Arbor as the place to make its first investment.Systems in Motion plans to invest $15 million and create 1,084 jobs at a new IT support center in Ann Arbor over the next five years. The IT firm also looked at making its first investment in other marquee college towns, like Austin, Texas and Durham, North Carolina before deciding on Ann Arbor."I think Ann Arbor is a marquee name in college towns as well," says Debashish Sinha, chief marketing officer for Systems in Motion.The California-based firm is only 3 months old but has already been able to lock down some venture capital funding and hire 20 people. Systems in Motion plans to create the next generation of IT infrastructure and workers by setting up IT support center at college towns across North America. The combination of the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College made the Ann Arbor area a prime target for Systems in Motion. To help make this happen was a tax-incentive package the state put together. Systems in Motion will receive up to $1.5 million in workforce development funding and a 100 percent employment tax credit over seven years.Source: Debashish Sinha, chief marketing officer for Systems in MotionWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s EDF Ventures secures funding for 2 firms

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

September 23, 2009

Ann Arbor's EDF Ventures is scoring some investment hits on the road these days.The downtown-based venture capital firm recently announced that it helped line up millions of dollars in VC cash for two of the firms it has under its wings. That includes $22 million in Series B stock financing for California-based ValenTx and the third tranche of funding for Byron Center-based TransCorp. Nearly 1-year-old TransCorp develops surgical instruments for neurosurgical and orthopedic applications. ValenTx develops a less-invasive, implantable medical device to address morbid obesity. EDF Ventures has about $170 million worth of assets under management and has organized four investment funds since 1987. About a third of those are based in Michigan. Today the company employs five members and one intern and is looking at possible making more investments before the year is out. "We always hope there is more," says Linda Fingerle, chief financial officer and principal of EDF Ventures. "Nothing is definitive but we're hopeful."Source: Linda Fingerle, chief financial officer and principal of EDF VenturesWriter: Jon Zemke

Igadea hires 2 in Ann Arbor, plans to hire more

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

September 23, 2009

Eight years ago, Kevin Sly and Steve Owsinski were just a couple of college kids at the University of Michigan with a dream of running their own Internet start-up. Today the two friends turned that passion for the web into a local firm that is starting to really take hold – Igadea.The 8-year-old firm specializes in website development and marketing. It employs eight people in downtown Ann Arbor, including two recent hires. All new hires came on board over the last couple of years as Igadea (a play on words for "I got an idea") grew its revenues an average of 20 percent per year."In the last 3-4 years it has really blossomed," says Kevin Sly, president of igadea. "We have picked up a lot of regional clients. It feels like its going to follow that trend."Those firms include Dew Point in Lansing, Gardiner White in Farmington and re:group in Ann Arbor. The company is focusing on more Internet marketing these days, even though it got its start creating complex web development applications. It also has a side business in e-commerce for jewelry making.Sly expects this will all add up to more growth in the next year or two. He sees the company continuing to add to its staff in the near future.Source: Kevin Sly, president of igadeaWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor govt pushes further into techworld

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

September 23, 2009

Ann Arbor city government is pushing further into the tech world these days, sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity.The city recently offered a call-in service for its public meeting, similar to how a radio show takes questions on air. Normally, people who want to express opinions have to come to the meeting in person and state their case. This newest service let them do it from their cell phone.The city is also looking to move its public notification system into the 21st Century by posting public notices online. This came up when The Ann Arbor News closed this summer leaving the city without a daily newspaper, the normal vehicle for posting public notices like upcoming council votes and informational sessions.Now that the paper is gone, the city is maneuvering to see if it can just post these sort of notices online to satisfy the city's ordinance governing this practice. If so, it would be one of the first local municipalities to rely on this method. Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Video Knocking On Ann Arbor’s Fairy Doors

By Keith Jefferies

●

Economic Development

●

September 23, 2009

Unauthorized. Unsanctioned. Unsponsored. Ann Arbor's fairy doors have become an indelible part of the city's public art identity, attracting wee-ones (and their p's) from all over. How did they start? Who is behind them? Well, we just happen to have a video answering those very questions.

U-M crosses $100M mark in stimulus funding, expects more

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

September 23, 2009

A lot of federal stimulus money is starting to roll into the University of Michigan, and more is on the horizon.The university just passed the $100 million mark last week for federal stimulus money, which is up nearly $40 million in a little over a month. And a lot more federal stimulus research grants are expected to migrate into university coffers."They just keep rolling in," says Jim Erickson, senior public relations officer for the University of Michigan. "Every couple days they come in.Most of this money is coming from the stimulus money cache of the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. One of the bigger grants is $19.5 million for a new U-M research center to explore new materials for solar cells. More money is expected to come in throughout the rest of the year. Just how much is possible is unknown at the time, but Erickson guesses it will be a lot. "We had a lot of faculty aggressively pursuing these [funds] Erickson says.Source: Jim Erickson, senior public relations officer for the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M President Coleman laughs off report linking her to NCAA president job

By Newsroom

●

Education

●

September 23, 2009

U-M might be launching its second search for a new president this decade if the NCAA scoops up Mary Sue Coleman, as is rumored.Excerpt:University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman responded today to a published report naming her as a possible successor to NCAA President Myles Brand, who died Wednesday of cancer.But Coleman declined to say whether she would consider taking the NCAA president job if it were offered to her.A story in USA Today linked Coleman to the job, also citing Graham Spanier of Penn State and Walt Harrison of Hartford as potential successors to Brand."They just must be scanning university presidents," Coleman said, laughing off the report.Read the rest of the story here and the original story linking Coleman to the NCAA president position here.