Ann Arbor

Coleman says Tech Transfer key to prosperity at National Summit

By Newsroom

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June 24, 2009

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman made some sharp points about entrepreneurs at last week's National Summit in Detroit.Excerpt:An entrepreneurship panel pointed toward America's small business high tech future late Tuesday morning at the National Summit in Detroit.Part of that involves university tech transfer, according to panelist Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Univeristy of Michigan: "Universities can be major hubs of innovation and entrepreneurism but it's not a give. It has to be rewarded and celebrated, and it has to have an internal champion." She also said turning a university into a consistent technology-based economic development engine involves "opening the door to businesses big and small."Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor DDA energy audit a success with local businesses

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Community Development

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June 24, 2009

Forty seven buildings applied to take advantage of the Downtown Energy Saving Grant Program last year. The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority expects to bring just as many if not more into the fold this year."It's a very popular program," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.The energy audits have the potential to save downtown landlords and businesses thousands of dollars in energy costs. Most of the building stock in Ann Arbor's city center is about 100 or so years old, giving it the likeliness of being quite energy inefficient if it hasn't been updated. Energy audits can play a critical role in identifying these inefficiencies, such as a lack of insulation, thin windows and old lighting. The DDA's hope is that eliminating these inefficiencies will help keep more money in the pockets of businesses and landlords, allowing them to invest it into their respective building or business.The program allows structures that are 41,000 square feet or smaller take advantage of a free energy audit. The program will pay up to $5,000 of the cost of the energy audit for bigger buildings. The audits will outline a tailored list of recommended energy-saving measures and renewable energy opportunities for each structure. "The audit will tell you here is what you can do to get the best return on your investment," Pollay says.The second phase of the program will help these businesses and landlords handle some of the overhead costs of making the recommended improvements. The DDA will split up to $20,000 in costs of the improvements for the building. Last year 24 buildings representing 320,000 square feet of space made it to this step.The DDA has been a leader in Michigan for years when it comes to sustainability. It has implemented a number of programs to shrink its carbon footprint, including subsidizing go!passes (free bus pass) for downtown employees. It also has been installing bike racks, establishing Zipcar fleets and installing LED street lights for years. It's also pushing for commuter rail and bus service and providing funds for solar panels on the Farmer's Market in Kerrytown. For information on the Downtown Energy Saving Grant Program, click here. Applications are due by September 30. Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Hospitals at U-M to earn $14 million

By Newsroom

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Education

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June 24, 2009

The University of Michigan Hospital is staying out of the red, and not just because it’s the main color of some big rivals.Excerpt:The University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers said Thursday it overcame a challenging state economy to earn a projected $14 million on its operations for fiscal 2009, its 13th consecutive year of gains.Read the rest of the story here.

U-M’s Pfizer site acquisition reflects biotech transition for Ann Arbor region

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Education

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June 24, 2009

Well it took two years, but Ann Arbor is starting to fully grasp the impact of Pfizer's decision to leave.Excerpt:Ann Arbor is no longer a big pharma town. Pfizer is gone - it's official today - and in its wake the University of Michigan is seizing a remarkable opportunity to expand its research operations and acquire coveted property on Plymouth and Huron Parkway.The University of Michigan's $108 million acquisition of the ex-Pfizer campus in northern Ann Arbor marks the end of the region's big pharmaceutical era. Parke-Davis, Warner Lambert and Pfizer are now ancestors of Ann Arbor's biotech evolution.U-M's acquisition of the 174-acre site with 2 million square feet in buildings could be misconstrued as another step in the university's conquest of the Ann Arbor economy.But the acquisition is not likely to lead to the demise of the region's biotech infrastructure. In fact, the emergence of a vibrant life sciences services sector in the wake of Pfizer's exit promises to sustain the local biotech community.U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said she wasn't losing sleep over the end of the big pharma industry in Ann Arbor."I think what we have to assume is that some of these small ones will become the giants of the future. I certainly hope so," Coleman told me at the National Summit in Detroit. "Every company in its origins started out small. So I absolutely believe that there's great promise for the future."Read the rest of the story here and the Top 5 lessons Ann Arbor learned from Pfizer's exit here.

Asterand eyes jump to Ann Arbor

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Education

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June 24, 2009

Detroit's loss could turn into another gain for Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Asterand plc, the anchor tenant at Detroit-based TechTown, the incubator and technology park associated with Wayne State University, is considering a move to Ann Arbor and possible affiliations with the University of Michigan because of what its CEO says is neglect by WSU and its president, Dr. Jay Noren.Martyn Coombs, CEO of the tissue bank company which was the best performer on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ATD) last year, said he has decided to rescind a tentative renewal lease agreement with TechTown and has retained two real estate brokers to look at opportunities in Ann Arbor.“Ann Arbor has a glowing reputation, and so does the University of Michigan,” said Coombs.Read the rest of the story here.

Heidelberg’s Club Above rocks Ann Arbor

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Arts & Culture

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June 24, 2009

A2's Heidelberg continues to be known for a lot more than its German food and beer.Excerpt:Ann Arbor finally has a new rock club. The Club Above -- the third level of the Heidelberg restaurant -- has had many personalities over the last few decades, since first opening in 1961. In the '80s and '90s, the Club Above functioned as a successful rock venue -- Nirvana even played there in the band's early days -- but it became a dance club around the millennium, leaving the nearby Blind Pig to hold a monopoly on the Ann Arbor rock scene. Earlier this year, Heidelberg owners Ray and Monica Kouza started looking for someone to bring back the successful live music. Soon, they were directed to Claudia Leo, a musician and long-time Ann Arbor resident -- she moved there from her native Buenos Aries, Argentina, in 1992, at age 19 -- who has extensive experience with local bands and even runs a local record label. Leo herself had been looking for a new place for local rock bands to play. "It's great! The opening night (May 16) was a big hit," says Leo who swayed the Kouzas to overhaul the upstairs sound system and add lights and a backstage area for bands. "It's been the talk of the town, and the feedback I'm getting from the local community is great. People are saying that rock is back in town." Read the rest of the story here.

A Main Street without cars in downtown Ann Arbor?

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Development News

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June 17, 2009

Main Street in downtown is arguably the most walkable place in Ann Arbor, but turning that thoroughfare into a place only for walking? The idea is being floated again by Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje. His proposal calls for closing Main between William and Washington streets (and perhaps even to Huron) for a couple of weekends next summer. Traffic would be rerouted around on nearby streets. That section is often closed for events both big and small during the summertime weekends when that stretch of downtown is filled with pedestrians. "I constantly hear from residents about how they love that," says Hieftje, who has brought up turning Main in downtown into a pedestrian-only corridor since 2002.This idea would test to see how keeping it closed from Friday evening to Sunday during non events would play out. It would allow restaurants and retailers to stretch further into the sidewalks or even the street, giving them more space to do more business."Restaurants could use the space for another 10 tables during a peak time," Hieftje says.Hieftje plans to lead the conversation between city officials, local residents and business owners about making this experiment happen over the next year. Source: Ann Arbor Mayor John HieftjeWriter: Jon Zemke

Makin’ bacon better, Zingerman’s style

By Newsroom

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Health

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June 17, 2009

It might seem like it's impossible to improve bacon, but leave it to the folks at Zingerman's to find a way. Excerpt:I'm not really someone who makes a big deal out of the sort of single (or maybe it's "singular?") events that others are generally so fond of. I'm not bothered in the least by others making those sorts of celebrations into something more momentous. They're just not really my thing. I've never been to any of my own graduations; I don't really like going to weddings or parties, openings or the like.What I do like a lot is doing the work that leads up to them and the work that follows from them. So while I certainly don't begrudge other celebrating up a storm at their events, I'm personally really much more from the "celebrate all the small things daily" school of life. It's really working on the project, working on life, or working on whatever that's as much fun and as exciting as any particular point along the way.Read the rest of the story here and how bon appetite magazine ranked Zingerman's as one of its Top 10 barbecue restaurants here.

Downtown Ann Arbor CVS plans clear historic hurdle

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Community Development

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June 17, 2009

Plans to finish turning an old house into a commercial storefront in downtown Ann Arbor cleared a major hurdle last week when the city's Historic District Panel gave the thumbs up to the idea of putting a CVS Pharmacy at 209-11 S State St."They still have to submit site plans," says Jill Thacher, historic preservation coordinator for the city of Ann Arbor. "We haven't seen those yet."The property just north of the State Theatre originally started out as a single-family house in the late 19th Century. It slowly transformed into a bordering house then a business then a storefront by the middle of the 20th Century. However, signs of the old house remained, such as its roof and gables which can be seen from a bird's eye view.CVS wants to keep the historic, 2-story façade but tear out the house and hodgepodge of additions behind it so it can build a new pharmacy there. The developer still needs to go before the city's Planning Commission and Council for approval before construction can start.Such transformations have become common in Ann Arbor as its downtown area has grown. Often what once was a line of houses turns into storefronts. Old Victorian roof peaks, windows, stair cases and plaster medallions are often still visible on these structures even though it has been decades since the last person lived there. Source: Jill Thacher, historic preservation coordinator for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Program reflects U-M dance department through the years

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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June 17, 2009

Dancers at the University of Michigan flutter off into the sunset with site-specific pieces.Excerpt:At the core of dance is movement -- forward and back, side-to-side, fast, slow, soaring, melting. So when University of Michigan dance professor Jessica Fogel took on the task of showcasing a century of dance in just a few hours, she came up with a site-specific program, to be performed at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, that will have the audience as well as the dancers on the move."Dance chair Angela Kane and I wanted the program to travel, to be the tale of three buildings: where we started, where we currently are and the building we hope will someday be," says Fogel.Read the rest of the story here and here.