Ann Arbor

Arboretum Ventures makes 2nd investment, plans for 1-2 more

By Newsroom

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May 20, 2009

Venture capital is far from dead in Ann Arbor these days. Arboretum Ventures announced its second new investment last week, bringing its total investment so far for this year to $5 million.The Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm still expects to make 1-2 more investments before the end of 2009. So far it has invested in Aptus Endosystems and CerviLenz."We're still actively investing," says Tim Petersen, managing director of Arboretum Ventures. "There are some venture capital funds that are laying low because of the economy of they don’t have the capital."CerviLenz is a manufacturer and distributor of a disposable device used to predict the risk of preterm birth in pregnant women. Arboretum Ventures investment is part of $4 million the Ohio-based company raised during its initial round of venture funding. Louisville-based Chrysalis Ventures also invested in the financing.Arboretum Ventures focuses mainly on investing in up-and-coming companies that make medical devices. Peterson and Jan Garfinkle formed the firm in 2002. It recently closed a $74 million fund.Source: Tim Petersen, managing director of Arboretum VenturesWriter: Jon Zemke

New Ann Arbor Downtown Plan to impact Zingerman’s, South U

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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May 20, 2009

New changes to Ann Arbor's downtown master plan (A2D2) could have significant implications for Zingerman's and the South University business district area.Zingerman's has been pushing to consolidate and expand in its corner of Kerrytown. However, those plans have stalled because they include some former or vacant residential property. The new changes would remove the residential zoning, making Zingerman's expansion plans easier. Similar zoning changes are proposed for the South University business district area. The idea is it would give more space for businesses to expand in the city's core.City official's have been developing zoning and design guidelines for the city's downtown for nearly three years. The general concepts it is working with are beefing up zoning for denser and more mixed-use developments, along with creating architectural guidelines that call for new buildings to blend in with their surroundings.The Ann Arbor Planning Commission is reviewing these changes. They're expected to go before the City Council later this summer.Source: Wendy Rampson, systems planner for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Hands on Tech plans to connect Ann Arbor’s new economy with kids

By Newsroom

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General

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May 20, 2009

The Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum and local new economy companies. Two great tastes that taste great together... to borrow a marketing phrase.Yeah, they seem like a mismatch, but the Hands-On Tech Event hopes to make obvious the natural synergies between the two."We think there is a natural connection there," says Michael Cole, one of the organizers of the event and president of the Technology Industry Group for Bank of Ann Arbor. "This is where the kids go to get their first taste of science before they go onto become scientists and engineers."Not only do kids and tech go together, it's an opportunity for the Hands-on Museum to introduce attendees to their myriad resources.The event, set for May 30 between 6-9 p.m., is expected to introduce the museum to new economy entrepreneurs and businesses as both a resource and networking opportunity. After all, Ann Arbor is known as a kid-friendly town, so what better way to merge its strengths --kids and high tech innovation-- than to highlight them into one event?The Hands On Museum is located in downtown and has resources such as meeting rooms that could be used by local companies.For information on the event, call (734) 995-5439 or click here.Source: Michael Cole, one of the organizers of the Hands-On Tech Event and president of the Technology Industry Group for Bank of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Public Art Comm holds open house Thursday

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 20, 2009

Ever see a piece of public art and wonder, "What the hell is that doing there?" Ann Arbor residents will have the chance to ask that question Thursday evening.The Ann Arbor Public Art Commission is hosting an open house for the local community. They will explain the city’s new Percent for Art Program and what new projects it’s planning to take on. It will also let the public speak its mind about what type of public art it wants to see and wherem, and meet the people who are in charge of making it happen. "This is kind of a general introduction," says Katherine Talcott, administrator for Ann Arbor's Percent for Art Program.The Ann Arbor Public Art Commission is responsible for a number of pieces of art throughout not only downtown but the whole city. It’s latest project is the proposed rain garden for City Hall. The work will combine both art and sustainability, two of Ann Arbor's favorite pet causes. It will be designed by Herbert Dreiseitl, a world renowned artist and urban planner. The rain garden for the City Hall expansion will be the most visible piece of art in the project.The open house will be held between 5-7 p.m. in the Galleries of the Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 West Liberty in downtown. For information, contact Talcott at (734) 794-310 ext. 43730 or at HYPERLINK "mailto:ktalcott@a2gov.org" ktalcott@a2gov.org.Source: Katherine Talcott, administrator for Ann Arbor's Percent for Art ProgramWriter: Jon Zemke

Velesco to invest $1.8 million, hire 35 people

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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May 20, 2009

Velesco Pharmaceutical Services is making another big investment in two of Michigan’s smartest college towns, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.The Ann Arbor-based firm will utilize a $431,536 state tax credit over seven years to expand its laboratory space in the Ann Arbor area and open a new production facility in Kalamazoo. The $2 million investment is expected to create up to 35 jobs by 2014."This is a tremendous help for us to position us for success," says Gerry Cox, COO of Velesco Pharmaceutical Services.The four-person firm was formed by ex-Pfizerites Gerry Cox and David Barnes shortly after the pharmaceutical giant closed its Ann Arbor campus in 2007. It provides drug formulation, analytical chemistry and early stage clinical GMP supplies to emerging biotech and pharmaceutical companies. It works out of Ann Arbor SPARK's wet lab incubator in Plymouth. It plans to expand its presence in the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center where it will perform analytical and drug formulation work. Velesco also planning to open a 10,000-square-foot production facility in the Kalamazoo Commerce Center. It will manufacture GMP clinical trial supplies for pharmaceutical companies that are developing new medicines. Source: Gerry Cox, chief operating officer for Velesco Pharmaceutical ServicesWriter: Jon Zemke

Churches create 5-acre natural area on Ann Arbor’s north side

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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May 20, 2009

The city isn't the only institution creating green space in Ann Arbor. The Northside Associated Ministries recently finished work on a 5-acre natural area, complete with woods, trails and meditation area.St. Aidan's and Northside Presbyterian make up the Northside Associated Ministries, sharing a building on the 1600 block of Broadway near Plymouth Road. They decided to open up the five acres of woodland behind them to the public as a public green space.The natural space features benches, a meditation area and a woodchip trail that connects to a nearby trail that was created by a local Boy Scout as part of his Eagle Project. The group of local volunteers that created the space is also working to eradicate non-native plants from the area."The trail meanders back and forth," says Jim Pierson, care person for the building and grounds of the Northside Associated Ministries. "There are a lot of things to look at, like plantings and wildlife."The trail is made for pedestrians. The natural area is open to the public.Source: Jim Pierson, care person for the building and grounds of the Northside Associated MinistriesWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M gets ready to move into old Pfizer campus, create 3,000 jobs

By Newsroom

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Education

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May 20, 2009

The transition of Ann Arbor’s Pfizer campus is nearly complete as the University of Michigan prepares to move onto the 174-acre research facility.U-M is expected to close on the campus it bought for $108 million within the next couple of weeks. Move-in will begin this summer with the first offices opening this fall. Laboratories could open by early next year. The deal is expected to create between 2,000-3,000 jobs within the next 10 years. Those would replace the jobs that were lost when Pfizer closed the facility in 2007. How many of those jobs will be created right away, however, isn’t known yet."It's very, very hard to be specific beyond that because of we’re in the planning process right now," says Stephen Forrest, dean of research for the University of Michigan.The campus is expected to provide a springboard for new discoveries, job creation and educational opportunity at the university. The facility is adjacent to U-M’s North Campus, so a number of natural synergies are expected to occur with the addition of the old Pfizer facility.Source: Stephen Forrest, dean of research at the University of Michigan and the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Essen Instruments expands into research, plans to hire 40

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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May 20, 2009

It would have been easy for Ann Arbor-based Essen Instruments to skip town. Many of its customers are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area. And there’s more venture capital there that could help the promising start-up grow. "There were a lot of things that were pulling us toward California," says Brad Naegle, a spokesman for Essen Instruments.The 10-year-old firm decided to stick to its roots and expand in Michigan while taking advantage of a $490,940 tax credit over seven years from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. That will allow the life sciences company to invest $3 million in Ann Arbor while creating 43 new jobs over five years.Essen Instruments builds, sells and services pre-clinical cell-based research tools, the type of products used by pharmaceutical companies for research. The company has noticed that a lot of these firms are now outsourcing a lot of their lab work, prompting Essen Instruments to create the Discovery Services Business Unit Development Project. "We had to develop a business unit to take advantage of that," Naegle says.This new division of the company, which already employs 25 people on the city’s south side, will employ scientists, technicians and instrument operators. These workers will conduct drug-discovery research in up to 3,000 square feet of laboratory space in Ann Arbor.Source: Brad Naegle, a spokesman for Essen InstrumentsWriter: Jon Zemke

MASTERMIND: Myra Klarman

By Leia Menlove

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Entrepreneurship

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May 13, 2009

If Ann Arbor has a community photographer it's Myra Klarman. Not because she takes wonderfully vibrant snaps of kids and families (she does). Or because she's the official photographer for A2's Summer Festival. It's because she seems hellbent on capturing the spunk and soul of the city in projects like her blog, Relish.

EDF focuses on getting ‘capital efficient’

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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May 13, 2009

Though EDF Ventures has been flying under the radar in Ann Arbor, it's not in danger of taking off any time soon. And that's a good thing.Excerpt:EDF Ventures, which helped spawn some of the Ann Arbor region's most successful tech companies, had been uncharacteristically quiet of late. The firm's silence has led some to quietly wonder whether EDF was poised to slowly exit Michigan's venture capital scene. But founder Mary Campbell isn't showing any signs of backing out.EDF's role in Plymouth Township-based drug discovery firm Lycera's recent $36 million financing deal served as a reminder that the venture firm is still a major player in the investment community.And Campbell said she expects to continue making investments despite the financial crisis, which has sapped funding for many investors."Our concept is to be even more capital efficient, which means we will invest more human capital to get down the path further in a more efficient way," Campbell told Business Review in an interview. "That will, if nothing else, allow us to buy time as the market evolves and be able to do more investments with the money under management."Read the rest of the story here.