Ann Arbor

A touch of Canada: Tim Hortons comes to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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February 4, 2009

The Canadians are coming! The Canadians are coming to Ann Arbor!A developer plans to turn an old Shell gas station at the corner of Washtenaw and Huron Parkway into a new Tim Hortons on the city's east side now that the City Council said aboot time to the development, giving the the green light Monday night.The gas station has definitely seen better days, becoming older and dingier since it was first built in the 1950s. The new plans call for construction of a 4,500-square-foot building that will house both a gas station and Tim Hortons.The new building will come with a drive-thru, five gas pumps and 18 parking spaces. Tim Horton's is a coffee/donut shop practically synonymous with it Canadian roots. Although it seems like there is a Tim Hortons on practically every corner in Canada, the company just started to make inroads into the U.S. in recent years. This will be Ann Arbor's second store. The first is on Boardwalk next to Damon's restaurant and not far from Briarwood Mall.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

A new view of Ann Arbor: ‘Gown and Town’ Tour’ aimed at economic development

By Newsroom

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Education

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February 4, 2009

Economic growth in Ann Arbor requires a little bit of town and gown to take place.Excerpt:Even though the economy is in recession, some say Ann Arbor is perfectly positioned to grow and prosper once things turn around. Soon you can hop on a bus and see why.The three-hour tours cost $60 and include lunch at Zingerman's Delicatessen. Local business owners Sean Duval of Golden Limousine Inc. and Peter Allen of Peter Allen & Associates have teamed up with Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce President Jesse Bernstein to launch economic development bus tours, tentatively dubbed "The Gown and Town Tour of Ann Arbor."The tours are geared toward local business leaders and people who may be thinking about locating their company here. They're modeled after the bus tours that real estate developer Allen has given for nearly 20 years for the Ann Arbor chamber's Leadership Ann Arbor program."There are too many things happening in this town that people should know and don't," Allen said. "We are going to grow in the next economic cycle."Read the rest of the story here.

Xchange Network turns napkin idea into Ann Arbor start-up

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 4, 2009

Xchange Network got its start in the most clichéd of places in 2002."It started on the back of a napkin at a local establishment," says Bill McManus, co-owner of Xchange Network. "One of the other partners made a prototype and it held, so we decided to formalize the company."That prototype is a software program that allows different computer systems to seamlessly speak to each other, allowing a maverick techie with Mac or Linux system to speak to his PC-based co-workers."The guys with the PCs, the crowd rules so the Mac is left out so to speak," McManus says.The Ann Arbor-based start-up has brought all of the original four founders into the start-up entrepreneur fold. What started out as their side project turned into their full-time jobs with enough work left over for a handful of independent contractors. The company is also looking at setting up an internship program.Xchange Network has about 20,000 users around the world in 25 countries. The firm wants to continue to grow that number but is concentrating on holding its own in the near term.Source: Bill McManus, co-owner of Xchange NetworkWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor businessman poised to lead state Republicans

By Newsroom

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General

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February 4, 2009

One of Ann Arbor’s own is set to take the reigns of Michigan’s Grand Old Party.Excerpt:Ann Arbor businessman and former ambassador Ron Weiser has a clear path to the Michigan Republican Party chairmanship, following Tuesday's withdrawal from the contest by his last challenger, former state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk.Hoogendyk, an unsuccessful challenger to U.S. Sen. Carl Levin last year, said in an e-mail to supporters: "I am writing today to announce my decision to withdraw from the race for party chairman. This comes after a great deal of careful consideration and discussion with close friends and family."I congratulate Ron Weiser for his strong and successful campaign. I wish him well in his new role as chairman and pledge to do what I can to help strengthen the party and deliver victory in 2010."Read the rest of the story here.

Stem cell expert: Proposal 2 will bring new opportunities to the University of Michigan

By Newsroom

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Education

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February 4, 2009

Stem cells are a hot topic of conversation in southeast Michigan, but this time its all about what kind of economic development opportunities they will create.Excerpt:One of the world's leading experts on human embryonic stem cell research says Michigan's newly relaxed climate for the cutting-edge work will lead to new scientific opportunities at the University of Michigan."I think it's a very important step," said Benjamin Reubinoff, a professor at Hadassah Hospital in Israel, in an interview after lecturing at U-M Wednesday. "I think it will really open new horizons for our collaboration with Michigan."Read the rest of the story here.

MASTERMIND: Britten Stringwell

By Jeff Meyers

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Arts & Culture

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February 4, 2009

Britten Stringwell sees a real hunger for artistic connection in Ann Arbor. The 25 year-old fashion designer and artist has immersed herself in the creative cultures of some of America's most progressive cities, and brought back ideas about how to build a creative community here. The result? The Yellow Barn. Never heard of it? Read on...

Ex-Pfizerites create Cutting Image Histology

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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January 28, 2009

The announcement that Pfizer was closing its Ann Arbor campus scared Wendy Rosebury, but she and a co-worker swallowed hard and took the entrepreneurial plunge by starting Cutting Image Histology. The two women are experts in histology and by last May were the proud owners of their own Ann Arbor start-up.Their website describes the company as a "preclinical research-based histopathology and immunohistochemistry contract laboratory serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic research communities." That roughly means it does drug-development research for every one from pharmaceutical companies to the everyday Joe.The company has been able to steadily add more customers and equipment. It has eight clients and expects to add more as their start-up's reputation continues to spread through word of mouth. The company expects to hire its first non-partner employee soon after it attracts more customers.Source: Cutting Image HistologyWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Greenbelt acquires prime real estate, grant

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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January 28, 2009

"Discrete human use is allowed by local fauna" – sign on Don Botsford property just outside of Ann ArborIt doesn't take long to figure out Don Botsford's politics on green space and its preservation. The lifelong Ann Arbor resident also known as Grandpa Don recently sold a 10-acre easement of woods and trails to Ann Arbor's Greenbelt. It joins a $10,000 grant to the Washtenaw Land Trust, helping further efforts to preserve green space around the college town.Botsford's land is on Miller Road tucked away on the Scio Township side of M-14. The city of Ann Arbor and Scio Township are spending a little more than $300,000 to buy the land, but Botsford says the deal is not about the money."It seems like a lot of money but it's not like the offers I have received," Botsford says.He adds that an international business man offered him $1.6 million for the land a few years ago. The last offer went as high as $2 million. Botsford sold the land to the local government for much less than that for pretty much the same reasons he bought it in the 1980s – to save it from developers."So much of it has been bulldozed out for housing developments," Botsford says. "It seems like there is hardly anything left beside the parks."Botsford has blazed about a mile of trails through the property that he takes local residents on nature walks. He adds the city will maintain the property as a natural area park and is looking at extending the trails to even more acreage of an adjacent property."This is what I want," Botsford says. "I know this place. I spent years blazing these trails and getting to know the place."The Jackson Community Foundation's Community Needs Fund has also given $10,000 to the Washtenaw Land Trust to support the Land Trust's Jackson County Nature and Farmland project. The Washtenaw Land Trust has protected 3,756 acres of land through 72 projects, including 337 acres in Jackson County. It is changing its name to the Land Trust to reflect that its reach now reaches beyond the borders of Washtenaw County.Source: Don Botsford, Ann Arbor property owner and the Washtenaw Land TrustWriter: Jon Zemke

Michigan bets on battery development as it races against Asian advances

By Newsroom

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Education

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January 28, 2009

Looks like automotive battery development is going to take a bigger role in Michigan's growing new economy.Excerpt:Michigan, buoyed by the auto industry's rush into electric vehicles, is hitching a big piece of its economic development hopes to the promise of lithium-ion battery production. The state's automotive heritage - albeit hamstrung by the economic crisis - and its strong research universities are poised to give the state a significant edge in the race to develop advanced auto battery capabilities.But the state's efforts launch it into a competition that is far more global and far more advanced than many realize. It puts the state in direct competition with the best engineers in China, Korea and Japan, in particular."The top 10 battery (companies) in the world are not located in North America," said Jim Epolito, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.The Ann Arbor region, which MEDC recently designated as a "Center of Energy Excellence," is charged with leading Michigan in the battery competition.Read the rest of the story here.

TSRL hired four last year, plans to add more

By Newsroom

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Education

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January 28, 2009

Therapeutic Systems Research Laboratories, TSRL for short, is a University of Michigan spin-off that's gaining centrifugal force in Ann Arbor.The company was founded in 1986 and has since grown to 18 people. Of that staff, four were added in the last year. It was enough for the company to double its space on the south side of town."We're expanding about 2,000 square feet, half of which is laboratory space," says Elke Lipka, vice president of business development for TSRL. "We're at about 4,000 square feet."TSRL can thank that expansion on double digit growth in research work. It's enough that company officials expect to add a person or two to the payroll each year for the next five years.TSRL specializes in research and development for oral drug delivery. Specifically it develops ways to enhance the oral absorption of investigational and marketed compunds. It has developed 14 patents that have been granted and another seven that are still pending.Source: Elke Lipka, vice president of business development for TSRLWriter: Jon Zemke