Ypsilanti
Lindsey Hall Photography adds flash to downtown Ypsilanti
Photographer Lindsey Hall finally has a place to rest her gear after years of working on location to build her business. This Friday, Nov. 2, she opens her own studio, Lindsey Hall Photography, in downtown Ypsilanti, joining other creative entrepreneurs in the area. "There are a lot of new businesses opening up [downtown] and there are a lot of existing businesses. The Rocket is a good one," Hall says. The 700 square-foot second-floor space at 133 W. Michigan Avenue contains an office, waiting area, and studio full of props. Hall specializes in wedding, maternity, family, and portrait photography, done indoors or outside. Hall is working on her own for now, but hopes to hire an assistant as business picks up. "I've had a pretty busy fall...as I get busier I will have a lot of extra work so hopefully I can partner with someone that's very artistic and like-minded and gets as excited as I do about photos." Hall will host an open house on Fri., Nov. 2 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Guests will receive a complimentary short photo session. Source: Lindsey Hall, owner, Lindsey Hall Photography Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
Green rental housing program kicks off in Washtenaw County
With its high proportion of college students, rental housing makes up a significant chunk of the housing stock in Washtenaw County. In Ann Arbor alone, rentals comprise about 50% of the residential market, according to Jamie Kidwell, a sustainability associate for the city of Ann Arbor. Accordingly, the city received a grant to improve the energy efficiency of rental units in Washtenaw County, under the umbrella of the county's $3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Challenge grant. The three-year, $250,000 "greening rental housing" grant will be implemented through a partnership between Washtenaw County, the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan University, and the University of Michigan, and will focus on two big categories of rentals: student and affordable housing, Kidwell says. Landlords tend to pass utilities costs onto tenants, which gives them little incentive to make energy-cutting improvements to their properties. "Just to put it in scale a little bit, I think U-M cranks out about 7,000 new renters each year...Our residential sector counts for about 20% of our community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. When you start to stack these numbers up, you see that making an impact on our rental housing is going to help our community a lot in terms of energy conservation, increasing our housing affordability," says Kidwell. While there are already city and countywide energy-savings programs in effect, such as the PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) program for commercial properties and the Better Buildings for Michigan program for homeowners, "I think the challenge will be those smaller-scale landlords, trying to figure out what's the right kind of program for them." The grant funding will cover staffing for the program over the next three years, as well as education and outreach. Over the next couple of months, focus groups of tenants, landlords, and contractors will be convened, with policies and programs likely defined by fall of 2013, says Kidwell. She adds: "Our community energy spend, excluding [U-M's buildings], I believe is about $140 million for natural gas and electricity, so even if you could save 10% of that energy, you've got about $14 million in theory that would go back into our local economy." Source: Jamie Kidwell, sustainability associate, city of Ann Arbor Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
Ypsilanti’s Eastside Recreation Center: Two Visions
A trio of U-M architecture grad students were tasked with envisioning what the proposed $12 million rec center on Ypsilanti's Water Street property might look like. One plan highlights Ypsi's downtown, the other its park. Both are exciting and innovative approaches to urban development.
Ypsilanti DDA kicks off next $40k round of facade improvement grants
Another round of Ypsilanti storefronts will be getting assisted facelifts with a new round of grant money from the city's Downtown Development Authority (DDA). At its meeting last week, the DDA's board of directors approved the latest installment of the Façade Improvement Program, which will award grants totaling $40,000 for eligible projects through the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year. The Historic Downtown is to receive a $20,000 allocation, while Depot Town and West Cross St. - Campus Town will get $10,000 apiece. The DDA will match 50% of qualifying project costs, up to a maximum of $2,500 per grant. At least 16 businesses stand to benefit. Washtenaw County's Eastern Leaders group has put $7,500 towards the program, with the balance coming from the DDA. Only exterior beautification projects such as painting, new awnings, signage, brick repair, parapet repair, or replacement windows will qualify. The program is now in its second year. Tim Colbeck, director of the Ypsilanti DDA, would like to see this grant be a perpetual fund. The monies are separate from the DDA's building rehabilitation grant program, which also allows for interior work. "The larger grants, where we're talking about building rehabilitations, we know there are certain buildings in town that are either in a state of disrepair or they're being underutilized and they could really use some heavy investment. At some point in time there's an assumption that we won't have any more of those buildings," Colbeck says. "But when it comes to façade improvement there's almost always going to be a steady stream because people are going to want to replace awnings. A new business is going to come in and say, we want a new sign." Last year's projects included a new sign for Model K, a sign and awning for Old Towne Coin & Gold in Depot Town, and gooseneck exterior lighting for Red Rock Downtown Barbecue. Funds are available to both property and business owners. "So if you are a business owner and you rent, you can still apply for the grant," Colbeck says. Written permission to do the improvements from the property owner is required. Applications are being accepted now through June 30, 2013, and will be reviewed by the DDA on a rolling basis. Source: Tim Colbeck, director of the Ypsilanti DDA Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
WorkZone Helps Youth Get Ready For Employment
Finding work in today's job market is tough enough. For at-risk teens, it can seem impossible. WorkZone, a program created and run by Ozone House, helps young adults to develop job-seeking skills and hone them through training and paid internships.
Got scones? Depot Town’s Let’s Get Sconed sees rising fortunes
Scones are the new muffin, at least in Ypsilanti's Depot Town, where scone-baking operation Let's Get Sconed has been heating up the kitchen of Café Ollie. Let's Get Sconed co-owner Danielle Teachout, who also owns MI General Store and Café Ollie with her scone-loving husband Mark, has been helping her employee, Ben Lewis, to run the business. Lewis, aka "head sconer" of Let's Get Sconed, was inspired to turn the scones into a full-time venture last spring. "It was a collaboration of my recipe and his name..." Teachout says. "We encourage our people to be little entrepreneurs." Flavors run from sweet – blueberry-lemon, apple cinnamon, and pumpkin; to savory – zucchini red pepper cheddar. A reuben scone (corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss) is in development. The scones are popular at Café Ollie, and are also sold at the Corner Brewery, at the Ypsilanti Farmers Market on Tuesdays, and at the Wednesday Kerrytown Farmers Market in Ann Arbor (now closed for the season). And the bakers want to get the scones out to hungry masses everywhere. "Right now we are just waiting on our [packaging] labels and we're going to start taking them around to other stores and coffee shops and stuff like that, and starting to sell them there," Teachout says. Source: Danielle Teachout, co-owner of Let's Get Sconed Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
Green Drinks Mixes Cocktails With Conscience
How about adding a little sustainability to your happy hour? Once a month green-minded folks gather in an Ypsi pub or Ann Arbor bar to unwind with drinks and talk eco policy and business. The event is called Green Drinks and it's part of a worldwide social trend.
Renovations at Ypsi’s Eagle Crest Resort aim for international draw
A plan to market Ypsilanti's Eagle Crest Resort to executives and conference planners around the world are unfolding as more multimillion-dollar, multi-year renovations are made. The resort, which features a Golf Digest four-star rated golf course, a conference center that as of recently will be managed by Marriott Corp. and a hotel already owned and managed by Marriott, has redone its landscaping, roads, sidewalks and more. The conference center has gotten new furniture and decor and will get upgraded technology, part of a recently approved $1 million expense by Eastern Michigan University, and the golf course has $1 million in upgrades as well. The property is leased from Ypsilanti Township to Eastern Michigan University, which owns the golf course and conference center and manages the golf course. The latest round of renovations will cost $200,000 each year for the next five years, says Leigh Greden, executive director government and community relations at EMU. Previously EMU put $2 million into the conference center, which had management operations taken over by Marriott last month. In addition, Marriott is improving the hotel, Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest. It's all part of plan to market Eagle Crest Resort with its closeness to Metro Airport and Ann Arbor, its scenic views of Ford Lake and a highly-rated and improving golf course to the world. The parties behind the project include EMU, Ypsilanti Township, and Marriott. "It's always nice to put money into a facility to keep it fresh, but we're really doing it as part of a coordinated multi-pronged marketing strategy to enhance the entire resort," Greden says. "It's a win for the university as we push to have the conference center make money. We think the partnership with Marriott is a win for the community because of the property taxes Marriott pays. We think it's a win for the public because this is public golf course and something Ypsilanti-area residents can enjoy. "And as for the township, they've been great partners in making this happen. The supervisor, Brenda Stumbo, and her team have been amazing in marketing the township as a great place to do business. We could not doing without them and their commitment to making Ypsilanti Township more friendly to the business community." Source: Leigh Greden, executive director government and community relations, Eastern Michigan University Writer: Kim North Shine
Sidetrack Bar and Grill to expand into new building, add 30 jobs
The Sidetrack Bar and Grill is taking on an ambitious expansion and renovation project that could make Ypsilanti's Depot Town an even more enticing stop for the restaurant and nightlife crowds. Last month, Sidetrack purchased a 6,000-square-foot building at 52 E. Cross St. from the owners of Bird Brain, which relocated elsewhere. "We were looking outside of the area because it made sense, with the economic times here, instead of doing new construction, to just buy another place..[but]we wanted to keep investing in the city of Ypsilanti," says Linda French, owner of Sidetrack. The building adjoins Sidetrack and Frenchie's http://www.sidetrackbarandgrill.com/frenchies/ at 54-56 E. Cross St. It has been completely restored and still has its wall-to-wall brick interior. French says it will house a new kitchen and bathroom facilities for Sidetrack. Moreover, Sidetrack will be moving upward into its three-story premises. The 5,000-square-foot second floor will be used for catering events and larger parties. Sidetrack will be putting the proceeds of a $15,000 rehabilitation grant from the Ypsilanti DDA towards window replacement and tuck pointing on the second and third floors. French would like to turn the third story into apartments. The projects are currently in the planning, design, and licensing phases. A completion date is unknown at this time, according to French. She plans to add 30 jobs as a result of the expansions. "We [have] one of the last remaining buildings in Depot Town that hasn't [been restored]," French says. "It's a big deal to get this corner redone." Source: Linda French, owner of Sidetrack Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
