Development News

University of Michigan's Five Fellows turn house into public art

Model D Thursday, April 29, 2010

Opportunity leads to art in Detroit. In this case, it's a combination of University of Michigan students and Hamtramck's Design99 studio.

Excerpt:

Five University of Michigan architecture fellows, through the help of Design99, purchased the house at 13178 Moran from the city's foreclosure auction for $500 and have turned it into their architectural canvas and a piece of public art for the neighborhood.

Inside you'll find a Q-Bert-esque staircase, a space called the "Tingle Room," another staircase leading up to a skylight, a removable nook in the back, and the garage drilled with 1,000 holes and jammed with 1,000 glass tubes. Each would require more than 1,000 words for explanation.

"We've collaborated but we have five different projects throughout the house," says Ellie Abrons, one of the fellows.

Read the rest of the story here.

Owners transforming former party store into 3 boutique-ready storefronts at Cass and Willis

Model D Thursday, April 22, 2010

Another blighted, long-vacant hulk is being renovated into a home for new businesses in Detroit, serving as further proof of why the city's Midtown neighborhood is setting itself apart as the city's most vibrant area.

Excerpt:

The southeast corner of Cass and Willis is abuzz with construction activity as a former party store is being transformed into three storefronts. Leslie Malcomson, who owns the building with her husband Peter, anticipates construction will be completed this summer. The Malcomsons live next door to the property, so she has her fingers crossed that one of their tenants will be an ice cream parlor, but is open to any "small merchant, boutique-type store" moving in.

The units are approximately 1,000 square feet each, with large front windows and awnings. "We want it to look nice. This is our neighborhood," says Malcomson. The project architect is Keith A. Logsdon of Michael Willoughby & Associates.

Read the rest of the story here.

$8M Midtown Loop greenway project to break ground April 15

Model D Thursday, April 15, 2010

Transportation options are multiplying in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood now that construction on the Midtown Loop greenway has begun, allowing the emerging community to establish itself as the Motor City's most dynamic neighborhood.

Excerpt:

After seven long years developing plans, raising funds and negotiating easements, University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) is poised to break ground on the Midtown Loop greenway on April 15. The first phase, which runs .85 miles along Kirby between Cass and John R and then south along John R to Canfield, will be complete by October of this year. This fall, a short stretch of the mixed-use path that runs along Canfield between John R and Cass will begin construction and finally, the "loop" will be completed heading north along Cass back to Kirby in the summer of 2011.

Sue Mosey, president of UCCA, says the first phase links together several institutions, which will help generate users right off the bat. The path will link Wayne State University, Detroit Public Library Main Branch, Detroit Historical Society, Detroit Institute of Arts, College for Creative Studies, Detroit Science Center and Detroit Medical Center. "There are enough attractions, enough going on, for people to have an experience, which will encourage people to use it," she says.

Read the rest of the story here.

Urban farm now part of State Fairgrounds plan

Concentrate Thursday, April 08, 2010

The latest twist in the "Save the State Fairgrounds" drama is all about urban farming.

Hantz Farms is proposing to take over 40 acres and turn it into Detroit's first major urban commercial farm. The deal is contingent on the Huron Clinton Metro Parks Authority taking over control of the 135-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Woodward Avenue and 8 Mile Road.

"At this point we don't have any final plans for it right now," says Patty Russ, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Dept of Technology, Management & Budget. She adds that a decision will be made within the next month.

The Huron-Clinton Metro Parks is considering a takeover of the State Fairgrounds, which is owned by the state of Michigan. Part of the proposed deal would include the agency taking over the annual Michigan State Fair for $1 per year, while creating a year-round Metro Park, the first in the city of Detroit. The park could include amenities such as a fishing area, cross country skiing, and athletic fields.

One of the major complaints Detroit and the inner-ring suburbs have had is that they pay taxes for Metro Parks, but most of that land is at the outer fringes of the region. Turning the State Fair into a Metro Park would go a long way toward remedying that complaint.

Source: Patty Russ, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Dept of Technology, Management & Budget
Writer: Jon Zemke

DTE Energy looks for participants for SolarCurrents program

metromode Thursday, April 08, 2010

Solar power might not seem like the obvious alternative energy play in precipitation-happy Michigan, but it's one DTE Energy is going for with its SolarCurrents program.

The Detroit-based utility is looking for businesses and educational institutions with large rooftops or ground area to host solar energy installations. The idea is to help DTE meet Michigan's new Renewable Portfolio Standard while lowering energy bills.

"We do realize that solar might not be economically viable today in Michigan, but it may become so in the future," says Irene Dimitry, director of renewable energy for DTE. "There are reasons we are investing solar."

She adds that the costs of solar have been dropping recently thanks to a combination of increased competition, rising economies of scale, and a reduction in the price of materials. Dimitry also points out that Germany generates 3.5 percent of its energy from solar, and that country is not as solar friendly as Michigan.

"They are frequently referred to as one of the success stories," Dimitry says.

DTE hopes to harness photovoltaic systems on customer rooftops or property so it can generate 15 megawatts of renewable energy in Southeast Michigan over the next five years. It plans to invest $100 million in the program.

SolarCurrents requires customers to participate for 20 years. The solar energy systems will be owned, installed, operated, and maintained by the utility. In return, customers will get an annual credit on their energy bill based on the system size, as well as a one-time, upfront construction payment to cover any inconvenience during installation.

DTE is accepting applications until April 29. Interested participants should own a facility with 15,000 square feet of unobstructed roof in good condition or a similarly sized area on the ground.

So far 150 applications have been received. Of those, 80 percent have been from residential properties.

Source: Irene Dimitry, director of renewable energy for DTE Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke

Progress Report: Windows, insulation, heating and cooling up next at Green Garage

Model D Thursday, April 08, 2010

The Green Garage is blooming in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. The old Model T showroom is getting ready to become a showplace for new sustainability-oriented businesses.

Excerpt:

The last time Model D covered the Green Garage, back in December 2009, owners Peggy and Tom Brennan were chugging along with their project, transforming a 1920 building that once served as a Model T showroom into a business incubator and green building model. Earth tubes and water cisterns were installed, most of the ceiling removed to showcase the building's bow tresses, and a three-season room was added to the front of the building. They've since installed a Duro-Last roof and cleaned the interior and exterior brick and woodwork using a non-toxic process of walnut shell-blasting. The interior wood has been coated with low-VOC Defy.

The project is currently going through the brownfield approval process and design is being "taken to the next level of sustainable detail," says Tom. "Our design is solid, but not detailed enough for someone to pound a nail." This process is complicated by the level of efficiency they are working to attain. For example, windows will allow 0.1 air infiltration, be rated 45 R, achieve zero-waste, and will last 100 years.

Read the rest of the story here.

Midtown building undergoing renovation for Computech Detroit offices

Model D Thursday, April 01, 2010

Another renovation in Midtown is solidifying the neighborhood's reputation as the most dynamic place in the city. This time, Computech Corp. is turning an old mansion into its new headquarters and bringing lots of jobs with it.

Excerpt:

The 7,000-square-foot building located at the northeast corner of Cass and Kirby is currently undergoing renovations and, come May, will be the headquarters for Computech Corp., an IT company currently headquartered in Bingham Farms, with offices in India, Chicago, Toronto, and Atlanta. "I believe in the city and I believe that it is going to take small entrepreneurs to bring us back," says president Greg Cheesewright, a Toronto native who founded the company 14 years ago.

After Cheesewright conducted an extensive search -- "I went to every single building, I swear, in Detroit," -- he found the right one, and it was city-owned. Its Midtown location will enable Computech to work closely with Wayne State University. "It's an opportunity for me to get people from the university, have them come on as students in summer, train them ... and then get them as employees in four years," he says.

Read the rest of the story here.

Detroit Medical Center's new owner has plans for $800M in upgrades

Model D Thursday, March 25, 2010

A major change in health care is coming to Metro Detroit now that the non-profit-based Detroit Medical Center has been sold to a for-profit firm from Nashville, Vanguard Health Systems.

Excerpt:

Tennessee-based Vanguard Health Systems has acquired the Detroit Medical Center. The company plans to invest $800 million in its city of Detroit facilities and create a number of new jobs over the next five years.

"We would expect to hire additional clinical personnel and management personnel," says Phil Roe, CFO of Vanguard. He added that his firm expects to use local resources (contractors, construction workers, materials, etc.) for the new construction and renovation projects.

Those proposed projects include a new Children's Hospital tower, new modern patient units at Detroit Receiving, a doubling of the Sinai Grace emergency room, a major renovation of Harper, and new physicians' office buildings at Harper and Sinai Grace hospitals.

Read the rest of the story here.

DTE offers energy efficiency webinars for small biz

metromode Thursday, March 18, 2010

DTE Energy has launched another program focused on helping its users create energy efficiency, this time all on the Internet.

The downtown Detroit-based utility will host a monthly webinar this year. The point is to teach small businesses how to save money on their utility bills. They will cover a variety of subjects, such as energy efficiency incentives, the best options for energy efficient lighting, and heating and energy audits. The webinars are an offshoot of the Your Energy Savings program.

"This is just one more component of a program to help our customers to save energy and money," says Eileen Dixon, a spokeswoman for DTE Energy.

The hour-long webinars will consist of a 45-minute presentation on that day's topic (the first of which is about available rebates and tax incentives for energy efficiency products) followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer period. Participants will be able to either email or call in questions for the presenters.

The free webinars will be held the third Thursday of each month, beginning at 2 p.m. today. Registration is required. For information, click here.

Source: Eileen Dixon, a spokeswoman for DTE Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke

M1 Rail chief Cullen: The right people are in the room, money is there

Model D Thursday, March 18, 2010

If timing isn't everything, then money and leaders probably play a major part, too. All three of those stars are aligning for Detroit's M1 Rail light rail project along Woodward Avenue.

Excerpt:

At the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) annual meeting earlier this month, transit was certainly on the agenda. A clip from Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City, a PBS special that first aired nationwide on February 8 and will re-air locally in April, was shown, and director Aaron Woolf said a few words. Many of the other speakers, from Mayor Dave Bing to DDP president Ann Lang also touched on the subject, but it was the primary focus of Matt Cullen's time on the podium. Cullen, you might remember, had a big hand in the development of the Detroit RiverWalk from his position at General Motors and has now made a move over to Quicken Loans, where he is tasked with shepherding the privately financed M-1 Rail project to fruition.

Model D thought it was time to catch our readers up on the project, so we had a little phone chat with Cullen.

Model D: Can you spell out where the M-1 Woodward light rail project currently stands?

Read the rest of the story here.

$21M in stimulus cash for Ann Arbor, Detroit transit

metromode Thursday, March 11, 2010

And now it's time for a little love for the buses, the hardworking behemoths chugging away for the Detroit Dept of Transportation and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

The two transit agencies received about $21 million in federal stimulus funds last week, with most of that money going toward both areas' bus systems. DDOT received $18.9 million for operating expenses.

It will also facilitate the purchase of the agency's first hybrid buses (four), along with another 42 diesel buses. All 44 are the normal 40-foot long buses.

AATA received about $1 million to upgrade its bus storage area and another $700,000 to redevelop the University of Michigan's Central Campus transit center, which serves buses. The agency used federal stimulus funding last year to purchase four more hybrid buses, which should come online in May.

The entire state of Michigan received a total of $34.6 million in federal stimulus funds for mass transit improvements last week.

Source: U.S. Dept of Transportation
Writer: Jon Zemke

Dearborn evaluates sustainability program options

metromode Thursday, March 11, 2010

The city of Dearborn is looking at taking on a number of green initiatives ranging from enhanced recycling to LED streetlights and has six figures worth of federal grant money to get it started.

The city received a $250,000 federal grant (thank you federal stimulus package) last year to determine the feasibility for a number of green initiatives. Those options include possibly establishing a waste-to-energy plant in the city, going to single-stream recycling, and installing LED streetlights.

Only a small part of that $250,000 grant has been used. That grant is also the first part of a $970,800 grant to help implement some of these green initiatives and create a sustainability position in the city.

The waste-to-energy plant isn't your normal dirty Detroit-style incinerator. Dearborn is looking at a gasification plans that doesn't actually burn the refuse. The city is also looking at an anerobic digestor for its sludge waste.

Installing 300-350 LED streetlights in its neighborhoods is another option. LED streetlights, which use a fraction of the electricity and last longer than incandescent light bulbs, are the green cause de jour. Ann Arbor has grabbed numerous headlines with its efforts to install these lights throughout its downtown. Pontiac has also installed LEDs, and a number of other cities such as Ferndale, Wyandotte, and Detroit have toyed with the idea.

Dearborn is also planning to switch to single-stream recycling. That is where recyclers put all of their recycling into one container (no more sorting) and the city sorts it at the recycling plant.

"The money could be used to buy the recycling cars," says David Norwood, sustainability coordinator for the city of Dearborn.

Source: David Norwood, sustainability coordinator for the city of Dearborn
Writer: Jon Zemke

Warm Training Center, Clean Energy share in $200K block grant

metromode Thursday, March 11, 2010

Non-profits from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti are splitting the lion's share of a $195,996 state grant to promote municipal sustainability.

The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, & Economic Growth awarded the money, which originated from the federal stimulus package, to four non-profits. They include the Michigan Municipal League Foundation of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti-based Clean Energy Coalition, and WARM Training Center.

The latter is a 30-year-old Detroit-based non-profit that helps people make their homes and businesses more energy efficient and implement alternative energy generators. It received $59,400 to help small municipalities (35,000 residents or less) in southeast Michigan become more energy efficient in their facilities.

"The focus is definitely energy efficiency," says Bob Chapman, executive director of the WARM Training Center. "However, we broadened it to any type of green technology and reducing green house emissions."

The Clean Energy Coalition received $58,300 to support 37 communities in south and south-central Michigan. The Michigan Municipal League Foundation received $58,296 to support 36 communities in the southwest, west and northern portions of the state. East Lansing-based Michigan Energy Options received $20,000 to support 12 communities in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Source: Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, & Economic Growth and Bob Chapman, executive director of the WARM Training Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

Tenants filling New Center's under-renovation Boulevard West building

Model D Thursday, March 11, 2010

Detroit's New Center neighborhood is getting a bit lively as more people move in and the infrastructure improves.

Excerpt:

New Center Council (NCC) acquired 2990 W. Grand Boulevard last summer, along with the adjacent park and parking lot to the west. The agency has been renovating the commercial building suite by suite and the work is yielding new tenants. Project manager Jim Winters says that activating the building is good for the neighborhood -- which is exactly what NCC is tasked to do. "Being owned by a nonprofit, everything (about the building) flows out to the community."

Winters estimates that about a quarter of the building's 43,000 square feet of leasable space has been improved. Tenants include Lawrence Technological University's Detroit architecture studio, Connections for Deaf Citizens, Detroit Chiropractic, Enviromac, and -- the newest and largest tenant -- SER Metro Careers for Life Center, which occupies the entire fourth floor.

Read the rest of the story here.

WA3 starts Woodward Maintenance Fund

metromode Thursday, March 04, 2010

The Woodward Avenue Action Association normally engages in maintaining the reputation and brand of Woodward Avenue. However, now it is taking a more active part in the physical appearance of Michigan's Main Street.

The non-profit has created the Woodward Maintenance Fund. The fund will help local municipalities deal with the extra costs of major events and other infrastructure improvements to make it prettier for people who use the corridor all the time.

"It will make Woodward as beautiful as possible and as appealing to everyone as possible," says Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator for the Woodward Avenue Action Association.

Some of the projects the fund will support include tree planting, fixing public lighting, and installing public art. It will also supply extra maintenance service during special events.

The initial funding ($10,000) for the project came from monies raised during the 2009 Community Foundation Arts & Culture Challenge. The Woodward Avenue Action Association expects to raise even more money from local foundations and philanthropists.

Source: Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator for the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke

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