Unique downtown Ann Arbor apartment took years to create
Source: Ann Arbor Business Review, 7/1/2009
One of downtown Ann Arbor’s most unique loft apartments and accompanying clubs (Cavern Club) can be yours for a small, seven-figure sum.
Excerpt:
The farm-equipment repair that took place in the third-story of the old Ann Arbor Implement Co. building on First Avenue is ancient history when you're sitting in Nick Easton's apartment, a wood-paneled, antique-filled, 3,000-square foot home.
It stretches the imagination to think that the same space has been home to such different scenes, and it took Easton - owner of the building that includes the Cavern Club complex of bars and dance floors on the first two stories - upwards of three years to complete the transition.
"It looked like a wood shop for two years, full of old carpenters tools," he said. "I worked on it as I could afford it."
Easton was an antique dealer before buying the building and converting it to one of the more popular nightspots in Ann Arbor, and its easy to see what he did with some of his left over pieces - the apartment is filled with items like old vases, lamps, a jukebox, a grandfather clock, and an old cash register.
Easton estimated about 35 percent of the pieces were recycled from his antique days. But there was no grand, overarching design, he said.
Read the rest of the story here.
Ypsi goes solar this summer
Source: Ypsilanti Citizen, 7/1/2009
Dave Strenski is on a solar installation binge in Ypsilanti this summer.
Excerpt:
An environmentally conscious person might change a couple of habits to do their part for the environment. Recycle, instead of throwing paper in the trash or bike instead of driving.
But how about installing solar panels to a house or better yet, a historic building in the city? Think that’s going a little above and beyond? Tell that to Ypsilanti resident Dave Strenski.
The applications analyst at Cray Inc. makes high performance computers at his day job, and then leaves to install solar panels on historic buildings in Ypsilanti.
So far, Strenski has installed 12 panels on the rooftop at the Ypsilanti Food Cooperative and has two other projects in the works. Strenski says solar panels on the back of City Hall and on the rooftop of the Food Co-op’s River Street Bakery will be completed by the end of the summer.
Read the rest of the story here.
General Electric's wind energy center could fuel Michigan's alternative-energy-based revival
Source: Ann Arbor Business Review, 7/1/2009
Michigan’s alternative energy future, and the jobs accompany it, are coming soon to a place near you.
Excerpt:
Michigan - already a step of ahead most of the country in developing a battery industry and solar energy industry - is about to take a considerable step toward becoming a national leader in wind energy technology.
General Electric today said it would hire some 1,100 workers at a research and production center in Van Buren Township in western Wayne County -- an operation that will focus heavily on renewable energy, especially wind energy technology.
GE's decision to invest $100 million in the operation represents a validation of Michigan's aggressive pursuit of green technology industries and illustrates the power of Michigan's engineering workforce.
It's fair to assume that GE identified Michigan as an engineering powerhouse where white-collar labor is particularly cheap. (GE CEO Jeff Immelt was expected to discuss the investment at a speech at 1:15 p.m. at the Detroit Economic Club.)
Earlier this year, Ann Arbor-based think tank Michigan Future Inc. issued a report suggesting that Michigan's low-paid, high-knowledge workforce could eventually become an asset. I suspect that GE's decision to locate the operation in Michigan, instead of California or New York, for example, is at least partly reflective of Michigan's cost-effective labor pool.
Read the rest of the story here and more here.
Michigan Universities boost commercialization, create entrepreneurs
Source: Great Lakes IT Report, 7/1/2009
Further proof that Michigan’s universities --especially, ahem, U-M-- will play a key role in reinventing the state’s economy.
Excerpt:
?A program to help Michigan’s public universities create new entrepreneurs and speed commercialization of research is finding success just one year after making its first grants to universities around the state, officials from the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship consortium, and researchers said Wednesday at a news conference at the State Capitol.
"MIIE is having a tremendous impact at universities who have research projects that require additional funding to move them toward commercialization,” said Marvin Parnes, Associate Vice President for Research and Executive Director of Research Administration, University of Michigan. “Our efforts have allowed important research projects continue that could one day create much-needed jobs and companies in Michigan.”
Read the rest of the story here.
Why Ann Arbor is the first city to lose its only daily newspaper
Source: Poynter Institute, 7/1/2009
Sometimes Ann Arbor’s smarts plays against it. In this case they contributed to the impending downfall of The Ann Arbor News.
Excerpt:
I have been wondering for a year now which American city will be first to lose its only daily newspaper. The results are in, and the dubious distinction goes to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Newhouse family's Advance will shutter The Ann Arbor News in late July.
Ann Arbor? Home to the huge University of Michigan, birthplace and headquarters of the Borders book chain and a pocket of relative prosperity with only light collateral damage from the auto industry, a literate place, population around 100,000, one might expect to be appreciative of what print newspapers offer.
But some of those apparent strengths seem instead to have proven drawbacks -- a curious state of affairs that may provide an unexpected window into what kinds of newspapers are most vulnerable in the brutal business climate of 2009.
Read the rest of the story here.
Man climbs Ypsilanti tree, refuses to leave
Source: Mark Maynard Blog, 7/1/2009
There are lots of ways to make a point, like climbing a tree and refusing to come down until the fire department comes to get you.
Excerpt:
I like that Riney, when they show him up in the tree, is reading a book about Walter Reuther. And I also like that the reporter didn’t ask him where he poops, which is the kind of reporting I’ve come to expect from our regional press.
Read the rest of the story here.
U-M's Pfizer site acquisition reflects biotech transition for Ann Arbor region
Source: Ann Arbor Business Review, 6/24/2009
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
Source: Crain's Detroit Business, 6/24/2009
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.
Coleman says Tech Transfer key to prosperity at National Summit
Source: Great Lakes IT Report, 6/24/2009
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.
Hospitals at U-M to earn $14 million
Source: Detroit Free Press, 6/24/2009
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.
Future of Ann Arbor's State Street area evolving
Source: Ann Arbor Business Review, 6/24/2009
Ann Arbor's State Street is waving good bye to Shaman Drum and hello to CVS. The times, they are a-changing.
Excerpt:
A wave of changes among retail spaces on South State positions the near-campus commercial district to widen its mix, through the pending arrival of a national pharmacy chain and an expected decline in the number of fast-food outlets.
Several properties on State between William and Washington are in transition: The Shaman Drum Bookshop at 311 S. State is closing after nearly 30 years in business; a CVS Pharmacy may build a new store at 209 S. State; and a new U-M dorm and privately operated student housing high-rise promise to bring hundreds of new residents to the immediate area.
While some real estate brokers expressed fear that the result could be a proliferation of fast-casual food uses - which can more easily afford the $40-$50 per square foot rental rates - that in turn would hurt the economic diversity of the area, others say they're confident that the new student housing and the proximity to the Diag will keep the area vital.
"I don't think there's a recession on State Street," said Bob Andrus, a broker at Michigan Commercial Realty, who recently leased 2,250 square feet on State to Great Lakes Team Apparel to expand its existing location. "The demand is much stronger than I anticipated.
Read the rest of the story here.
Heidelberg's Club Above rocks Ann Arbor
Source: The Detroit News, 6/24/2009
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.
Makin' bacon better, Zingerman's style
Source: The Atlantic, 6/17/2009
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.
Even L.A. mourns the closing of Shaman Drum
Source: Los Angeles Times, 6/17/2009
The loss of Shaman Drum is being felt 2000 miles away, across the U.S.
Excerpt:
Karl Pohrt, owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Mich., announced online today that he will close the bookstore after 29 years in business. On the bookstore's blog in a post titled "The Last Chapter," he wrote:
On the advice of my accountant and my business manager, I am closing Shaman Drum Bookshop June 30. Despite a first rate staff, a fiercely loyal core of customers, a very decent landlord and my own commitment to the community of arts and letters in Ann Arbor, it is clear to me that the bookshop is not a sustainable business. ...
Over a year ago we began a process to become a non-profit center for the literary arts. I am decoupling Shaman Drum Bookshop from the Great Lakes Literary Arts Center, which should simplify and streamline our IRS application. I will pursue this new venture after we close the store.
Read the rest of the story here.
Program reflects U-M dance department through the years
Source: Detroit Free Press, 6/17/2009
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.