Development News

Vacancies along the Grosse Pointe Woods main business district on Mack Avenue are filling up and giving locals hope that the economic malaise may be lifting.

"In this economy to see this many businesses and this mix, we are very excited,"  says Grosse Pointe Woods building official Gene Tutag.

The just opened or soon-to-open businesses include the Cupcake Station, a five-year-old Michigan company that also has shops in Ferndale, Ann Arbor, Plymouth and Birmingham and a handful of other cities. The new store will be located at 19615 Mack. It bakes unthought-of varieties of cupcakes fresh each day.

Also coming is Yogo Hut, a self-serve yogurt shop where customers choose their own flavors and toppings and weigh and pay. It is moving in to 19605 Mack and should be open by mid-December, Tutag says.

Other new arrivals are Avia Salon, at 20527 Mack; Ardan Academy of Irish Dance, at 20647 Mack; and Flashpoint Photography.

Tutag says the Grosse Pointe Woods vacancy rate is around 7 percent and as plans to attract more mixed uses such as live-work spaces and more outdoor seating unfold, the hope is Mack Avenue takes on a fresh identity. The city has also formed a special committee called Planning Commission 2020 to chart a thriving course for the Woods business district.

"When you have people out, it makes other people want to be out too," Tutag says.

Source: Gene Tutag, building official, Grosse Pointe Woods
Writer: Kim North Shine

The Old Post Bar on Woodward in Ferndale is undergoing a major transformation that will bring a drastically different look and new genre of food to so-called fashionable Ferndale.

The Woodward Imperial, a California-style taco bar (think fish tacos and such), is in the process of major renovations of the space the Post left behind, says Cristina Sheppard Decius, executive director of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority. She says the restaurant brings a whole new kind of menu to town and turns a worn-out building and prominent empty spot into a head-turner.

The owners are putting extra effort into returning the building to its original, more attractive state, before a flimsy facade went up years ago, she says.

The city and DDA have helped out with grants to move along the project, which has run into some unexpected construction delays due to taking the historic preservation route. Instead of a November or so opening date, it may open in January, Sheppard-Decius says.

One of the most outstanding parts of the project, which has big plantation shutters between the indoor and outdoor dining areas, is the open air seating on the restaurant front on Woodward and the alley behind it.

"This is something we'd like to see a lot more of," Sheppard-Decius says. "This is just a really great addition to Ferndale for many reasons."

Source: Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director, Ferndale DDA
Writer: Kim North Shine

Parking meters in downtown Pontiac are a thing of the past as the city carries out a plan to overhaul its parking system and start fresh again.

The goal is to cut down on the operating costs of checking and maintaining the meters and also to make parking downtown more convenient and cost-efficient, says Khalfani Stephens, director of commercial and industrial development for the city. Pontiac's finances are in such a shambles that the city is being run by a state-appointed emergency financial manager.

In addition to removing every parking meter in downtown Pontiac, the city will also privatize its largest parking structure and lots and sell the others.

Downtown business owners have met the change with mixed reactions, with some thinking customers won't miss the meters and others saying losing timed meters hurts business, Stephens says.

"When it's all over," Stephens says,"it should be a situation where the department's operating costs are in order and the businesses and customers have a more pleasant experience coming downtown."

Source: Khalfani Stephens, director of commercial and industrial development
Writer: Kim North Shine

A new pet salon has come to downtown Royal Oak, bringing with it a mod space that's a far cry from Lassie's groomer.

Bingo Pet Salon, which opened last month on Fourth Street just off Main, brought with it a business plan to serve Royal Oak's downtown dwellers and commuters.

"That's kind of the nice thing about it... being able to come downtown, drop off your dog, see a movie, shop, run an errand," says Kate Burton, Bingo's general manager.

The other part of the business vision was to design an eye-catching spot that fit into downtown. The interior of the salon has an industrial lofty feel with high ceilings and lots of glass. At the front of the salon, a glass room that looks out on Fourth Street holds just coifed small dogs.

"People walking by can see them. They're our little models," Burton says. "It's definitely a more modern feel overall," she says. "Being downtown that's what we were going for."

Bingo, which is owned by Royal Oak resident Jon Beasley, opened last month and had a grand opening event with specialty dog treats and other pet goodies last week.

"This is his first time in this business," she says, "but he's been thinking about doing it for sometime, especially living downtown, knowing how many people hang out downtown with their dogs. This is a dog-friendly city in general."

Bingo Pet Salon is also connecting with the community by featuring works of local artists on its walls. Currently photographer Marco Mancinelli's pics of people and their pets are on display. And the salon is working with the Royal Oak animal shelter and New Beginnings, an animal rescue group, to foster and adopt homeless animals.

Already, she says, "more and more people are discovering us. We're getting busier and busier."

Source: Kate Burton, general manager, Bingo Pet Salon
Writer: Kim North Shine

A new coffee bar where the Joe can come with a protein boost and the patrons can kick back is open for business in downtown Wyandotte.

Tongue's Protein Bar & Chill Lounge serves coffee mixed with protein powders. The beans are roasted at Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor. Tongue's also whips up smoothies, slushies and serves assorted snacks and treats. Herbal teas and healthful drinks are also served along with upbeat messages such as "Life is Beautiful" on blackboards. The feel is laid-back, with oversized leather furniture, lots of natural wood and places to read, talk or even play piano or chess.

Father and son owner-managers Greg and Tim Tongue are the brains behind the operation, where customers will find a Tongue Splitter (a quad shot) and a Tongueccino (coffee with flavoring).

The opening at 2958 Biddle Ave., the Dot's main drag, fills in a vacant spot in downtown, says downtown development director Natalie Rankine.

Source: Natalie Rankine, Wyandotte Downtown Development Director
Writer: Kim North Shine

After 15 years of looking for ways to make Royal Oak more useful and safe for cyclists and pedestrians, the city has an official plan that could achieve that goal and more.

The Royal Oak Non-Motorized Transportation Plan lays out a beginning-to-end process for not only making downtown Royal Oak more walkable and rideable, but also for connecting Royal Oak by pathways to neighborhoods and other communities.

Chicago-based consultant Active Transportation Alliance worked with the city on devising this latest, likely final, plan, a process many cities statewide and nationwide are going through as advocates for pedestrian-friendly communities organize and cities and businesses see the economic and lifestyle advantage of designing transportation plans not completely centered around the automobile.

The plan calls for adding designated routes and bike lanes and connections to important places and corridors such as Woodward Avenue, Beaumont Hospital, downtown and regional trails. There will also be amenities and changes to increase safety and convenience for pedestrians and cyclists.

Implementation of the city's plan, which has passed the zoning and city commissions and is now going to neighboring communities for feedback, will take years and will "position the community for a brighter, healthier and more active future," says Douglas Hedges, city planner for Royal Oak.

Hedges says the method of funding for the projects to come out of the plan has yet to be decided, but it will most likely involve a combination of grants and Act 51 revenues, a state of Michigan transportation fund that is derived from fuel taxes on automobiles and spent on transportation enhancement.

"The main benefit of the plan," he says, "would be to improve Royal Oak's pedestrian-friendly environment and enhance the quality of life for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as motorists."

Source: Douglas Hedges, city planner, city of Royal Oak and Royal Oak Non-Motorized Transportation Plan
Writer: Kim North Shine

New Parkmobile parking meters that let users pay by using a a smartphone app are going online this week and next in Ferndale.

Each of Ferndale's 1,200-plus parking meters will have the Parkmobile stickers applied to them. It's a change that could curtail the common scene of scrounging for coins in the bottom of purses or under seats or of rushing from an outing to avoid a parking ticket.

"It's just so much more convenient. It's really the easiest thing in the world to do," says Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director of Ferndale's Downtown Development Authority. "For someone like me who works here or for someone who lives and works here, it makes life a lot easier."

She says the city is trying to spread the word to register with Parkmobile. The only way to use it is to pay by phone. Registration is online at Parkmobile and requires information such as license plate and credit card numbers. After that, an app is downloaded and a transaction fee of 35 cents per park or $1.25 a month of unlimited parking is deducted. Once registered, the app is good anywhere, any state, any place, that has Parkmobile meters. To pay by phone, open the app, plug in your parking zone and parking space -- it's on the stickers on the meters -- and parking is paid.

"It hopefully allows people to save money on parking fees and parking tickets," Sheppard-Decius says.

Ferndale is the first Oakland County city to install them, says Chris Hughes, communications and marketing manager for the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority.

According to Parkmobile, Dearborn, Grand Rapids and Petoskey are also part of the system, which has pay by phone meters in more than 20 states. Sheppard-Decius says they're common along lines of mass transit, such as in DC and Massachusetts.

Source: Chris Hughes, communication and marketing manager, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority; Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director Ferndale DDA
Writer: Kim North Shine

Just two years after Chrysler Group LLC's Sterling Heights assembly plant was written off in bankruptcy there are construction cranes and workers putting $1 billion worth of updates and changes into the facility.

"It's amazing considering, as Chrysler has said itself, it is a rags-to-riches story for this facility," says Mark Vanderpool, Sterling Heights city manager.

When the facility made the list of Chrysler properties to be closed and liquidated in 2010, the city council formed a task force to save the facility. After meeting with 50 local, state, and federal officials from government, schools, unions, private industry, the utilities, railroads, and the Italian Consulate, Chrysler bought the facility back and decided to make it a site where the latest technology would meet manufacturing.

"After this broad-based effort, Chrysler decided to reverse its decision...and due to the incentive package...Chrysler decided to purchase back the facility out of bankruptcy for $20 million," says Vanderpool, who notes it's one of the largest construction projects in southeast Michigan.

"This is the first example of such a scenario in the country. Probably 30-plus auto facilities have been closed across the country and this is the only example in the country of the company buying it back and bringing it back to life."

Besides just over $1 billion in investment in the facility, which includes the recent announcement of a $165 million paint and body section, Chrysler is putting 900 people to work.

In a statement announcing the additional investment, Scott Garberding, senior vice president and head of manufacturing for  Chrysler Group LLC, says, "A plant that was slated to close nearly two years ago will now be a state-of-the-art facility that will play an integral role in the success of this company by building the next generation of all-new vehicles.”

Source: Mark Vanderpool, Sterling Heights City Manager
Writer: Kim North Shine

Garbage pick-up, public safety, water, and sewer have gone the way of regionalization, with the rise of shared services in some Metro Detroit communities. Rarer still are the sharing of recreation departments, but the cities of Eastpointe and Roseville see sharing theirs as a way to save money and improve quality.

"We thought this was kind of contemporary," says Eastpointe City Manager Steve Duchane, who says the Michigan Parks & Recreation Department has no record of other cities combining recreation services.

The neighboring cities have formed a recreation authority that would oversee all that the two cities' recreation departments offer: senior activities, sports, and enrichment classes.

If the authority is to have any authority, however, voters in the two Macomb County cities must approve a 20-year assessment of 1 mill, or about $35 in taxes a year for a home with an equalized value of $35,000 -- half of market value. The election is Nov. 8.

If voters reject it, the cities will cease recreation services at the beginning of the year, when the money runs out.

"This has been a very difficult decision for the city council," Duchane says.

"You don't think of joining forces until you're in a financial situation," he says. "Both departments are already combining on some things…So it's logical to share services more formally. Each one running a smaller program is more inefficient."

In addition to sharing programming, the cities would share one main recreation center, the one currently in Roseville at 11 Mile and Gratiot. Eastpointe's current center is at 8 Mile and Gratiot.

"It's actually more centrally located, and this would logically let us have one bigger, better center." Even though a recreation center isn't typically a targeted area for combining services, Duchane expects to see more of it.

"I think it's an evolutionary process," he says. "There's already sharing of service, mutual aid. Recreation is just not the first thing people have thought of."

"It's a different twist. I don't think people are opposed to it… .It's just something different, something you don't think about until you're in a financial situation that makes you think about it."

Source: Steve Duchane, Eastpointe city manager
Writer: Kim North Shine

A grant of $100,000 and a donation of the same amount from ITC Holdings, a Novi company, are helping Oakland County green things up a bit.

Some 850 trees are being planted in 20 locations around Oakland County, part of a greening of the county master plan, says Bret Rasegan, supervisor, Oakland County Planning and Development.

"It's a way to support our green infrastructure vision," Rasegan says. A countywide inventory of greenspaces has been completed and used for a map that shows how a system could be interconnected, he says.

The grant, part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, comes through the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and will pay for the planting of trees along the Rouge Watershed in the cities of Novi, West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills.

ITC, or International Transmission Company, is the largest independently-owned electricity transmission company in the nation, and it decided to give a boost to the grant by pitching in a $100,000 contribution.

Because of the donation from ITC, the county can plant more than double the number of trees it had hoped to with the grant, Rasegan says.

The trees will be planted in parks, along roadways and roundabouts, at a dog park, golf course and municipal complexes.

Source: Bret Rasegan, supervisor, Oakland County Planning & Development
Writer: Kim North Shine

The roasted beans loved by Portlanders, Seattleites and New Yorkers are coming to Detroit via the Red Hook, a new coffee bar in Ferndale.

Sandi and Andrew Heaselgrave (she a native of Michigan, he a Brit) lived in Brooklyn until last year. While there they fell in love with Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee brewer founded in Portland. The Heaselgraves were introduced to Stumptown during a visit to Portland about 10 years ago and became devotees when the company later opened an East Coast store in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

Once the couple decided to have a baby they knew it was time to be near family, either in Michigan or England. Last year they chose to renovate a home in Detroit and then to open Red Hook, off 9 Mile in downtown Ferndale, by renovating and partnering with the popular Pinwheel Bakery in Ferndale, which is owned by Ann St. Peters.

Pinwheel will bake in the kitchen while Red Hook will serve coffee from the bar out front, where vintage and custom furniture is mixed with worn wood and farmhouse lights. Pinwheel will supply a new cake each day, lunch, and other local products, which were much missed while the store was closed for renovations, Sandi Heaselgrave says.

Red Hook opened last week and will have a grand opening on November 5. The theme will be wedding party, with Stumptown coffee varieties and cakes made by Pinwheel. She expects Red Hook to be the site of pop-up restaurants as well, a concept that lets starter chefs serve their food in a temporary space. Last week Komodo Kitchen served at Red Hook.

While Red Hook and its unusual varieties has coffee connoisseurs as fans, it's also for the coffee drinker who just wants a solid cup of Joe. The beans that go into Red Hooks' brews are roasted at the Brooklyn store that saturated the sidewalks the Easelgraves used to tread.

"It's for people who like really good coffee, but we're not going to be pretentious about it at all," she says. "It's great coffee without the New York attitude. We'll try to be open and helpful and pass on information only if you want it. WE don't push it on people…We just want people to have a nice cup of coffee. The more you want to know, the more we'll tell you."

The couple's decision to bring their lives back to Michigan is like many other local entrepreneurs who decided Michigan was a great place for family and business.

"I think it's a really cool place to start a business," Sandi Heaselgrave says. "Having been away for 10 years…and getting back and realizing how nice it is, it gives you a fresh view and excitement."

Source: Sandi Heaselgrave, co-owner, Red Hook
Writer: Kim North Shine

A business incubator support project in Sterling Heights called Velocity is offering space, guidance and other services to startups in the fields of defense, homeland security and advanced manufacturing.

Velocity and several other organizations are located in a renovated and technologically updated 35,000-square-foot building that was formerly a Ford Motor Co. child care center. It's located on 18 Mile Road between Van Dyke and Mound Roads. Van Dyke lies in a state SmartZone.

Velocity, which launched last week, is a collaboration between the city of Sterling Heights, Macomb County and the Macomb-OU Business INCubator.

It offers customized leased space to start-ups that "have their business plan, their product, and they're looking for assistance and guidance to take it to that next step," says Denice Gerstenberg, business development manager for Sterling Heights. "They will grow up, move out of the incubator and into the community to create jobs."

Macomb County, which has been dubbed the Arsenal of Democracy for its work in defense, has a long history and background in all three industries targeted by Velocity.

"This corridor has a strong defense presence…Macomb County gets approximately six percent of all defense contracts," Gerstenberg points out. It goes to show that the money is there for start-ups with useful ideas. "Homeland security is an emerging industry and obviously with all the [automakers], Chrysler and Ford being here, it's a strong manufacturing corridor as well."

Other building occupants include the Macomb-OU INCubator, the Pawley Lean Institute from OU, and OU's Center for Robotics and Unmanned Intelligent Systems.

There also are two start-up tenants moving along the business development path that's opened to 20-25 other start-ups.

Source: Denice Gerstenberg, business development manager, city of Sterling Heights
Writer: Kim North Shine

Lisa Taylor wasn't ready or to close the book on her career as a bookstore manager when Borders shut down in April.

So Taylor, a Mount Clemens resident who worked at the Borders store in Utica for 17 years, opened her own bookstore.

Used on New -- the books are used and the store is on New Street in downtown Mount Clemens -- opened in May and since then Taylor has seen there is still a market for books. Not only are there book lovers who see electronic readers as inadequate, but there are readers who want good prices on books. For example, she says, the latest, barely used Janet Evanovich retails for $28 new, or $9 at her store.

"People still like the experience of the bookstore and the book, the tactile, the feel, the smell," says Taylor, who's 43 and started working at Borders at age 25.

"While I was going through the liquidation process at Borders I saw how much people wanted discounted books," Taylor recalls. "They still liked books, they just wanted them at a more affordable price."

Besides not wanting to see the demise of the bookstore, Taylor says she went into business for herself because "I didn't want to grow up. I didn't want to go into the real world."

Taylor says downtown Mount Clemens is a great spot to own a business. "There's always something going on here. There are events...There are festivals all summer long," she says of the city that is the seat of Macomb County and home to its busy courthouse and county offices. "I get the court traffic, the jurors who have time to kill."

Her husband, Dave, who owns Weirdsville in the Clem as well, helps her run the bookstore that they hope has many chapters to go.

Source: Lisa Taylor, owner, Used on New
Writer: Kim North Shine

If the numbers paint an accurate picture, development of mass transportation in Michigan is picking up steam.

A series of announcements this week look promising for light rail and other transportation options for Southeast Michigan. Earlier this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $46.7 million in funding for 16 projects across the state, several in Detroit and surrounding suburbs.

Besides about $7 million for the city of Detroit to replace buses and make other improvements, metro Detroit will see $2 million in funding for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which will study transportation alternatives between 8 Mile and 15 Mile Roads.

Part of that research will focus on connecting to a light rail line to run along Woodward Avenue in Detroit, starting in downtown and ending at 8 Mile. That project got $25 million in federal funding last year and a promise of continued support from LaHood this week, who is also encouraging local officials in southeast Michigan to look at a regional approach to the light rail line.

The latest funding comes as a regional transportation task force headed by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has formed so that counties in Southeast Michigan will look at transportation advancements and opportunities as a united entity, rather than completing projects piecemeal.

And if there is question as to the interest from the public in mass transportation such as trains, record ridership numbers on Amtrak show there is. According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, which released the ridership numbers this week, there has been an increase on its three lines for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Ridership of the the Wolverine line, which runs between Pontiac and Chicago, increased by 4.9 percent from last year for a total of 503,290 riders. The increase might have been larger but for track work and freight slowdowns, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The Blue Water line from Port Huron to Chicago increased 18.6 percent, up to 187,065 passengers, and the Pere Marquette route between Grand Rapids and Chicago saw a a gain of 4.7 percent, with 106,662 passengers.

In addition, SMART, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, will receive nearly $5 million to replace unusable buses with hybrid biodiesel/electric models.

Tie in the decision in recent weeks by the state of Michigan to take on the Amtrak corridor between Dearborn and Kalamazoo and upgrade to 100-mph-plus high speed rail, and Michigan's mass transit improvements appear to be picking up steam.

There are two important lessons in all of this," says Megan Owens, director of Transportation Riders United, an advocacy group for mass transit.

"One is there is a huge interest and demand for better transit in our community. Whether you're talking city, suburb, business communities, individuals, politicians, there's a huge interest in having better public transportation," Owens says. "While it's great the feds are supportive, the other side of the story is we are dramatically under-investing in a system."

"We are so lucky to have incredible federal support. They've highlighted Michigan and Detroit as a special focus, but they can only do so much. We have to step up ourselves."

Owens shares her thoughts while attending a conference in Washington, D.C. this week on transit-oriented development. In other states, she says, tens of thousands of jobs have been created and billions of dollars invested in light rail, public transportation and in communities along the routes, with success achieved only after committing sales tax or other funding sources to their projects.

She also points out that for all the talk of high speed trains and light rail, buses, the backbone of a transportation system, can't be forgotten. The latest federal dollars do go toward improving DDOT and SMART buses, but again, she says, the commitment locally needs to be greater.

"It's absolutely fabulous we're seeing big investment in this area, but we have to not only maintain but improve the core services."

Source: Michigan Department of Transportation and Megan Owens, director of Transportation Riders United.
Writer: Kim North Shine

Downtown Clawson is the latest community to join the Oakland County Main Street program, a move that could take the historic section of town to the next level by gaining access to the program's dollars, ideas and promotion.

Main Street Oakland County was the nation's first countywide Main Street program when it formed in 2000, and since then it's become one of the most successful, ranking among the top in return on investment in downtown Main Streets nationwide.

Clawson brings its own successes: 10 new downtown businesses in the last two years and a new streetscape, additional parking and other visitor-friendly changes last year.

Clawson becomes the 12th community to join Oakland County's Main Street program, which is part of the national Main Street Center in Washington, D.C. It is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and promotes the saving and redevelopment of existing downtowns and also taps into the trend of businesses and people looking to walkable, connected, historic, diverse Main Streets.

In 2010, Main Street Oakland County facilitated $22,306,504 in public and private investment, which included 1,084 new, full-time jobs and 144 new businesses across its 11 communities. In addition, 246 buildings were rehabilitated.

Joan Horton, the executive director of Clawson's Downtown Development Authority, says in a statement announcing Clawson's decision to join MSOC, “we’re very excited to continue our relationship with Main Street Oakland County and to preserve, protect and enjoy downtown Clawson.”

Source: Bill Mullan, spokesman, Oakland County
Writer: Kim North Shine