Development News

DTE's SolarCurrents program hits $1M mark

metromode Thursday, May 27, 2010

DTE Energy's SolarCurrents program is hitting significant milestones, meaning more solar panels going up all over Metro Detroit.

The program, which started in September, has provided more than $1 million to customers who want to help cut the costs of installing solar panels. That means 55 installations worth about 250 kilowatts of renewable electric capacity. Another 200 applications under review would add another 1,300 kilowatts.

"We have dedicated $25 million toward SolarCurrents," says Scott Simons, a spokesman for DTE Energy. "There is a lot of opportunity for our customers to take advantage of it."

The idea behind the program is to make these systems more affordable for customers and to help DTE meet Michigan's new Renewable Portfolio Standard. Those taking advantage of the program receive 50 percent of both the value of the Renewable Energy Credits upon installation and the remaining RECs as a credit on their bills for the next 20 years.

This program combined with federal tax credits and incentives covers more than half of the installation costs for solar panel systems. For more information, click here.

Source: Scott Simons, spokesman for DTE Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke

Brownstown Middle School plans green projects

metromode Thursday, May 20, 2010

Brownstown Middle School is going for the green building trifecta by installing a wind turbine, solar panels, and a green roof.

The Woodhaven-Brownstown School District received $670,000 in federal grants to install the three sustainability projects this summer that will help generate clean energy for the school and teach its students about science, biology, and environmental issues. The green roof promises to be the biggest teaching tool.

"They are putting a football field-sized green roof on top of the building," says Andrew Clark, the assistant principal at Brownstown Middle School who is helping organize the project with Ann Arbor-based Energy Works Michigan. "There will be five different types of grass."

Those types will range from resilient vegetation that grows year-round to plants that flourish during the warm months of the year. Next to that will be six solar panels that will generate electricity for the school. Students will monitor and study the power generation.

A 60-foot tall wind turbine will be installed in front of the school. The school's staff will also use it as a teaching tool for students who want to learn about wind energy. Clark says the turbine will create minimal noise that won't impact the surrounding neighborhood.

"They assured us that the noise it would generate would be less than the ambient noise that the wind makes," Clark says.

The projects are expected to begin construction after school lets out this summer and be ready to go in time for classes this fall.

Source: Andrew Clark, the assistant principal at Brownstown Middle School
Writer: Jon Zemke

Lincoln Park writes final chapter for Mellus building

metromode Thursday, May 20, 2010

Leslie Lynch-Wilson can't do much but shake her head as the Lincoln Park resident watches her downtown change, providing a playbook on how not to be sustainable.

The Lincoln Park Downtown Development Authority followed through on its promise to demolish the historic Mellus Newspaper building last week, despite a strong recommendation from state officials to preserve it and offers from business owners to renovate it and create jobs. Most of the former home to the Downriver community's local newspaper has now been trucked off to a landfill.

"It's sad," says Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance and an advocate of saving the building that was on the National Register of Historic Places. "There was so much talk of recycling items in the old building. What I observed was just tearing it down and sending it to a landfill."

She adds that the only parts she saw recycled or reused were a brick she took home and a piece of galvanized pipe she saw the demolition contractor load into his pick-up truck. The rest went off to a local landfill in a handful of semi-trucks. She points out that a number of the historic interior fixtures, its metal panels, windows, and an Arts & Crafts-style interior door could have easily been saved to help restore other similar buildings, but local officials did nothing.

"The city is 30 years behind the times," Lynch-Wilson says. "They don't think about these things."

City officials originally talked about turning the Fort Street property into a parking lot, but then promised to build a pocket park or green space there when the controversy over tearing down the structure hit its peak. Lynch-Wilson says no architectural plans for a park have been produced, no money has been set aside, no one has stepped up publicly to spearhead the pocket park project, and local officials are starting to talk about a parking lot again even though there is a sea of parking in front of and behind the buildings left on that block.

"They're talking about laying off 18 police officers this year," Lynch-Wilson says. "No one has money at the city and everybody knows it."

The city is now looking at tearing down what Lynch-Wilson calls one of the few brick Victorian buildings in the city, even though it is still privately owned. She says the vacant house at 1132 Lafayette Street is listed as built in 1922 but she believes it dates from between 1890 and 1905 and was moved to its current location when the neighborhood was subdivided from farmland in the early 1920s. A public hearing on its proposed demolition is set for June 21.

"It's one of the two brick Victorian homes of that period that we have left," Lynch-Wilson says.

Source: Leslie Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor aims to switch 75% of streetlights to LEDs by 2011

Concentrate Thursday, May 20, 2010

Some cities aim to one day have LED street lights. Ann Arbor aims to convert 75 percent of its street lights to LED. By next year. The city is also planning to install them in a number of its buildings this summer, so it can serve as a municipal showcase of their virtues.

Excerpt:

LED lights are already a staple in downtown Ann Arbor's streetlights, but the next generation of energy efficient lighting is about to become the go-to municipal light bulb in Tree Town.

The City Council has approved a $218,000 contract to install 88 LEDs in the ornamental streetlights along West Stadium Boulevard. The city is also inline to take advantage of a state grant that will allow it to replace many of the high-powered lights at its buildings throughout the city, such as the garage lights in fire stations and the lights at the Mack Pool.

"It's going beyond streetlights," says Andrew Brix, energy programs manager for the city of Ann Arbor. "This is the new frontier."

Read the rest of the story here.

Ferndale wraps up library renovation project

metromode Thursday, May 13, 2010

Construction workers will wrap up the renovation of the Ferndale Public Library on the eastern edge of downtown by the end of May.

The library will close its temporary location on May 21 so it can start moving books and other materials to the newly refurbished building on 9 Mile Road, just east of Woodward Avenue. An opening is set for June 28.

"Our hope is it will serve as a focal point for attracting attention to the east of Woodward area," says Doug Raber, director of the Ferndale Public Library.

The library is going for silver LEED certification, thanks to a plethora of environmentally friendly features. Among the big-ticket features are a geothermal heating system, a gray water recycling system, and a partial green roof. The most environmentally friendly factor is the reuse of a circa-1954 structure.

The renovation adds another 10,000 square feet, rounding out the structure to 21,000 square feet. That means more meeting room space fronting 9 Mile, a new area for teens, and a new children's room facing Troy Street.

"It's almost a library within a library," Raber says.

The addition, paid for by a one-mill millage increase last year, will give the library space to bump up its staff from four to 10. It will also provide the funds to double the library's purchasing budget for books and other media, such as audio books and CDs.

Source: Doug Raber, director of the Ferndale Public Library
Writer: Jon Zemke

Allen Park Middle School turns on new solar panels

metromode Thursday, May 13, 2010

The energy dials are starting to spin backwards at Allen Park Middle School now that it has installed nine solar panels.

The two-kilowatt photovoltaic solar awning was turned on earlier this spring. It now produces energy for the building and serves as an education tool for students.

"klsdj," says Mark Lowe, an assistant principal at Allen Park Middle School.

A $50,000 Energy Works Michigan Grant made the project possible. Allen Park is the first school district in the state to utilize these grants and install a solar system. It now supplies clean energy for the school (and makes its money when school is out) but also monitors weather conditions and teaches students about alternative energy and the weather.

The system was installed in the Middle School Pride Club Courtyard between the lunchroom and the art room and is visible to the public.

Source: Allen Park Public Schools
Writer: Jon Zemke

Dearborn explores waste-to-energy plant feasibility

metromode Thursday, May 13, 2010

The city of Dearborn is soliciting proposals to explore the feasibility of a waste-to-energy plant.

The project is part of the city's efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Other recent initiatives are moving toward single-stream recycling and considering LED streetlights. Local officials see the waste-to-energy plant as another feather in the city's tree-hugging hat.

"Do we have enough waste to create enough energy to support the industrial facilities in the city?" says David Norwood, sustainability coordinator for the city of Dearborn.

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

The proposals are due by May 24 (more information here) and a decision on the feasibility of this idea is expected to be made before the end of the year.

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

Green Alley construction begins; Motor City Brewing Works to move its front door

Model D Thursday, May 13, 2010

Detroit's Green Alley is growing in Midtown, right in front of the new door for the Motor City Brewing Works.

Excerpt:

"From trashways to greenways" is the vision behind the Green Alley project spearheaded by Tom and Peggy Brennan of Midtown's Green Garage. Funded as a demonstration project by the Kresge and Americana foundations, the project re-imagines what 220 feet of alley space can be in Detroit: a well-lit garden walkway connecting a business to its parking lot and providing outdoor space for residents to linger.

The Brennans, whose Green Garage is next door to the alley, were inspired to look at alleys differently by years spent living in Tokyo, where crowded primary streets mean that oftentimes the most interesting galleries and eateries can be found fronting an alley. "This is a big deal in my mind for people to see new and different possibilities for alleys all over the city," says Tom.

Read the rest of the story here.

New Thompson Block plan includes bar, microbrewery

Concentrate Thursday, May 13, 2010

Battle plan for Ypsilanti's Thompson Block redevelopment project, take three. This time, plans for a performance venue and microbrewery promises to be the charm for the controversial project in Depot Town.

Excerpt:

Developer Stewart Beal has two businesses lined up, consuming a lot of space in the Thompson Block project. He hopes to initiate a three-phase plan for the redevelopment of the historic structure in Ypsilanti.

The 3-story building at the eastern edge of Depot Town suffered heavy fire damage last fall and is now supported with elaborate scaffolding that extends into the street in some places. Beal plans to complete the first phase, retreating from the street, by November. The second would include building out the undamaged section of the building and then the burnt part for the third phase.

Read the rest of the story here.

Macomb County opens reference research center

metromode Thursday, May 06, 2010

The old Macomb County Library building on Hall Road has reopened as the Wayne State University Macomb Education Center.

Wayne State took over the 29,000-square-foot building last year and invested $3.4 million into breathing new life into the circa-1979 structure. Today it primarily hosts classes for Wayne State students, but it also houses the Macomb County's Reference and Research Center.

"The building is beautiful," says Sandy Casamer, manager of the Macomb County's Reference and Research Center.

Renovations include new paint, carpet, light fixtures, restrooms, and a new layout to the single-story building at 16480 Hall Road. The Reference and Research Center offers 75 databases to the public, as well as access to databases from Wayne State University. It also maintains a 2,000-volume reference collection, Wi-Fi, and 12 internet terminals for public use. Databases are accessible through its new Web address.

Source: Sandy Casamer, manager of the Macomb County's Reference and Research Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

Oakland Schools Technical Campus adds solar, wind systems

metromode Thursday, May 06, 2010

The Oakland Schools Technical Campus in Clarkston is going for a twofer in alternative energy, installing both a solar- and a wind-power system.

Over the last year, Oak Electric has been working with the school to get approvals for permits and to sort out engineering issues. The foundations for the solar panels and the wind turbine have been poured and installation of the actual equipment will begin next week. Both systems should be up and running by the end of May.

The school district is spending $36,000 to install a two-kilowatt ground-mount solar system, which will be installed first. Next is a 2.4 kilowatt Skystream wind turbine that will stand 45 feet tall.

Both systems will be used to power the campus. They will also be used as teaching tools for students to learn about the ins and out of alternative energy.

Source: Gary Pipia, president of Oak Electric
Writer: Jon Zemke

Q&A with Ron Campbell on the Oak Street Fair

metromode Thursday, May 06, 2010

Preserving and improving existing building stock will be a central theme to this year's Oak Street Fair in Hazel Park. The event will focus on helping Oakland County's urban stakeholders revitalize their neighborhoods through sustainable rehabilitation and playing to the area's strengths, such as its local character.

The free event will be held in Scout Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Ron Campbell, a principal planner/preservation architect for Oakland County Planning & Economic Development, is helping organize the event and Oakland County's Oak Street program. He agreed to answer a few questions over email about the event and preservation of the region's housing stock.

In a sentence or two, could you sum up what people attending the Oak Street Fair could come away with in regards to improving their home and their neighborhood?

Oak Street and the Oak Street House is a generic term that we are applying to any house built before 1960. We want these home owners to realize that their homes are unique. The issue of keeping and maintaining a house built in 1890 is going to be different than it will be for a house built in 1930, which will be different than for a house built in 1950. Homeowners should come away understanding that maintenance and repair can be very cost effective and there are resources available from experts who understand and have worked with older homes, which is far different than new construction. We want to build a resource bank of knowledgeable and skilled people to share with homeowners.

Metro Detroit's urban housing stock is aging and in many cases crossing the century mark, but many of its building and housing policies, practices, and even conventional wisdom are geared toward new housing. Could you name one policy or idea that either already is or could help bring more of a focus on making the most of the building stock that we have?

A good example that comes to mind is Oakland County's Oak Street program. The primary purpose of Oak Street is to make homeowners and local officials more aware of the economic and social value embodied in established neighborhoods. Also, there are many existing programs/movements focusing on the existing housing stock. The Community Development Block Grant Funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has also provided focus to the importance of existing neighborhoods and homes. But by far the best-known one is the green movement or sustainable design. If it makes sense to recycle soda cans and bottles, how much more sense does it make to recycle our buildings. The greenest house in America today is one that you don't have to build �because it already exists. Building green is more than using Energy Star appliances and bamboo flooring. It is far more environmentally friendly to repair than replace. Fairgoers will find exhibitors to show how you can be green, save money, and have curbside appeal for your home.

Historic preservation is a term that everyone in Metro Detroit seems to easily identify with but is not the best at when it comes to practicing its ideas. The state also recently passed enhanced historical preservation incentives. How much of an impact could these incentives have on making local stakeholders more preservation inclined?

There are various incentives for historic homes, including tax credits, which are effective for those stakeholders, but those incentives apply only to a very small percentage of the existing housing stock. While historic preservation is a component and tool within the Oak Street program, Oak Street is more of a smart rehab program than a historic preservation program. We would certainly advise homeowners to the principals of historic preservation when they repair and remodel their homes; but it would be more with an eye to the economic and environmental sense it makes. The more we can help people realize the extent of the investment our neighborhoods represent and the benefit that we all receive when that investment and unique character that distinguishes their house or neighborhood from others is protected, then the more new and innovative programs will be available to help this larger population.

Name an idea, policy, or mindset from elsewhere that you would like to see this region adopt?

We don't have to go too far to find examples of strong and vibrant neighborhoods. They are sprinkled throughout this region. What helps neighborhoods stand out comes from the housing stock being maintained and the intrinsic character of the houses and neighborhood being preserved. Recognizing what the important features and character are is difficult to put a finger on, but it includes everything from architectural style to walkability. Oak Street is envisioned to help homeowners and neighborhoods discover theirs and provide the means to protect it.

Source: Ron Campbell, principal planner/preservation architect for Oakland County Planning & Economic Development
Writer: Jon Zemke

Celebrate construction kick-off for Newberry Hall on May 6

Model D Thursday, May 06, 2010

It's getting hard to keep count of all of the historic rehabs going on in Midtown, Detroit's most vibrant and dynamic neighborhood. The latest addition to that list of investment is the new life that is being breathed into the Newberry Hall by the Detroit Medical Center.

Excerpt:

It's taken 4 1/2 years to get off the ground, but renovation is now underway at Newberry Hall, the former nurses' housing located on John R at Willis in Midtown. Built in 1898, funded by the Newberry family -- major investors in the Packard Motor Co. -- and designed by Elijah Meijer, the architect who designed the Michigan State Capital among several others, the building has "social importance to Detroit and architectural importance to Detroit," says Ernie Zachary of development and finance consultant firm Zachary and Associates. "It's a really important building and to lose this building would be criminal."

Over the past few years, the developer has changed, but the goal has remained consistent: to renovate the structure into housing. There will be 28 rental units ranging in size from 700 to 900 square feet available for $1.30/square foot. Zachary expects construction to take a year.

Read the rest of the story here.

Metro Airport installs first wind turbines

metromode Thursday, April 29, 2010

Propellers and jet engines aren't the only thing spinning at Metro Airport these days, now that it has installed a half dozen wind turbines.

The $75,000 project put six Windspire turbines at the north and west sides of the airport. These are not your normal wind turbines. They are made in a cylinder, so the blades are vertical. The made-in-Michigan turbines stand 30 feet tall but measure only four feet wide. They will not interfere with air traffic.

"We're trying to stay as low as possible," says Ali Dib, director of facilities for Metro Airport.

The wind turbines harness wind energy at lower speeds (4.5-5 mph). The electricity will help supplement the demands of the airport and will serve as a testing project to see if more are feasible.

"My CEO has advised me that he would like more," Dib says.

Among the other sustainable features at the airport are recycling aircraft de-icing fluids, using old cooking oil from airport concessions for biofuel for airport vehicles, and $1.5 million worth of LED light fixtures (5,000 in total) for taxiway edge lights. Those lights save more than $12 million in energy costs per year compared to the incandescent fixtures they replaced.

Metro Airport is also looking at a number of other sustainable projects, such as installing solar panels, green roofs, and gray-water recycling.

Source: Ali Dib, director of facilities for Metro Airport
Writer: Jon Zemke

Dearborn switches to single stream recycling

metromode Thursday, April 29, 2010

Dearborn will jump into the next level of recycling when the city switches its pick-up system to single-stream.

The City Council approved the switch, which will allow residents to put all of their recycling into one container. It will also allow for more materials to be recycled. City officials expect the current recycling rate of 20-30 percent of waste to double.

"It would be great to see it double," says Dave Norwood, sustainability coordinator for the city of Dearborn. "We did a pilot test area and it doubled."

The city is going from collecting just No. 1-2 plastics to No. 1-7, including the rarely recycled No. 3. It plans to begin disbursing the new recycling containers this week and move forward with the switch in July.

Among the incentives for going single stream are making it easier for residents to use, meaning more is recycled, expansion of the recycling list, and reduced logistical costs.

Among the other cities that use single-stream recycling are Austin, Texas and Baltimore. Ann Arbor made the switch earlier this year.

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

Sustainability : Development News