Ferndale, Rochester big winners of Main Street Oakland County awards
Source: metromode, 10/29/2009
When it comes to downtowns, Ferndale and Rochester came home with all of the hardware at the 2nd Annual Main Street Oakland County Awards.
The
awards recognize excellence in downtown revitalization in five
categories, including organization, promotion, design, and economic
restructuring.
Ferndale took awards in all five of the
categories. The judges recognized the city for its outstanding public
relations outreach and special events for the DIY Festival. Two of its
businesses, Pinwheel Bakery and Elegance by Design, were recognized for
their facade renovations.
Rochester won awards for promotional design for its In Town magazine and for its community commitment.
Source: Oakland County
Writer: Jon Zemke
U.S. DOT names Woodward an All-American Road
Source: metromode, 10/22/2009
Woodward Avenue has always been known as
Michigan's Main Street, so it should be a no-brainer that it's now an
All-American Road. That's the conclusion the U.S. Dept. of
Transportation came to this week.
Woodward is now one of 37
byways in the U.S. that is designated as an All-American Road, part of
the U.S. Dept of Transportation's National Scenic Byways Program.
Staff at the Woodward Avenue Action Association expect the new
designation to bump up tourism and investment dollars along the
corridor.
"It raises the profile of Woodward Avenue not only in
America but around the world," says Nicole Brown, outreach and
promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action Association.
What
sets Woodward apart is its heritage as the home to the U.S. automotive
industry. Historic places like the Ford Piquette Plant (where the first
Model Ts were made) in Highland Park show the area's importance in the
story of the United States. New signage describing this history and the
new designation are expected to be erected along Woodward next summer.
"It's always the story the road tells that can't be duplicated anywhere else that sets it apart," Brown says.
Source: Nicole Brown, outreach and promotions coordinator with the Woodward Avenue Action Association
Writer: Jon Zemke
Butcher's Daughter gallery adds to Ferndale's artsy rep
Source: metromode, 10/15/2009
The 650-square-foot space
for Monica Bowman's new gallery is no stranger to art. Its location
above Woodward Percussion has served as studio space for artists for
years and is now home to The Butcher's Daughter gallery.
"Ferndale
has an established gallery syndicate," Bowman says. "It's a great,
open-minded, diverse community that loves art. I want to capitalize on
what it already has going for it."
Bowman named the art gallery after herself. She is the sister, daughter, and granddaughter of butchers. The Butcher's Daughter moniker just makes sense for those who know Bowman, not to mention it sounds cool.
The
gallery will focus on contemporary art from emerging artists in the
Detroit and Washington D.C. area. The works of the first featured
artist, Monica Elizabeth Breen, will run through the rest of this week.
The next artist, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, will kick off her exhibit on
Oct. 24 with an artist talk.
Source: Monica Bowman, owner and director of The Butcher's Daughter
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ferndale turns downtown alley into pedestrian pathway
Source: metromode, 10/1/2009
Pedestrians are about to get one more nice place to walk in downtown Ferndale.
The
city plans to turn the alley behind the new Foley Mansfield office on
the southwest corner of the Woodward Avenue and 9 Mile Road
intersection into a pedestrian-only zone. The Ferndale Pedestrian Alley
Improvement Project will replace the concrete alley with new landscaped
bed areas, benches, lighting, and space for adjacent restaurants to set
up rear patios.
"This is a unique opportunity to
convert an underutilized space in the heart of Downtown Ferndale into a
vibrant public space," says Robert Bruner, city manager for Ferndale.
The alley stretches for about 50 feet along the west side of the new Foley Mansfield office
that faces East 9 Mile Road. The law firm renovated and moved into the
old Ferndale Public Schools building last year, creating arguably the
nicest office space in the downtown.
The city, Ferndale DDA, and
Giffels-Webster have been working on the $44,000 project. Construction
is expected to begin soon and finish before the end of fall.
Source: Robert Bruner, city manager for Ferndale
Writer: Jon Zemke
More Metro Detroit concert venues go smoke free
Source: metromode, 9/24/2009
More and more venues across Metro Detroit are going smoke free.
Classy
stalwarts like the Fox Theater in downtown Detroit and Hill Auditorium
in downtown Ann Arbor have been on that list for a while. Joining them
are smaller venues, like the Magic Bag in downtown Ferndale and now the
Royal Oak Music Theatre.
"It's overdue," says Justin Miller,
general manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre. "It's obviously just
the right thing to do with everything we know today about smoking."
A
growing number of bars, coffee shops, eateries, and performance venues
in Metro Detroit have been kicking out smokers in recent years. There
are at least 5,889 licensed dining places in Michigan that prohibit
smoking as of today.
Ontario has already outlawed smoking in
public establishments. Michigan has been wrestling with similar
legislation in recent years. It came close last year, when both the
state House and Senate passed different smoking ban bills, but it died
after the two legislative bodies couldn't reach a compromise.
"Sooner or later we're going to see this across the board," Miller says. "We're just trying to get ahead of the curve."
Source: Justin Miller, general manager of the Royal Oak Music Theatre and SmokeFreeMichigan.com
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ferndale gears up for new property showcase this fall
Source: metromode, 9/10/2009
Ferndale's Commercial Property Showcase is apparently here to stay as it enters into its third year this fall.
The annual event, put on by the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce,
is a tour of a number of commercial properties available for sale or
lease in the inner-ring suburb. The idea is to bring more developer and
entrepreneurs, i.e. job creators, to the city on Sept. 24.
"We're utilizing social media quite a bit to get the word out," says Jennifer Roosenberg, executive director of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce.
The
idea is based on the home tour concept that real estate agents use.
However, city officials use the showcase as a chance to show
prospective business owners what space is available and what it can
become. The featured properties include retail, office, industrial,
mixed-use and brownfield redevelopment spaces.
Previous years
were self-guided tours. This year will be a guided tour of 26
properties. The last two tours have resulted in a number of sales and
signed leases. Investors from as far away as the East Coast have made
the trip to see Ferndale properties. Attendance is expected to be
between 100-200 people.
For information, call (248) 542-2160.
Source: Jennifer Roosenberg, executive director of the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce
Writer: Jon Zemke
Oakland County workshop focuses on green downtowns
Source: metromode, 8/13/2009
The last of three workshops aimed at the revitalization of downtowns in Oakland County is set to go down on Friday, August 14.
The
"Lead Your Downtown from Brown to Green" workshop will focus on
tackling sustainability issues, such as historic preservation and
eco-friendly development.
"As the title says, we're trying to
take downtowns from brown to green by letting them (local stakeholders)
know what they can do in this economy," says Bob Donahue, executive
director of Main Street Oakland County.
A
number of topics, including how to make best use of brownfield sites,
effective historic preservation, and how to incorporate green-building
practices, such as LEED standards, will be covered. Other subjects will
include tapping into farmers markets, the cost-effectiveness of LED
lights, and how best to employ urban forestry.
Main Street
Oakland County is encouraging local architects, planners,
preservationists, developers, city officials, and community activists
to attend. The cost is $75 per person. The workshop will be held
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the Oakland County Executive Office
Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road, west of Telegraph,
in Waterford.
Source: Bob Donahue, executive director of Main Street Oakland County
Writer: Jon Zemke
Green Cruise bikes through Ferndale, Oakland County
Source: metromode, 8/6/2009
Woodward Avenue is internationally known
for its Dream Cruise, but a growing band of environmentalists want to
make it just as famous for its Green Cruise.
The Sierra Club Green Cruise
is an annual event where bicyclists pedal up and down Woodward, much
like their Dream Cruise counterparts cruise up and downtown Michigan's
Main Street in classic cars.
It started five years ago, when a
couple dozen Ferndale residents decided to make such a statement. Today
the Sierra Club has hitched its name along for the ride, which has
spread to neighboring southeast Oakland County communities. More than
1,000 riders are expected this year.
"We would love to see the
Green Cruise expand into some other communities," says Douglas
Christie, one of the coordinators for the Sierra Club Green Cruise.
This
year's Green Cruise is set to begin Saturday morning in downtown
Ferndale at 9 Mile Road and Planavon Street. The 20-mile ride
stretching as far north as Birmingham begins at 8 a.m. The five-mile
ride begins at 9 a.m. The Green Cruise parade will begin at 11 a.m.
Much
more will be going on beyond the Green Cruise itself. There will be
eco-friendly vendors and a rock-climbing wall for kids, among other
things. Also available are free bicycle check-ups, a valet bicycle
corral to lock up your bike, and educational information on the
environment and on pedalling your community.
For information, call (248) 549-6213 ext. 3.
Source: Douglas Christie, a coordinator for the Sierra Club Green Cruise
Writer: Jon Zemke