In the News

Ford's turnaround success featured on CNBC documentary

CNBC Thursday, November 11, 2010

Metro Detroit isn't just reinventing its economy with dynamic new startups firmly rooted in the new economy. It's also reinventing its core automotive industry and posting some big victories with its efforts.

One of the biggest success stories is all about Ford, which CNBC featured in an hour-long documentary this week called Ford: Rebuilding an American Icon.

CNN/Money takes lessons from Detroit

CNN/Money Thursday, November 04, 2010

CNN/Money magazine takes a look at entrepreneurship in Metro Detroit and how the down economy has prodded people toward that career path. It also alludes to the idea that the region should make entrepreneurship a real option at all times, not just when the economy is performing poorly.

Excerpt:

When Paula Batchelor took a buyout last year -- figuring she was likely to be laid off if she didn't -- she wasn't worried about landing another gig. Having worked 11 years as a graphic-design project manager for a health insurance company downtown, "I knew I had skills," she says.

But Batchelor, a single mother of a 6-year-old, quickly realized just what it meant to live in one of the worst job markets in the country. By year's end, the resident of Royal Oak -- a suburb north of the city -- still had no work and couldn't make her mortgage payment. "I was feeling the pressure," says Batchelor, who's now 55.

Months of financial struggle followed. Then, in June, her older sister, Karen, an attorney who'd gone into life coaching, had a proposal. She'd used social media, including Facebook, to market her own biz; Paula had skills in project management and graphic design. Why not combine their talents and help small businesses with social-media marketing?

The firm they founded, Color Me Social, had $1,500 in sales in August, a promising, if modest, start. While the money isn't coming in fast enough for Paula to save her home from foreclosure -- she and her daughter are moving in with Karen -- Paula is hopeful that this is the beginning of her turnaround. "You have to stick your neck out and take a chance," she says.

Read the rest of the story here and more here.

Chicago Sun-Times is on board with Michigan's high-speed rail

Chicago Sun-Times Thursday, November 04, 2010

Metro Detroit recently received $161 million in federal funds to improve high-speed rail service on Amtrak's Wolverine line between Pontiac and Kalamazoo. The Chicago Sun-Times takes a good look at the potential of this investment and how it breaks down.

Excerpt:

About $150 million of the money awarded to Michigan will be for the section of track between Kalamazoo and Detroit. This is owned by Norfolk Southern, which wants to sell it, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

Michigan may buy it with a portion of the high-speed rail money. Discussions are ongoing about how much of the funds would be for the track and how much for track improvement, Magliari said.

Track improvements would increase speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph, which would bring it in line with the track Amtrak owns from Kalamazoo to the state line.

At greater speeds, Amtrak could double the number of round trips from Chicago to Detroit from three to six, Magliari said. Ridership on this route already has increased 8 percent in the past year.

The rest of the high-speed funding would be used to improve the connection from Pontiac to the state line.

Read the rest of the story here.

Detroit gets big share of Kickstarter microgrants

Detroit Free Press Thursday, October 28, 2010

Kickstarter may be a well-known buzzword in the Internet startup world, but it's also becoming well known in Detroit. And for good reason.

Excerpt:

Idealists like Noam Kimmelman, Tom Nardone and Ellen Donnelly flock to Detroit, eager to lay claim to what they see as a blank canvas for urban renewal.

Their projects are creative, artsy and altruistic -- but not quite fodder for traditional grants.

So each has turned to kickstarter.com , a global micro-granting Web site for art, film and creative projects. The three are among a dozen at any given time in metro Detroit asking the world for chunks of $25 or $50 to fund projects in their quest to fix the city. Donors have given thousands of dollars, so far, to local art-as-renewal projects.

It's a phenomenon the Brooklyn-based company is seeing only in Detroit.

"There's a groundswell of people all over, saying, 'Let's save Detroit,'" said Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler. "It's seen as a kind of wild west for art."

Read the rest of the story here.

Loving Detroit by the inch; welcome to the microhood

Xconomy Thursday, October 21, 2010

The people at Xconomy take a close look at Detroit's Loveland project and the ties its founders have to San Francisco's Silicon Valley entrepreneurial ecosystem. It's one of the more revealing pieces on this well-known story, even if it does call Detroit's most photographed ruin the "Michigan Central Railroad station."

Excerpt:

It would be easy to dismiss Jerry Paffendorf and his friends as a bunch of art-nerd carpetbaggers from San Francisco who see Detroit as the latest canvas for their airy-fairy ideas about virtual communities and social entrepreneurship.

In fact, that's how some locals reacted when reports surfaced in The Detroit News last year that Paffendorf had bought an abandoned lot on the city's east side for $500, renamed it Plymouth, and announced plans to resell it, one square inch at a time, on the Internet. "People brought up stuff like, 'Who does this hipster f*ggot think he is, moving in from San Francisco with stupid Internet ideas,' or 'It's illegal to represent that you are offering land for sale if it's not real,'" Paffendorf says. "And there was some skepticism that I would want to stay in the city."

Read the rest of the story here.

Revivalist Detroit, says NY Times: from Slows to skatepark

The New York Times Thursday, October 21, 2010

You know Detroit's Slows has arrived when The New York Times writes about not only the world-famous restaurant's food but the impact it's having on revitalizing the Motor City. Also, check out the second piece about urban farming and how Detroit sets the standard when it comes to this new, innovative way to handle land use.

Excerpt:

HOW much good can a restaurant do?

In this city, a much-heralded emblem of industrial-age decline, and home to a cripplingly bad economy, a troubled school system, racial segregation and sometimes unheeded crime, there is one place where most everyone � black, white, poor, rich, urban, not � will invariably recommend you eat: Slows Bar B Q.

Slows opened in 2005 at the edge of downtown Detroit, in Corktown, across from the long-abandoned central train station, itself a symbol of widespread blight. Hidden behind a stylish wooden door with no discernible handle, it has become a beacon, drawing longtime Detroiters, newly arrived young people and scores of suburbanites, who wait for hours to sample the pulled pork and dry-smoked ribs and coo over the upcycled design. The restaurant and its sleek d�cor were dreamed up by one of Slows' owners, Phillip Cooley, who has emerged as a de facto spokesman for the now-hip revitalization of this city.

"Before Slows was built, generally speaking people came into the city for hockey games, ball games and to see the 'Sesame Street Spectacular,'" said Toby Barlow, Detroit's other de facto spokesperson. Mr. Cooley, he said, has "validated the idea that people will come into the city."

Read the rest of the story here and another one on how Detroit sets the benchmark in urban farming here.

Woodward corridor suburbs = inner ring renewal

The Wall Street Journal Monday, October 18, 2010

The inner-ring suburbs along the Woodward corridor got some good national ink last week when The Wall Street Journal explored why older suburbs could be the launchpads for new growth in the U.S.

Excerpt:

In Lakewood, Colo., a long-shuttered mall is being rebuilt into a 22-block area with parks, bus lines, stores and 1,300 new households. Tysons Corner, Va., is undergoing a full transformation from an office park to a walkable, livable community. And officials in Ferndale, Mich., are promoting the arts scene and building affordable housing in an attempt to revitalize the small city outside Detroit. Remaking America's sprawling suburbs, with their enormous footprints, shoddy construction, hastily built infrastructure and dying malls, is shaping up to be the biggest urban revitalization challenge of modern times�far larger in scale, scope and cost than the revitalization of our inner cities.

Read the rest of the story here.

Inc. gives 5 reasons to start a biz in Detroit

Inc. Thursday, October 14, 2010

Inc. magazine comes through with a thorough piece on starting a business in Detroit and all of the opportunities that come with it. The story highlights newer entrepreneurs and taps the wisdom of those that have been here a while.

Excerpt:

There's no hiding the fact that the past decade hasn't been easy on the Motor City. Once a paragon of stability and the nation's fourth largest city, Detroit has seemed to fade alongside the auto industry on which it so vitally depends - now sitting at 11th place on that very same list.

In spite of the decline, those who stay refuse to see this as an anything other than an opportunity. With tons of open space, inexpensive rent, and legions of talented workers, the city was - and is - ripe for the kind of fresh and innovative thinking that drives new business. "Detroit needed to decrease its reliance on manufacturing," says Ross Sanders, CEO of Bizdom U, a local business accelerator formed in 2007. It needed to transform into a "brain economy," he adds, rooted in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Read the rest of the story here.

Good FORTUNE found in outsourcing in Detroit

FORTUNE Thursday, October 07, 2010

Outsourcing used to be a dirty word in Detroit. That is until IT companies like GalaxE.Solutions started filling downtown's office towers.

Excerpt:

FORTUNE -- The downtown business district of Detroit, Michigan contains precious few beacons of economic optimism these days amid the empty office buildings, vacant lots and unsold condos.

One notable and unlikely bright spot is Somerset, New Jersey-based GalaxE.Solutions. The firm opened its doors a few months ago in a near-empty office tower with a promise by its chief executive officer to hire 500 workers from Detroit over the next five years. Only the landing of a flying saucer might have been more unexpected.

Read the rest of the story here.

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Roundup of news from TEDx and World Stem Cell Summit

metromode Thursday, October 07, 2010

Two big events have taken place in Detroit over the last week or so, TEDxDetroit and the World Stem Cell Summit. Interesting stories came from both nationally recognized events that have implications to Michigan's growing new economy. Among the more amusing pieces is an MLive story about Quicken Loans founder and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert poking fun at his use of Comic Sans in a speech at TEDxDetroit.

There is also a plethora of stories from local new heavy hitters about the World Stem Cell Summit, ranging from the Detroit Free Press going in-depth about stem cell ethics to a The Michigan Daily piece about the roles state and University of Michigan officials are playing in the furthering of stem cell research in the Great Lakes State.

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Today Show profiles Detroit's burgeoning film industry

The Today Show Thursday, September 30, 2010

Michigan's generous film incentives continue to gather positive press from national media outlets. The Today Show takes a quick look at how Metro Detroit's workforce, image, and talent retention efforts are increasingly benefiting from the tax incentives, the most competitive in the nation.

Watch the video here.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Young professionals flock to Detroit, says WWJ

WWJ Thursday, September 23, 2010

Young professionals tend to go where they see opportunity and potential. Detroit has both of those in spades, so is it any wonder they are heading to the Motor City?

Excerpt:

There has been much talk about a "brain-drain" in Michigan - people packing up and moving away from the state - but many young professionals are turning to Detroit as a place to live, work, and thrive.

According to real estate broker Austin Black, 95% of his clients are looking to move into Detroit. 'I represent a broad spectrum of young professionals, empty nesters, even people with kids," said Black, "they want to see themselves contributing to the greater good of the city."

Black suggests that some of Detroit's up-and-coming neighborhoods, like the Midtown area, are also responsible for the trend.

"(Midtown) is one area that's really starting to develop into its own identity; people see the vibrancy that's going on in the neighborhood and want to be a part of it," Black explained.

Read the rest of the story here.

Issue Media Group named to Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in the nation

Columbia Journalism Review Thursday, September 16, 2010

Did you know that one of the nation's most thriving media companies, Issue Media Group, is based right here in Metro Detroit? The start-up parent of this publication is on the higher end (think 1,000s) of Inc. magazine's latest list of the 5000 fastest growing companies.

Excerpt:

Issue Media Group, number 1,672 on Inc.'s list, has developed many community websites, for places like Detroit and Cincinnati. The sites have original features and contributors' blogs, as well as the neighborhood profiles and event listings you would expect from a community website. The sites' strength is a strong emphasis on photography, as in this profile of Cincinnati musician Baoku Moses.

Read the rest of the story here.

Urbanophile Blog on the power of the Detroit brand

Urbanophile Blog Thursday, September 16, 2010

Locally, we call our region a lot of things, ranging from Metro Detroit to Motown to southeast Michigan. One of the leading voices nationally on urban areas, the Urbanophile Blog, argues that we shouldn't dance around our name and should embrace Detroit, an under-rated brand that could serve as the linchpin for renewal.

Excerpt:

Detroit is one of America's most powerful brands. I realize this is not what most people think. Many would say it is one of America's most tarnished brands. That might be true, but that doesn't diminish its power. There are lots of cities that are struggling right now, but how many of them have a stream of international reporters, film makers, artists, etc. coming to see it in person for themselves? How many of them have attracted random bloggers from all over the country to analyze the place and propose remedies? Why is this place thought to hold lessons for America while so many others do not?

Yes, Detroit is a brand with power. Yet too often its own residents feel the need to downplay it, euphemistically referring to the region as "Southeast Michigan" or to the city as "the D", as if the brand has to be changed in order to attract people or investment. That might be true to some extent, but this is not what is going to attract the pioneers and early stage investors who are going to reverse the cycle of decline. Changing the brand will be the consequence, not the creator, of civic renewal. To attract those first people and businesses, you need to lure them in a different way � you need to inspire. So I say embrace Detroit, stand up and be proud of the city and what it is and what it could be. It is the only way to generate the inspirational motivation that can bring renewal.

Read the rest of the story here.

NY Times hails Midtown's rise

The New York Times Thursday, September 09, 2010

Detroit's Midtown neighborhood is building on its past, not tearing it down willy-nilly. It's an economic development policy that is garnering national attention, and for a good reason.

Excerpt:

DETROIT � In sharp contrast to the rest of the Detroit metropolitan area, an area known as Midtown just north of the central business district has been holding its own in the recession.

Much of the success of Midtown � as it was branded a decade ago � is a result of the strength of institutions like Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center, the Henry Ford Hospital and the Detroit Institute of Arts, all of which contribute students and employees as well as residents.

Another component of Midtown�s success is that its developers are refurbishing older buildings, using tax credits and public financing, as much as they are building from scratch.

�For a long time, there was a big effort to tear things down in Detroit,� said Michael Poris, a principal of the architecture firm McIntosh Poris Associates, which is restoring a former vaudeville house in Midtown for multiple uses. �But if we have all these great historic buildings here, why not take the historic tax credits and reuse them? Plus it�s a greener, more sustainable form of development.�

According to the CoStar Group, a real estate information company in Bethesda, Md., the vacancy rate for office space in Midtown � including an adjacent area called New Center, where the former headquarters of General Motors now houses state offices � stood at 8.2 percent in the second quarter of this year.

The vacancy rate in Detroit�s central business district, which at 24.5 million square feet has 3.5 times the space of Midtown, was 19.5 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

Read the rest of the story here.

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