Ferndale is often lumped in as one of Michigan's most enviable downtowns, filled with lots of things to do and a vibrant night life.

Although there isn't just one reason for its stunning rebirth, preservation is a big part of what makes Ferndale, Ferndale. Three recent redevelopment projects sum this up: The new Loving Touch pool hall, the Breckenridge Apartments rehabilitation and the offices of Foley Mansfield.

All three projects are either right in the middle of Ferndale's downtown or close to the city's center. The entrepreneurs and companies behind all three also took three historic structures and turned them into character-defining jewels for the Metro Detroit burb.

The Loving Touch was just an old, single-story commercial building next to the Woodward Avenue Brewers. It housed a popular book store for years but didn't have much else in the way of the history or defining architectural features.

Today the owners of the WAB have turned it into a stunning space that provides yet another vibrant downtown amenity. It also lets them resurrect the name of an infamous massage parlor that used to be the scourge of downtown. It's a tongue-in-cheek affectation that helps build the city's hip reputation.

Royal Oak-based Urbane Apartments is in the midst of restoring the Breckenridge Apartments building just northwest of the center of downtown. The 1930s-era building will provide more luxury rental spaces in the downtown, catering to young professionals and creative class types. Construction is expected to wrap up this spring.

The Foley Mansfield Building is the most impressive of them all. The law firm just held its grand opening this week for its new offices after relocating from Southfield.

The Ferndale Schools Administration building had birds nesting in it when the developer transformed the historic structure just west of Woodward on 9 Mile. It now offers some of the best views of downtown Ferndale and an authentic loft-like Class A office space.

Source: Urbane Apartments, Woodward Avenue Brewery and Foley Mansfield
Writer: Jon Zemke

Downtown Birmingham is known for its stately-yet-conservative architecture. Historic buildings from the early 20th Century grace just about every corner. What it's not known for is the factories-turned-hip-lofts that give Detroit so much of its gritty urban feel.

Sensing this lack, one developer plans to build something a bit more nouveau urban - the Aloft Hotel. Think of a loft-style W Hotel and you're starting to get the picture of what Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide have in mind.

Starwood plans to build the Aloft at 255 S. Old Woodward Ave. a short distance south of Maple Road. The 115-room hotel is expected to open in the spring of 2011. Developers are touting its location in the center of the ritzy downtown and proximity to things like the Oakland, Oakland Tory and Metro airports.

The new hotel will offer 650 square feet of meeting space, fitness facilities and a rooftop pool covered in glass. Starwood is going after the younger creative class with this urban offering. It will also offer high-tech amenities like Wi-Fi and 42-inch LCD TVs.

Source: Brad Minor, Spokesman for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Writer: Jon Zemke

Even non-profits with practically the same name can learn how to share. That's what the Detroit and Oakland chapters of Habitats for Humanity are doing more of these days.

For years the two non-profits that rehabilitated and built new affordable housing did pretty much the same thing, but on different sides of 8 Mile Road. That includes everything from organizing volunteers to running their respective ReStore shop.

Today the two aren't merging but they are becoming much more regionally focused. The two decided to make the one-year pilot program of running each ReStore (one in Northwest Detroit and the other in Pontiac) as one business permanent. They are also sharing a centralized calling center.

"It makes so much sense," says Sally LePla, executive director of Oakland Habitat for Humanity. We can run them much more efficiently now."

The non-profits are investigating other ways they can share resources and work with a more regional focus.

Now if only our local governments would follow their lead.

Source: Sally LePla, executive director of Oakland Habitat for Humanity
Writer: Jon Zemke

Urbane Apartments is spreading into Oakland County's vibrant downtowns one by one. The latest to fall to rehab is Birmingham.

The Royal Oak-based firm started construction this week on a 42-unit building on Adams Street, just north of Birmingham's Rail District. Urbane on Adams will offer luxury one-bedroom rentals there starting this spring.

The building is an old senior center that was foreclosed on and vacant when Urbane bought it. It plans to turn the C-shaped structure into rentals. The courtyard will be maintained and the company will turn a nearby 2,000-square-foot clubhouse into office space.

"We're going to attempt to incorporate some co-working office space there," says Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments. "If nothing else it will be for our residents."

This is Urbane's 15th building. The company takes old apartment buildings and rehabs them into luxury spaces with flexible leases that are either in or within easy walking distance of a downtown area. Its buildings are centered in southeast Oakland County in Royal Oak, Ferndale, Berkley and Clawson.

For information on Urbane Apartments offerings, call (248) 988-7125.

Source: Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments
Writer: Jon Zemke

Downtown Ferndale is about to become a little more dense now that Lofts on the 9 will be welcoming its first new residents this month.

Construction is set to wrap up within the next few days and the residents are set to move in shortly after that. Lofts on the 9 is on East 9 Mile Road just east of Como's Restaurant and across the street from the Ferndale Public Library.

Most of the ground floor retail space is spoken for by a couple of businesses, including a Yoga studio. The businesses are expected to move in early next year.

The 4-story structure features units that are priced from $149,000 to the mid $400,000s. They range in size between 500 and 2,100 square feet, however, the 2,100-square-foot loft can be expanded up to 2,700 square feet by adding a rooftop deck. Each unit comes with a parking spot underneath the building.

The group of developers behind the Lofts on the 9 project also built the Troy, Main and Center street lofts developments in downtown Royal Oak.

For information, call Crystal Marsh at (248) 535-4908.

Source: Crystal Marsh, spokesman for Lofts on the 9.
Writer: Jon Zemke

The first residents moved into the latest offering from Urbane Apartments - Urbane on Farnum.

Construction recently finished on the 16-unit building in Royal Oak. The 1960s-era apartment building is located on the corner of Farnum and Washington streets. It is across the street from Royal Oak's old Dondero High School and a few blocks north of downtown. 

The building had fallen into disrepair before Urbane invested $400,000 into restoration. Now it features a mix of large studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. They include a number of modern amenities, such as brand new bamboo floors, recycled carpet, efficient water fixtures, granite bar tops, black appliances, glass French doors, dual shower heads and high-speed wireless Internet.

Urbane owns 15 apartment buildings in southeast Oakland County. These buildings are near vibrant downtowns, such as Royal Oak, Ferndale, Clawson, Berkely and Birmingham.

For information on Urbane Apartments offerings, call (248) 988-7125.

Source: Eric Brown, co-founder of Urbane Apartments
Writer: Jon Zemke

New Hudson, MI:  Lyon Township's new senior living community is putting out the welcome mat. After 18 months of construction, Abbey Park at Mill River will welcome their first residents in mid-December.

Located across from Coyote Golf Course off Milford Road, the 150-unit rental community will provide an address of distinction for area seniors. Fireplaces, water fountains and elegant lighting grace the spacious lobby and welcome visitors into the Abbey Park experience. Within the 195,000 square-foot facility, residents will enjoy a broad range of amenities: a coffee shop, ice cream parlor, grand dining hall, chapel, theater, library, media center, hair salon and fitness center.

Residents can choose from nine floor plans with one or two bedrooms, with or without a den, and many offer walk-in-closet options. All apartment rental fees include a daily continental breakfast, luncheon in the grand dining hall, daily housekeeping, weekly maid service, scheduled chauffeured transportation, a complete schedule of organized events and activities, round-the-clock staffing and a state-of-the-art medical alert system. A full-facility generator, two elevators and electronic key entry offer additional reassurance. Heat, water, electricity and basic cable are included, and the community is also pet-friendly.

A variety of personal care options are provided onsite by a Medicare-certified provider. Medical and personal care plans offer an alternative to traditional assisted living options, allowing residents to tailor care packages to their specific needs. The result: a customized retirement lifestyle that is affordable and easily adaptive to life's changes and challenges.

"Every option is available here at Abbey Park," stated Administrator Tamra Ward. "From dawn 'til dusk, we offer our residents a variety of options and services. Each one of our employees is trained to serve our residents with care and consideration – as we ourselves would like to be treated," she stressed. A full-time Activity Director will offer a menu of field trips and activities ranging from trips to the theater, restaurants, local landmarks and festivals, shopping malls and regular trips to the market. Within the community there will be exercise classes, current event and book discussion groups, craft and sewing projects, card games such as bridge, poker and Euchre, weekly live entertainment, ice-cream socials and happy hour, bingo, bunco in addition to holiday parties and celebrations.

Independently owned by Oakland County residents Joe Norber, Ed Rosenbaum and Dr. Ben Stein, the new Lyon Township community is the second in the Abbey Park family. Abbey Park at Genesys, located in Grand Blanc, has been in operation for more than nine years and the partners have over 30 years experience serving the seniors in the Detroit metro area. Community policies for both facilities are family-centered – there's no entry fee required, and no long-term lease.

Careful consideration was given to programs and services offered at the new facility. "As we age, our daily needs change," stated co-owner Dr. Stein. "We are proud to offer a community that adapts to these changes in our lives and is also affordable during these challenging economic times. Abbey Park at Mill River offers freedom – a chance to be free from household maintenance and routine. We also offer security – not just for our residents but for their families and loved ones, too."

Tours are available during regular office hours, 9:00 am to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Advance reservations for tours are encouraged. For additional information on Abbey Park at Mill River, call 248.437.6550, email info@abbeyparkatmillriver.com or visit their website at www.abbeypark.com.

Movie-makers get together to form a fun to finance low-cost movies and Genre Film Partners, from Southfield, is in the middle of it.

Excerpt:

A cadre of veteran Hollywood producers is assembling a multimillion dollar fund to finance low-cost movies qualified to take advantage of Michigan's lucrative film incentives.

Genre Film Partners, which has offices in Los Angeles and Southfield, intends to finance or produce seven to 10 movies budgeted between $2.5 million and $10 million over the next fear years, said Julie Richardson, a producer of the 2004 Tom Cruise thriller "Collateral" and the ABC comedy series "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office."

Read the entire article here.

Work on the Historic Loft Building in downtown Royal Oak is in its "final stages," according to Mason Capitani, leasing agent for the building.

That means get ready for another viable, occupied and historically restored structure on the south side of downtown much sooner rather than later. Two of the tenants are moving into the building at corner of Harrison and Main streets.

Those two businesses, a medical group and a pharmacy, will occupy most of the ground floor space. The remaining 1,500 square feet on the ground floor is still available.

The second and third floors of the 3-story building are being turned into Class A office space. Each floor has 8,600 square feet of space. The space is being built as loft-style office space with exposed brick and utility lines.

The structure was originally built as a Ford car dealership nearly 100 years ago. It has housed a few other businesses, including a furniture store most recently.

Source: Mason Capitani, leasing agent for the Historic Loft Building
Writer: Jon Zemke

Dow Automotive, an Auburn Hills-based supplier, is expanding its reach into commercial transportation.

Excerpt:

Auburn Hills-based supplier Dow Automotive is expanding into the commercial transportation business as a way to increase revenue and global reach.

The supplier has created a Commercial Transportation Group that will initially concentrate on global bus and truck segments, with a focus on such value-added solutions as vehicle durability, safety, emissions control and fuel efficiency.

This group will be headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, said Dagmar van Heur, managing director of the Commercial Transportation Group at Dow Automotive. However, the group will maintain a strong presence, one that includes research and development personnel, in its Auburn Hills headquarters.

Read the entire article here.

Troy-based Ilumisys is looking to leave a smaller carbon footprint by embracing a shift toward LED lighting.

Excerpt:

Over the next few years, Ilumisys President Dave Simon expects LED (light-omitting diode) lighting to offer three times the energy efficiency of fluorescent tube lighting, and consumers will see the price drop "dramatically," close to 90 percent.

"People are really looking at the whole cost and the entire footprint of what they're doing," he said.

Located in Troy, Ilumisys, a developer and producer of next-generation, solid-state lighting technology, is gearing up for these changes with additional products and national channel partners who can assist the company in executing projects.

Read the entire article here.

Troy's Beaumont Hospital has opened up a 22-bed oncology and hospice unit.

Excerpt:

Beaumont Hospital, Troy has opened a temporary, 22-bed oncology and hospice unit that will serve the needs of cancer patients while construction of a permanent unit is under way. The 12,500-square-foot unit opened Nov. 17.

"This temporary unit, called 2 North, will provide patients and their loved ones some of the same amenities as the permanent unit including private rooms with space for family, and a quiet, restful environment for comfort and healing," says Nancy Susick, vice president of nursing at Beaumont, Troy.

"Our oncology and hospice patients will now be conveniently located in one area in the hospital."

Read the entire article here.

Construction of the St. Joseph Mercy Oakland medical facility near M-59 and Elizabeth Lake Road is to begin work at the start of the new year, White Lake Township officials said.

Excerpt:

The three-story medical facility is expected to be 77,000 square feet and located on 9.22 acres south of M-59 between Elizabeth Lake and Teggerdine roads.

Expected to accompany the facility is an urgent care building, as well as doctor's offices on the site. Further developments are also scheduled for the spring.

"It's going up sometime in January, that's the plan," said White Lake Supervisor Mike Kowall. "That's going to have an urgent care facility, doctor's offices, and there will be nurses and technicians. They're also going to have mobile MRI units available and that type of thing. Once the Certificate of

Read the entire article here.

A federal grant was awarded to Oakland County to restore a native prairie along the Paint Creek Trail.

Excerpt:

The Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Commission has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Farm Security Act of 2002 (also known as the Farm Bill). The money will be used to improve six remnants of native wildlife habitats, called oak savannas and oak barrens.

The trail was selected due to the opportunity to improve this declining habitat and, along with it, the native bee population. Methods that could be used include controlled burns, removal of invasive plants, reduction of the canopy cover and plantings.

Read the entire article here.

Waterford, Michigan -- Nov. 25, 2008 -- More than 200 Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) members celebrated the ninth year of the program with a dinner and awards ceremony on November 14, 2008 at the Glen Oaks Clubhouse in Farmington Hills.

Among the awards presented that evening:

• Walled Lake DDA -- Main Street Spirit Award 

• Jill Bahm, Highland DDA -- Guts and Determination Award

• National City Bank -- Sponsor of the Year Award

• Shuman Chrysler Jeep (Walled Lake DDA) -- Community Commitment Award 

• Wendell Allen (Walled Lake DDA) -- Outstanding Volunteer Award

• Casey Ambrose (Walled Lake DDA) -- Outstanding Board Member Award 

• The Main Street Messenger, Pat Shelton, Editor (Farmington DDA) -- Outstanding Volunteer Project

• Downtown Streetscape Information Campaign, Farmington DDA Organization Committee -- Outstanding Public Relations Effort Award 

• Kite Day, Pontiac DDA Promotions Committee -- Outstanding Special Event Award

• Kris Kringle Market, Rochester DDA -- Outstanding Special Event Award 

• Beets, Beats and Eats Farmers Market, Ortonville DDA -- Outstanding Event Series

• Robert Hoffman and Richard Hoffman, 104 Battle Alley, Holly -- Outstanding Building Rehabilitation Over $50,000 Award
  

Farmington, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Keego Harbor, Lake Orion, Ortonville, Oxford, Pontiac, Rochester and Walled Lake are members of Main Street Oakland County. Berkley, Clawson, Clarkston, Hazel Park and Leonard are part of the MSOC Mentoring Program. Collectively, Main Street downtowns have generated more than $451 million in private and public investment, 2,782 new jobs and 344 new businesses since the program was formed in 2000. There are 32 traditional downtowns in Oakland County.

Oakland County was the first county in the nation to partner with the National Trust Main Street Center, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The program is usually coordinated through states. Founded in 1980, the National Trust's Main Street Center's Four Point Approach of Organization, Design, Promotion and Economic Restructuring, has been successfully utilized in over 2,000 downtowns in 40 states since 1980. 

Main Street Oakland County's web address is www.mainstreetoaklandcounty.com.

 

OAKLAND COUNTY -- Take the "green approach" to disposing Christmas trees this season -- drop them off at 11 Oakland County Parks for recycling.

The program runs December 26, 2008 -- January 12, 2009, 9 a.m. -- 4 p.m., seven days a week. Two locations, Independence Oaks and Orion Oaks, will accept trees through January 26.

"Oakland County Parks is committed to helping preserve natural resources," Dan Stencil, executive officer, said. "Recycling holiday trees is one important way to discard and reuse the trees at the same time."

The parks system will process the trees and make wood chips available free to the public at Orion Oaks on select dates in 2009. 

Self-serve recycling sites include Addison Oaks near Oxford; Catalpa Oaks in Southfield; Glen Oaks Golf Course in Farmington Hills; Groveland Oaks near Holly; Independence Oaks near Clarkston; Lyon Oaks in Lyon Township; Orion Oaks in Orion Township; Red Oaks Golf Course in Madison Heights; Springfield Oaks in Davisburg; Waterford Oaks in Waterford; and White Lake Oaks Golf Course near Pontiac.

There is no charge to drop off trees. Plastic, tinsel and wire must be removed. Large quantities from commercial lots will not be accepted.
        
Bordine's Nursery Limited -- the Plant Place co-sponsors the recycling program.

Visit www.oakgov/parksrec for park maps, events and discounts; or call
(248) 858-0906.

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. That’s when the doors open on the newly renovated Oakland Schools Technical Campuses in Royal Oak, Pontiac, Wixom and Clarkston.

The new state-of-the-art facilities and an updated curriculum will provide advanced educational opportunities for high school juniors and seniors. They will focus on such high-tech disciplines as engineering, emerging technologies, biotech, transportation technology, health sciences and environmental sciences.

The students attend classes at the campuses for about half a day before returning to their home districts to finish the school day at their local high school.

An open house will be held between 2-5 p.m. Sunday. For information, click here or call (248) 209-2194.

Source: Automation Alley
Writer: Jon Zemke

Nothin' is more green than trees - unless it's fall. And, well, it's fall, but, putting semantics aside, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have granted 22 communities in the area nearly $100,000 to green up the place by planting trees.

Excerpt:

Twenty-two communities or groups in metro Detroit were awarded $92,825 in Community Forestry Grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, with much of the money to be spent on tree planting.

Of the region's recipients, Novi received the most dollars -- $20,000 -- for a street tree inventory and plan project, according to the state Web site. Grants totaling $214,665 were awarded to 50 projects statewide.

Read the entire article here.

Springfield Township receives hefty grant to improve park system.

Excerpt:

A fat grant will help pay for prescribed burning, invasive plant removal, wetland restoration, native plantings, and forest stand improvement in the Shiawassee Basin Preserve over the next seven years.

Springfield Township officials, as well as representatives from federal, state and local environmental organizations, gathered Oct. 24 as township Parks and Recreation director Jennifer Tucker accepted $106,662 in funding from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.

Read the entire article here.