The founder of what will be Royal Oak's new movie theater hopes to break ground by the end of this month or early next on the entertainment complex.
Paul Glantz, founder and chairman of Plymouth-based Emagine Entertainment, says the process has been challenging, yet exciting to bring a first-run theater complex offering food, alcohol, and bowling to the city. Yet, "I think this venue is going to be very successful," he says. "And I think it's going to be successful not just for our benefit, but for downtown Royal Oak."
He expects that not only will the theater bring in new visitors to the downtown area, but they'll stay and visit the existing restaurants, coffee shops, and stores. It's expected to create 100 full-time jobs in the kitchen, at the ticket counter, and in the food-service area.
"It's going to be a pretty substantial economic engine," he says.
At this time Glantz is reviewing contractor bids before breaking ground this summer. Helping to fund the project is a $1.25 million Brownfield Tax Credit from the Michigan Economic Development Corp, which helped garner support from Royal Oak's Downtown Development Authority, and what Glantz calls a "substantial economic boost."
"We are really in the home stretch in terms of starting construction," he says. "It's very exciting. You pour a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into bringing one of these projects to fruition."
He still hopes to have the theater up and running by April, to get all the kinks worked out before next summer's blockbuster season starts.
The 10-screen complex, 73,000 square feet spread over two stories, will be located on the parking lot on 11 Mile Road just east of Main Street, behind the Main Art Theatre. The $14 million project will house 1,680 seats and 16 lanes of bowling. There will also be a private party area/meeting room on a second-floor mezzanine level over the main entrance.
Source: Paul Glantz, founder and chairman of Emagine Entertainment
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
The walls for the Dearborn Town Center are up, the parking garage is up, and work continues on the interior to ready it for an end-of-the-year opening.
The 162,000-square-foot building will offer a mix of office and retail space, the vast majority of which will be occupied by 500 workers from Oakwood Healthcare System and Midwest Health Services. Two hundred of those employees will be new.
Progress has continued to the point that the project looks finished from the outside, says Barry Murray, economic and community development director for the city of Dearborn. "Both the building and the parking deck are up, and the bridge between them is up," he says. "All the exterior finishes are close to being complete."
Murray's recent tour revealed the medical suites to be in various stages of completion: Some stud walls were bare, some had drywall, and some rooms have been painted. The timeline still calls for the project to be finished in December or January.
The Dearborn Town Center replaces the recently demolished Montgomery Ward department store. Montgomery Ward opened the store in 1937, expanding it to 93,000 square feet. It went belly-up in 2001 and had been vacant until its demolition.
The brick and stone facade and glass gives the new structure a look that's not overpowering, in Murray's opinion. "I think it blends well with city hall and other buildings in the areas," he says. "I think it's a very important architectural design, and for an important corner."
Murray also appreciates the building of a 530-car public parking garage, which is a more efficient use of space than surface parking. "That's really one piece of the puzzle, trying to create an urban environment that people will come out and enjoy," he says.
Source: Barry Murray, economic and community development director for the city of Dearborn
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
The village of Oxford will be converting 83 existing streetlights in its downtown to energy-efficient LED globe fixtures from Relume Technologies. The project is partially funded by a Michigan Economic Development Corporation Downtown Urban Revitalization Grant.
The bulbs are expected to save about $8,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs. The outdoor LED lights use less than half of the energy of a conventional streetlight and can last up to six times longer, which leads to an average payback on the investment in less than four years.
Madonna Van Fossen, director of the Oxford Downtown Development Authority, explains that the close proximity of Relume's headquarters drove the village's decision to secure LED lighting. "That's one of the goals in Oxford: to be a totally green community," she says.
The LED lights will be radio controlled, the first in the world with that technology, she says. "Since Relume is right here, it’s going to be huge for Oxford, the exposure that we're going to get."
Van Fossen says the lights should be in place by the end of the month. "The goal is to have the whole DDA district lit with LED lighting," she says.
In Macomb County, a warehouse on Hall Road has had 180 high-intensity discharge lighting fixtures replaced with energy-efficient fixtures from Alumalight. Also, occupancy sensors were installed to turn the lights off in an area that is not in use.
That lighting upgrade is expected to reduce energy usage and cost by half, saving more than $9,000 annually. It was funded in part by a $14,000 rebate from DTE.
Source: Macomb County and Madonna Van Fossen, director of the Oxford Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
Saving money is nice, but being green and being a leader are also behind the decision of Oakland County's government to invest in energy efficient methods and technology.
Actions such as reducing lighting, adjusting thermostats, and even using moisture sensors to prevent over-watering have earned the Oakland County Executive Office Building, on Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford, an Energy Star rating from the Environmental Protection Agency. Those actions have also reduced energy consumption on the government campus by 10 percent, saving about $4 million.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson wants the energy consumption reduced by another 15 percent in the next five years, said Oakland County Director of Facilities Management Art Holdsworth; Patterson issued an OakGreen Challenge to all communities, businesses, and homes in the county to reduce consumption 10 percent by 2012.
"We've been doing things like this ... as a way of doing what we can to get our energy costs down and be more green," Holdsworth says. "All these things, in total, are a significant energy savings."
Years ago when the county bought the building from the Oakland County Intermediate School District, it installed double-paned windows and other energy-efficient technologies during the building renovation, to the tune of several million dollars. So the green efforts aren't really a matter of making back its investment, but doing the right, and smart, thing.
"Oakland County always prides itself on being a leader, and leading by example, especially among local government, and demonstrate to the private sector it can be done," Holdworth says.
The U.S. Dept of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program awarded the county $4.8 million in November to use over the next three years for energy-efficient measures, he explains. "With $4.8 million, we're able to do an awful lot of things over the next couple of years," he adds. Planned projects range from replacing old light bulbs to geothermal heat and photovoltaic solar energy panels.
Meanwhile, Oakland County will open its first LEED certified building in 2011 as it begins to construct Michigan's first green airport terminal. The new terminal at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford will feature sustainable options such as wind power generating technology, geothermal heat, and landscaping that uses rain water irrigation. A number of recycled materials will be used in the construction. The terminal will be smaller than the former building but the space will be used more efficiently. It will include airport offices, a U.S. Customs Service office, and a high-tech telecommuting meeting room to reduce travel time and costs.
Source: Art Holdsworth, director of facilities management for Oakland County
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
A lot of sanding, a lot of scraping, and a lot of staining is how recent Lawrence Technological University graduate Doug Metiva plans to spend his summer.
Metiva is working on and living in the university's Affleck House in Bloomfield Hills, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, for the third summer in a row. This summer, he hopes to refinish much of the wood throughout the house, including the hallways, bedrooms and bathrooms -- work he started with former fellow student Justin Butler.
Metiva will continue with the project as he looks for a permanent job after graduating in May with degrees in architecture and construction management. "The school is kind enough to let me stay working on this, to finish what I started," he says. "It's kind of been a work in progress. I'd like to see it finished."
Lawrence Tech also received a $7,500 grant for the re-creation of furniture for the 2,300-square-foot house, which was completed in 1941. The house was donated to the university in 1978 and has since been used as a teaching tool for students in Lawrence Tech's College of Architecture and Design.
The Affleck House is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, and is one of the 50 most significant structures in the state, according to the Michigan Society of Architects.
Source: Doug Metiva, recent Lawrence Technological University graduate
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
Birmingham's former Baker's Square restaurant has a new, but not unfamiliar, tenant. Shore Mortgage, already a presence in the city and metro area, has moved its Direct Lending Division to the 5,145-square-foot building.
Shore Mortgage president Robert Rahal says moving into a formerly vacant building was an "important step" toward both the company and Birmingham's goal of redeveloping the city's corridors and promoting growth. "Shore Mortgage is committed to the communities in which we are located and in which we service," Rahal says via e-mail.
Thirty employees will move to the building, in Birmingham's Triangle District, and another 100 more could be brought on board.
As the Triangle District is centrally located, "we selected this building for its easy accessibility to our growing Shore Mortgage and affiliate divisions campus, its strategic location close to major thoroughfares and to our employee community at large," Rahal says. Also, the space provided parking for employees and is within walking distance to the rest of the commercial and downtown district.
"By redeveloping a vacant commercial building, we are confident of the economic future of the area," he adds.
Source: Robert Rahal, president of Shore Mortgage
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
The Jeffery W. Barry Center on Walsh College's Troy campus gets most of its power from renewable resources, captures and filters its water, and converts waste heat into electricity. And now, it has a shiny new plaque to hang on the wall.
The Barry Center, a 37,000-square-foot, two-level classroom building, was certified LEED Gold by the U.S Green Building Council for utilizing green design and building practices. Ground was broken in 2006 and the facility opened for classes in January of 2008.
Christine Stout, director of facilities and auxiliary services for Walsh College, explains that the project came about as part of a master facility planning process, which in part identified what the college needed space-wise. While not a public institution and therefore not required to be LEED certified for its building project, "We thought it would be a worthwhile goal," she says.
Committee members had originally set its sights on bronze (now certified), then silver, and upon realizing they were close to the requirements for gold, decided to go for it. "We do think it's important to be good stewards of our common resources," Stout says. "We are a member of the community, just like everyone else."
Plus, Walsh being a business college, the committee realized that having a LEED-certified building could have in impact on the business community: When students go out into the business world, they can remember their "comfortable, functional and efficient building."
"They can say, 'When I was at Walsh, they did a building project and it wasn't hard.' It's good for us."
Among the Barry Center's green accomplishments: 70 percent of its electricity comes from renewable resources; every year 7 million gallons of water are captured and filtered in bioswales and a constructed wetland before being recharged into the water supply; and landscaping with native plants that do not require irrigation saves 825,000 gallons of water and $5,000 in city fees annually.
Other benefits include the conversion of waste heat into electricity through energy recovery technology; a 20-percent energy savings via a doubling of the building's insulation; and energy-efficient plumbing that reduced potable water use by 40-percent.
Stout says she was excited to show off the LEED certification plaque, a circle of recycled glass that will be hung in Barry's main hallway.
Source: Christine Stout, director of facilities and auxiliary services for Walsh College
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
Hiking and biking through downtown Utica is about to become easier, as work is set to begin next week on a pedestrian bridge over the Clinton River.
The bridge, a component of the 70-mile hike-and-bike trail throughout Macomb County, will connect the Macomb Orchard Trail to downtown Utica as well as the Clinton River Trail in Oakland County. It will provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a safe place to cross the river without having to navigate the busy Van Dyke/M-59 intersection.
"The hike-and-bike trail is an amenity that enhances the quality of life for people way beyond the city of Utica," says Utica Mayor Jacqueline Noonan. "People want walkable communities."
The bridge will be funded mostly by grants from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and is expected to be completed by this fall, Noonan says.
She points out that Utica is one of the few downtowns on the 70-mile trail plan. It offers people the chance to stop in for some ice cream, visit the library, or make other stops. "It's an enhancement directly to our downtown, to our community, and to the statewide trail system."
Source: Jacqueline Noonan, mayor of Utica
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
The exterior is "all but finalized" on Royal Oak's Flute House, says architect Keith Phillips, and the interior is now beginning to take shape.
Phillips, co-founder of Brighton-based The Think Shop Architects and the designer of the building, said work continues at the downtown high-end flute store. "Currently we are installing the digitally fabricated black Polyurea exterior cladding where the exterior vapor barrier is showing on the entry cube as well as the residence above," he says in an e-mail. "We are continuing to fit out the interior of the structure, with every day getting us a bit closer to our goal, yet we are still a ways off."
The two-story red-and-off-white building on South Main Street next to B&B Collision will serve as a high-end flute store and the residence of Ervin Monroe, the retired principal flutist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The retail portion will be on the ground floor, while Monroe's home will be on the second.
The building started out as home to Alegra Print & Imaging in the mid-20th century, and has since played host to a body shop and brick emporium. It will house a 5,000-square-foot retail shop on the ground floor. The residential space above measures out to 2,100 square feet.
Source: Keith Phillips, co-founder of The Think Shop Architects
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
Two young peregrine falcons making their home at the Macomb County Administration Building stretched their wings on a day a little windier than what they could handle.
No worries, though -- Harwell and Martha are doing fine, having been taken to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment rehab facility to develop more wing strength before returning to their parents, Hathor and Nick, and brother, Packard.
"They only had the strength to go down," says Christine Becher, the nesting peregrine falcon coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment. "They don't have enough muscle power yet to get back up to where they came from."
The three young falcons were officially named and tagged for identification earlier this month. The names were chosen to honor Ernie Harwell, the recently deceased longtime Tigers' baseball announcer; the Packard Motor Car Company; and Martha Griffiths, Michigan's first female lieutenant governor. The trio, born on May 12, are Hathor and Nick's third set of offspring in as many years.
Hathor and Nick have made their home on the 11th floor of the county building, a height close enough to the cliffs on which falcons choose to build their nests in the wild. Birds who hatch on building perches tend to make their own homes on similar perches later on, Becher explains.
Peregrines usually won't nest the first year after their birth, and they don't necessarily stay close to home. Other pairs have made their nests in buildings and bridges in Detroit, Monroe, Flint, and surrounding areas. "There's quite a few nesting around here that are Ontario birds," Becher says.
Source: Christine Becher, nesting peregrine falcon coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources & Environment
Writer: Kristin Lukowski
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