Southwest Detroit : Detroit Development News

The city of Detroit's SmartBuildings program, overseen by the Detroit Economic Growth Corp, has approved 19 building improvement grants across the city worth $762,272.

The SmartBuildings program focuses on providing funding for energy-efficiency projects that improve commercial buildings. Among the recepients of this latest round of grants are a handful of buildings controlled by Focus: Hope and the Wayne County Community College District. The DEGC recently increased the coverage area of eligible buildings from the downtown area to commercial corridors throughout the city, including on East Jefferson, southwest Detroit and the city's University District.

"We expanded the area to cast a bigger net," says Scott Veldhuis, senior project manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

The SmartBuildings grants, which are capped at $100,000 per building, will leverage $3.8 million in outside investment from building owners. Focus: HOPE is using its $320,662 grant as part of a $1.36 million umbrella project for nine buildings on its campus on Oakman Boulevard. The improvements will install insulation, high-efficiency lighting, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and other mechanical upgrades.

Wayne County Community College District received $200,000 in grants for energy-conservation updates to the Central Administration Building and the Downtown Campus Building on its downtown campus as part of $2.25 million project. Southwest Housing Solutions is leveraging$78,812 in grant funds toward $315,250 in projects that include reflective roofing and high-efficiency water heaters at the Harwill, Cole and Harrington buildings at 1453 Hubbard, 4516 W. Vernor Highway and 465 W. Grand Boulevard, respectively.

Other projects include the Hellenic Museum of Michigan (67 E. Kirby), New Center Stamping (950 E. Milwaukee Ave), Hacienda Mexican Foods (6100 Buchanan) a walk-in store at 5564 Woodward.

Source: Scott Veldhuis, senior project manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp
Writer: Jon Zemke

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What was once Preservation Wayne is now Preservation Detroit, a new name for a renewed organization that specializes in historical preservation and is focusing its efforts on mapping out and registering the historic structures throughout the city.

"There are so many treasures in this city that just rot away," says Marion Christiansen, interim executive director of Preservation Detroit. "We cannot allow that to happen."

One of the non-profit's newest priorities is working to preserve the Orsel & Minnie McGhee house on the near West Side. The four square-style house at 4626 SeeBaldt (just northwest of I-96 and Tireman) played a critical role in the repeal of race-based restrictive covenants in property deeds.

Orsel McGhee, a press operator for the Detroit Free Press, and his wife Minnie, a postal worker, rented the house for a decade during the depression and tried to purchase it. The block club sued to remove the McGhee family during World War II. By 1948 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against restrictive covenants based on the McGhee lawsuit and another similar case from St. Louis.

The McGhee house has been a rental for years until it was recently sold to its longtime tenants. They reached out to Preservation Detroit about helping preserve the house, which is on the Michigan Historical Register but not the National Register of Historic Places.

"It really is a treasure," Christiansen says. "It has fallen into a little disrepair."

Preservation Detroit is working to map and catalog the city's historic structures, like the McGhee house, on the state and national historic lists. The hope is identifying these buildings and establishing what needs to be done to preserve them will help make sure they survive. For instance, Preservation Detroit is helping fundraise for a new roof and other essential improvements for the McGhee house and by putting it on the National Register of Historic Places makes it eligible for tax credits and other governmental incentives.

For information on Preservation Detroit and its efforts to preserve the McGhee house, click here.

Source: Marion Christiansen, interim executive director of Preservation Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

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LED streetlights are going up in six neighborhoods throughout Detroit thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Last week work crews began installing the LED streetlights on Telegraph Road from Fullerton to Eight Mile Road; Fullerton Road from Ewald Circle to Schaefer; Greenfield Road from Paul to Eight Mile Road; Hamilton, Fairway and Curtis between McNichols and Seven Mile; 14th Street from Grand Boulevard to Lawrence; and Waterman from N. Lafayette to West Vernor, Dix west of Vernor to Woodmere and Woodmere from Dix to Vernor. The project is expected to be done by June.

The 580 new energy efficient LED lights are expected to save 60 percent of the energy costs of the mercury vapor streetlights they are replacing. "They're extremely energy efficient," says Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project. "LED lighting lasts much longer and results in significant maintenance savings."

The LED streetlights should lesson the pressure on Detroit's aging electrical grid, helping prevent more brownouts during times of peak electrical usage. The LEDs will also have a more natural tint to the light, more like daylight compared to the yellow or pink tints to traditional streetlights.

"The quality of the lighting is going to stand out," Shireman says. "The mercury vapor lights spread light out everywhere, including the sky. The LED lighting is focused and directed on the street where you want it."

Source: Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

By the end of September, Detroit cyclists will have 16 miles of new bike lanes to traverse; part of a growing network that will connect the three neighborhoods of Southwest Detroit, Corktown and Mexicantown.

"Linking Corktown, Mexicantown and Southwest Detroit will provide Detroiters and visitors with convenient, safe access to three of the city's most historic and vibrant neighborhoods," said Scott Clein, executive vice president at Giffels-Webster Engineers, which designed the bike lane system.

Giffels-Webster, with the support of the Greater Corktown Development Corporation and the Southwest Detroit Business Association, designed the Corktown-Mexicantown-Southwest Detroit Greenlink and secured funding for the initiative. 80 percent of the $500,000 cost to complete the project was provided by the Michigan Department of Transportation through the agency's Transportation Enhancement Activity Program.

The expansive network of bike lanes uses West Vernor as a main artery. Says Clein, "West Vernor will connect Patton Park on the City's west edge, to West Grand Boulevard and continue to 20th Street.  These connections will then feed a series of on-street bike lanes throughout Corktown and Mexicantown."

Giffels-Webster's engineers are also the designers behind the City of Detroit's Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan. The Corktown-Mexicantown-Southwest Detroit Greenlink is the first major project of the master plan to be created, which will eventually integrate more than 400 miles of bike lanes throughout the city.

"The next areas that we would like to target are the Woodbridge neighborhood and the remainder of Midtown," Clein says. "In doing so we would connect the Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink to the whole of Midtown and New Center and, by extension, to Eastern Market and the Dequindre Cut." Look for portions of Third Avenue and Second Avenue to be converted from one-way to two-way streets, with on-site bike lanes added on the perimeters.

Source: Scott Clein, executive vice president, Giffels-Webster Engineers
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Thousands of DPS students began the 2011-12 school year in brand-new or extensively renovated facilities, thanks to the completion of a major phase of the district's $500.5 million capital improvement program authorized by a taxpayer bond, Proposal S. Since 2000, DPS has built or renovated 40 buildings -- one-third of its current educational properties.

"The program, which including 10 new schools or major renovations this fall, allowed us, in several cases, to consolidate two or three badly outdated, under-utilized structures into a brand new state of the art facilities, and in other cases to modernize existing schools to accommodate 21st century learning styles," says Jennifer Mrozowski, executive director of communications for the district. "We are also making safety enhancements throughout the district's buildings."

DPS debuted three new schools this year. At the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School at 3200 E. Lafayette, the $46.4 million build emphasizes a science, technology, engineering and math curriculum, with state-of-the-art upgrades like a media center and cyber cafe.  

Neighborhood members, kids, local service providers and artists will debut The Alley Project (TAP) Gallery, a permanent outdoor exhibition space dedicated to aerosol street art, on July 4 in Southwest Detroit.

The alley, which is located between the streets of Avis, Falcon, Elsemere and Woodmere, is now covered in murals, crafted by local artists and youth alike. Through a partnership with a Master's of Architecture class headed by Will Wittig at University of Detroit-Mercy, neighborhood kids worked to transform a residential garage into studio art space and gallery, dubbed Studio Luevanos. Two abandoned lots adjacent to the alley were purchased and cleaned. They now host outdoor modular canvasses, reconstructed patio furniture and a bicycle rack (built by an area bike club and metal artist from 555 Gallery with locally salvaged materials).

Erik Howard is the director of Young Nation, a Southwest youth and community development nonprofit. For the past year, he's coordinated efforts to bring TAP Gallery to fruition. It was funded in 2010 through Community + Public Art Detroit (CPAD), a partnership between the Skillman Foundation and College for Creative Studies (also underwritten by the Kresge and Chase foundations). Howard emphasizes that, beyond the art, TAP Gallery's mission was to create a participatory project for the community and its stakeholders.

"The stakeholders are involved in all phases of the decision-making," he says. "Neighbors, youth, service providers and artists were all involved together, and they all learned enough about each other and what's important to each other, to make informed decisions. They all learned about design, about architecture, and about art."

Utilizing the outdoors for gallery space, leaving it open to the public and the elements, was another important aspect of TAP's vision, Howard says.

"This product is a living, breathing art environment, and it exists in an area that has a high incident of vandalism, on purpose," he says. "Part of the risk, of course, is that the things which are put up are temporal. That's okay, because what we tried to design from our process is an organism that can survive in that environment."

Street art was the hook for the youth members of Young Nation, who were given the responsibility to help design and curate the outdoor gallery. Each young leader worked in concert with graphic designers, architects, street artists and fine artists, to help stimulate learning and form relationships with professionals in the fields of art and design.

"What interested them was the street art," Howard says, "but then we use that as a bridge to the wider world of art, in general."

Young Nation will celebrate the opening of TAP in coordination with the Falcon Street Block Club's annual 4th of July block party, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. A dedication of the outdoor gallery and live demonstration painting will coincide with all the happenings of the block club bash -- food, volleyball, music and activities for kids.

Visit TAP on Facebook to check out pictures and learn more.

Source: Erik Howard, Lead Artist and Youth Coordinator, Young Nation
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

At Covenant Community Care's new Family Dental Center at 5716 Wellness, Dr. Thomas Storen says the dentists and hygienists will serve close to 10,000 patients in 2011 -- almost double the former clinic's capacity in 2010. Storen estimates 90 percent of those patients are from Detroit.

The clinic now has five chairs and two hygienist stations for two dentists, two hygienists, an oral surgeon and support staff at the clinic. It's open to the public Monday through Saturday.

"We're a community health center, we're dedicated to giving the finest of medical care and dental care that Detroit citizens deserve, and we do it with a Christian flair to it," says Dr. Storen. "So it's a very special place for people to be."

CCC is a faith-based, nonprofit organization which partnered with Southwest Solutions to become a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in 2007. Patients pay for dental care according to a sliding scale based on income.

"If they're at 100 percent of the poverty level, they'll get a 66 percent discount off the dentistry fees," says Dr. Storen.

Obstetric, pediatric and primary care medical services are also available at the 5617 Wellness building, which was built in a renovated Albert Kahn warehouse.

"We call it integrated health care. It's really the way medical care and dental care should be delivered. Our docs and our dentists are talking all the time about the same patients."

And he says the look and feel of the brand-new clinic is a bonus to the clinic's patients, many of whom lack access to the level of care CCC provides.

"I'm still amazed when I walk in and see it," says Dr. Storen. "It's state-of-the-art dental clinic. We are all digital, which is in accordance with federal guidelines."

 5716 Wellness is located at 5716 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48210. To contact the CCC Family Dental Center, call 313-554-3880.

Source: Dr. Thomas Storen, Covenant Community Care
Writer: Ashley C. Woods

Over the last 20 years, the Greening of Detroit has planted 62,000 trees. This spring, the organization plans to add another 4,000, and needs 7,000 volunteers to make it happen. Two plantings are scheduled for every Saturday from March 26 through June 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with 350 people needed at each site. "We'll have all the tools needed, and the trees placed out -- all we're looking for is the manpower to put them in," says Monica Tabares, Greening's development manager.

The planting locations are confirmed through April as follows:

• March 26: Deacon/Ethel Street
• March 26: 7 Mile
• April 2: Stoepel
• April 2: Stahelin
• April 9: San Juan-Pennington
• April 16: Springwells
• April 16: E. State Fair
• April 30: US-23/Plymouth Rd.
• April 30: I-94/Rawsonville Rd.

Plantings are designed to address storm water run-off, soil contamination, air quality issues and deforestation due to the Emerald Ash Borer. DTE Energy Foundation, the Erb Family Foundation, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the U.S. Forest Service contributed funds to Greening's spring planting season.

To volunteer for any of the plantings, call 313-273-8733 or send an email here.

Source: Monica Tabares, Greening of Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Last week, the Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center, a nonprofit organization that has provided health and wellness services to uninsured and under-insured people since 1970, broke ground on a $17 million health center and administrative facility at 5635 West Fort Street, just west of Junction. The 48,000 square foot facility will be LEED-certified and will include 24 exam rooms, four procedure rooms, pharmacy, conference area, demonstration kitchen and a wellness center with an indoor track.

Currently, CHASS provides services at a former auto dealership located adjacent to the new facility. Building a larger center will enable the organization to hire more healthcare providers and assist more patients in an environment specifically designed for health care operations. "We've had to design our programs to meet the building, while this building is designed to meet the programs," says Denise Pike, development director. "It will be aesthetically pleasing on the exterior and, on the interior, very efficient for care."

Henry Ford Health System, the McGregor Fund, Turner Construction Company, the Carls Foundation and the Ambassador Bridge contributed to the capital campaign for the new facility, and financing was provided by JPMorgan Chase, Nonprofit Finance Fund, Invest Detroit, Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Capital Link. Brownfield tax credits were utilized. Harley Ellis Devereaux is the architect and Turner will act as general contractor and construction manager.

Construction is slated for completion in 2012.

Sources: Ricardo Guzman and Denise Pike, CHASS
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Springwells Village area of Southwest Detroit -- roughly bounded by Woodmere, Dix, Waterman and Fort -- is one of Southwest Detroit's stablest neighborhoods due, in part, to the strategic targeted investment of Urban Neighborhood Initiatives (UNI). "Everything we're doing is about trying to add value to the neighborhood, anything to transform problem sites, issues, into assets," says Michael Boettcher, UNI's community development director.

UNI, in collaboration with numerous other neighborhood stakeholders, recently completed a Neighborhood Improvement Plan for the area, which details stabilization strategies. One that UNI is already taking steps to accomplish is the creation of a network of small pocket parks throughout the community. "We are working on establishing little parks throughout the neighborhood, kind of counter to how the city (is moving) towards consolidation into bigger parks," says Boettcher, who points out Savannah's network of public squares as an "amazing model for the kind of thing we're doing."

Beard Playlot is located on the south end of the neighborhood. The park is a third of an acre, and the city has called for it to be "repositioned," says Boettcher, which means it would be decommissioned as a city-owned and -operated recreation space. UNI's plans, however, call for the expansion of the park by acquiring adjacent privately held and city-owned land. The property would then be turned over to the Detroit Recreation Department for maintenance and operations; the agency has signed off on the preliminary plan, which allows UNI to proceed with fundraising for land acquisition.

The expanded Beard will be two acres and will include an off-street bike path and soccer fields. "The closest are at Patton Park and the kids in this neighborhood are not going that far," says Boettcher. "We think it will be popular within the half-square mile that surrounds this site."

Other efforts in the area are complementary to vision of the Neighborhood Improvement Plan, including the expansion of a playground at St. Stephen Lutheran Church on Lawndale, Young Nation's Alley Project Gallery, last year's reinvention of Weiss Park and a proposed greenway along Woodmere Cemetery. "If we can link all of these things together, we'll have a great little network," says Boettcher.

Download a copy of the Woodmere/Springdale Neighborhood Improvement Plan here (scroll down).

Source: Michael Boettcher, UNI
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

By the end of January, a 45,000-square-foot building on Michigan Ave. will open its doors as an integrated healthcare center. An estimated 7,000 patients will be served annually at the facility, which will provide medical, pediatric, obstetric, dental, psychiatric and behavioral counseling services. All services will be bilingual.

Tenants will include Southwest Counseling Solutions, Covenant Community Care, Madonna University and several other health, child care and education providers. "The creation of a wellness center concept gets to the benefits of integrated care," says Tim Thorland, executive director of developer Southwest Housing Solutions. "By co-locating in the same building, collaborating on both sides of the medical spectrum and adding in daycare, (we are providing) more well-rounded support services that can further enhance the quality of life for people."

The $11.2 million renovation project was financed via new market, historic and brownfield tax credits and funding and loans from numerous other sources that include Living Cities, Local Initiatives Support Collaborative, JP Morgan Chase, Kresge Foundation, United Way, Wayne County and the city of Detroit. The building was designed by Albert Kahn as a tobacco factory.

5716 Michigan Avenue is the third building that Southwest Housing has redeveloped in the Michigan/Livernois area, but it won't likely be the last. "What we are doing is conglomerating resources (like we did at) West Grand Blvd. and Vernor and at Lawndale and W. Vernor," says Thorland. "We view Michigan and Livernois as one of those places." A public planning process will be facilitated by the Detroit Collaborative Design Center that will identify community assets and propose future development projects.

Source: Tim Thorland, Southwest Housing Solutions
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Southwest Solutions has opened an Adult Learning Lab in Southwest Detroit to help adults improve their literacy, math and computer skills with an eye towards job readiness. The lab will provide GED preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, Adult Basic Education (ABE) and remedial educational support for those entering college.

The lab is equipped with 22 computers loaded with necessary and up-to-date software. "We have state-of-the-art equipment and it's a very cool space in a storefront, looking at Clark Park and right down the block from Cafe con Leche," says Linda West, director of Center for Working Families, the organization that runs the lab. "It looks good, it's very welcoming."

The lab, located at 4214 W. Vernor, is one of ten Adult Learning Labs in the city funded by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG). It is operating on a three-year grant of $100,000 a year. "What makes this program unique is that the connection between adult education and workforce development is central to this," says West. "The object here is that, within the context of people getting a job, there is getting a job with family-sustaining wages, there is access to post-secondary education, there is a GED...there is intake with people who come and see if there are any barriers and that will connect them to support services like child care, food stamps, workforce coaching, resume writing and computer literacy classes."

The lab will allow for independent learning, small group instruction and one-on-one tutoring. It will be open 40 hours a week with evening and Saturday accessibility. The lab expects to serve about 300 people a year, many of whom will be participants in Detroit GreenWorks Solutions. For more information about the Adult Learning Lab or to volunteer, please contact Tim McGorey at tmcgorey@swsol.org or 313-451-8056.

Source: Linda West, Center for Working Families
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Detroit Green Works Solutions has transformed a 6,400-square-foot building located at 2715 Bagley into a job training center. Formerly the headquarters of Disenos Iron Works (which relocated elsewhere in Southwest Detroit) and the Bagley Housing Association (now part of Southwest Housing Solutions), it now houses a classroom, computer lab, displays, a hands-on workspace and offices for the program's six staffers.

The building's location in Hubbard-Richard makes it convenient for students, who are all residents of Southwest Detroit. "It's centrally located for bus routes, so it's pretty easy to get here," says Chris Rutherford, training programs manager for WARM Training Center, a partner in the Green Works consortium. Other pluses: walking distance to restaurants and concerned neighbors that keep an eye on the place.

The courses offered include Weatherization (10 weeks) and a combination of Weatherization and Deconstruction (12 weeks). Insulation, caulking, window glazing, appliance electrical loads and weather stripping are taught -- along with construction basics such as tool usage, safety and CPR and first aid. Two "cohorts" of 20 students each take the program concurrently. About a third of their time is spent in the classroom, a third with on-site hands-on training and a third in the field.

Other program partners include Henry Ford Community College, who teaches math and computer skills, and Southwest Solutions, who works with students on their resumes and job readiness skills.

Stats: The sixth cohort just started their training, 58 students have graduated since Green Works got started in May and there is a 70% job placement rate.

Restrictions: Students must pass a drug test, be at least 18 years old and live in one of five Detroit zip codes: 48208, 48209, 48210, 48216 or 48217. One of the following criteria must be met as well: unemployed, high school drop out, returning citizen, veteran or low-income.

For more information, contact Southwest Solutions' Center for Working Families at 313-841-9641 x363. The next session begins January 10, 2011.

Other program partners include Detroit Workforce Development Dept. and the Greening of Detroit. Greening facilitates the training of Green Works' other certification program, which covers landscaping and forestry.

Source: Dan Pratt and Chris Rutherford, WARM Training
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Michigan Department of Transportation has made a conditional commitment of $2.5 million to Southwest Detroit Business Association for infrastructure improvements along W. Vernor between Patton and Clark parks. The entire project cost is $5.56 million; the organization will raise the remaining funds throughout 2011 and hope to being construction in 2012. "We're not looking to fund-raise small money," says Vittoria Katanski, SDBA's marketing director. "We're looking at it as a development project, like Odd Fellows Hall, a financing-type piece."

The infrastructure work funded by the allocation will be used for landscaping and, most importantly, an updating of the corridor's lighting infrastructure. "We held several community meetings to find out a vision, what people wanted to have happen," says Katanski. With lighting being of major issue to many residents and business owners, SDBA made it a priority. "The city has lighting and electric systems that haven't been upgraded for several years, and this grant will allow us to make these major changes."

Moving on from infrastructure to art...

SDBA has transformed the ground-floor atrium of its office building at 7752 W. Vernor into a gallery. Its second exhibit, featuring photographers Erik Howard and Lisa Luevanos, opened last week. "There are so many artists in the community that don't have a space to show their art," says Katanski. "We're not looking to make money, just offer them a space to show what they do."

SDBA's office features salvaged materials, including an airplane wing, in its non-traditional design. "Our space is awesome," says Katanski. "To be able to give it to people year-round to show their work is huge."

The goal is to open four shows a year in the space. Artists interested in mounting an exhibit should contact Myrna Segura, business district development director, at 313-842-0986 x36.

Source: Vittoria Katanski, SDBA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Mexicantown: Vernor/Bagley Vista is a vision for the 20-block area surrounding the I-75 and Vernor intersection in Southwest Detroit. Spearheaded by Southwest Housing Solutions and facilitated by University of Detroit Mercy Detroit Collaborative Design Center with input from over 75 stakeholders, the project aims to link the area to surrounding neighborhoods including Corktown and the West Riverfront, promote a multi-cultural community and encourage sustainability.

The project evolved over six months and numerous meetings and workshops. Many participants shared a common goal "to celebrate what is already happening," says DCDC director Dan Pitera. "Things are beginning to happen, and we want to amplify that." Three centers of growth were identified as food, art and music, and Vernor and Bagley were targeted as dynamic, walkable streets. "We want both streets to be active commercially and with pedestrians, with the space in between them becoming connectors," he says.

The Mexicantown Mercado, which Southwest Housing is hoping to purchase, will become the area's "living room," says Pitera, who envisions event space and a tenant mix of new and established businesses. "The Mercado could be the place where young businesses and more seasoned businesses can learn from each other."

The area north of W. Vernor has potential to be where entrepreneurs and artists intersect and could become home to an indoor sports complex.

The next step in the process is to meet with individual business owners. "These discussions need to be vetted through economic development," says Pitera.

Vista participants called for improvements to the viaduct that runs under the train tracks behind the Michigan Central Station that serves as the gateway in and out of the district. Filed under Perfect Timing, a trio of artists calling themselves 100 Points of Light came forward with a concept to light the underpass with solar energy.

Armed with a grant from Kresge Community Arts, the group -- comprised of siblings Mary Beth and Patrick Carolan and Robert Reese -- propose a series of solatubes paired with chandeliers inspired by those once found in the depot that are powered by light stored in solar panels. Eventually, excess power generated would be sold back to the grid, creating the possibility that the concept becomes not only self-sustaining, but profitable.

Over the next few months, 100 Points of Light will focus on cleaning up the underpass and replacing existing bulbs with high-efficiency LEDs while planning for installation gets underway.

Track and viaduct owners Canadian Pacific have been "extremely open with discussions," says Pitera.

Sources: Mary Beth Carolan, 100 Points of Light and Dan Pitera and Krista Wilson, Detroit Collaborative Design Center
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh