Entrepreneurs : Detroit Development News

The Farbman Group is making the Fisher Building and its neighboring New Center One more new economy friendly by adding free Wi-Fi and other amenities meant to encourage more knowledge workers and creatives to pop-open a laptop in the city's bustling office buildings.

"We have these beautiful buildings and these days people don't just want to work in their offices," says Andy Gutman, CFO of Farbman Group, which manages the Fisher and New Center One buildings. "They want to work from these common areas."

The Fisher Building is renowned for its art deco architecture and ornate interior. The circa-1928 skyscraper is home to a number of boutique retailers and eateries, such as Pure Detroit and Stella International Cafe. The common spaces in the building already have a handful of chairs and tables but Farbman Group wants to add more comfortable furniture that matches the character of both buildings by this fall.

"We're trying to keep it inline with the historical character of the building," Gutman says.

Source: Andy Gutman, CFO of Farbman Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Lydia Gutierrez has a vision for growing up in Southwest Detroit's Mexicantown neighborhood. She sees a place where young people can express their creative sides, take advantage of mentoring and use it all as a springboard to college. She's making that happen with the Garaje Cultural.

The owner of Hacienda Mexican Foods plans to open the cultural center for kids by this summer. The tortilla-making business is renovating a 18,000-square-foot warehouse on Livernois near Otis Street where 8,000-square-feet will be dedicated toward the Garaje Cultural and the rest will be used for Hacienda Mexican Foods warehousing needs. Gutierrez sees the entire building becoming the home to Garaje Cultural within a few years.

"It's an opportunity for us to give back to the community that has supported us so much," Gutierrez says.

She plans to have murals painted on the interior of the building and provide resources so teens can explore their creative ambitions. The Garaje Cultural (Spanish for cultural garage) will also provide mentoring for these young people so they can capitalize on their aspirations. It will also host career fairs and other events that Gutierrez hopes will lead to more young people utilizing the resources there as a springboard to college.

Work is already underway on the building. Gutierrez hopes to open the Garaje Cultural within 60-90 days.

Source: Lydia Gutierrez, owner of Hacienda Mexican Foods
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The Paradise Valley Investment Group is leveraging the city of Detroit's federal neighborhood stabilization funds, extensively renovating multi-family homes in East English Village and Hubbard Farms.

The home renovation company, headed up by California-native Robin Scovill, is close to wrapping up renovating of seven units of small multi-family buildings that had been foreclosed on in strong residential areas of Detroit. These renovations include extensive green options, such as energy efficient windows and furnaces, along with insulation and Energy Star appliances.

"Robin loved the idea of going into a house and fully renovating it, getting as much out of it as possible," says Eric Novack, an investor in Paradise Valley Investment Group.

Novack adds that there has been a strong demand for the rentals, which are marketed at affordable rates. One duplex in East English Village was leased shortly before it was finished and there has been strong demand for the other units which should come online by the end of this spring.

Novack also says that Paradise Investment Group has broadened its business model, allowing some local investors to take shares in the company as it continues to expand its portfolio, which not includes buildings in West Village, Corktown and a few other well-known Detroit neighborhoods.

"That's the nice things about Detroit's rental market is you will see more outside investors as long as they have the right people on the ground," Novack says.

Source: Eric Novack, an investor in Paradise Valley Investment Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

More SmartBuilding grants are finding their way into the city of Detroit, infusing more green features into the Motor City's building stock.

"We're trying to increase the energy efficiency of buildings in Detroit," says Andrea Haas, program administrator for the SmartBuildings program. "We're trying to make them more marketable and habitable and friendlier to the environment."

The SmartBuilding's program is a city program managed by the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. The $10 million program disperses matching grants and low-interest loans to projects that make commercial buildings more sustainable in the greater downtown Detroit area and select commercial corridors throughout the city.

This latest round of grants/loans will disburse $155,691 to four different projects that will leverage an additions $382,846 in investment. Among those projects are:

• Installing an energy-efficient chiller for the ice rink at Clark Park in Mexicantown, and installing high-efficiency light bulbs inside and outside the park building at 1130 Clark St.

• Making a number of energy-saving improvements to the Casino in Belle Isle Park, including roof repairs, insulation and high-efficiency lighting.

• Installing energy-efficient lighting in the First National Bank Building parking garage at 660 Woodward.

• Upgrading refrigeration equipment and putting in insulation at the Liberty Foods Center grocery store at 10620 W. McNichols.

"We have about $170,000 left," Haas says. "It should be distributed by the end of the year.

Source: Andrea Haas, program administrator for the SmartBuildings program
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Green Dot Stables is leading the way of a slew of new retail and restaurant businesses opening up in Detroit's greater downtown area.

The popular restaurant/bar at 2200 W Lafayette in Hubbard Farms has been undergoing renovations to its kitchen and other aspects by its new owners since last summer. The husband-wife duo are keeping the character of the establishment intact and opening it up for lunch this month as it works with the city and state to secure its liquor license.

"We just loved the feel of the building the stuff that comes with it," says Jacques Driscoll, co-owner of Green Dot Stables. "The price was right, too."

Among the other businesses growing or opening are

• CJ Mahoneys opening in the former location of Lot 1210 on Broadway. The popular sports bar chain with locations in Troy and Rochester plans to be open in time for Opening Day.

• The Detroit Shoppe at Cobo Center will remain open for all meetings, conventions and trade shows following the shop’s successful debut during this year’s North American International Auto Show and Autorama.

Source: Jacques Driscoll, co-owner of Green Dot Stables
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

As Dan Gilbert continues to expand his downtown real-estate portfolio, the Quicken Loans Chairman is filling those buildings with more and more businesses.

Four of his principal buildings that are the furthest along (the M@dison, Dime, Chase and First National buildings) are either at capacity or are projected to be near capacity by the end of this year. All of this growth has prompted Bedrock Real Estate Services, Gilbert's real-estate development fund, to rapidly expand its workforce from four employees to 52 employees over the last year.

Quicken Loans public relations team recently released a long laundry list of companies that have moved into these buildings, representing hundreds of new jobs moving into the Lower Woodward Corridor between Campus Martius and Grand Circus Park. Most of these businesses are newer start-ups and the creative-based companies or investment firms that support them.

"It's a lot of these technology companies on that list," says Jim Ketai, managing partner with Bedrock Real Estate Services. "We are getting a lot of different people looking at spaces, such as advertising agencies, law firms and a ton of retailers."

The M@dison building, an entrepreneurial hub for tech start-ups overlooking Grand Circus Park, opened last fall and is at 100 percent capacity. The Chase building (the building by Campus Martius that looks like a cheese grater) is also at 100 percent with employees from Quicken Loans and Gilbert's family of companies.

The Dime Building, on Griswold just west of Campus Martius, is at 54 percent occupancy. "We're working with a couple of tenants that will bring it up to 85 percent (by the end of this year)," Ketai says. The First National Building, also overlooking Campus Martius, is at 58 percent capacity. "It will be at 90 percent shortly," Ketai says. "We're working on a couple of big deals."

Ketai adds that his company has been in touch with a number of retailers interested in Gilbert's buildings. He expects to place a few of them, such as a coffee shop, soon. He also says that Gilbert's team is still debating whether it will make the newly acquired Federal Reserve building as a single-tenant structure or split it up into multiple spaces for other companies. 

Source: Jim Ketai, managing partner with Bedrock Real Estate Services
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The public face of Hacienda Mexican Foods is about to become much prettier. The Southwest Detroit tortilla-maker is almost finished rehabbing its principal storefront on West Vernor Avenue near Livernois Avenue, creating a refreshed and more inviting facade on Mexicantown's main drag.

The 22-year-old business began the renovation of its storefront just east of Livernois two years ago when it commissioned a large mural on the side of the building during the Social Forum. That mural has attracted visitors from across the U.S., prompting the business to continue improving its exterior. The new storefront is adding more windows and other aesthetic touches, making it inviting for pedestrians.

"We want to change the front so the building will attract people," says Lydia Gutierrez, president of Hacienda Mexican Foods. "We want to create a welcoming presence for the community."

The project, partially funded by the Southwest Detroit Business Association's facade improvement program, is restoring the building's storefront to its original appearance from the early 20th Century. Gutierrez and her team are reusing wood from old pickle barrels, giving the exterior a distinctive, natural color. The whole project is set to wrap up within the next two weeks.

"This is a store you could have in Birmingham," Gutierrez says. "This is what we wanted to do for our community."

Source: Lydia Gutierrez, president of Hacienda Mexican Foods
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Record Graveyard has a new home on Carpenter Street in Hamtramck, where the vintage record store has created a white, minimalist new facade in the house-turned-storefront.

"It's all fixed up and it has a tin ceiling," says Jeffery Garbus, president of Record Graveyard. "We're looking to create a19 50s, old fashioned record store."

The 10-year-old business has moved between a handful of locations in Hamtramck over its lifetime. Garbus moved to the 1,000-square-foot space earlier this year because the 1920s-era building at 2610 Carpenter was well kept and ready for a move in. Garbus also liked that a number of its vintage features, such as the tin ceiling, were preserved.

He also liked the simplicity of it so he could make changes to the building in case a film crew wanted to rent out the storefront.

"I can always change the colors," Garbus says.

Source: Jeffery Garbus, president of Record Graveyard
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

A bevy of new small businesses have opened in Corktown, Downtown, Eastern Market and Midtown with a new yoga studio, Yoga Shelter, leading the way.

Naomi Ruth and her partner Donna Orbovich are opening the studio on 69 W. Forrest in the retail space that a small grocery store was once planned. The 2,700-square foot space is on the ground floor of a Wayne State University parking garage a half block from Woodward Avenue in Midtown. Ruth and Orbovich are building out the space now and plan to open in May.

"We looked at a bunch of different sites," Ruth says. "There was just a really great small business community in Midtown. It's a really great community."

Among the other businesses to open in the greater downtown area in recent weeks:

• Just Baked, a gourmet cupcake business has opened in the Dime Building in downtown Detroit.
• Germack Coffee Roasting Co. has opened a new coffee shop in Eastern Market, taking over the space that used to house the Rafal Spice Co.
• Mercury Burger Bar has opened its doors in Corktown, transforming the former Mercury Bar space across the street from Slows.

Source: Naomi Ruth, co-owner of Yoga Shelter
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The original storefront for Honey Bee Market La Colmena in Mexicantown is undergoing a makeover. It's part of a $75,000 improvement project for the supermarket staple of southwest Detroit.

"We thought it was important to get the old building looking good," says Ken Koehler, co-owner of Honey Bee Market La Colmena. "The neighborhood deserves it."

Honey Bee Market La Colmena is the supermarket Detroiters often point to when debunking the Motor City's food desert myth. The venerable grocery store compares quite well to corporate grocery chain stores, offering a wide variety of items and is housed in a newer, large storefront on Bagley in the shadow of the Michigan Central Station. Honey Bee Market La Colmena upgraded from its original 4,000-square-foot store to its current 15,000-square-foot location adjacent to the original store six years ago.

The original store renovation, which is part of the Southwest Detroit Business Association's Facade Improvement Program, is installing new windows, doors, adding lighting and a decorative wrought iron sign. Koehler plans to finish the project, and do some painting, later this spring when the weather is more cooperative. He expects to use the old market storefront for storage now and other potential uses down the road.

Source: Ken Koehler, co-owner of Honey Bee Market La Colmena
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The rebirth of the GAR building, one of downtown Detroit's most iconic small structures, has begun and will soon become obvious through extensive work to its exterior.

Mindfield, the creative agency that currently calls the floors above Vincente's home, is redeveloping the five-story Romanesque building into its new home. The GAR, Grand Army of the Republic, was built as a meeting place for Union Army veterans of the Civil War at Grand River and Cass avenues. The city took control of it by the 1930s and it has been vacant for the last few decades caught up in legal battles.

"The building was a mess when we took it over so we're doing a lot of cleanup and abatement," says David Carleton, executive director of Mindfield. "There was a lot of water damage, bird poop and asbestos there. We're preparing the canvass to paint."

Mindfield will occupy about one quarter of the building and is looking to lease out two other floors. Space in the 25,000-square-foot structure will also be set aside for a restaurant and a Civil War memorial. Mindfield hopes to move in by November of next year.

"You will see some visible signs of improvement very soon," says Sean Emery, post director of Mindfield.

In the mean time, the firm plans to restore the GAR building to its original grandeur. That will start soon with some exterior stone and roof work. Mindfield's co-founders also plan to restore the building's original windows to maintain its original architectural character.

"It would be a crime to take a building that is this grand and iconic in downtown Detroit and take the cheapest way out," says Tom Carleton, creative director of Mindfield. "We're not going to slap the cheapest windows in the building."

You can follow Mindfield's efforts to restore the GAR building here.

Source: Tom Carleton, Sean Emery and David Carleton, co-founders of Mindfield
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Hatch Detroit is growing, making its first hire and planning to expand its service offerings to help more small businesses take root in Detroit.

"We're in a growth mode right now," says Ted Balowski, co-founder of Hatch Detroit. "We're laying the groundwork right now."

Hatch Detroit is a nonprofit that champions and supports independent retail businesses in Detroit through funding, exposure, education and mentoring. It debuted last year with a $50,000 contest to support an entrepreneur opening a retail outlet in Midtown.

Hatch Detroit recently hired Vittoria Katanski (marketing director of the Southwest Detroit Business Association) as its first executive director. She will oversee next year's Hatch Detroit retail funding competition. She will also lead some outreach efforts later this year that will help educate entrepreneurs and citizen leadership. Hatch Detroit is also in the final stages of nailing down a partnership with a major, local corporation that will help the nonprofit pursue its social engagement initiatives.

Source: Ted Balowski, co-founder of Hatch Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

New Center Stamping is renovating its facility on Milwaukee near I-75 as a way to significantly cut its overhead expenses. The automotive service parts manufacturer is switching out its older, inefficient lighting with some new fluorescent and LED lights.

"We're replacing 1,000 watts with 400 watts," says Doug Braun, environmental manager for New Center Stamping. "It will probably cut our light bill by 60 percent or more because each light will have a motion sensor on it."

New Center Stamping operates out of a 220,000-square-foot industrial space built in the 1930s. The company is spending $250,974 ($62,744 comes from a SmartBuilding's grant from the city of Detroit) to switch out older 300-plus incandescent lights on its factory floor, replacing them with fluorescent lights. Another 40 exterior lights will be replaced with LED lights.

About two-thirds of the interior lights are done and the entire project is expected to be wrapped up by mid March. The company will also replace some windows to gain some more energy efficiency.

"We got involved in this project by trying to clamp down on some of our expenses, like electric and heat," Braun says.

Source: Doug Braun, environmental manager for New Center Stamping
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Detroit's newest tech company is moving to the Motor City by renovating one of the city's Victorian gems. The co-owners of Icrontic, a website that covers tech, gaming and Internet culture, have purchased the Sullivan House in Woodbridge and are in the early stages of renovating the 100-year-old mansion into its new headquarters.

"We have both been interested in Detroit for quite sometime," says Brian Ambrozy, a native Detroiter and co-owner and editor in chief of Icrontic. "The momentum has been building for a few years. The reason we chose Woodbridge is the momentum has been centered on the Midtown, Corktown and Woodbridge areas."

Ambrozy and Lincoln Russell, Icrontic's other co-owner and lead web developer, have been building the geek-lifestyle-oriented website community from Ambrozy's home him in Warren since the early 2000s. They are now turning the seven-room mansion at the corner of Calumet and Avery streets into not only Icrontic's new home but also the home for both of their families. They also plan to use the sprawling Victorian mansion as the base for Icrontic's events, which attract dozens of tech enthusiasts at a time.

"The place we stay has to have space so 30 of our friends can crash here," Ambrozy says.

And then there is the 'Wow' factor. That's what the new owners of the Sullivan House, named for Detroit coal magnate Daniel Sullivan, couldn't stop saying when they first saw it. There is so much 'wow' to the structure's fireplaces, pocket doors, wrap around porch and corner tower that it overcame the house's significant renovation needs. Russell says he always wanted a house with a turret so that he could look out at the neighborhood while he codes.

"I love the architecture," Russell says. "I was going to be a history teacher before I went into web development. I love finding out everything about this house."

The circa-1899 Victorian needs significant upgrades in its core systems, exterior and a growing list of other places. However, Ambrozy and Russell are aiming to do everything right the first time, such as installing a super-energy-efficient boiler system. The business partners expect to spend this year getting all of the core systems online, and then taking their time with the rest of the restoration to make sure it is done right. You can read more about their renovation experiences at Icrontic's new blog, IntoDetroit. Not to mention even more on the "wow" factor at Curbed Detroit. 

Source: Brian Ambrozy and Lincoln Russell, co-owners of Icrontic
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Southwest Housing Solutions is upgrading three of its apartment buildings with energy efficient improvements that are expected to create double-digit savings for its tenants.

The housing arm of Southwest Solutions, a Southwest Detroit-based nonprofit, is investing $315,250 in the Harwill, Cole and Harrington buildings. The new improvements include installing reflective roofing to help cool the buildings, installing high-efficiency water heaters, swapping in Energy Star appliances and tuck-pointing the brick exteriors so more heat stays indoors.

"We think we will save 15 percent on utility bills," says Steve Palackdharry, community manager for Southwest Solutions. "This is savings we can pass directly onto our tenants."

Southwest Solutions has a portfolio of 22 apartment buildings throughout Southwest Detroit's neighborhoods, such as Mexicantown and Hubbard Farms. The Harwill Building is located on 1453 Hubbard. The Cole Building is on 4516 W. Vernor Highway and the Harrington Building can be found on 465 W. Grand Blvd. The three buildings have a combined total of 60 units.

The improvements, partially paid for with a SmartBuildings grant from the city of Detroit, has already begun and will wrap up sometime early this summer.

Source: Steve Palackdharry, community manager for Southwest Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

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