Green : Detroit Development News

SmartBuildings Detroit, a program of the Detroit Economic Development Corporation (DEGC), is wrapping up its three-year long initiative that launched in 2010 with a $10 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the U.S. Department of Energy.
 
The program consisted of both a loan and grant component. The DEGC was able to allocate $8 million in incentivized energy improvement grants for commercial buildings.
 
SmartBuildings leveraged other incentives and energy optimization programs and required a 3-to-1 dollar match for up to a $100,000 grant. "We were to able to well exceed that," says Scott Veldhuis, Senior Project Manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. "For example, COBO far overleveraged our grant which allowed us to go out to smaller businesses."

Ultimately the DEGC was able to impact 84 buildings and over 15 million square feet of commercial space in the city, leveraging over $51 million in additional capital.
 
Buildings included office buildings and parking garages, multi-family homes and warehouses, small businesses and industrial projects, as well as high-visibility commercial developments like COBO Center, Shed #5 in the Eastern Market, Newberry Hall, Presbyterian Villages Rivertown Neighborhood, and the Woodward Theatre. Projects included window replacements, lighting retrofits, HVAC replacement, insulation projects, and other renovation work. Project costs ranged from as little as $2,000 to COBO's $2 million. The goal is to show a 15 percent energy savings in these buildings.
 
All funds for this program have been committed and all projects are currently underway. The DEGC must complete all projects by July 31 to receive reimbursement funds from Michigan Saves. The DEGC's next step is to look at the loan portion and how to program those dollars that are part of a loan loss reserve for energy projects.
 
Source: Scott Veldhuis, Senior Project Manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

Got a Development News story to share? Email Nicole here.

At a recent project launch event held at Next Energy in TechTown, members of the Three Squared management team as well as board members and partners on the project unveiled their new patented Cargolinc Systems technology.
 
Three Squared will be the first multi-family-living shipping container construction project in the country. Cargolinc is a comprehensive three-step system that accelerates green and sustainable construction with high quality standards at a fraction of the cost. Three Squared's proprietary Cargolinc Systems allow the heavy-gauge steel shipping containers used in their residential and commercial real estate construction to be engineered for strength, affordability, energy efficiency, and design aesthetics (samples shown were totally unidentifiable as shipping containers, with exterior finishes that mimic traditional commercial and residential construction).
 
Three Squared, using the patented Cargolinc Systems, aims to be the global leader in multi-family, mixed-use and commercial (including hotels and student housing) cargo container construction development, with $260 million already pledged in investments around the country.
 
Cargo containers are fire-resistant and strong enough to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes, and the adaptive reuse of these containers means both low-cost materials and exceptional sustainability. Around the world, shipping container construction is becoming increasingly popular for its durability, sustainability, and affordability, but in the United States the multi-family and commercial markets are still relatively untapped.
 
Major funding and partnership efforts are still underway, but Three Squared plans to break ground on its two-unit model site on Michigan Avenue in Corktown next to the Grinnell Place Lofts by the end of this month, while the main site at West Warren Avenue and Rosa Parks in Woodbridge, which will become a 20-unit condo complex, is anticipated to break ground this summer. Once ground is broken it will take only seven days to frame and six months to build. They also plan to add another six to eight units behind the model site in the future.
 
Source: Leslie Horn, CEO of Three Squared, Inc.
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

Got a Development News story to share? Email Nicole here.

Safe street lighting has been an ongoing focus for Midtown Detroit, Inc. since 2004. With a lack of funding available from the city to repair and replace the streetlights, Sue Mosey, President of Midtown Detroit, Inc., has been creative in her efforts to address and improve the serious situation.
 
"There’s a variety of things we have been doing given the fact that there’s no dollars for repairing and putting in new lighting," she says. "We do lots around lighting but the need is far greater than our current funding." They’ve already been working on this problem for nearly a decade. "It’s a slow process. Literally every street light needs to be handled."
 
Since 2004, Midtown has put in all new lighting on Woodward as part of the Woodward Streetscape Project. They’ve put up LED pedestrian lights along the Midtown Loop Greenway. With the recent conversion of Third Avenue to a two-way street with bike lanes they also put up all new LED streetlights in conjunction with the city.
 
New lighting was just installed on West Canfield between Woodward and Cass and the I-94/Trumbull bridge as part of the Greenway. They also just got a grant in conjunction with Next Energy to do a pilot of LED street lighting (relamping existing poles) on Warren between Cass and John R.
 
They have a blanket contract with Motor City Electric to repair streets where the lights have been completely broken -- next up is Seward, Virginia Park, and historic West Canfield. "We are at least having them make repairs on critical streets where we think safety is an issue in the interim."
 
Upcoming projects include installing new streetlights and LED pedestrian lights on Cass between Canfield and I-94 in 2014 and a partnership with Eastern Market, the Community Health Development Project, and the city to add new LED pedestrian lighting all through Brush Park and into Eastern Market.

They are focused on LED, which is more expensive initially but much more cost-effective long-term. Because the problem is ultimately in the lighting infrastructure itself, temporary troubleshooting is not a preferable solution. "It goes way beyond the poles." The whole system needs to be overhauled and rebuilt, which is where money from foundations, matching grants from the state, and working with many community partners comes in. "It's a group effort," Mosey says. 
 
"So far we’re just coming up with different strategies to improve the situation. This is still one of our very top, close to number one, challenges -- trying to get the lighting correct."
 
While a new public lighting authority will be appointed within weeks (even days), Mosey is unsure how they plan to attack priority areas and says Midtown will continue to move forward with its particular projects. 

Source: Sue Mosey, Midtown Detroit, Inc. President
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

Got a Development News story to share? Email Nicole here.

When the Department of Alternatives holds its first open house on Thursday it won't just be showing off downtown Detroit's newest co-working space, but the latest renovation at a big building in the Motor City's Central Business District.

The Department of Alternatives is occupying the second floor of 1514 Washington Blvd., at the corner of Clifford in the shadow of the David Whitney Building. The founders behind LOVELAND Technologies, The Detroit Bus Co, Dandelion Detroit and Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (four up-and-coming companies) came together to form the core of the Department of Alternatives by moving their headquarters to 1514 Washington. The idea was to form a cluster of entrepreneurs tackling social change and civic innovation.

"There is power in bringing people within a close proximity to each other," says Jordan Wolfe, a partner with Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction and one of the founding members of the Department of Alternatives. "We saw the need for people to come together and work on civic and social issues."

Those four founding companies are now occupying about 3,500 square feet of the 10,000 square feet available at the Department of Alternatives. They hope to attract some more similar-minded companies and organizations (they are looking for established firms and nonprofits as opposed to brand-new startups) at the open house on Thursday. The companies occupying the co-working space will collectively help pay for the overhead, however, Wolfe says the formula for paying for those costs is still being refined. Wolfe expects the cluster of innovating, socially aware organizations and the events it holds will emerge as a strong voice in the public conversation about Detroit's future.

"A big piece of what we're going to roll out over time is to create conversations about important issues," Wolfe says.

The 7-story structure, also known as the Claridge House Apartments, was in the news last year as a potential acquisition target for Quicken Loans Chaiman Dan Gilbert's downtown buying spree. Wolfe says he and some partners have acquired the building and that it is not part of Gilbert's property portfolio.

Wolfe and his partners are also working on renovating the entire structure. Work is being done on the 45 apartments in the third floor and above. Wolfe describes the layout of those apartments as some of the best he has seen downtown.

The building also has four ground-floor retail spaces that are in the process of filling up. Two existing business (a book importer and a hair salon) will remain. A new fitness studio, Come Play Detroit, is also opening in one of the spaces. Wolfe and his partners are also eyeing another new business, like a dry cleaner, for the last space. They expect the mixed-use nature of the building and its proximity to things like the newly renovated Broderick Tower and M@dison Building will make it an attractive place for years to come.

"It's kind of perfectly located between the Whitney, Broderick and Capitol Park so it will be easy to create walkability," Wolfe says.

The Department of Alternatives open house will be held 7-10 p.m. Thursday at 1514 Washington, Suite 200. For information, click here.

Source: Jordan Wolfe, founding member of Department of Alternatives
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Perhaps you have seen the new sign atop the building U-Haul is renovating into its latest full-service location? Or a few of the upper floors lit up at night showing off doors painted in bright orange while driving by on the Lodge Freeway? If so you have seen the most recent progress of one of the greater downtown Detroit area's largest redevelopment projects.

The moving company bought the former Nabisco Building in New Center (899 W Baltimore St.) last summer and has been slowly but surely rehabbing the 250,000-square-foot structure into its first full-service center in Detroit. The new location, set to open this spring, will feature everything from truck and trailer rentals to storage space.

"One year from now we will have a gorgeous truck, trailer and storage business going there," says Stuart Shoen, executive vice president of U-Haul. "I am just very optimistic for the area."

For now, Detroiters are going to have to settle for the encouraging new visual cues on the building's crown and updates from the company's blog about the work. Workers (three U-Haul employees and about 20 construction workers) are currently focusing on finishing the renovation of the showroom and getting the basics of the rest of the building to come on.

"It's finally starting to look like a retail space," Shoen says. "The building needed a lot of fundamental improvement. It took us longer to get the water and the electricity on than we thought. The windows weren't level in the showroom. This building needed a lot of work in every facet."

National Biscuit Co (or Nabisco today) built the structure in the 1920s as a bakery. It has been vacant for several years before U-Haul purchased it to service Detroit's growing population.

"In a few years, we will be contemplating building more," Shoen says. "That's our hope and expectation."

Source: Stuart Shoen, executive vice president of U-Haul
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The journey of bringing a streetcar line back to Woodward Avenue in Detroit bears more resemblance to a roller coaster than a tram in recent years. But feel free to breathe a sigh of relief, Detroit. The train is about to pull into the station. Bet on it.

Friday's press conference announcing the final piece of funding needed for the M-1 Rail project, connecting Jefferson Avenue to Grand Boulevard, offered a lot of optimism and back slapping.

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation is giving $25 million in federal funds for the M-1 Rail and another $6 million to get the newly created regional transit authority off the ground. However, a few other key people in the audience of Friday's press conference were equally confident about the project.

M-1 Rail calls for creating a 3.4-mile-long streetcar line mostly along the outer lanes of Woodward Avenue. It will have 11 stops: at Congress Street, the northern tip of Campus Martius, the southern tip of Grand Circus Park, the Fox Theatre, Sibley Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Canfield Street, Warren Avenue, Ferry Street, the Amtrak train station in New Center and Grand Boulevard. More than $100 million for the project has been raised from private, philanthropic and government sources.

Matt Cullen, CEO of M-1 Rail, says the creation of the regional transit authority was the last major hurdle for giving the green light to the project. He expects the final engineering work and construction bidding to be done in the first half of this year. Construction will begin late this summer and take two years to complete.

Megan Owens, executive director of the transit-advocate non-profit Transportation Riders United, echoes Cullen's words and optimism. She adds that drills for the project will go into the ground before shovels. "They're going to start boring to find out of there is anything in the way in the ground," Owens says.

She adds that the $25 million is the last foreseeable major hurdle for the project. M-1 Rail has funding for both construction and operation for the next several years. It won't be impacted by the regional transit authority's efforts to establish a funding source. That means that even though M-1 Rail and the regional transit authority were joined at the hip to land the federal funding, they will independently establish themselves in the next few years. The plan is to bring the two back together when they become established.

"The hope is in 7-10 years the RTA (regional transit authority) will take over," Owens says.

Source: Matt Cullen, CEO of M-1 Rail and Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Downtown Hamtramck is now a part of the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that should help the commercial district leverage more redevelopment dollars and maintain its classic character.

The historic district runs the length of Jos Campau Street between the GM Poletown plant to the south and close to Carpenter Street on the north end. "The historic district is a couple of streets short of that," says Jason Friedmann, director of community and economic development for the city of Hamtramck. "This is the area with the oldest buildings with the most character are located."

The Jos Campau Historic District encompasses about 200 buildings that are about 100 years old. Most of the them were constructed after the old Dodge Main Plant was built in the early 1900s. It joins the historic district around St. Florian Catholic Church near the intersection of Jos Campau and Holbrook streets.

The Jos Campau Historic District is only a national historic district. That designation allows it to leverage national historic tax credits for redevelopment but doesn't come with the strict restrictions and oversights commonplace in local historic districts.

Source: Jason Friedmann, director of community and economic development for the city of Hamtramck
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Shelborne Development is in the midst of rehabbing two significant historic apartment buildings in New Center and is set to transform the block of Seward Street between Woodward and Second avenues with renovations.

The renovations promise to turn some of the biggest, blighted structures in New Center into vibrant buildings filled with new residents. When it's all said and done, the rehabs will bring well in excess of 100 new rental units to the northern tip of the greater downtown area.

"I have always loved that block of Seward," says Kathy Makino-Leipsitz, co-owner of Shelborne Development. "It is one of the prettiest blocks of multi-units in the city. Hopefully, we will be able to turn that block into what it used to be."

The Indian Village-based development firm is the driving force behind the renovation spree taking place in Palmer Park. Its rehabs have expertly leveraged tax credits and other incentives to turn the Art Deco beauties into high-quality rentals that include energy-efficient systems and appliances, insulation, stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops, among other amenities. These rehabs go the extra mile to preserve the historical character of the buildings, which are often chosen in large part because of the architectural beauty.

Makino-Leipsitz plans to do the same thing with at least half a dozen of the apartment buildings in New Center, most of which are vacant and have fallen into disrepair. The first two, which are currently under renovation, are 112 Seward and 628 Delaware.

The apartment building at 112 Seward is called the Birchmont Apartments. It stands as a 3.5-story building with a blond-brick facade and is just east of the 120 Seward condo building. It will house 31 units that include 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. 628 Delaware is a tudor-style structure that stands four stories overlooking New Center Commons Park just west of Second Avenue.

"That Delaware apartment building is a beautiful building," Makino-Leipsitz says. "It will be 18 units when we're done."

Both buildings, each about 100 years old, are set to come online in August and fully occupied by the end of the year. They will bring 49 units of workforce housing to the rental market. The buildings previously housed 54 units. The developers redesigned the units to offer bigger spaces with more rooms.

Shelborne Development also owns 59, 69, 90, 93, and 100 Seward, which are all high-density apartment buildings on the first block of Seward west of Woodward. The firm has already renovated 93 Seward and plans to renovate 90 and 100 Seward as market-rate rentals next. It recently acquired 59 and 69 Seward, which have long been problem buildings with out-of-town ownership, and plans to renovate those, too, within the next few years.

Source: Kathy Makino-Leipsitz, co-owner of Shelborne Development
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Renovation work on a handful of apartment buildings in Palmer Park is set to wrap up in the next few months.

The first in line for completion is the Sarasota Apartments, 325 Merton, in February. The four-story building exemplifies the Art Deco architecture for which Palmer Park's apartments are famous. It had been vacant for years, falling into disrepair before renovations began last spring.

Next in line are the Seville Apartments and Palmer Lodge. Both are set to come online in April. "I really can't wait," says Kathy Makino-Leipsitz, co-owner of Shelborne Development which is heading up the development of the apartment buildings in Palmer Park.

Palmer Lodge is one of the marquee apartment buildings in the Palmer Park historic district. The jumbo-sized Tudor-Revival structure stands sentinel at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Covington Drive. The four-story apartment building was designed by Weidmaier and Gay and built in 1925. It's being redeveloped into 54 apartments and space for two businesses (think cafe or martini bar) in its basement. The Seville Apartments is at 750 Whitmore St. The four-story structure at the corner of Third Avenue and Whitmore Street will feature 16 apartments. One hundred and two units will come onto the market when construction is finished at all three, which were vacant and in serious disrepair before renovation work began early last year.

Shelborne Development is renovating these buildings and a handful of others in Palmer Park. The Indian Village-based firm leveraged historic tax credits, federal stimulus funding and other government incentives to renovate these buildings to maintain their historic integrity and upgrade them with modern conveniences such as new Energy Star appliances, high-efficiency furnaces, insulation and granite countertops. It previously renovated the La Vogue apartments last summer.

Makino-Leipsitz says she is still pursuing the idea of bringing mounted security patrols to the neighborhood by utilizing the Detroit Police Department's mounted division, which is housed nearby. She also wants to bring Christmas lights to the trees of the neighborhood to help inject some vibrancy to the area.

"I want to light up the trees in Palmer Park like they do at La Dolce Vita (a nearby restaurant)," Makino-Leipsitz says. "It gives the area such a great feel."

Source: Kathy Makino-Leipsitz, co-owner of Shelborne Development
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Back in 2010, Ben Newman had a dream of better bagels for Detroit. He and his brother Dan launched Detroit Institute of Bagels out of their flat in Corktown, selling unique bagel flavors like bacon cheddar and rosemary-olive oil-sea salt made to order. The bagel buzz built quickly; a Kickstarter campaign raised about $10,000 towards their own bagel shop and they were top ten semi-finalists in the first-ever Hatch Detroit competition in 2011. When they purchased a building on Michigan Avenue in Corktown roughly one year ago, it seemed that Detroit’s days as a bagel desert were coming to an end.
 
But as anyone who has tried to renovate a historic and long-vacant building can tell you, these things take time.
 
"Anything going from idea to reality takes two years, (that’s) what everyone told me," says Ben Newman, co-founder and bagelsmith of DIB who also has a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.
 
Since Model D reported on the purchase of the building at 1236 Michigan Ave., the Newmans have received Rehabilitation Tax Credits, but weren’t allowed to do any sort of renovation work on the building during the approval process. The building itself has, at their best estimate, sat vacant for roughly 40 years before they acquired it, and when they began to look at the basement as the bagel production facility they quickly realized it wasn’t going to be practical and a new production facility would have to be added on.
 
"(We were told) we might never be able to fully waterproof the basement and end up tens of thousands of dollars into trying and still be forced to build a new space," Newman explains. "For the employees, for myself, for the experience and overall efficiency it will be better to have all production happen on the same floor as the retail."
 
DIB broke ground Jan. 3 on its new bagel production facility, which will be located in the space between the current building and PJ's Lager House (sharing walls with both). The 1,800-square-foot new building will be set back about 30 feet from Michigan Avenue. The rest of the street-facing lot will be a green space with outdoor seating. Inside there will be windows between the café and the production facility which will allow customers to watch the process of bagels being made.
 
Renovation on the original building hasn't yet started, though now that ground has broken on the new facility all of the construction will move forward simultaneously.
 
"That was part of the year-long process," Newman says. The structural plans and mechanical drawings for both buildings had to first be completed, submitted and approved before any significant work could be done.
 
While their initial hopes of opening in 2012 were perhaps a bit too ambitious, Newman remains undaunted and continues to move forward. "I am really happy that people are excited about our opening. I realize that it's a very good thing to have a following before we open," he says. “We’re not just opening a bagel shop (in) a white box space; we’re redeveloping a whole property. For me that’s what I’m passionate about."
 
Source: Ben Newman, co-founder of the Detroit Institute of Bagels
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg

The Dan Gilbert game of downtown Detroit Monopoly is not showing any signs of slowing down these days. The chairman of Quicken Loans acquired five more buildings just before the end of last year and now there is a report from Crain's Detroit Business that he has his sights set on more.

What we know is that Gilbert's real-estate company, Rock Ventures, recently acquired five buildings on Woodward Avenue and Broadway Street. These largely vacant buildings include the addresss 1201, 1217 and 1412 Woodward, along with 1301 and 1521 Broadway.

"We didn't want to see these buildings just sit there and have no activity in them," says Jim Ketai,  managing partner of Bedrock Management, Gilbert's real-estate management firm. "We want to bring some more activity to them."

Gilbert now owns 15 buildings with 2.6 million square feet of commercial space and another three parking garages with 3,500 spaces. His firms are also building a new parking garage/retail space on Broadway and are leasing space in the Compuware Building.

The latest additions include a former Kresge department store at Woodward Avenue and State Street and the building that houses Small Plates next to the Detroit Beer Company. All of the buildings will be renovated to accommodate ground floor retail space and either residential or office space above.

"It will take a lot of time," Ketai says. "They have had a lot of neglect."

Source: Jim Ketai,  managing partner of Bedrock Management
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Hamtramck's non-motorized transit plan -- think pedestrians and cyclists -- has been seven years in the making but city officials expect to see some tangible rubber hit the road later this year.

Hamtramck is working with collaborative-design-studio livingLAB to finish the plan this year. The end result will be designs for more and better pedestrian paths, the groundwork for connecting Hamtramck to the Dequindre Cut and 25 miles of bike lanes.

"This would be all new bike lanes installed throughout the entire city," says Jason Friedmann, community & economic development director for Hamtramck. "The goal is to be done by next fall."

Hamtramck's new bike lanes would be along its major commercial corridors, such as Conant, Gallagher, Holbrook and St. Aubin streets, along with Hamtramck Drive, which circles the General Motors Assembly Plant. City officials are still debating the feasibility of putting bike lanes on Jos Campau because of already tight space for vehicles and pedestrians.

Friedmann says the non-motorized plan will make the city eligible for funding for the installation through the State of Michigan. He also hopes it will open Hamtramck up to more funding to extend the Dequindre Cut north from Eastern Market to the city, a stretch of about 3.5 miles.

Source: Jason Friedmann, community & economic development director for Hamtramck
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

There was no no shortage of big announcements in Detroit's built environment in 2012, so Model D has expanded its Top 5 Development News Stories to its Top 5 Development News Subjects. This year's list includes:

The Gilbert Effect
Quicken Loans Chairman Dan Gilbert became the biggest power player in downtown Detroit this year. His team's accomplishments include acquiring buildings left and right, filling them with tech businesses, pushing for a retail rebirth in the Central Business District and spearheading the M-1 Rail plans for light rail up Woodward which now seems quite likely with the passage of a regional transit authority bill in the state legislature.

Palmer Park Rebirth
The Palmer Park area - ahem, Uptown - is enjoying a large amount investment these days as the quality of life improves with more community involvement. Shelborne Development is spearheading the renovation of a number of Palmer Park's Art Deco apartment buildings, including La Vogue and Palmer Lodge, and working to establish mounted security patrols. Local residents are improving the area by planting sunflowers along Woodward Avenue, planting orchards in Palmer Park, building trails through the park and rebranding the area Uptown.

Downtown/Midtown Apt Blitz
Developers can't build new living options in Detroit's downtown or Midtown neighborhoods fast enough these days to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Some big projects came online in 2012, including the Broderick Tower, The Auburn and Newberry Hall. More are coming. Construction is in progress for the Sherbrooke Apts and Woodward Garden Block Apts and work is set to begin on the Whitney Building in a few weeks.

Momentum in The Villages
The people working to improve the The Villages scored some big wins in 2012. Those wins include developing plans for more greenways, sparking the pop-up retial store boom, Tashmoo Beirgarten's return, and landing a number of new businesses to take those spots in West Village. Look for The Villages to keep the momentum going in 2013.

Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction
This year set the record for the Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction. This fall's auction featured more than 20,000 properties and sold more than 12,000. Local officials are working to turn these empty houses into new homes. What happens next to the thousands of unsold properties is becoming a bigger question that needs to be dealt with. Oh, and next year's auction is set to break all of those records again.

Honorable-mention projects include, Avalon's expansion plans, Buffalo Wild Wings moving downtown, the groundbreaking of WholeFoods, Reclaim Detroit's deconstruction efforts and the GAR Building rehab.

Writer: Jon Zemke

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

David Landrum and Peter Bailey see history repeating itself in micro-brewing and micro-distilling worlds. Where craft brewing beer has exploded as a slow-food-style business in recent decades the co-owners of Detroit's first distillery see the same thing happening with craft distilling of liquor.

"That's what's happening with spirits right now," says Landrum, co-founder & president of Two James Spirits, which is an homage to the names of the co-founders' fathers who were also entrepreneurs. "There is going to be a boom with small spirits makers because the product is superior."

Two James Spirits plans to open at 2445 Michigan Ave. in Corktown, a small commercial building adjacent to Roosevelt Park and within a stones throw of Slows. The micro distillery will have a tasting room and will serve vodka, gin and whiskey. The co-founders plan to serve vodka and gin first because it can be made in a matter of days while they let their whiskey age. Landrum plans to age the whiskey in barrels and expects the process to take between 16-24 months. David Pickerell, one of the foremost experts on whiskey distilling, is also working with Landrum and Bailey on Two James Spirits' brand of whiskey.

Two James Spirits is set to open in the first quarter of next year. In the meantime, the company's co-founders are recruiting for its Corktown 500 club, an exclusive club that will be able to make its own whiskey and have other unique privileges at the distillery.

Source: David Landrum, president & co-founder of Two James Spirits
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The University of Detroit Mercy has finished work on the new home for its law school clinics, turning a century-old fire dept building into a top-of-the-line office space.

The university's School of Law purchased the two-story building at the corner of Larned and St. Antoine streets in 2011 and has spent most of this year renovating the 7,000-square-foot structure.

"It's incredible," says Michael Bryce, director of programs for University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. "It's beyond my expectations. It's really a great mix of old and the new. We were able to save the glazed brick and the red spiral staircases. We weren't able to save the polls. Everybody asks about that."

The new space will house the law school's law clinics, which juris doctorate students are required to take at least one of before they graduate. Those clinics will be attended by 30 students on average and administered by seven faculty members and another five staffers.

Among the 10 law clinics in the new building are the university's Mortgage Foreclosure Defense Clinic. It is working to help prevent 70 foreclosures on homeowners in Wayne County, saving their houses from eviction.

Source: Michael Bryce, director of programs for University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law
Writer: Jon Zemke

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