West Michigan In The News

Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health is supporting its mission of advancing translational research by funding some highly sought-after fellowships for the M.D.-Ph.D. program at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.

According to excerpts from the story:

With financial support for fellowships from Spectrum Health, six students at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine are pursuing the M.D.-Ph.D. program that supports the local mission of translational research. Loc Thang, a University of Michigan graduate who grew up in Grand Rapids, is one of them. At U-M, Thang was part of a special program in biomedical engineering, receiving both an undergraduate and master's degree at the end of five years.

He participated in the university's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program for his entire time in Ann Arbor. "That's when I got intrigued," he said. "What I was doing, nobody else was doing. That was kind of cool. Every day, I became more interested in research."

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A Wisconsin marketing and answering service company may build a call center in the Holland area that could employ more than 300 people, and the company is asking for state approval of a hefty block grant to cover building renovations and equipment.

According to excerpts from the story:

Three hundred to 500 jobs could be coming to the city, depending on whether a telephone marketing company gets a $1 million grant from the state. Novo 1 Inc., a Waukesha, Wis.-based marketing and answering service firm, is considering locating a call center in a vacant facility at 1351 Waverly Road.

Holland and Allegan County are applying for a $1 million Community Development Block Grant for Novo 1 to renovate the building, purchase equipment and do staff training. “The company has not made an announcement yet, but it could come within a week,” said Holland Community Development Coordinator Joel Dye, who is working with Allegan County on the grant. “New jobs would certainly be good news for the city and the area.”

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Grand Rapids mountain biking enthusiasts will be able to hit the trails next spring without leaving the city, thanks to an initiative to turn a former Little League site into a mountain biking trail park.

According to excerpts from the story:

Unanimous approval by the Grand Rapids City Commission this month cleared the way for a mountain bike park on the former Southwest Little League site at 580 Kirtland St. SW, said Nate Phelps, president of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association.

Work is expected to proceed quickly, Phelps said. The mile-and-a-half-long trail and "skills" area could be completed by late spring.

"Getting this through wasn't a slam dunk," said Phelps, former president of the West Michigan MMBA chapter.

"The project got hung up. The city wanted a lease agreement, but we said it is to be open to the public, not a private park. It belongs to the city and will have normal park hours. The gate there will eventually come down."

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A longtime developer and former resident of Grand Rapids’ West Side says he has “huge” plans to redevelop a block of abandoned properties in one of the major business districts. Plans haven’t been finalized, but millions of dollars could be on the drawing board.

According to excerpts from the story:

West Side developer and furniture maven Robert Israels is thinking big when he talks about a block of properties on Bridge Street NW. How big? “This is huge,” Israels said. “When I show you what I’m doing, you’re going to say: ‘This is crazy — crazy good.’”

A few years ago, the old retail buildings on the north side of Bridge Street, between Seward and Stocking avenues NW, were filled with an eclectic mix of businesses. There was a tattoo parlor, a submarine sandwich shop, a Mexican grocery and a shaved ice place, among others. Then, over the course of two years, the storefronts went dark. The entire block was abandoned by January — dead.

The previous owner of most of the buildings, Luis Ramirez Sr., lost them to foreclosure in late 2007. In September, Israels, the founder of Israels Designs for Living who has invested more than $80 million into revitalizing moribund factories on nearby Seward Avenue, bought most of the block from United Bank of Michigan Inc. Though still under development, Israels said his plan will feature a variety of uses with emphasis on a retail revival.

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As part of its goal to operate using only renewable energy by 2020, the city of Grand Rapids is examining whether it makes sense to erect two industrial wind turbines in Grand Haven.

According to excerpts from the story:

Grand Rapids has an energy renewable goal of 100 percent by 2020. As part of its plan to attain that milestone, the city is looking into the feasibility of erecting two 300-foot, industrial-sized wind turbines in Grand Haven Township.

The turbines would be at the water filtration plant it owns at the southeast corner of Lake Michigan and Lakeshore drives.

The Grand Haven Township Board recently reviewed three policy options where the turbines could be allowed. Staff have begun drafting zoning text amendments to the previous wind turbine ordinance that was approved in April.  

That ordinance addressed three types of energy wind turbines that could be constructed in the township: small structure-mounted turbines, small tower wind turbines and medium wind turbines.

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Two major medical colleges will soon have researchers in Grand Rapids working on what could be groundbreaking Parkinson’s disease research funded by a $6.2 million national grant.

According to excerpts from the story:

 A team of researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Cincinnati have been awarded a $6.2 million Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s disease grant. The grant, from the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health, makes MSU’s College of Human Medicine a major player in research of the degenerative disease.

Two new MSU researchers, Jack Lipton, Ph.D., and Caryl E. Sortwell, Ph.D., will share nearly half of the award with investigators at the University of Cincinnati. The process of transferring control of the Udall Center to MSU will begin next summer when center Director Timothy Collier, PhD., and Kathy Steece-Collier, Ph.D., from the University of Cincinnati join Lipton, Sortwell and the rest of the research team at MSU’s College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids. 

The MSU scientists will conduct their Parkinson’s disease research in the new Van Andel Institute Phase II expansion.

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The recent renovation of a turn-of-the-century ladder factory into retail spaces for lease has attracted more businesses to a growing commercial district.

According to excerpts from the story:

After 15 years of doing business in the South Shore Village commercial district, Bob Byars saw an opportunity for growth for his King’s Cove Party Store. “We were outgrowing our store. It had a very small footprint,” he said.

Three years ago, he invested more than $800,000 to buy the former Holland Ladder Co. building at the southwest corner of 17th Street and Ottawa Avenue. His hopes were to develop a retail/commercial center on the site. The fruits of Byars’ investment are slowly starting to be realized.

This month, Byars and fellow King’s Cove co-owner Scott Screptock moved their store into a 7,200-square-foot space, three times the size of their former site.

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Another new eatery is making its way to downtown Grand Rapids, with help from a grant from the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority. At the meeting where it approved the grant for Angel's Thai Cafe,  the DDA also approved an expansion of its incentive program for retail businesses.

According to excerpts from the story:

Julie Lee, who hopes to open a new restaurant, next month on Monroe Center, received a financial boost last week from the Downtown Development Authority. So did longtime downtown resident Design Design, which is starting a new related business in the sector. At the same time, the DDA enlarged its longstanding incentive package for businesses, with an eye toward helping retailers further develop their spaces.

Lee is planning to open Angel’s Thai Café by the end of next month at 140 Monroe Center NW, once home to Four Friends Coffeehouse. She was visibly pleased when the board approved her grant request of $8,450, money Lee will use to build barrier-free restrooms and install a fire-suppression system.

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A young and growing polystyrene foam company has seen a version of its product land in ArtPrize's coveted Top 10 and will soon see another version on the Big Screen. As it turns out, foam products are in demand across myriad industries and fill needs in places ranging from funeral parlors to construction sites.  

According to excerpts from the story:

Ryan Van Dyke knows there's no business like show business — especially when Harbor Foam's product shows up on the big screen and on the front page of newspapers. A lot of people have already seen the Grandville company's product bigger than life, and probably many more will see it when the re-make of "Red Dawn" is released. They just won't recognize it.

Take “Nessie,” for example, the acclaimed sea serpent sculpture that made a startling appearance on the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids during ArtPrize: "That's our foam," said Van Dyke, sales/new product development manager at the young company. Harbor Foam, which has about eight employees, expands tiny polystyrene pellets into large blocks to customer specifications. The foam is then cut and shaped for a variety of uses, ranging from construction insulation to packaging containers and inserts. The best-known brand of expanded polystyrene (EPS) is Styrofoam from Dow Chemical Co.

 "A lot of sculptors and artists like to work with it," noted Van Dyke. That's why David Valdisseri called Harbor Foam a few months ago to order enough EPS to make “Nessie on the Grand,” an ArtPrize entry that may have been the most photographed work in the city-wide show.

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A wind turbine test project planned for Muskegon Lake could instead be relocated to a platform on Lake Michigan with the help of a hefty federal earmark.

According to excerpts from the story:

Grand Valley State University’s wind turbine testing project for Muskegon Lake is shifting in a new direction.

Instead of a wind turbine at the east end of Muskegon Lake, GVSU’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center now is planning to move one to a Lake Michigan platform, where data can be collected on the pros and cons of turbines on a major lake.

The university has received $1.4 million in an “earmark” from U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, to advance wind turbine generation on the Great Lakes.

The idea of testing a turbine on Muskegon Lake is cost prohibitive with the federal dollars available, according to Arn Boezaart, interim director of the Muskegon-based MAREC. Efforts to partner with L-3 Communications in Muskegon have not been successful.

Discussions with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and those interested in advancing a Great Lakes wind industry in West Michigan led to the idea of a floating, data-collection platform in Lake Michigan.

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An undetermined number of jobs will be available when a proposed $303 million battery manufacturing facility opens in Holland in 2013. The facility is one of several proposed for construction in Michigan.

According to excerpts from the story:

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's biggest chemicals maker, will spend $303 million over three years to build a battery plant in Holland, Mich.

The plant is to be completed by the end of June 2013 after construction begins next July, the Seoul-based company said Tuesday in a regulatory filing. Michigan may attract at least seven makers of battery cells for electric cars in the next several years, Greg Main, head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., told Bloomberg News this month. Four manufacturers are already part of a $1.36-billion federal program to help set up new plants in the state, and companies from Texas and Germany and a German-South Korean alliance may also locate in Michigan, the state agency said.

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A portion of some $85 million in federal stimulus funding is already rebuilding a main downtown thoroughfare in one lakeshore community, and a proposed resort hotel and a powdered milk producing facility – both of which will create jobs – are vying for a share. But the money won't stop there.

According to excerpts from the story:

Both Ottawa and Muskegon counties are preparing to take applications from private businesses for project financing through federal Recovery Zone bond programs enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Ottawa already sees some potential projects on the horizon; Muskegon isn't so sure yet.

Ottawa County was the first in Michigan to avail itself of a Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond for government projects. The other type of ARRA bond is designated Recovery Zone Facility Bonds-Private Development, and two major on-going projects in Ottawa County are interested. The ARRA bonds offer tax advantages to lenders that, theoretically, should stimulate lenders to offer more capital at lower interest rates.

The federal stimulus package allows Ottawa County to approve up to $31 million in Recovery Zone Facility bonds and $20.5 million in Recovery Zone Economic Development bonds. Muskegon County is authorized to approve up to $20.8 million in Facility bonds and $13.8 million in Economic Development bonds.

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A new lifestyle center on the East Beltline promises to bring new Chinese and Italian dining, an contemporary food market and 150 jobs to West Michigan.

According to excerpts from the story:

Steve Benner's dream of the area's first lifestyle center, Village at Knapp's Crossing, moved a significant step forward with the ground-breaking on the $60 million development on the northeast edge of Grand Rapids. Getting to this point has taken Benner about five years longer than anticipated. The developer said he has been hampered by a worsening economy and zoning battles with City Hall. "It's been a hard struggle," said Benner, standing on a muddy patch with earth-movers in the background Tuesday morning. "They say, 'Good things don't come easy.' This is one of the hardest things I've ever done." Benner said he now has the momentum to complete the Grand Rapids portion of the 300,000-square-foot project in two to three years. He also plans to develop an adjacent 10 acres in Grand Rapids Township. "This is the right project for this site and the city," he said of the mixed-use retail center on the former Sietsema Orchards at East Beltline Avenue and Knapp Street NE.

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Muskegon's determination to feature the arts as part of its downtown revival has given the city a new open-air performance area for lunchtime concerts and other entertainment events.

According to excerpts from the story:

The days of imagining lunchtime lectures, free outdoor concerts — even street performers playing for tips — are over with the completion of the open-air Olthoff Street Stage downtown. Conceived in 2004 as part of the Imagine Muskegon campaign, the Third Street Promenade’s street stage will be dedicated this week and is the last piece of the block-long plaza between Western and Clay avenues. But with autumn’s inconsistent weather upon us, it may be next spring before residents can make much use of the public gathering place.

Thursday’s dedication ceremony will go on regardless and include remarks by city officials and the “naming” benefactors. Mike and Kay Olthoff, the owners of Nichols Paper, donated $100,000 as a lead gift for the Third Street Promenade and the public stage.

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Grand Rapids doctors are part of a study by the federal government to determine best field practices for successful treatment of lower leg injuries on the battlefield. Doctors say early surgical procedures can prevent negative lifelong consequences.   

According to excerpts from the story:

For the first time, the federal government is tapping the knowledge of civilians like West Michigan trauma surgeon Clifford Jones on how best to treat traumatic battlefield injuries. Jones and other trauma surgeons at Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan are participating in a five-year, $18.5 million study funded by the Department of Defense. Orthopaedic Associates is one of 12 medical centers picked for the program.

Jones knows first hand how split-second decisions on the battlefield can have a lifetime of consequences. He saw his share of amputations caused by infected lower leg injuries during a two-week stint last year in Germany treating soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. One infection caused a former Division I college football tight end to lose most of his leg, Jones said.

"These people are going to have a long time -- if not a lifetime -- of problems from these injuries," Jones said. "If you can do something to intervene early in the correct way, then, hopefully, you can avoid these problems and rehabilitation."
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