West Michigan In The News

The success of ArtPrize nearly overwhelmed some downtown Grand Rapids businesses, but the savvy owners turned things around and now plan to make next year even bigger, better and more profitable.

According to excerpts from the story:

After years of complaints about events that draw thousands but do little to boost businesses, ArtPrize was an unprecedented success for downtown Grand Rapids. Some shops saw sales triple. Restaurant owners found themselves busy on days when they normally would be closed.

Even commercial real estate agents got a few calls from potential tenants. Organizers credit the openness of the event with its success. Those who decided to take part could do so any way they chose.

“The success of ArtPrize as an event has rested on the shoulder of anyone who has stood up to participate,” said Bill Holsinger-Robinson, director of ArtPrize. “That is one of the key reasons why it has exploded.” With that in mind, The Press interviewed businesspeople, ArtPrize organizers and public officials about the lessons businesses can learn from this first-time event.

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A Norton Shores jet engine maker says it will push forward on a $10 million expansion plan and the creation of new jobs if the state approves requested tax incentives.

According to excerpts from the story:

City and state officials are considering tax incentives that would likely lead to new jobs and a $10 million investment at Johnson Technology.

The jet-engine parts maker is looking to acquire the rights to manufacture a line of parts currently produced out of state. A proposed 100-percent tax break from Norton Shores and a state tax credit are considered pivotal to Johnson Technology’s bid for the parts package that potentially could create 51 jobs in the coming years at the Norton Shores site, 6060 Norton Center.

The proposed project marks the second major announcement by Johnson Technology in four months. In June, the company received a state tax credit and a tax break from the city of Muskegon for a $15 million investment at its Muskegon site for a new high-tech plasma coating process used in the production of the company’s aircraft engine parts.

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Millions in new development, building renovations, statues and roundabouts are just the beginning of fulfilling the conceptual plan for re-energizing downtown Muskegon.  

According to excerpts from the story:

There’s no need to “Imagine Muskegon” anymore.

Head downtown and see it for real.

The 2003 community-inspired conceptual plan for the redevelopment of the downtown Muskegon Mall site is slowly but surely taking shape.

Although it’s been a long and difficult road to redevelopment, the community has made significant progress on its landmark Imagine Muskegon plan for a “city center” of commercial and residential developments.   
There have been several recent reminders of that progress:Thursday’s unveiling of a statuteof community benefactor Charles Hackley on a park bench, Saturday’s public open house of Baker College’s new Culinary Institute of Michigan and this Thursday’s dedication of the Olthoff Street Stage on the Third Street Promenade.

A review of the original May 2003 Imagine Muskegon document shows artist’s depictions and suggested urban elements that, in many cases, are being created along Third Street at West Western Avenue.

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The world's most lucrative art prize, ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, garnered the public vote to decide the top ten winners from over a thousand entries.

According to excerpts from the story:

A surfing enthusiast from New York has won the inaugural ArtPrize, earning $250,000 (£156,400) for his 19ft oil painting depicting the swelling sea. "To be able to use... my energy to pursue my work and not to struggle financially is a liberty that's really exquisite," said Ran Ortner, 50.

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A massive expansion of an insurance provider in Caledonia could mean 1,600 new West Michigan jobs during the next 12 years.

According to excerpts from the story:

Farmers Insurance planned to break ground this morning on an expansion that could bring another 1,600 jobs to its campus here. First announced in June by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the $84.4 million addition will including a call center and printing and distribution operation.

The call center portion of the project, first described as a two-story building, is going to be three stories with 100,000 square feet more than was announced in June. Steve Boshoven, president of Farmers Specialty Lines, said the additional space will provide the company with more flexibility.

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The city of Holland is fast-tracking development of a Renaissance Zone in order to provide tax abatements to a growing employer with a government grant to create nearly 600 new jobs in the region.

According to excerpts from the story:

A business moving from Zeeland to Holland will create 580 new jobs in the first five years. LeanLogistics will also bring with it the 100 existing jobs.

“There is good reason to celebrate,” Mayor Al McGeehan said.

The move shouldn’t pit Holland against Zeeland, he said.

“We’re not in a tug of war with businesses. The greater Holland-Zeeland community will benefit greatly from almost 600 jobs,” McGeehan said.

Most of those new jobs will pay more than $1,000 a week, city officials said Wednesday at a special council meeting where they set a public hearing for Wednesday, Oct. 14, to create a renaissance zone.

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Two Montague apartment properties previously in foreclosure are now under new ownership and on the drawing board for $1.5 million in improvements.  

According to excerpts from the story:

The Channel View I and II apartments in Montague have new owners and are slated for over $1.5 million in renovations. GSMB LLC purchased the property last week from USDA Rural Development. The properties went into foreclosure in 2007, when they were nearly empty. Today, they are nearly full again.

GSMB co-owner Gary Shaw appeared before the Montague City Council prior to the sale, requesting a Payment In-Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT). Shaw was requesting a four percent PILOT. Anything over that, he said, would mean a 95 percent chance that they would have to walk away from purchasing and rehabilitating the properties.

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Leaders of the Pure Michigan tourism campaign say the advertising has not only garnered national awards, it's also brought more than a billion tourism dollars to the state so far this year.

According to excerpts from the story:

Perhaps, acknowledged Travel Michigan's David M. Lorenz, the best indicator of the success of the Pure Michigan state tourism advertising campaign is the parodies that have popped up on YouTube. Created by the suburban Detroit office of advertising firm McCann Erickson, Pure Michigan's stunning photography and videography and evocative scripts, read by actor and Michigan native Tim Allen, have picked up a string of national awards and recognitions.

Funded by the state at $30 million for 2009, the campaign, which drives people to the Michigan.org Web site, went national over the summer with a $10 million media buy on cable networks. To obtain that funding, the state securitized some of the proceeds of the tobacco lawsuit settlement, Lorenz said The result has meant $1.1 billion for the state economy, he said.

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If federal funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is available for the cleanup of local waters, a Saugatuck group aims to apply for a good portion of the $475 million to cleanup Kalamazoo Harbor.

According to excerpts from the story:

The Kalamazoo Harbor Master Plan Committee hopes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new $475-million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will include funds for local waters.

The GLRI is intended to target “the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment,” its charge says.

The committee—comprised of representatives from Douglas and Sauga-tuck cities, plus Saugatuck township—seeks to address harbor issues, perhaps most urgently siltation choking boat traffic.

The harbor, described by a $40,000 study commissioned by the two cities in 2006 as the “lifeblood” and “economic engine” of the communities, was last dredged comprehensively in 1936.

Ann Arbor engineering firm JJR’s 138-page harbor technical report said in 2007 such work today might cost up to $45 million.

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A prestigious program that helps students gain multicultural understanding could soon be approved for West Ottawa High School's 2012 school year.

According to excerpts from the story:

Graduates of the West Ottawa High School Class of 2012 might be the school's first with an International Baccalaureate endorsement on their diplomas. The program offers courses that aim to challenge students more and incorporate global views, with more inquiry and students’ engagement part of the curriculum.

Three trainers and a program coordinator visited the school last month to assess how prepared the district is to facilitate the program starting next fall. The report on the assessment is expected in December, Principal Kent Henson said. “We were very excited about the visit and feel it went well,” he said. West Ottawa would be among a handful of Michigan schools to become IB authorized.

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A new Dell laptop features the ability to recharge with no adapters, no wires – and the groundbreaking technology was developed by an emerging technology group in Ada.

According to excerpts from the story:

A expensive new Dell laptop introduced Tuesday became one of the first mainstream devices to build in a wireless charging feature developed in West Michigan. The $400 option for the sleek $1,999 Latitude Z marks the first time Fulton Innovations' eCoupled wireless charging technology has been sold to consumers outside of Amway's eSpring water filtration systems. Fulton Innovations is a unit of Amway parent company Alticor Inc.

"We have 20-plus scientists working on this here in West Michigan," said Bret Lewis, director of Fulton. "We're very proud of that." The wireless charging option combines a special coil built into the base of the laptop with a special stand with another coil.

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Detroit's premiere business publication says ArtPrize illustrates the common vision behind business in West Michigan – something that Detroit's may want to borrow.

According to excerpts from the story:

Richard DeVos co-founded Amway Corp. and ranked 61st on Forbes list of richest Americans last week. His son, Dick, ran for governor three years ago.

But these days in Grand Rapids, the new joke goes, both men are perhaps best known as the grandfather and father of Rick DeVos.

A star has been born in that West Michigan city which has embraced 27-year-old Rick's brainchild — ArtPrize.

If you can, head to GR this week to see it for yourselves. More than 1,200 artists from around the world connected online with more than 150 venues within three miles of downtown to hold the most unusual of art exhibits: a popular one that thousands of people — art fans and not — are flocking to.

Last week, I was among a dozen business folks from Detroit who traveled to see this phenomenon. We were wowed.

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Designers drive innovation, and a new West Michigan education center will show business leaders how to capitalize on designers' expertise.

According to excerpts from the story:

A former West Michigan entrepreneur has plans to come back to the region and make it the hub for a new nonprofit organization that helps business leaders realize an often untapped potential for innovation inside their organization — the designers. Nate Young, former VP of design and global product development at Johnson Controls Inc., former owner and founder of TWISThink and past provost at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., is developing New North, the Center for Innovation and Applied Design, a hybrid education center to serve business leaders by educating them about design thinking and more importantly, what designers can do to drive innovation in their corporations.

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Grand Rapids art gallery owners say ArtPrize hasn't drawn business away from them but has generated business and attracted new customers.

According to excerpts from the story:

The surge of customers caught Carol Collins by surprise last Sunday. "I just came in to move things around before ArtPrize started," said Collins whose gallery showcases the work of her painter husband Paul Collins. She hadn't expected so many art lovers would descend on downtown before the competition was launched the following Wednesday evening. But customers kept coming to the door.

 "I was busy all day long," she said. "I was so tired." It was an encouraging sign about the financial side of ArtPrize. When the $499,000 competition was announced, gallery owners all over town had to wonder whether an intense focus on 1,262 temporary exhibits at 159 venues would detract from their shops. No way, gallery owners assured me when I checked in with them. They are delighted with the buzz. "The whole city is talking about art," marveled Scott LaFontsee who has operated LaFontsee Galleries with his wife Linda for 20 years.

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A younger, cleaner-running transit fleet will soon populate Grand Rapids bus routes thanks to a $5 million federal grant enabling the purchase of 16 new vehicles.

According to excerpts from the story:

The Interurban Transit Partnership recently received a $5 million federal grant, and the public transit agency will use the money to purchase 16 buses for The Rapid. ITP CEO Peter Varga said the 40-foot, low-floor, clean-diesel buses have been ordered and have just gone through the production cycle at Gillig Corp. of Hayward, Calif.  Gillig is the second-largest maker of transit buses in North America. Each bus costs about $340,000. “The really good news about this is we were able to replace our fleet, despite the fact that we actually grew our fleet over time,” he said.

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