Grand Rapids Community College has partnered with Farmers Insurance Group to help with the coordination and training of almost 1,600 new workers the insurance company will need over the next four or five years to staff its growing Caledonia Township site.

Deborah Johnson WoodTwo side-by-side buildings in downtown Zeeland have been transformed into two boutique-sized retail spaces, a residential condo, and a new dental office suite for a new dental practice, Smedley Dental.Meredith Smedley, D.D.S., who bills herself as an eco-friendly dentist, and her husband Shane, bought 131 and 133 E. Main Ave. with a plan to convert one building to her dental office, the other to retail. But those plans changed when they discovered that the front portion of both buildings had to be dedicated to retail. "About two years ago, the city passed an ordinance that requires the front 40 percent of a building downtown to be retail space," says Abigail de Roo, city of Zeeland marketing director. So Smedley and Grand Rapids architect David Maxam made new plans. "We have two retail bays up front that we will eventually lease out," Smedley says. "We took the back portion of both buildings for the dental office. There are already two apartments upstairs and we will combine them and that's where my family and I will live." The Smedley's have two daughters, ages five and three.This is Smedley's first solo practice, although she's been a dentist in Zeeland for over six years. Her goal is to make the waiting room look and feel like a living room to help patients relax, and she also aims to run an eco-conscious business. Besides carpet and countertops made from recycled materials and the use of no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints and adhesives, Smedley plans to use as many reusable dental products as possible, such as headrest covers and drinking cups. She will also install special water filters that will filter out the mercury found in silver amalgam material used to fill cavities in teeth, and will let patients choose whether they want to use the amalgam or another less harmful filling material. "We're trying to be as eco-friendly as possible," Smedley says. "We want to be comforting and nurturing and make the experience very different than a typical dentist office."Source: Meredith Smedley, D.D.S, Smedley Dental; Abigail de Roo, City of ZeelandDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodGrand Rapids Community College didn't have much opportunity to renovate any of the former downtown Grand Rapids campus of Davenport University before students occupied some of the classrooms last year. This year is a different story. GRCC purchased the campus for $9.5 million in 2009, after Davenport announced its move to property in Caledonia. This summer, the three-story Sneden Hall, 415 E. Fulton St., has received new infrastructure, HVAC, new décor, wireless Internet technology and new technology in the classrooms.The most exciting development for faculty and students is the installation of Steelcase's LearnLab Environment in two classrooms, which could have a significant positive impact on how students learn. The technology includes the CopyCam Image Capturing System and the eno Interactive White Board."Tables are arranged in a five-point starfish design," says Vicki Janowiak, GRCC's executive director of operational planning. "There are three points around the room where images will be projected on mounted screens. From any point in the room any student can easily connect with the images.""We can capture digital images of any work students may do on any of the white boards around the room, the instructor can load it to Blackboard and the students can use the image to expand on their own work," Janowiak says. The technology also enables users to instantly email the work from any white board, print it or save it to flash drive or a LAN. Eno Boards act as a white board, magnetic board and multimedia projection screen and enable users to make notes on a projected image and save everything to post, print, email or project later to continue working. GRCC plans to conduct a research study on the effectiveness of the new concept. Source: Vicki Janowiak, Grand Rapids Community CollegeRelated ArticlesGRCC purchases former Davenport University for $9.5M, saves $25.5M compared to building newDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

The Muskegon Chronicle reports the Grand Haven home of Frans and Karen Jungslager, highly rated for its energy efficiency, will appear in the national spotlight Friday morning, Aug. 13 when it's featured on NBC's "Today Show." The unique "green" home nestled in the woodland dunes of Mulligan's Hollow is now on the market, and will be highlighted in the program's weekly segment on real estate bargains throughout the nation.

According to excerpts from the story:

As a retired engineer, Frans Jungslager had a vision to design an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient home. He succeeded and his home was given a five star-plus energy rating -- the highest available. The Energy Star rating guidelines include properly installed insulation, high performance windows, energy-efficient cooling and heating systems, and Energy Star qualified appliances, lighting, and water heaters.

Read the complete story here.

Outside magazine lists Grand Rapids as the best town in the nation for mountain biking, and the city's new mountain bike park helped hammer it into lead position. According to excerpts from the story:Michigan's second-largest city will surprise you. For starters, the regional economy is both more diverse and more robust than Detroit's—and includes everything from furniture (Herman Miller and Steelcase) to health and beauty (Amway) to footwear (Wolverine Worldwide). Plus, despite the state's overall woes and high unemployment, G.R. is, dare we say, thriving. In 2004, the last year they issued report cards, the International Mountain Biking Association gave Michigan a B+, the same grade as New Mexico, Washington, and Alaska. The in-town mountain-bike park has a pump track (think rollers and berms), a skills area, and a new three-mile loop of singletrack in the works.Read the complete story here.

WYCE, an independent, community radio station serving the city of Grand Rapids and neighboring suburbs, has boosted its signal strength from 7,000 watts to 10,000 watts, expanding its broadcast area in West Michigan.

Deborah Johnson WoodIt's been vacant for over a decade, but the eyesore at 1551 Lake Dr. SE in Grand Rapids' Eastown could soon be an intimate brewpub cooking up unique libations like Crossroads Pale Ale and Grand Rapids Red Wheat. Brothers Barry and Jackson VanDyke and their sister Heather VanDyke-Titus bought the former Jack's Liquor and plan to create Harmony Brewing Company under their development company Bear Manor Properties. The trio is known for its hand in developing The Electric Cheetah, Brick Road Pizza and The Meanwhile bar."The small scale of this building allows us to do what's in essence glorified home brewing," says Barry VanDyke. He and Jackson have been home brewers for 10 years and will move their expertise to the brewery. "We're not going to be a big brewery, but will be a brewpub, brewing only for consumption on-site."The property is a 1920s house with a separate liquor store added to the front in 1933 – the year Prohibition ended. The place has been gutted, exposing the house's façade on the interior wall of the former liquor store. That section will have customer seating and a small bar, with additional seating in the house's living and dining rooms.Perhaps the most intriguing part of the renovation will be the brewery itself."We're going to completely cut out the floor in the kitchen, so from the basement you'll be able to see the ceiling of the kitchen," says Barry VanDyke. "We'll stack in our brew kettle and mash tun and will be piping the brew up to a hallway where we'll have seven fermentation tanks."VanDyke says the place will have an atmosphere more like a coffee shop than a pub, with the intention of being a family-friendly hangout that also serves ice cream and homemade root beer. A lunch and dinner menu will include garden-inspired dishes, salads and breads. Special "tasting plates" will be designed to be paired with specific beers.Previous plans for a rooftop deck have been nixed in deference to the wishes of neighbors. To-date, the Grand Rapids Planning Commission has approved the project, and the Uptown Corridor Improvement District board has given its okay to pursue a liquor license, VanDyke says. The project still has to get the go-ahead from the Grand Rapids City Commission, the state and the federal government, but VanDyke is optimistic for a late spring 2011 opening.Source: Barry VanDyke, Bear Manor PropertiesDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].