After 42 years of teaching in the classroom, James Wolter is now setting up his own shop at the Muskegon facility he helped establish: the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center of Grand Valley State University.

Hopes of conducting a large-scale wind energy research project offshore in Lake Michigan has moved a step closer with news of a $1.36 million energy efficient grant awarded to the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) in Muskegon.

Ever since Bill Ryan started the New Music Ensemble at Grand Valley State University in 2006, it quickly gained national attention for its music. Now, the melody got even sweeter for the ensemble director himself.

Deborah Johnson WoodConverting a century-old building on the corner of Madison Avenue SE and Hall Street SE into a business incubator, nonprofit offices and restaurant will cost about $1.7 million. But Grand Rapids' Lighthouse Communities isn't worried – the nonprofit community development corporation has already received $500,000 in federal and state funding, another $1 million from local foundations and brownfield tax credits, and Huntington Bank has guaranteed the rest. The two-story building at 1167 Madison SE has been in foreclosure twice in the last decade, says Jeremy DeRoo, Lighthouse executive director. But after internal demolition, some shoring up of weakened structural points and the removal of a decrepit addition, construction will commence after the state environmental impact review in late March. "We'll have six business incubator spaces to help entrepreneurs open a business for less than market rate," DeRoo says. "We are expecting to attract primarily retail business because of the location, but not limiting it to retail tenants."The spaces range from 500 to 800 square feet, and are wired for phone and Internet. Rent starts at $250 a month. Startups can lease the spaces for up to three years to establish clientele, and to use the support services offered, such as networking opportunities, business roundtables and to build relationships with banks, accountants, attorneys and other professionals. "When they're ready to move out, we'll help them locate space in the neighborhood," DeRoo says. "The goal is to increase the quality of services available to the neighborhood through the businesses in this incubator space." Lighthouse Communities, now at 1422 Madison, will relocate to the second floor area, doubling its office space. About half of the 5,000-square-foot space will be community meeting rooms.A 1,500-square-foot addition to be built on the north side of the building will house a breakfast restaurant on the main level, owned and operated by Robert Ball, owner of Southern Fish Fry. "We expect to open with at least 35 full-time jobs within the building," DeRoo says, "so it's a great job creation opportunity that will continue to create opportunities for the neighborhood."Source: Jeremy DeRoo, Lighthouse CommunitiesRelated ArticlesBusiness incubators coming to new $1.6M project in Madison SquareDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Have a development news tip for Rapid Growth? Contact us at [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodTwenty years at Otter's Oasis in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek gave Battle Creek native Michael Bowman the itch to open his own head shop. And though he'd lived in Kentwood for a couple of years, he'd never heard of Eastown until a friend suggested it as the perfect place for his shop. On February 1, Bowman opened Mystic Mill in the Windmill Building, 1436 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids. "I was driving around and saw the Windmill Building," says Bowman, 43. "I rented it that day." The building was previously a florist shop. Bowman said it was set up perfectly to display his hand-blown pipes and other goods. All he had to do was bring in some glass display cases and do some cleaning. "The shop sells 98 percent glass which is all hand-blown, and we have hand-blown wine glasses," Bowman says. "We carry dicro jar pipes, spoons, bubblers, water pipes, steamrollers, wizards, scales and vaporizers. You can buy a pipe for $9 all the way up to $450."Bowman's high-end products come from Texas and California. Local glass blower artist Joe Sherry, who owns an artglass shop at 235 S. Division, creates wine glasses designed by Sherry and Bowman. Soon, Bowman plans to offer customers a service to design their own wine glasses and their own pipes. "I sell my products for tobacco use only, but I don't sell tobacco," Bowman says. "There are four other businesses in Eastown that sell tobacco and the Eastown Hookah Lounge. We worked around their inventory before we ordered ours. "This store is all about peace, love and friendship," Bowman says. "I haven't seen a Bohemian lifestyle like this since I was in Amsterdam in 1985 on two-week leave from the service. I've done more good business in this first two weeks than I should have done in my first two months."Mystic Mill is open Monday through Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, noon to whenever. Source: Michael Bowman, Mystic MillDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Have a development news tip for Rapid Growth? Contact us at [email protected].

Private on-street vendors hawking everything from hot dogs to hot pretzels are asking the Muskegon Main Street, a downtown development and promotional organization, about the possibility of setting up shop in selected areas of downtown Muskegon, according to Muskegon Main Street Manager Dan Rinsema-Sybenga.

An international faith movement with a regional office in Grand Rapids is ready to launch a neighborhood revitalization effort focused on improving a neighborhood within the Eastown community using resources and collaborations from across the city.According to excerpts from the story:Valerie Mossman-Celestin has been working for more than a decade to bring about change in Haiti — and she is using the organizational skills she has mastered to help bring a new type of social development to Grand Rapids. The United Methodist Church's Communities of Shalom, an 18-year-old mission, this month is making its first move in Michigan. Starting Feb. 19, monthly trainings are scheduled through June to assemble partners, evaluate their strengths and align them in a collective effort to improve the Eastown area near Trinity United Methodist Church, 1100 Lake Drive SE. "It's an intentional strengthening of collaboration among local partners so we can assess one another's strengths and utilize those strengths to accomplish what none of us could do individually," said Mossman-Celestin, who works in the regional United Methodist Church office, at 11 Fuller Ave. SE, and also has started an economic development ministry for women in Haiti. "There's a lot of people out there making great individual efforts, and this is a way to pull people together into an integrated effort. It takes a community of partners." Read the complete story here.

Sequenom Inc.'s lab in California aims to develop early diagnostic testing for macular degeneration, then may pass completion of the test's development to its Grand Rapids laboratory. According to excerpts from the story:Licensing the rights to develop a genetic diagnostic test for an eye disease that can lead to blindness means more work for Sequenom Inc.'s lab in Grand Rapids.The San Diego-based Sequenom today said it has signed a global licensing deal to use intellectual property developed by Optherion Inc. in New Haven, Conn., to develop a genetic test for late stage age-related macular degeneration.The company will conduct early development of the new diagnostic test in San Diego and transition the work later this year to its Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine lab in Grand Rapids.Read the complete story here.