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Home builders say construction is up across the region

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Economic Development

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April 29, 2010

Residential builders in Kalamazoo County are busier this year than they were a year ago, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports. Housing starts, the term used for new, residential building permits, increased 15 percent in Kalamazoo County during the January-through-March period this year. Excerpt: Dale Shugars, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kalamazoo, said much of the growth over the last year can be attributed to the federal government's $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. "The next quarter will probably be slower because there won't be the $8,000," he said. The tax credits -- $8,000 for a first time buyer and $6,500 for an existing homeowner -- expire April 30. "I think '09 was the bottom of the housing industry," Shugars said. "When you look at the numbers for '09, it looks like it's flattened out. And in 2010, it's starting to climb out of the recession." For a breakdown of housing starts by municipality, read the rest of the story. Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Data mining company brings 10 to 20 jobs to WMU business and research park

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Economic Development

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April 29, 2010

A Houston-based analytic software company that counts among its clients some of the nation's leading firms will open a new office May 1 at Western Michigan University's Business Technology and Research Park.In PolyVista's first major expansion in a decade, the company will open a business development office in Kalamazoo and immediately hire and train 10 to 20 young recruits to become part of a team that works with customers."Our top priority is finding talent," says PolyVista's Jim Willard, who will lead the Kalamazoo office. "I'll be building a team that can focus on finding new homes for our technology."PolyVista provides businesses with access to a search engine that can analyze data and discern patterns and issues. The searches are capable of the same kind of data analysis and text mining used for national security reasons, but are done within the budget constraints most companies can afford, Willard says.Southwest Airlines, for instance, uses PolyVista's text and data-mining analysis tools to enhance the analysis of data in its pilot reporting program. The air conditioning systems and services business Trane uses PolyVista tools for early detection of warranty-related issues. The company can then correct them and pass the information on to its engineering and design teams to avoid problems in future products.PolyVista has a close relationship with Microsoft. The company launched in 1995 with technology developed by scientists from the former Soviet Union. PolyVista's patented search engine also analyzes data in such areas as trade compliance, reliability, marketing and operations; and in finance, energy, transportation, manufacturing and insurance industries.The move to Kalamazoo is a strategic effort to expand PolyVista's base, says Willard, a Michigan native. Although the company was originally focused on expansion in northern Virginia, Michigan proved to be an attractive alternative because of the relatively low cost of doing business in the state and the focus on growth and business outreach.The opportunity to locate in a university community like Kalamazoo also was high on the company's wish list for expansion."Five years ago, this wouldn't have worked for us," Willard says, "but there's been a major culture shift in Michigan and a move away from the legacy thinking that was once dominant. We really like the environment and the entrepreneurial spirit we find here now."PolyVista's Kalamazoo office will be located in the Granite Park I Building, 4664 Campus Drive. Get information about available jobs by sending an email inquiry or resume here.  Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Jim Willard, PolyVista

Frame for lithium-ion auto batteries drives business to Mann+Hummel

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Economic Development

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April 29, 2010

Battery powered cars are steering growth at Mann+Hummel's Portage location, says Ronald J. Randall, chief operating officer."After going through a tough year, we're in a growth position at our Portage location," Randall says. Work the company does for General Motor's and Toyota has made the difference.Mann+Hummel USA Inc. makes injection-molded plastic parts for the automotive industry. Now it produces a frame to hold lithium-ion batteries that contains coolant. The frame keeps coolant transfer heat away from the batteries.The contract to manufacture modular battery frame assemblies for GM's Electric Vehicle, the Chevy Volt, is expected to generate 200 jobs over five years for Mann+Hummel.At the end of 2009, the company also finished consolidating its operations in South Bend and Portage, bringing about 50 employees from Indiana to its Michigan site. It was very important to the company, Randall says, to retain as many of the South Bend employees and their expertise as possible. There now are about 250 employees, including support staff, at the Portage operation and more will be added this year. The consolidation pushed the company to expand its product distribution and warehousing operation at Midlink Business Park in Comstock Township. Three to four employees could be added this year to the staff of 10 already in place at Midlink.Randall says Mann+Hummel's experience at Midlink has been a positive one. "It's been a great facility for us. It's in the perfect location -- right off the highway and two miles from our facility," Randall says. "They've been very flexible with us with our utilization of space." The business park added four loading docks to the four Mann+Hummel had been using, to better accommodate the company's need to get trucks in and out quickly.  The Mann+Hummel Group currently employs 11,500 people at 41 locations worldwide. The company develops, produces and sells technically complex automotive components such as air filter systems, intake manifold systems, liquid filter systems and cabin filters for the automotive industry, and filter elements for vehicle servicing and repair. For general engineering, process engineering and industrial manufacturing sectors the company's product range includes industrial filters, filter systems, and materials handling systems and equipment.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Ronald J. Randall, Mann+Hummel

Hydroponics retailer invites community to grand opening

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Economic Development

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April 29, 2010

Music, food and a host of opportunities to learn about green businesses will be part of the May 1 grand opening of Horizen Hydroponics. The Kalamazoo store is at 4646 W. Main St., on the northeast corner of West Main and Drake in the Westwood Plaza. The store opened in February and now plans to celebrate it. "We've received a warm welcome from Kalamazoo," says Bridgette Ujlaky, co-owner with her husband John, of Horizen Hydroponics. "We've found it to be a very good fit. The community is very forward thinking and people are very interested in gardening." The decision to open a store in the Kalamazoo market came as the couple, which has an established store in Grand Rapids, realized an increasing number of their customers were coming north to check out their business. The Ujlakys specialize in hydroponic, organic, indoor and year-round gardening supplies. Hydroponics, which means "water works," is the process of growing plants in water, gravel or sand, but without soil. Their stores carry lighting, nutrients and other items to help gardeners succeed. Horizen Hydroponics has been in business for eight years in Grand Rapids and online. Bridget Ujlaky estimates that about 70 percent of its business comes from the brick-and-mortar stores, while 30 percent is done online. The company employs eight, including two at the Kalamazoo store. And the zen in the name Horizen Hydroponics is fully intentional. The company's motto is "tranquility through gardening." The grand opening ceremony will feature live music by local bands, local food, and eco-friendly vendors such as Flowerfield Enterprises, Natural Health Center, Emerald Car Cleaners and others. The May 1 event starts at noon and goes until 5 p.m. Ujlaky says the business will donate proceeds from organic vegetable and herb seedlings sold that day to Fair Food Matters, advocates for local food production and consumption. Store hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. More information is available at Horizen Hydroponics' website or by calling 269-567-3333. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Bridgette Ujlaky

Vicksburg couple makes largest ever donation of Michigan agricultural property for conservation  

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Economic Development

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April 29, 2010

The large-tract housing developers encroaching on agricultural property outside Vicksburg won't be allowed to build on 906 acres owned by Robert and Regina Richardson. Property that has been in the family for seven generations will be preserved as farmland through a donation to the State of Michigan. To date, it is the largest donation of prime farmland development rights to the state.The donation, made through the state's permanent conservation easement program, keeps property from being used for residential development.The program allows the development rights for the property to go to the State of Michigan. In return, farmers get local and federal tax breaks. The land can be written off as a charitable donation to lower federal taxes. And local taxes go down because they are based on the property being used as farmland. Taxes are higher on land that can be developed as subdivisions or for other residential uses.To develop the property for residential use would require going to court to overturn the easement, says Elizabeth Juris, of the Michigan Department of Agriculture.The Richardson's farm is about 2.5 miles outside the Village of Vicksburg, where people are buying up 40 acre pieces of property and putting a house in the middle of it, Juris says. The state program is designed to head off such practices.The Richardson's 906 acres is 80 percent farmland used for wheat, soybeans and corn planted in rotation. The remaining 20 percent is wooded property along the Portage River and Portage Creek.  The State of Michigan will publicly thank the Richardsons for their donation in a special ceremony April 30 at the farm, 16611 S. 24th St. Vicksburg.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Elizabeth Juris, Michigan Department of Agriculture

Golf course starts $80 million project that could transform SW Michigan

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

The start of the second season at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores on April 23 is just one of several signs of progress and accomplishments at the long-awaited Harbor Shores Resort Community along Lake Michigan.In July, depending on weather, the final eight holes will open, completing the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. Currently, 10 holes, which opened to the public last year, are playable. Tee times became available as of April 23.On Aug. 10, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and some of his other still-to-be-announced, famed pro golfer buddies come to town for the official opening and celebration of the course, says Ron Eng, director of marketing for Evergreen Development, the master developer of the project.The golf course is the centerpiece of a Harbor Shores, a 538-acre planned community that straddles Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Benton Township. Harbor Shores is a mix of residential, retail and resort developments on waterways, golf courses and in town, Eng says.The target market are tourists and second-home buyers from Detroit, Chicago and Indiana, Eng says."We are looking to outside residents to come in and invest in our community," he says.About $80 million has been spent over the last five years on the project, Eng says. Construction has begun or is starting next week on model homes, spec homes and custom homes. The community is divided into four districts: the River District, the Harbor District, the Fairway District and the Shores District.Cottages along the river, houses along the golf course, and townhomes and condos, all within walking distance of Lake Michigan, will make up the residential component. There also will be retail developments and a resort hotel, spa and restaurant, Eng says.All of it will mean new jobs and more investment.Already the golf club has 50 seasonal employees and many of the builders and their employees are local residents. "We're really trying to influence the economy and create a tourism and hospitality economy," Eng says. "This will result in all kinds of direct and indirect jobs," from hotel housekeepers, restaurant managers and workers to golf pros, massage therapists, builders and electricians.Evergreen Development was retained by Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc., a nonprofit charged with economically remaking the region by capitalizing on the waters and outdoors and the people who seek them out to live, work and play. Once the nonprofit begins to turn a profit, funds will go back into the community, maintaining roads, supporting schools, improving public spaces and more.For more information, check out the Golf Club at Harbor Shores website.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Ron Eng, Director of Marketing, Evergreen Development

New spa and salon in St. Joseph is more than $100,000 investment

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

The Reva' Salon & Spa in St. Joseph opened a little more than month ago, and the investment the owners made to pay for gutting and renovating an old building is paying off.Three new stylists and three receptionists have been hired, bringing to 21 the total number of Reva' employees, said Kristy Sandmann, a resident of nearby Baroda who owns Reva' with her husband John Sandmann.John Sandmann, his father and brothers are in the hair-cutting business too. They work in a barber shop behind Reva'. Sandmanns, a  separate business with its own entrance, is a family barber shop started by his grandfather 55 years ago.The Sandmanns have invested at least $100,000 on the interior of the Reva' Salon & Spa alone, Kristy Sandmann estimates.Much more than that was invested in building an addition, property for a parking lot behind the barber business and other renovations. While Sandmanns barber shop is old school, Reva' is about the latest in beauty.The spa, which is located in a customized addition off of the existing building at 2036 Washington Ave., offers massages, pedicures, manicures, facials and waxing and also steam therapy for detox treatments such as mud wraps.The salon, which is about 1,900 square feet, was designed with separate cutting rooms, coloring rooms and washing rooms, Kristy Sandmann says. "It's been so exciting," she says.Regina Ciaravino of the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce shares the excitement. "This is a great business for the city," she says.The chamber plans to celebrate the new business in town with a ribbon cutting at 11:30 May 10.Source: Kristy Sandmann, Reva' Salon & SpaSource: Regina Ciaravino, Chamber Development, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce

New way to treat diabetes makes Kalamazoo firm a company to watch

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

Metabolic Solutions Development Company made this year's 50 Companies to Watch list. The distinction comes from Michigan Celebrates Small Business program of the Edward Lowe Foundation. MSDC is developing novel medicines for type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases using pharmaceuticals designed to more effectively treat type 2 diabetes without the side effects of current therapies. The award, which will be handed out April 29 at a ceremony in Lansing, recognizes companies deemed to embody the entrepreneurial spirit of Michigan. Winners are companies that have persevered through the initial startup stage and emerged as leaders. The judges are based in Michigan and come from the banking, economic development, entrepreneurship development and venture capital communities. "Our success is a direct result of the extensive experience of our founders, the insight of our investors, the extraordinary talent and hard work of our employees, and the wide-ranging network of outstanding business partners that we have brought together," says Robert Beardsley, CEO of MSDC. "This award is a special honor. Michigan has a great history in developing innovative metabolic disease therapies and we are proud to carry on that tradition here." PNC Bank is the lead underwriter for Michigan Celebrates Small Business, with additional underwriting support from Clark Hill PLC, Michigan Economic Development Corp., Michigan Certified Development Corporation, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, Comcast Business Class, Comcast Spotlight and Dynamic Edge. Michigan Celebrates Small Business is presented in association with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, Small Business Association of Michigan, the U.S. Small Business Administration -- Michigan, and the Edward Lowe Foundation. Information about the 2010 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch program can be found at its Web site.  For more information about Michigan Celebrates Small Business, visit its Web site. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Nick Wasmiller, Seyferth & Assoc.

WMU students support sustainability with their pocketbooks

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Economic Development

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April 22, 2010

Western Michigan University Students have volunteered to pay for something important to them: a campus culture focused on sustainability.Students led the way, asking for a referendum and then voting to approve a new $8 per-semester fee. The fee will generate an estimated $440,000 annually. It will be used to fund student-designed and student-led sustainability initiatives. It also will support a Sustainability Office, a green jobs program for students and student research.Details and logistics for distributing the funds have not yet been determined. To decide the best way to allocate the funds, a committee made up primarily of students will work with the President John Dunn's University-wide Sustainability Committee and Diane Anderson, the vice president for student affairs. The fee referendum appeared on a ballot in a March 15-19 general election sponsored by the school's elected student government organization, Western Student Association.Of those voting, 60 percent -- 1,002 students -- supported the fee, while 40 percent -- 662 students -- opposed it. Western Michigan University trustees have now gone on to give final approval. Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Cheryl Roland, WMU

Benton Harbor, Berrien County Land Bank work to turn around neighborhoods

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General

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April 22, 2010

Blighted houses and vacant property in parts of Benton Harbor will be removed and improved under a three-year plan that uses economic stimulus money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, reports the Herald-Palladium. The residential revamping of parts of the city was formally approved April 8 by the Berrien County Board of Commissioners. The board agreed to accept $6.82 million in grant money. The agreement lets the county's Land Bank work with the city on rehabilitating homes, demolishing blighted property to turn them into new residences, the Herald Palladium reports. It goes on to say that Michigan received $263 million in economic stimulus money for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and the Michigan Housing Development Authority approved the grant request. This project was approved as part of one grant request for 12 cities and nine county land banks. A total of $15.43 million was allocated for the project, including $13.89 million for the work being performed by the city and Land Bank, the story continues. Excerpt: The three targeted areas for project funds include the southern part of the city where housing is generally in better condition, official said.The second area is bounded by Colfax Avenue, Pipestone Street, Main Street and Empire Avenue, and the third is the Morton Hill area. The city aims to buy and rehabilitate 69 houses at a total cost of about $7.45 million. Purchasers will receive $10,000 in home-buyer assistance to reduce mortgage payments, and financial counseling. For more on the program, read the entire story.Source: Herald-Palladium