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BY DANIEL DUGGAN
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
The majority owner of the Columbia Centertowers in Troy has sold its stake in the complexfor $62 million, a high-value deal seen as a posi-tive sign for the local officemarket.
While the sale price is thehighest since 2007, the financestructure is also significant.
The deal is financed with acommercial mortgage-backedsecurity loan and is just thefourth office property financed with such a loanthis year in the United States.
Troy-based Kirco Development Corp., developerof both towers and formerly a minority investor,bought out the majority investor, Seattle-basedKennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel L.P. Kircowill continue as the property manager.
Details of the deal are being discussed widely
in local real estate circles, but the principalswould not comment.
Kirco President Matt Kiriluk declined tocomment. E-mails were sent to top principals atKennedy with no response.
Bernard Financial Group arranged the financ-ing, and CB Richard Ellis was the broker. Execu-tives at both firms would not comment.
The sale is the second in a year by Kennedy. At the end of 2009, the Riverside building on
Telegraph Road was sold to Southfield-basedFarbman Group for $5 million, one of the lowestsales in the region at $25 per square foot.
The Columbia sale, on the other hand, is thehighest value per square foot since 2007, at$120.
The current average sale price in the Detroitarea is $46 per square foot, according to NewYork-based Real Capital Analytics. By compari-son, the research firm lists $130 per square foot
COLUMBIA CENTER AT A GLANCE� Architect: Yamasaki & Associates� Developer: Kirco Development Corp.� Location: 101 and 201 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy� Building I: Built in 1989, 254,978 squarefeet, 84 percent occupied. Three largesttenants: Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton; SmithBarney; and Comtech Group Inc.� Building II: Built in 2000, 251,620 square feet,83.7 percent occupied. Three largest tenants:Michigan Court of Appeals; Kemp, Klein, Umphrey,Endelman & May P.C.; and Bodman L.L.P.Source: CoStar Group, Crain’s research
May 17, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 3
These organizations appear in this week’s Crain’sDetroit Business:American Society of Employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Amherst Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Atlas Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Automation Alley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Beaumont Business Health Strategies . . . . . . . . . . 14
Bevinco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Center for Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
CMS Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Community Development Advocates of Detroit . . . . 37
Community Legal Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Core Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Detroit Regional Chamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Ducker Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Emagine Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
First Tech Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Gongos Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Grandmont Rosedale Development . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Identity Marketing & Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . 11
J.C. Gibbons Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Kirco Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Kresge Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Lawrence Technological University . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
LEID Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Marcus & Milichap Real Estate Investment Services . 34
McGraw Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
McTevia & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Michigan Department of Transportation . . . . . . . . . 7
Michigan Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center . . . . . 15
Michigan Municipal League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Michigan State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Michigan Venture Capital Association . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Motawi Tileworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Motor City Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
MRM Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
MyOptimal Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Nemeth Burwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
O’Keefe and Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Patti Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Plunkett Cooney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Protomatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Saline Lectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Small Business Association of Michigan . . . . . . . . 14
Team Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
United Auto Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
University of Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
U-SNAP-BAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
THIS WEEK @WWW.CRAINSDETROIT.COM
Company index
Department index
Sign upTo get the free, twice-monthlySecond Stage e-newsletter, goto crainsdetroit.com/getemail.
Want more data? Download the Private 200 list atcrainsdetroit.com/lists. Excel versionincludes information on 250 companies.
Mapping the long road to
diversification, Page 15.
Focus
BANKRUPTCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
BUSINESS DIARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
CAPITOL BRIEFINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CAREERWORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CLASSIFIED ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
KEITH CRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
OTHER VOICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
RUMBLINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
STAGE TWO STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . . 4
WEEK ON THE WEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
BY AMY LANE
CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT
LANSING — CMS Energy Corp. isputting some challenges behind itthis year.
In its utility business, the compa-ny is reporting improving electrici-ty sales and has revised a projected1 percent drop in 2010 sales to a 2percent increase, propelled by a re-bound in the industrial sector.
Consumers Energy Co. electricitysales that in 2009 were down 6 per-cent with industrial customersand 3 percent overall, this year areprojected to be up 8 percent for in-dustrial and 2 percent overall.
Still, the company expects fu-ture sales increases to be gradual,climbing over time.
“What we’ve seen is sort of abounce, if you will, off the bottom.But we don’t expect the slope of thatbounce to continue,” said CMSPresident and CEO Dave Joos.
And while the impact of auto in-dustry turmoil and Michigan’seconomy have been significant is-sues for CMS, the Jackson-basedcompany has other major items on
its plate, not the least of which is astate regulatory review this yearof its plans for a new coal-firedpower plant near Bay City.
In August, Consumers Energyexpects to file a certificate of ne-cessity at the Michigan Public Ser-vice Commission for the proposed930-megawatt plant.
The plant is already the subject
of environmental opposition andlegal challenge, and the CONprocess at the commission will beclosely watched, not only for plant-related issues but as possibly thefirst test of a key review processset up under 2008 energy laws.
Utilities seeking to build a plantor enter into a long-term agree-ment to purchase power mustdemonstrate the need for the pow-er, the prudence of the proposedproject and its costs.
The commission will review costestimates and other factors, such asalternatives to the plant’s powersupply, and issue a certificate thatincludes approved cost amounts.
Utilities can recoup, in rates,cost overruns of up to 10 percentwithout seeking additional com-mission approval.
See Columbia, Page 34
What we’ve seen is sort of abounce, if you will, off the
bottom.Dave Joos, CMS Energy Corp.
”“
CMS Energy on sales rebound
Columbia deal may be hopeful sign
BY NANCY KAFFER
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
The community advocates invit-ed to a land use summit at DetroitMayor Dave Bing’s office last weekhad a few words of caution for him:Don’t make assumptions. Includethe community in the conversa-tion. Stay away from business jar-
gon. Urban agriculture may not bethe answer.
The city, attendees said, shouldalso move quick-ly to develop apositive messageand terminologyaround the ideaof developing along-term landuse strategy that will see someparts of the city mothballed andother neighborhoods bolstered.
Rumors have flown that city of-ficials had a plan to reshape De-troit, or were developing such aplan in secrecy, fueled by the city’shiring of a Kresge Foundation-fund-
ed urban planner. Until last week, the administra-
tion hadn’t said much. Bing hassaid that among Detroit neighbor-hoods there will be “winners” and“losers,” that the city lacks therevenue to support its 139 squaremiles, and most often, that there’snot a plan to shrink the city.
“I want to start by making onething perfectly clear,” Bing toldthe group at last Wednesday’smeeting, which was not open tothe public. “There’s been a lot ofconversation about ‘the plan.’ Forall of you, there is no plan. … Ithink there are a lot of people inthe media and in the community,
people from all across the country,who are under the impression thatwe have a master plan for landreuse. This is just the beginning ofthe development of that plan.”
The assembled group (See box)will serve as the mayor’s advisoryteam. Bing’s team also plans to as-semble a citizen advisory group.
City leaders have thus far de-clined to give a name to theprocess. In that absence, termslike “downsizing,” “shrinking” or“rightsizing” frequently are used.
But those words, the advocatessaid, rub residents the wrong way.
Mayor urged to keep land-use plan process open
Utility pushes new plant as electricity demand rises
Sale price highest since 2007; financing rare
See CMS Energy, Page 37
COSTAR
WHO’S WHOAttendees: Seewho was at thetable, Page 37
RIVAL SALESComparison:How doesColumbia stackup? Page 34
See Land use, Page 37
Advocates sayresidents fearbeing uprooted
20100517-NEWS--0003-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 5/14/2010 5:55 PM Page 1
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May 17, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 33
State finances at top of Center for Michigan reform agenda candidates, Power said.
Aside from a reform agenda, thereport includes the 2010 MichiganScorecard, published in partner-ship with Data Driven Detroit and itsdirector, Kurt Metzger.
The scorecard gives the state’sperformance on a number of mea-sures residents deem most impor-tant for the state’s economic trans-formation.
They include: educational invest-ment and performance; college af-fordability; young talent popula-tion; business tax burden; venturecapital, research and development;homeownership; philanthropy; en-vironment; voter participation; gov-ernment efficiency; state bond rat-ings; and burden of incarceration.
“If candidates can’t answerquestions about what’s in thescorecard, they don’t deserve to goto Lansing,” Bebow said.
To get even more people inter-ested in the state’s big-picture is-
sues, the center plans to use itswebsite www.thecenterformichigan.net to launch petitions forthings like term-limit reform, arewrite of the tax code and a shiftof budget dollars to education andaway from prisons, Bebow said.
The center also plans to ask resi-dents to host 50 legislative debatesaround the state and to convene a“Truth Squad” to blog about politi-cal ads at www.michigantruthsquad.com, “calling fouls when wesee things that don’t stack up … and(also) calling no-fouls,” he said.
To keep residents engaged, thecenter plans to give out T-shirtsand other prizes to people whosend in the campaign pamphletsthey get in the mail and give feed-back on the ads they see on televi-sion and hear on the radio.
There’s a lot of similarity be-tween what business groups areproposing and the change resi-dents want to see, Bebow said.
“I think what (we) are seeing inboth groups is there needs to beholistic change,” said Business Lead-ers for Michigan CEO Doug Rothwell.
Business Leaders sent out a 25-question survey to gubernatorialand legislative candidates andplans to post their responses onwww.michiganturnaroundplan.com atthe end of this month.
About 70 percent of the candi-dates say they are aligned withBusiness Leaders’ reform agenda,Rothwell said. “The big questionmark is what they propose to do.”
Both the Center for Michiganand Business Leaders’ reformagendas are meant to present amenu for change as opposed to aspecific recipe, Powers said.
“We’re trying to set the table forthe (legislators) coming in so itwill harder for them to duck thehard choices.”
Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694,[email protected]
AGENDA FOR 2010The Center for Michigan’s citizens’agenda for Michigan’s future:
� Create a more business-friendly,entrepreneurial environment.
� Overhaul the Michigan taxsystem for the 21st century.
� Build on Michigan’s distinctiveand competitive assets.
� Change how and what schoolsteach.
� Transform education operationsand funding.
� Hold educators, parents andstudents to higher standards.
� Hold politicians and ourselvesmore accountable.
� Lengthen or repeal term limits.
� Execute transparent andstrategic state budgets.
� Intensify consolidation andservice sharing in localgovernment.
BY SHERRI WELCH
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
After conversations with 10,000Michigan residents, the Center forMichigan is ready to release anagenda to help the next governorand new legislators “hit theground running” next year.
The nonprofit think tank, whichhas conducted 585 community con-versations since fall 2007, turnedthose conversations into a 10-pointplan laid out in “Michigan’s Defin-ing Moment: 10,000 Voices toTransform our State, Citizens’Agenda 2010.”
Ann Arbor-based Center forMichigan plans to release the re-port — aimed at long-term reform— during the Detroit Regional Cham-ber’s 2010 Mackinac Policy Confer-ence, June 2-5.
“Ultimately we are hoping tohave three or four main points forreform so well set out that theycrystallize that consensus for pub-lic reform” before the new gover-nor and legisla-tors take office,said Phil Power,founder andpresident of theCenter forMichigan.
“The first is-sue is to getMichigan’s fi-nancial house inorder. The sec-ond is to have a budget that re-flects priorities.”
The center’s community conver-sations identified common priori-ties from people around the state.
Tax reform is a big issue, Execu-tive Director John Bebow said. Cit-izens are fed up with taxes andpuzzled by the state budget.
“They want big-picture changesto what we fund and how we fundit,” Bebow said.
Other common themes of thecommunity conversations includ-ed greater accountability and a de-sire for more regionalism andmore funding for education — par-ticularly higher education andpreschool — than for the state’sprison system, Bebow said.
“One concrete change that sur-prised us was the issue of term lim-its,” Bebow said. “People are readyto revisit term limits and either ex-tend them or eliminate them.”
The Center for Michigan plansto send the report to all political
Power
CRAIN’S SEEKSWOMEN TO WATCH NOMINEESDo you know a woman who ispoised to make a difference in hercompany or industry in the nextyear? Or one who had aninnovative idea or developed aninnovative practice? If so, she could be a candidate forCrain’s Detroit Business’ “Womento Watch,” which will be publishedSept. 6. We’re looking for businesswomenof accomplishment at all careerstages. Nominations should focuson a specific current activity, ratherthan career accomplishment overan extended period of time. Visitwww.crainsdetroit.com/nominatefor the online nomination form. Thedeadline is June 7.
20100517-NEWS--0033-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 5/14/2010 5:27 PM Page 1
May 17, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 37
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Keith E. CrainPUBLISHER Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 [email protected] EDITOR Cindy Goodaker, (313) 446-0460 or [email protected] EDITOR Andy Chapelle, (313) 446-0402 or [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR/FOCUS JennetteSmith, (313) 446-1622 or [email protected] EDITOR Michelle Darwish,(313) 446-1621 or [email protected] DESK CHIEF Gary Piatek, (313) 446-0357or [email protected] NEWS EDITOR Jeff Johnston, (313)446-1608 or [email protected] EDITOR Anne Marks, (313) 446-0418 [email protected] EDITOR Christine Lasek, (313) 446-0473,[email protected] DEVELOPER Steve Williams, (313) 446-6059, [email protected] SUPPORT Robertta Reiff (313) 446-0419, YahNica Crawford, (313) 446-0329NEWSROOM (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 TIP LINE (313) 446-6766
Ryan Beene: Covers auto suppliers, steel, highereducation and Livingston and Washtenawcounties. (313) 446-0315 or [email protected] Duggan: Covers retail, real estate andhospitality. (313) 446-0414 [email protected] Greene: Covers health care, insurance and theenvironment. (313) 446-0325 [email protected] Halcom: Covers law, non-automotivemanufacturing, defense contracting and Oaklandand Macomb counties. (313) 446-6796 [email protected] Henderson: Covers banking, finance,technology and biotechnology. (313) 446-0337 [email protected] Kaffer: Covers small business, the city ofDetroit, Wayne County government. (313) 446-0412 or [email protected] Shea: Covers media, advertising andmarketing, entertainment, the business of sports,and transportation. (313) 446-1626 [email protected] Skid: Multimedia reporter. Also covers thefood industry. (313) 446-1654, [email protected].
Sherri Begin Welch: Covers nonprofits andservices. (313) 446-1694 or [email protected]
LANSING BUREAU Amy Lane: Covers business issues at the Capitol,telecommunications and utilities. (517) 371-5355, FAX (517) 371-2492, [email protected]. or115 W. Allegan, Suite 220, Lansing 48933.
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Marla Downs, (313)446-6032 or [email protected] INQUIRIES: (313) 446-6052; FAX (313)393-0997ADVERTISING SALES Jeff Anderson, Matthew J.Langan, Lori Tournay Liggett, Tamara Rokowski,Kimberly Ronan, Cheryl Rothe, Dale Smolinski CLASSIFIED SALES (313)-446-0351MARKETING MANAGER Irma ClarkMULTIMEDIA MANAGER Alan Baker, (313) 446-0416 or [email protected] MANAGER Nicole LaPointeMARKETING ARTIST Sylvia KolaskiSALES SUPPORT Suzanne Janik, YahNica CrawfordCIRCULATION Candice Yopp, Manager. MARKETING COORDINATOR Kim WinklerPRODUCTION MANAGER Wendy Kobylarz PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Larry Williams, (313) 446-0450
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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992is published weekly, except for a special issue thethird week of January, a special issue the fourthweek of August, and no issue the third week ofDecember by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732. Periodicalspostage paid at Detroit, MI and additional mailingoffices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toCRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, CirculationDepartment, P.O. Box 07925, Detroit, MI 48207-9732. GST # 136760444. Printed in U.S.A. Entire contents copyright 2010 by CrainCommunications Inc. All rights reserved.Reproduction or use of editorial content in anymanner without permission is strictly prohibited.
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CMS Energy: Utility pushes new plant as sales rise■ From Page 3
Land use: Keep process open, mayor advised■ From Page 3
Consumers Energy’s plans forthe plant have drawn fire from theSierra Club and the Natural Re-sources Defense Council, which inMarch filed in Ingham County CircuitCourt an appeal of a state-grantedair permit for the plant.
The action against the MichiganDepartment of Natural Resources andEnvironment argues in part that thedepartment failed to set emissionslevels in the permit that reflectcleaner fuels, that the departmentimproperly rejected alternativeslike energy efficiency and renew-ables, and that it didn’t do enoughto limit harmful pollution.
The two groups also commis-sioned a study that cites what itcalls significant rate increases as aresult of the plant’s construction,fuel costs, future federal regula-tions and other factors.
“Our main concern is that it’sdirty, it’s polluting, it’s unneces-sary and it’s expensive,” saidTiffany Hartung, associate region-al representative for the SierraClub’s Michigan chapter.
Of the plant’s 930-megawatt ca-pacity, 100 megawatts will be con-sumed running the plant.
Consumers expects to own 500megawatts of the plant, and munic-ipalities and other entities wouldown 330 megawatts.
Out of a total plant cost that byone estimate tops $3.5 billion, in-
cluding financing, Consumers En-ergy’s share is expected to be $2 billion-plus.
The new plant is expected to haveemissions that are 10 percent to 15 percent lower than from existingplants. It will also be designed touse carbon capture and storagetechnology once the technology be-comes commercially feasible.
The utility plans to retire fiveolder coal-fired plants followingthe operation of the new plant, andtwo additional units depending oncustomer need.
Consumers has said that buildingthe new plant and retiring some ofits older units will lead to an overalldrop in fleetwide emissions.
The investment is part of the util-ity’s 20-year energy plan to meet fu-ture electricity needs throughmeans that include the new plant,increased use of renewable energy,greater energy efficiency and con-trolling electricity demand.
Joos said the plant needs to belooked at beyond the initial capitalcosts and as a producer of lower-cost power in the future and amore reliable supply than someother types of investments, likewind power.
He said that in assessing Michi-gan’s needs, “we think that means abalance of all these technologies.”
Hartung, however, said the com-pany “is doing what is required by
law” in the areas of energy effi-ciency and renewable energy, and“it doesn’t go far enough.”
Also ahead for Consumers in2010 are continuing drives towardenergy efficiency — an area inwhich the utility exceeded initial-year state-required savings — andrenewables.
Consumer Energy has signed con-tracts to buy 9.4 megawatts of capac-ity from small renewable projectsand expects to sign contracts laterthis year for some 250 megawatts ofcapacity from the first round oflarge-scale renewable projects.
To meet a state requirement that10 percent of its electricity comefrom renewable sources by 2015,Consumers plans to contract withthird-party providers for 450megawatts of energy and spendabout $1.3 billion building windfarms that will produce another450 megawatts.
It has secured easements forabout 60,000 acres of wind farm de-velopment in northwest Michigan’sMason County and in the Thumbarea’s Tuscola and Huron counties.
Overall, from 2010 to 2014, theutility plans some $7.2 billion incapital expenditures, includingmaintenance and environmentalupgrades, renewables, the coalplant and a project that entails de-ploying advanced meters and com-munications technology to read
meters remotely.Joos said the new “smart me-
ters” in homes and businesses willcommunicate data frequently andbenefit both the utility and cus-tomers. For example, it will enableConsumers to “be more efficientand effective in outage restora-tion,” he said.
At this Friday’s CMS annualshareholders meeting, Joos willstep down from his current postand become chairman of theboard, replacing CMS ChairmanKen Whipple, who has reached thecompany board’s mandatory re-tirement age of 75.
John Russell,president andCOO of Con-sumers Energysince 2004, willsucceed Joos.Russell joinedthe utility in1981 and waselected a compa-ny officer in1999.
Joos said there will be a “verysmooth transition” and that whileleadership is changing, the compa-ny’s direction is not.
“Our whole message here is, don’tlook for things to change. Look forthem to stay the same,” he said.
Amy Lane: (517) 371-5355,[email protected]
“The words you use are very im-portant,” said Heidi Mucherie, di-rector of the Detroit-based nonprof-it Community Legal Resources.“There’s a lot of pushback on ‘down-sizing’ or ‘shrinking,’ and some peo-ple are embracing words like ‘re-en-visioning’ or ‘revisioning.’ Thereare some people who said look,don’t give this a fancy word, this isplanning, so call it planning.”
Mucherie told Bing and his teamthat she observed two pervasivefears at a recent meeting held byher group.
“(Detroiters) felt strongly thatresidents should lead the way, thatthe process should not be led by ‘out-siders’ — and that could mean phil-anthropy, it could be consultants,”she said. “The other fear is the fearof land-grabbing and the fear of be-ing involuntarily displaced.”
Some concerns aren’t entirelyunfounded. While the city doesn’twant to involuntarily relocate res-idents, said Karen Dumas, Bing’sgroup executive for communica-tions, “Nothing’s off the table.”
Business jargon like “rightsiz-ing” or “downsizing” doesn’t calmfears, said Tom Goddeeris, execu-tive director of the GrandmontRosedale Development Corp.
“In the general population, right-sizing is a euphemism for layoffs,”he told the mayor. “It comes fromthe business community. … I alsothink you need to be careful aboutusing too much business jargon. Iknow you’re obviously a successfulbusinessman, and you’re using abusiness model for the city, but youneed to be careful about businessjargon. It makes people think it isall a front for big corporations that
are going to grab all the land.”Mucherie also urged city offi-
cials to approach the communitywithout preconceived notions.
Some Detroiters, she said, are putoff by the idea of creating density.
“They don’t want to live in adense neighborhood,” she said.“We heard from other citizens thatthey are furious about farmingand urban agriculture being of-fered as a solution. That’s not tosay everyone feels that way, but …just because there are people outthere who have advocated a solu-tion doesn’t mean this communityhas embraced it. You need to bevery careful not to take assump-tions to the community.”
Development of the plan will take12 to 18 months, Bing said, and will
be led by Marja Winters, deputy di-rector of the city’s Planning and De-velopment Department, and ToniGriffin, the nationally recognizedurban planner whose salary is paidby Troy-based Kresge.
Kresge will also foot the bill for ateam of technical advisers to workon the plan and a community en-gagement effort, Winters said.
The advisory team will meetregularly to vet plans or sugges-tions developed by Griffin and ateam of technical consultants be-fore such items are incorporatedinto the plan. The group’s nextmove will be to weigh in on a for-mal community engagement strat-egy. A request for such proposalshas been made through the KresgeFoundation, but no companies
have been chosen, Winters said.Kresge Communications Direc-
tor Cynthia Shaw wrote in an e-mail to Crain’s that costs for theconsultants haven’t yet been final-ized, saying Kresge hopes the costsultimately will be paid in concertwith other foundations through agrant to a nonprofit organization.
Openness and transparency arekey, Bing said.
“I think people feel like thisgroup in particular is a secretagent for this administration, thatwe’re going to come out with thisplan and keep it close to our chestand nobody’s going to know aboutit — won’t work,” he said. “We’vegot to be transparent, and we’vegot to be inclusive.”
Linda Smith, executive directorof U-SNAP-BAC Inc., urged the cityofficials to develop a positivebranding message.
“What’s the tag?” she said.“Something you can put on buses,something you can put on bill-boards. People have to get excited.Detroiters haven’t been excited ina long time and it makes them neg-ative.”
Developing a formal method forcitizen input is crucial, said AnitaLane, project manager at Communi-ty Development Advocates of Detroit.
“We want to be really creativeabout how we engage citizens andhow we engage young people” shesaid. “I think it’s important thatwe find a way to interact with thecommunity. … Unless that hap-pens here as well you will have alot of pushback, and the plan maynot succeed.”
Nancy Kaffer: (313) 446-0412,[email protected].
AT THE TABLEAttendees of Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s land use summit:� Marcell Todd, director, City Planning Commission� Eugene Jones, executive director, Detroit Housing Commission� Anita Lane, project manager, Community Development Advocates of Detroit� Steve Ogden, executive director, Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative� Linda Smith, executive director, U-SNAP BAC Inc.� Tom Goddeeris, executive director, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp.� Heidi Mucherie, executive director, Community Legal Resources� Aundra Wallace, member, Detroit Land Bank Authority� Burney Johnson, deputy director, Michigan State Housing andDevelopment Authority� Kathleen Lomako, deputy director, Southeast Michigan Council ofGovernments� William Hunter, analyst, Data Driven Detroit� Ann Lang, CEO, Downtown Detroit Partnership� Faye Nelson, president and CEO, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy� Don Edwards, founder, principal and CEO, Justice and SustainabilityAssociates, Washington, D.C.� Jessica Green, of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, University ofDetroit Mercy� Charles Cross, research and design fellow, Detroit Collaborative DesignCenter, University of Detroit Mercy
Russell
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May 17, 2010CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESSPage 38
Visteonshareholderslose bid forexaminer
an Buren Township-based Visteon Corp.shareholders lost
their bid for an investiga-tion of whether managersare wrongly proposing tocancel the company’s stockas part of a plan to exitbankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy CourtJudge Christopher Sontchi inWilmington, Del., has de-nied a request by share-holders to appoint an exam-iner to investigate howmanagers put together thereorganization proposal,Bloomberg reported.
The shareholders con-tend Visteon is solvent andits stock shouldn’t be can-celed. That claim should beresolved when the plancomes to court for ap-proval, Sontchi said.
ON THE MOVE� Troy-based First Michi-
gan Bancorp Inc., the bankholding company for FirstMichigan Bank, has madethe following managementmoves: Gary Cortner to presi-dent of the Port Huron re-gion. Cortner had been ex-ecutive managing directorand director of commerciallending for First MichiganBank.
Dennis Klaeser to CFO, re-placing Thomas Brown, whoassumed the new title ofCOO. Klaeser had been se-nior vice president and se-nior research analyst atRaymond James.
COMPANY NEWS� Barring appeal by an-
other carrier, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines hasbeen approved by the U.S.Department of Transportationto begin nonstop service be-tween Detroit MetropolitanAirport and Tokyo’s HanedaAirport starting Oct. 31.
� Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart Foundation plan to do-nate up to 27.5 millionpounds of food, or 21.5 mil-lion meals, in Michigan be-tween now and 2015 as partof a $2 billion effort to helpend hunger in the U.S.
Also, Wal-Mart has filedfor a preliminary site planapproval with the city ofNovi to build a 150,000-square-foot store in the NoviTown Center development onthe site of the formerMervyn’s.
� In a move to competewith Amazon.com and its
Kindle, Ann Arbor-basedbookseller Borders GroupInc. is taking preorders forits Kobo eReader. Borderswill debut an e-book storenext month with applica-tions powered by Toronto-based Kobo Inc., which pro-duces a digital device thatdisplays books and runs ap-plications.
� Japanese staffing firmTemp Holdings Co. Ltd. hasacquired 4.8 percent of out-standing Class A shares inTroy-based Kelly ServicesInc. for $24.3 million, forg-ing a cooperative relation-ship between the two com-panies to make them morecompetitive in the globalmarket. Kelly said ToshioSaburi, executive directorand a director of TempHoldings, will join its boardof directors.
ELECTIONS� Simon Haddad, owner
and president of ShelbyTownship-based AudioTrends Inc., is the sole Re-publican option for MacombCounty executive, accordingto candidate filings madeby the noon Tuesday dead-line for the Aug. 3 primary.
He’ll face in November’sgeneral election the winnerof the Democratic primaryrace between county Sher-iff Mark Hackel and countyPublic Works Commission-er Anthony Marrocco.
� State Rep. Alma Wheel-er Smith, Salem Township,dropped out of the race tobe Michigan’s next gover-nor, leaving House SpeakerAndy Dillon, Redford Town-ship, and Lansing MayorVirg Bernero as Democratsin the gubernatorial race.
� Democratic Congress-woman Carolyn Cheeks Kil-patrick of Detroit will seekan eighth term in the U.S.House of Representatives rep-resenting the 13th District,which includes parts of De-troit, the Grosse Pointes,River Rouge, Ecorse, Lin-coln Park and Wyandotte.Her primary challengersinclude state Sen. HansenClarke and businessmanand broadcaster Glenn Plum-mer.
OTHER NEWS� WWJ-TV Ch. 62 will air
the Detroit Lions’ four pre-season games this year inhigh-definition.
� The Huron-Clinton Met-ropolitan Authority has votedagainst taking over theMichigan State Fairgroundsas a metropark.
The future of the statefair has been unclear afterthe state cut funding for theannual event last year.Now, the state’s real estatedivision will evaluate otherproposals for use of the site.
� The Michigan EconomicDevelopment Corp., the Michi-gan Small Business and Tech-nology Development Centersand the Michigan CreditUnion League will offersmall-business owners andentrepreneurs increasedaccess to training and fi-nancing opportunities, ac-cording to a statement fromthe group. Its website iswww.cusbfa.com.
� Data Driven Detroitlaunched the websitewww.datadrivendetroit.orgto provide up-to-date dataabout metro Detroit. TheKresge Foundation-fundeddata clearinghouse startedlast year.
� The city of Allen Parkhas issued a notice thatmay start the process offorcing film company UnityStudios out of the AllenPark Studio Complex fornot paying its rent if a reso-lution is not reached.
Unity Studios is majorityowned and operated by agroup of investors from LosAngeles and Michigan, in-cluding Hollywood execu-tive Jimmy Lifton.
� Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, is draft-ing legislation that wouldallow police to requestproof of citizenship frompeople who are stopped andquestioned on another of-fense. Officers would havethe authority to arrest peo-ple who can’t prove their le-gal status.
� The University of Michi-gan has received a $760,550grant from the Michigan De-partment of Energy, Labor andEconomic Growth to estab-lish the Michigan IndustrialEnergy Center to help ener-gy-intensive businesseslower their usage.
� Oakland County’sEmerging Sectors programtallied enough new localbusiness or expansion inApril to surpass $1.5 billionin total investment sincethe program’s inception in2004. Four April deals in-vest $69 million, add 3,151new jobs and retain 880jobs in the county.
OBITUARIES� Donald Barris, founding
member of Detroit law firmBarris, Sott, Denn & DrikerP.L.L.C., died May 10. Hewas 91.
� Terry Breese, co-ownerof Huber & Breese Music inFraser, died of a heart at-tack May 8. He was 61.
� Roy O’Brien Jr., retiredCEO of Roy O’Brien Ford inSt. Clair Shores, died May10 of a heart attack. He was81.
� Kevin West, longtimeservice learning director atMadonna University in Livo-nia, died April 28 after aheart attack. He was 51.
ichael Tierney isstill working ongetting back into
the banking game.Tierney quit his day job
as president and CEO ofMadison Heights-based PSBGroup Inc., the holding com-pany for Peoples State Bank,on March 19 to head up agroup trying to buy the as-sets of the troubled CitizensFirst Bank in Port Huron.But his bid failed, and onApril 30, state and federalregulators announced thatTroy-based First MichiganBank would be taking overits $1.1 billion in assets.
Subsequently, Tierneymet with representatives ofthe Federal Deposit InsuranceCorp. and says they encour-aged him and his group ofbackers, who had commit-ted more than $200 million,to bid in the future on otherbanks.
Tierney said his group,started by Port Huron attor-ney Gary Fletcher, will firstlook to buy assets from abank or banks shut down bythe FDIC, then eventuallylook to community banksthat are seeking buyers.
Tierney said Fletcherstarted raising money lastNovember but that the CEOof what would have been anew bank holding companywas turned down by federalregulators. He said a searchfirm called him in late Feb-ruary or early March.
He resigned from Peoplesand began making therounds of institutional in-vestors in Chicago, NewYork and Minneapolis to se-cure commitments.
CNN segment to featureAzure Dynamics
Scott Harrison, CEO of OakPark-based Azure Dynamics,a manufacturer of hybridelectric and electric power-trains for commercial vehi-cles, will film a five-minutesegment for CNN on Tues-day that is expected to runnationally during the week.
The segment also will airacross Canada on BNN at10:45 a.m. as part of a Busi-ness of Green quarterly up-date.
Azure recently won acontract with Ford Motor Co.to supply the electric pow-ertrain for its Transit Con-nect Electric expected tocome to market this year.
Private school finds newhome at auto dealership
When leaders of a Farm-ington Hills private schoolwent to Holiday Chevroletlooking for a deal, they did-n’t find a car.
They found a new homefor the school.
The Steppingstone Centerfor Gifted Education boughtthe former car dealershipbuilding in FarmingtonHills for $1 million to be theschool’s new home.
The old showroom willbecome a classroom. Theold service garage will be agymnasium. The school willopen in September.
“When we were first con-fronted with the idea, we allsaid ‘are you crazy?’ ” saidTom Herbst, assistant to thehead of schools. “But westarted looking at the price,
RUMBLINGS WEEK ON THE WEBF R O M W W W . C R A I N S D E T R O I T . C O M , W E E K O F M A Y 8 - 1 4
Red Cross chapters cut costs
M V
BEST FROM THE BLOGSR E A D T H E S E P O S T S A N D M O R E A T W W W . C R A I N S D E T R O I T . C O M / B L O G S
The CoStar Grouphas released its rosterof ‘Power Brokers.’ Thelist is the culminationof the researchcompany’s internaldata, based on all ofthe deals the companytracks.”
“CoStar names ‘Power Brokers’
The SoutheasternMichigan chapter of theAmerican Red Cross isconsolidating itsaccounting functionswith 11 other RedCross chapters acrossthe state in an effort tocut costs.”
“
Lost dealwon’t deterbanker’s bids
the location. And it startedto make some sense.”
The school, created in1981, specializes in pro-grams for gifted students.
Troy-based Thomas DukeCo. was the broker.
Crain’s editor wins awardCrain’s Detroit Business
Entrepreneurship EditorMichelle Darwish is to be hon-ored by the Association forWomen in Communications
DetroitChapter atits annualMatrixAwards onMay 24.Darwish isthis year’swinner ofthe Van-guard
Award-Individual for herefforts that include oversee-ing the Second Stage Extrasection aimed at growthcompanies and DetroitMake it Here, www.detroitmakeithere.com, websiteand online community.
Other winners are leader-ship coach and former jour-nalist Anne Doyle, TheWomen’s Caring Program andthe Detroit Regional NewsHub. For more informationon the awards or to buytickets for the event, seewww.womcomdetroit.org/matrix.htm
Motown museum CEO will represent Namibia
The Republic of Namibia re-cently named Motown Histor-
ical MuseumCEO Audley“Kano”Smith Jr.honoraryconsul ofthe Repub-lic ofNamibia tothe State ofMichigan.
Smith lived in the south-ern African country for 10years while serving as CEOof Barden International L.L.C.
Reporter Dan Duggan’s blog on commercial real estatecan be found at www.crainsdetroit.com/duggan
Reporter Sherri Begin Welch’s blogabout Southeast Michigan nonprofits can be found at www.crainsdetroit.com/welch
Darwish
Smith
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