East Lansing : Development News

Inventure Enterprises, a company that specializes in streamlining background checks and other business processes, has moved into East Lansing’s Technology and Innovation Center (TIC).

“They offer a lot of services here (in the TIC), says Robert Fulk, president of Inventure Enterprises. “The whole idea is to have a big support system to get businesses in here.”

Inventure Enterprises is slated to occupy the TIC space formally used by Enliven, which recently moved out on its own, but that spot could change due to the shuffling of other TIC businesses.

Inventure Enterprises doesn’t conduct background checks, but it enables organizations that do, such as school districts and government, to electronically access multiple databases — state police records, FBI records and state and federal data — to cross check potential employees. It also helps these entities comply with state and federal legislative mandates.

The company also streamlines other business processes. Fulk says they’re working on a new core system he projects will increase business. Fulk is working on obtaining a $12 million contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Fulk estimates that Inventure will be in 10 to 15 states within the next 15 months. He also expects to see a revenue stream of $5 million in 2010.

“We’re looking at rapidly expanding now,” he says, adding that this expansion will likely include 10-20 new employees.

Source: Robert Fulk, Inventure Enterprises

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Well, it had to happen some time. Enliven Software is the first company incubated in Technology Innovation Center (TIC) in East Lansing to leave the tech hub and move into its own, bigger space.

By November, Enliven will move from its 402 square foot TIC space to a 1,100 square foot office next door to the TIC. The new office space is being built out and should be ready for occupancy fairly soon.

“We want a more cohesive space,” says Enliven's owner, Bunmi Akinyemiju. “We want to break out our business development from our operations team.”

Enliven specializes in e-invoicing and e-payment for small to mid-size businesses. It started with two or three people and has grown to 10. Akinyemiju expects that growth to continue and is excited about having a larger space without giving up access to TIC talent.

“I feel like this setting is good and its a great example of the success of the TIC,” he says.

The TIC was developed to foster small, technology driven businesses with the intention of seeing the businesses move to larger locations after three years of incubation.

“Companies can come in and ramp up and essentially start selling their product and then move into a space where they’re paying full rent,” he says. “We want to be close to the TIC because we want the same atmosphere in our office.”

Source: Bunmi Akinyemiju, Enliven

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

It’s been less than a year since the Technology Innovation Center (TIC) opened in East Lansing and its already full—bursting at the seams, as some would say—and local entrepreneur Bunmi Akinyemiju is ready to add incubators number two and three to the region.

At the beginning of the month, Akinyemiju and Jeff Smith with the City of East Lansing announced the opening of The Hatch, an incubator for enterprising Michigan State University (MSU) students.

Now, Akinyemiju says he’s ready to open Skunkworks, a prototype lab incubator, in East Lansing.

“We’re hopeful that very soon we’ll see one in the City of East Lansing,” he says.

Skunkworks will be similar to the Hatch and may initially operate inside of the The Hatch. Skunkworks will be a prototype lab where entrepreneurs can test their ideas. Like the Hatch, it will also connect entrepreneurs to physical and intellectual resources necessary to get their ideas into the marketplace.

“We’re connecting the ideas to the lab,” he says. “This gives them a space to vet their ideas and then help sell investors on products that can be distributed.”

Ultimately, Akinyemiju would like to have several Skunkworks throughout the Capital region. He suggests each Skunkworks may have a “theme.” For example, one may exclusively focus on biotechnology.

“I think Skunkworks will really help people move their ideas toward commercialization,” he says.

Akinyemiju says the City of Lansing has also expressed interest in Skunkworks.

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Michigan State University (MSU) opened a $13 million Surplus Store and Recycling Center, allowing the university to handle three times the amount of recycling material processed by its old facility.

The 74,000 square foot facility houses recycling operations and an education center; the MSU Surplus Store; storage areas for compost and metal scrap; a truck scale; and space for roll-off and semi-trailer storage containers.

“The facility emphasizes the reuse and recycling functions that are critical to keeping waste out of the landfill,” says facility Manager Ruth Daoust.

The new building and expanded recycling programs will allow the university to expand recycling collection in 553 campus buildings.

MSU has submitted the facility for Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Green building components such as concrete with recycled green glass, rainwater collection tanks on the roof of the building and solar array panels, were used in the construction of the building.

Source: MSU

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Local and state officials recently celebrated the opening of IBM’s 144,000 square foot global delivery center on Michigan State University’s (MSU) campus.

The delivery center for application service provides innovative application development and support service to modernize older IT systems for state and local government agencies and universities.

IBM renovated the building to fit its needs, but it strategically opened on MSU’s campus to obtain immediate access to the university’s young talent. The first floor of the building remains an MSUFCU branch.

“MSU provides a great pipeline of students that will populate this center,” says Governor Jennifer Granholm. “This is jobs for Michigan residents and it’s keeping our young people here.”

IBM is expected to create at least 1,000 jobs over five years through the center, which is the first of its kind in the U.S. for IBM.

The center has already resulted in new hires. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon says the collaboration between IBM and MSU will stretch the research corridor further north.

“This really is a synergy with the university research corridor,” she says.

Source: Jan Walbridge, IBM

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

The 80s are back. And with revived 80s fashion comes revived 80s logos. The new East Lansing clothing store Take 2 Authentics, is bringing back the growling face of “Gruff Sparty,” the Spartan logo popular on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus 20 years ago.

“It seems that vintage is the way things are going right now,” says Michael Krause, district manager for Take 2 Authentics. “We know there’s a huge market for the old school designs.”

These designs include cardigans and roll-neck sweaters, which Take 2 Authentics tested on MSU’s campus before adding them to its retail space.

“People were coming up to us all of the time and asking us about them,” he says.

The 3,000 square foot store opened just in time for MSU’s first football game. Take 2 Authentics also sells framed sports photos and other MSU gear. The East Lansing-based Take 2 Authentics is affiliated with the original Troy-based Take 2 Authentics. It’s located at 630 Grand River Ave. in downtown East Lansing.

Krause says the plan is to expand Take 2 Authentics to other Big 10 markets.

“We’re looking at Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan,” he says. “We’d like to go to most of the Big 10 schools.”

Source: Michael Krause, Take 2 Authentics

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

The Sharon Smith Myers Wharton Gifts shop is preparing to more than double in size, moving from a 400 square foot space to a 1,000 square foot space inside the Wharton Center at Michigan State University.

“What’s new about Wharton Gifts is that we’re assuming the mission statement of the Wharton Center to enrich and strengthen the value of the arts,” says Nina Silbergleit, house manager for the Wharton Center.

Previously, the gift shop carried general merchandise such as cards, MSU gear and jewelry—items that can be found in a variety of gift shops in the Capital region.

“Now, 90 percent of everything that we have will have a music or dance or theater them that helps develop creativity,” she says. This includes instruments, music books and instructional DVDs. The Sharon Smith Myers Wharton Gifts is also working with Urban Samaritan, a New York-based company that employs homeless people and transforms recycled show posters and vinyl banners into tote bags.

“We’re really excited about this,” she says. “We’re also trying to do a lot of fair trade items.”

The gift shop expansion is part of the overall $11 million Wharton Center renovation expansion that started in 2008. The expansion includes larger dressing rooms, a new façade, a multi-purpose space, corporate lounges, an educational space and administrative offices.

The Sharon Smith Myers Wharton Gifts will have a clearout sale from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sept. 9-10 in the Sierra Lobby (formerly the Box Office Lobby). The expanded gift shop will be revealed the weekend of Oct.10.

Source: Bob Hoffman, Wharton Center

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

Newly formed benefits firm, Papazian Smalley & Harp, has moved into a 2,400 square foot East Lansing office space.

Papazian Smalley & Harp is the result of a merger among two Capital region finance companies: Independent group insurance agency Michigan Group Benefits, founded by Michael Harp, and private wealth management firm Smalley Investments, created by Joe Smalley.

Jim Papazian, former president of local benefits firm Financial Technology and managing partner of Papazian Smalley & Harp, says the new company meets client demand for comprehensive investment and benefits plans.

"We just thought this (the merger) would make a good fit because we can take care of someone's professional, business and personal investment needs all together," says Jim Papazian.

Papazian Smalley & Harp may also hire a new employee within the next year.

"It's likely we will hire a part-time cafeteria plan administrator in the near future," Papazian says.

Papazian Smalley & Harp is located at 2900 West Rd. in East Lansing. They have eight employees.

Source: Jim Papazian, Papazian Smalley & Harp

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

The Michigan State University (MSU) College of Nursing is nearing its $14.5 million fundraising goal for a three story, 45,000 square foot addition.

"Additional space is needed to accommodate the existing enrollment growth of the college," says Monique Dozier, director of Development and External Relations for the College of Nursing. "The college is currently housed in three buildings on MSU's campus."

The addition will hopefully enable the college to bring all faculty, staff and nursing students together. The addition will connect to the existing nursing facilities located in the life sciences building. 

"This will be a prominent addition in the health sciences corridor on campus," she says.

Dozier says it will be six to nine months before the College of Nursing is ready to move to the construction phase of the addition.

The College of Nursing has raised $14.5 million for the $16 million project. In order to continue raising funds for the development, the College of Nursing will host its "60 for Sixty Challenge" through June 2010. For more information about the challenge, click here.

Source: Monique Dozier, MSU

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

The City of East Lansing recently acquired two remaining properties for the $11 million Avondale Square development in East Lansing.

For $352,880, the city purchased the two additional properties located at 660 and 672 Virginia Ave., leaving only one of the 25 original properties left for acquisition. The Avondale Square is on the 600 block of Virginia Avenue.

“We were excited to get those pieces, and now that the majority of the land is assembled and will be cleared and have the infrastructure, it will be much easier for builders to sell homes,” says Lori Mullins with the City of East Lansing.

The Avondale Square project is an effort to improve the area by drawing in more families and replacing rundown homes with more attractive residences. When the project is finished, 30 new homes will stand on the property.

“There was a desire to have new homes in the city and affordable starter homes for people who would hopefully have children and help populate the school district,” Mullins says. “The majority of the homes were student rentals and a lot of them were quite small.”

The city is hoping to have the homes sold by 2010. So far, four homes have been constructed and purchased. The design calls for 14 attached units and 16 detached units, but the building plan is flexible.

The City of East Lansing has been working on the project since 2004.

Source: Lori Mullins, City of East Lansing

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

In August, the 1,200 square foot, fair trade clothing store, La Bodega, opened at 619 E. Grand River in East Lansing.

La Bodega sells clothing, instruments and jewelry from more than five different countries and is affiliated with Orchid Lane in Ann Arbor.

“We have a lot of clothing from India, Bali and Nepal,” says Manager Denice Miller. “We sell a lot of items that are marked as free size, either a wrapped skirt or dress that can fit any cut or size.”

Orchid Lane used to have an East Lansing location, but couldn’t find a manager for the location and closed. Miller, who has worked for Orchid Lane for five years, says reopening an East Lansing location has always been on the owner’s mind.

“We’ve been doing great,” she says. "The students aren’t even back in town yet, but we’re getting a lot of people coming by. We have a lot of foot traffic and a lot of people see us when they’re driving down Grand River.”

Miller says the Grand River location is key to the store’s visibility.

“We still have a lot to do, and I’m surprised by how often I have to put something down because there’s people in the shop,” she says.

Source: Denice Miller, La Bodega

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

After spending years traveling the world and studying in Antarctica, Jessica Pociask has returned to East Lansing to help her business partner, Akos Hivekovics, run Wildlife and Nature Travel.

Wildlife and Nature Travel is a small tour company — no more than 12-16 people are allowed on each tour — that specializes in international educational trips.

“When the trips are over, our clients are like family and often stop to visit each other on their way to other travels,” Pociask says.

They run trips all over the world including the Congo, Gabon, Komodo Islands, Kamchatka and Greenland. For each destination, they have knowledgeable staff that have either lived in or studied in the country to assist with the tours.

The trips coincide with the migratory patterns of the animals in the country being visited. Generally, tours are run in two parts starting at the beginning of the year, taking a break in the summer, and then touring again in the fall and early winter.

By the end of this year, Hivekovics and Pociask will have run 16 tours. They have 25 tours planned for 2010.

“Traveling is pretty intense as it is,” says Pociask. “But just as we drop off one group, we say hello to the next.”

Wildlife and Nature Travel is focused on lessening the negative impact of travel on the regions visited by its tour groups. They support the tribes they visit as well as area conservation programs. Wildlife and Nature Travel is also heavily focused on photography.

Hivekovics started the company in 2006 and Pociask started running trips with him in 2007. When they’re not leading tours, they spend half of their time in Hivekovics' native Hungary, and half of their time in the states.

They returned to East Lansing so Pociask could continue her education. Since Wildlife and Nature Travel is an Internet-based company, Pociask and Hivekovics do not need to invest in a storefront.

Source: Jessica Pociask, Wildlife and Nature Travel

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.

After looking to put a new National Coney Island restaurant in Downtown Lansing, Roseville-based National Coney Island settled on East Lansing.

This month, National Coney Island will open its first Capital region coney island. The 2,100 square foot eatery is located on 565 E. Grand River in the former Taco Bell location.

“As we thought about it, we became more and more excited about opening on a college campus,” says National Coney Island Director of Business Development Bradford Egan. “This is our first college campus location and it’s our first quick service location.”

The 25 other National Coney Islands in the Metro-Detroit area have sit-down table service. The East Lasing location will have a counter and indoor seating, but no table service and will be considered a National Coney Station, not a National Coney Island.

“There’s a trend with everyone going to quick service,” Egan says. “This will be similar to a Panera or Potbelly.”

National Coney Island has made some renovations to the former Taco Bell, including exterior and interior painting, door replacement and a new roof.

Source: Bradford Egan, National Coney Island

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

After a nearly three month-long renovation and upgrade, Walnut Hills, the East Lansing country club that was in financial turmoil, has a fresh new look.

“Basically we’ve done some basic renovations,” says Walnut Hills partner Kip Miller. “We painted the new sign and worked on the pool to make it a nicer place to sit and eat. We did some very minor things, but aesthetically, it needed it.”

Aside from changing the physical look of Walnut Hills, Miller and his business partner, Paul Vlahakis, changed their marketing strategy, targeting families. Though the former owners welcomed families, the new owners are specifically trying to attract families.

“What we realized is that we’re a great golf course, but it just wasn’t enough to fit the bill,” Miller says. “The country club life is not what they (customers) want. They want it to be kid friendly. We’ve gotten our demographic down to where they’re in their 30s and 40s.”

Since Miller and Vlahakis took over, membership has increased by 17-20 percent. Miller attributes the increase to the club’s renewed financial stability and its focus on family.

On June 23, the owners and community celebrated an open house at Walnut Hills.

“We did our due diligence,” Miller says about the venture. “We thought it would be a good thing to turn around. It’s a great piece of land in a beautiful area of town.”

Source: Emily Wenstrom, Motion Marketing & Media

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

How Sweet It Is chocolatier sells 23 products in 43 states, but when faced with an expansion, owner Lenny Cusenza decided to keep his business in East Lansing.

The expansion will bring Cusenza’s space from 1,000 square feet to about 1,440 square feet.

“We’re very excited because we’ll be able to double our production facilities and expand our retail,” he says.

How Sweet It Is will remain in East Lansing's Hannah Plaza, simply shifting operations from suite 4790 to suite 50, which is right across the parking lot.

“This center is staying relatively full and it has wonderful foot traffic, which is good,” he says. “We don’t have a lot of business failure here.”

How Sweet It Is got its start 15 years ago at county fairs, where Cusenza’s father made and then sold fudge. Eventually, Cusenza’s father opened a storefront in West Branch, which prompted his son to open one in East Lansing.

Now, Cusenza primarily sells to distributors such as gas stations. How Sweet It Is products can be found in gas stations throughout the U.S. He sells pretzel rods, truffles and peanut butter buckeyes, but it was the no-bake cookie that made a national reputation for How Sweet It Is.

“That’s really how we expanded our business; that’s what really took us out of state,” Cusenza says.

The expansion will allow Cusenza to expand his retail space as well. Not only does How Sweet It Is sell candy, they also sell molds and candy making products, such as flavoring. How Sweet It Is sells 10,000 to 12,000 pieces of candy during peak season.

Source: Lenny Cusenza, How Sweet It Is

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here. 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie