Development News

Mason church builds $1.7M recreation center for community

Gerhard Weigelt, Mason Church of the Nazarene Wednesday, May 09, 2012

The idea began more than 15 years ago, and slowly but surely, the Mason First Church of the Nazarene has worked to raise funds and construct a 17,000 square foot Recreational Outreach Center for the community.

“We started by asking the question, ‘What does the community need?’” says Lead Pastor for Mason First Church of the Nazarene Gerhard Weigelt. “We have a strong concern for the youth of today and wanted to provide strong places for the youth to develop.”

The new Recreational Outreach Center intends to do just that. Located on the church’s 45 acre property on West Dansville Road in Mason, the center includes a basketball court, computer lab, warming kitchen and large youth room. Weigelt says the church hopes to add a fitness room in the future.

“Our tagline is ‘Rock Solid Fun,’” says Weigelt. “We’re excited about the journey we’re on and serving the community. We’re having a blast.”

The approximately $1.7 million project broke ground in 2007, though fundraising began way back when the idea first developed 15 years ago. The congregation is raising all of the funds through donations above and beyond their regular giving to the church.

The Recreational Outreach Center opened for use this spring. The church will continue to develop the property, looking first to outfit the computer lab with 10 to 15 workstations and tutoring services for students. Weigelt says the church has discussed adding outdoor baseball fields and other facilities to the property in the future.

Developer works with community to create a $6.8M housing project, generate two jobs

Scott Gillespie, Gillespie Company Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Scott Gillespie had already decided that the Genesee Neighborhood was a good place to invest in a new housing development, but he didn’t think his opinion was the only one that mattered. While developing the plans for what is now a $6.8 million housing project, Gillespie reached out to the existing neighborhood residents to find out how they might envision their community to grow.

“I’ve engaged the neighborhood association, I’ve had three community forums,” Gillespie says. “We’ve sat down and I’ve presented the project to them and taken in their feedback, questions and concerns. I’ve made a number of adjustments to the development plans to accommodate their concerns, and because of that, we have a better plan.”

The development will include three, three-story buildings that will include approximately 90 new apartments. Gillespie is working through the approval process now and hopes to begin construction by this fall.

“I think it’s a great location for a variety of reasons,” Gillespie says. “It’s a very short walking distance of downtown, and it has enough space for large, continuous area of park land. We’ll have over two acres of open park land within the development.”

According to Gillespie, this will be a positive thing for the entire neighborhood. His plans include moving the density of the apartments to the southern portion of the site to the northern boarder of the neighborhood as undisturbed as possible, including preserving most of the site’s existing trees. Gillespie estimates the development will create two permanent property management jobs.

Carlos and Jorge's to bring Latin dishes to Eastwood Towne Center, add 50 jobs

Chuck Senatore, Carlos & Jorge's Wednesday, May 09, 2012

This fall, the diversity of food options available in the Eastwood Towne Center will expand into Latin America and beyond with Carlos and Jorge’s. The new restaurant is one of four underway by developer Chuck Senatore.

“It will be a truly Latin concept with food from around Latin America and Europe,” says Senatore. “Most are just Mexican, or just tapas, but we’ll roll it all into one.”

The 5,000 square foot Carlos and Jorge’s will have a menu that is about 40 percent Mexican food, as well as Spanish, Cuban and more.

“Everything will be made from scratch,” says Senatore. “That’s something that really sets us apart.”

Sentatore expects to hire about 50 new employees to staff Carlos and Jorge’s. The restaurant is slated to open in September or October.

MSU College of Nursing's $17.6M Bott Building nearly complete

Jill M. Vondrasek, MSU College of Nursing Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Michigan State University's College of Nursing is growing – in all sorts of ways. The college's new $17.6 million Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research is now 70 percent complete.

“Program expansion, increased numbers of students and growth of research programs have all led to a need for additional space for the College of Nursing at Michigan State University,” says Jill M. Vondrasek of MSU’s College of Nursing.

All that growth is needed. After its grand opening set for November 2, the new facility will help the school pursue research endeavors and help the state address its nursing shortage with new programs.

“As we look forward to new growth opportunities, the college will begin accepting applications for our new Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in the fall,” Vondrasek says.

The three-story, 50,000 square foot Bott Building will pursue LEED certification once complete. It will be the first on MSU’s campus to use ground-source geothermal energy for heating and cooling. The project was funded in part by lead donor the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation, which committed $7 million to the project. Another $7.45 million was contributed by a stimulus funding grant from the National Institutes of Health to support nursing research, which was the largest competitive federal stimulus grant MSU received.

“The Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research is a symbol of nursing excellence that honors the legacy of our distinguished faculty and alumni,” says Vondrasek, “many of whom have dedicated their lives to improving health outcomes.”

Dart Foundation expands into Armory, plans to add staff

Claudia Deschaine, Dart Foundation Wednesday, May 02, 2012

The continued growth of Dart Container is good for more than just Mason. The Dart Foundation, which is a family foundation established by the Darts, is growing as well. With both organizations taking up additional space, the Dart Foundation has recently moved from their Mason facilities into a new, 558-square foot office in the Marshall Street Armory.

“The move gives us a better chance to collaboration with other funders,” says Dart Foundation Grants Manager Claudia Deschaine. “There is a movement with many of the local foundations to come together and get behind projects together, and being here makes that easier.”

The new location also makes it easier for the foundation itself to grow. While Deschaine is current the organization’s only staff member, she hopes to add one new permanent job and a intern position in the near future.

Last year The Dart Foundation granted $3,435,276 to causes and organizations throughout the United States. Deschaine estimates about $500,000 of those funds were granted in the foundation’s focus area of Mid-Michigan. This year, The Dart Foundation is renewing the Dart Family’s original focus on the STEM fields for youth.

“Science is a natural interest of [the Dart Family],” says Deschaine, “because they were engineers. But there are a lot of important needs in the community, and they responded to those needs. Now they’re coming back to what they feel is most important.”

Emergent BioSolutions to invest $108M in facilities, adds 50 jobs

Jessi Wortley, Emergent BioSolutions Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Being the nation’s only producer of the anthrax vaccine has made Lansing’s Emergent BioSolutions a big deal for years. Soon, a $108 million investment will make the company’s campus on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard look like a big deal too.

The first phase of improvements will come in the form of a $9.6 million, 32,000-square foot, three-story administration building including offices, conference rooms and an employee workout facility that will become the new face of company.

“This building will be a very aesthetically pleasing gateway to our campus” says Jessi Wortley, communications specialist for Emergent BioSolutions. “We are very excited.”

Aesthetics aren’t the primary motivation for the improvements, however. A five-year plan will bring the total investment up to $108 million and will include such developments as new warehouse space and a new science building, enough to allow the company’s production of the anthrax vaccine to double.

“We’ve run out room,” says Wortley. “The company has been growing so rapidly, we’re up over 400 employees at our facilities here in Lansing.”

Approximately 50 of those employees have been added over the past year, and Wortley expects the number of new jobs to continue to grow over the next year.

Construction on the new administration building is pending the approval of a brownfield tax credit approval. According to Wortley, Emergent BioSolutions hopes to begin work on the facility in June.

11 Prime to open in 6,700 sq ft Lansing Twp location, add 50 jobs

Chuck Senatore, 11 Prime Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Dining options near Eastwood Towne Center will continue to expand throughout the year. In addition to his Tony Sacco’s Coal Oven Pizza and Bar 30, East Lansing native Chuck Senatore will open 11 Prime, a new steakhouse in the same building.

“It’s going to be a hip, happening steakhouse,” says Senatore. Most of the steakhouses out there are a throwback to plush carpeting and wood panels. We’re going to be very modern looking.”

The new 11 Prime is set to open in the fall of 2012 and will features seafood and a wine bar lounge as well as steak. The 6,700 square foot restaurant will include two private dining rooms and will employ about 50 workers.

MSU opens $45.3M, 90,000 sq ft plant science building

Douglas A. Gage, Ph.D., Michigan State University BioEconomy Network Wednesday, April 18, 2012

MSU’s new four-story, 90,000-square-foot Molecular Plant Sciences Building isn’t just another campus facility, it’s a new bridge between the Plant Science and Plant and Soil Sciences buildings that will bring together basic research departments with applied research departments to become the location of some of the world’s premier plant-science research.

To maintain our leadership in the plant sciences, the Molecular Plant Sciences Building will help us recruit top quality faculty to MSU,” says Director of the MSU BioEconomy Network Douglas A. Gage, Ph.D., “and we have every expectation that new multidisciplinary grant activity will be created from the faculty interactions that will occur in the new space.”

The grand opening for the $45.3 million development was held last week. The building includes a teaching auditorium, an atrium, a bioinformatics suite, as well as offices, conference rooms and flexible laboratory space. The building’s lower level will contain space for state-of-the-art growth chambers.

“Plant Science at MSU is one of our most nationally and internationally prominent research areas, with over eighty faculty in ten departments,” says Gage. “The MPSB is the first research building on campus with an open, flexible architecture designed to promote interaction. The initial ten faculty labs that will occupy the building come from six departments and two colleges representing a variety of laboratory-based plant science disciplines.”

Work on the Molecular Plant Sciences Building Michigan-based architecture and engineering firm, SmithGroup, and the construction was managed by the Lansing firm, the Christman Company.

Wine bar set to open this summer in Downtown Lansing, will add nine jobs

Paul Fox, P Squared Wine Bar Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Paul Fox and Paul Bussard have been researching wines and wineries for years. During their most recent trip the wineries of West Michigan, they decided that it was time to translate their dream of owning a wine bar into a reality.

“We’re Lansing residents,” says Fox. “We’ve lived here for a long time, and we wanted a wine bar we could go to in our own downtown.”

P Squared Wine Bar will not only be Downtown Lansing’s first wine bar, but it will also be unique to the genre in a variety of ways. Most notably, Fox and Bussard intend to create an atmosphere that will make everyone feel welcome, from the most amateur wine drinkers on up.

“Our goal is to take the snobbery out of wine,” says Fox. “Wine and snobbery tend to go together. We want to create an environment where normal people can come in and enjoy wine.”

Fox and Bussard recently signed the lease on the future home of P Squared, the former location of the Pita Pit on Washington Square. The 2,000 square foot space will have a comfortable, living room-type feel, and will feature a café menu of sandwiches, light appetizers, and flatbread pizza.

“We’ll have simple food to complement wine,” says Fox. “We’ll also offer craft beer from the bottle and some signature cocktails.”

The real focus, however, will be the wine. P Squared will feature wine from all over the world, as well as highlighting Michigan wineries, such as Tabor Hill and St. Julian.

“We’ll also have smaller wineries people wouldn’t even recognize,” says Fox. “Places [and wines] that, until we open our doors, the only place you would have been able to get it is the winery.”

P Squared is expected to open the first weekend of August.

Trilogy Health to bring 200 jobs with new facilities totaling $18 million and 138,000 square feet

Trilogy0612.aspx Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Since 1997, Louisville, Kentucky-based Trilogy Health Care Services has been setting new standards for senior healthcare in the Midwest. Now, they are expanding into the Lansing area with two new facilities, including an innovative new prototype for senior living in East Lansing.

The $10 million East Lansing development, located near Coleman and Coolidge Roads will include two facilities. The Village Center, a 58,000 square foot building will offer assisted living, assisted rehabilitation services, short-term transitional care and more. The second building is a 22,000 square foot assisted living facility named The Legacy.

“Everything used in the design is done with individuals with Alzheimer’s and dementia in mind,” says Leslie Farr Knox, Public Relations Director for Trilogy Health Services.

The East Lansing facility is expected to employ more than 100 employees when operating at full capacity.

The second Lansing-area Trilogy Health Care development will be an $8 million project in Meridian Township with one facility similar to the Village Center in the East Lansing complex. It is expected to employ just fewer than 100 workers.

Work on both facilities is expected to begin in the next few months. Trilogy hopes to open both in the spring of 2013. As the centers near their openings, the company will engage the community in information sessions and open houses to familiarize residents with their services.

“We have a focus on exceeding resident expectations,” says Knox. “We want to give our residents a home-like feel with a focus on their personal preferences.”

Bud Kouts invests $1M in renovated showroom

Jim Iding, Bud Kouts Chevrolet Wednesday, February 08, 2012

There’s a bright, new addition on Michigan Avenue at Bud Kouts Chevrolet. The family-owned Lansing business recently invested more than $1 million renovating their sales and service building.

“Basically, we renovated the showroom, the parts department and the customer lounge,” says Jim Iding, who owns the business with his brothers Richard and Patrick and Iding. “We didn’t expand the outside of the building, but we increased the size of the customer lounge inside.”

Upgrades include brand new tile, ceilings, paint, furniture, heating, cooling and façade improvements to the building’s exterior. Work on the project began in September and the Iding expect work on the exterior to be complete this week. Staff moved back into the building after interior work completed in December.

“It’s made a much better environment for employees and customers,” says Iding. “Basically everyone who has come through has raved about it. The building was old, so it is quite the change.”

The Bud Kouts building has good reason to be old. The dealership, called Wolverine Chevrolet prior to 1955, has been located in its current Michigan Avenue location since just after World War II, when it moved from Downtown Lansing. Iding’s father purchased the business from Kouts in 1977, and it has remained in the family ever since.

The final stage of the renovation will complete in the spring when landscaping work will take place in front of the updated building.

Mason company invests $4.76M in technology, adds jobs

Richard Watkins, Delta Township Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Michigan Packaging Company in Mason has invested $4,760,000 in a cutting-edge technology that will help keep the company competitive, add jobs and reduce energy consumption.

“It’s allowing them to market cost-effective packaging throughout the region and maintain their services,” says Mason City Administrator Martin Colburn, “whereas some of their competitors have gone out of business.”

The technology will impact litho-lamination, the point of purchase display market and adhesive application and is projected to reduce energy consumption by 35 percent. The $4.76 million investment includes $125,000 for foundation and structural changes, as well as $4,635,000 in equipment purchases and installation. The current employer of 122 workers expects to create five new jobs with the investment.

The Mason City Council approved an Industrial Facilities Exemption for MPC, which enables businesses to renovate and expand aging facilities.

“I see it as advantageous for the whole region by allowing them to offer cost effective services to the growing industry,” says Colburn. “That includes the automotive industry and other industries.”

MSU FRIB project moves forward with $20M site prep

Alex Parsons, FRIB Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Michigan State University officials are looking forward to kicking off the building of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams after the MSU Board of Trustees approved $20 million for site preparation at the future FRIB site.

“In addition to the ongoing utility relocation,” says Alex Parsons, Communications Manager for FRIB. “Additional site preparation began this week that will make the site ready for construction of the conventional facilities upon approval from the U.S. Department of Energy.”

The FRIB facility will be a world-class nuclear research facility that is expected to create more than $1 billion in economic activity over ten years and 400 jobs. About 100 new scientists, engineers and support personnel have already been hired.

“The next steps in moving the project forward include reviews by Michigan State University in March and DOE,” says Parsons. “The DOE review is scheduled for April, and approval of Critical Decision 2/3A following that review will allow construction of conventional facilities for FRIB to begin.”

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2012 and will continue through 2020.

Mason manufacturer invests $38M in expansion, to add 110 jobs

Martin Colburn, City of Mason Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The City of Mason knows when they have a good thing going. They city council recently awarded a Industrial Facilities Exemption for Gestamp Mason, a company that has been a key part of the local economy since 1995. The occasion is Gestamp’s more than $38 million expansion, which will result in the addition of 110 new jobs.

“They’ve added a tremendous component to our workforce,” says Mason City Administrator Martin Colburn. “They have a diverse range of type of positions.”

The 110 new jobs will be in addition to the 330 currently employed by the manufacturing facility, which makes an innovative kind of steel beam for vehicles that is harder and lighter than traditional steel.

“The car industry loves that because they can build vehicles that are lighter and get better gas millage,” says Colburn. “They have a very much desired product.”

The means good news for everyone in Mason. According to Colburn, Gestamp’s expected jump in sales from $50 million annually in 2010 to over $115 million by the end of 2013 will have a positive impact on the entire community.

“It creates a tax base,” he says, “not only the from the industrial site, but also the housing marketing and helps us to continue to have a more stable market.”

Gestamp’s two-part expansion project began in May of 2011 and is expected to be completed in the near future.

Williamston celebrates unveiling of 10K-sq ft, $800K mixed-use development

Steve Eyke, LaFollette Custom Homes, Ltd. Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Around 150 people we among the first to tour a renovated 1874 building in Downtown Williamston last week. It was clear that developer Steve Eyke of LaFollette Custom Homes, Ltd. wasn't the only one excited to see the project reach completion.

""I've restored it based on photo documentation of when it was first built," says Eyke. "Also, the first floor has been vacant for 10 years and the upper floor has been empty for more like 30. To see this historic building come to life and have a restaurant on the first floor just got people excited."

Though formerly planned to be a Michigan Brewing Company Pub, the 3,300-square foot restaurant will soon open as Tavern 109, owned by Eyke and business partner Bonnie Warmels. The pub will feature 12 microbrews on tap and will seat 100 diners. Eyke estimates 25-30 employees will be hired for the business and hopes to open for business in about two weeks.

In addition to the restaurant, the 10,000-square foot, mixed-use building includes two condos and four apartments. Both condos have been sold and all four apartments were leased prior to last week's ribbon cutting.

The $800,000 project is also significant for its financing. Approximately half of the project cost was paid for through grants and tax credits from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan State Housing and Development Authority and the City of Williamston.

"It's the first time the MSHDA rental rehab and the MEDC Signature Building grants have been used together," says Eyke.

Photo - Susan Booth

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