Rather than expanding its Minnesota operations, Draths Corporation decided to expand its operations to a 30,000 square foot facility in Delhi Township, a decision that’s expected to create 200 new jobs in the Capital region.

Draths is a chemical company and Michigan State University (MSU) spinoff that got its start in Okemos. The new facility, which should be complete by early 2010, will provide additional research and development space for the company. The new building will be in the Oakwood Executive Park.

Draths received a state tax credit valued at $5.2 million over 10 years as an incentive to stay in-state.

“The property tax abatement was certainly a consideration in such a big technology venture,” Frost says.

The new location is close to the highway, providing immediate access to Detroit, Chicago and Ohio. Frost says he is also impressed by the talent in the region.

“This area is great for chemistry and has great talent,” he says. “I consider the group I’m working with now, from a technology and development standpoint, the best group of people I’ve ever worked with.”

Frost expects to hire 200 new employees by 2014.

“The likelihood is that it will be significantly beyond that,” he says.

Source: John Frost, Draths Corporation

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

Delta Dental has always shown interest in working green components into its 112,000square foot addition and data center, but the greening of the projecthas gone beyond bricks and mortar.

DeltaDental is working with herpetologists to relocate various animals andreptiles living in its pond, including frogs, toads, snakes and fish,down to the river while the pond is renovated. The renovation coincideswith a major drain project. 

"Aspart of the project, one thing we looked at was how we could be a goodenvironmental neighbor," says Delta Spokesman Ari Adler.

Whenthe animals and reptiles are relocated, the pond will be completelydrained. Delta Dental has already removed some diseased treessurrounding the pond. When the drain project is finished, Delta Dentalwill increase the width and depth of the pond and surround it withnative species.

"When we're done, it will bevery much like a wildflower field," Adler says. "The advantage is thatit will attract the right kind of wildlife. Once we're done, we suspectthat we will see most of them (animals and reptiles) come back."

Thecompletion of the pond renovation will coincide with the completion ofthe overall expansion, which includes a 22,000 square foot data centerand a 90,000 square foot addition to the headquarters. The expansion isslated to be complete in 2010.

Source: Ari Adler, Delta Dental

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

A new farmer’s market, Fresh Fridays Market, recently opened in Charlotte, a welcome addition to those looking for fresh, local food.

“It’s really important to help get the word out in regards to being healthy, eating healthy and using our local producers,” says Heather Keenan who helped found the market. Keenan worked with Charlotte doctor Lisa Knowles to open the market.

The market first opened in July and will run through October.

“We had a great turnout and a lot of people are interested,” she says about the early success of the market. “We have a lot of good vendors and I think we can’t help but expand.”

The Fresh Fridays Market has vegetable and fruit vendors, flower vendors and vendors selling homemade goods such as soaps, baked goods and furniture.

“We just wanted to add another option to the people who couldn’t make it to the Saturday market, and now there are two options,” she says.

The market is open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Friday and is located at 2024 Lansing Rd. in the parking lot of Knowles’ office. Charlotte also has another farmer’s market that runs on Saturdays.

Source: Heather Keenan, Fresh Fridays Market

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

Within a year, Terry Davis and his family purchased, renovated and expanded the former Frontier Saloon in Charlotte.

The new Eaton Pub & Grill has an updated look, extensive patio space, a liquor license, a new menu and new kitchen.

“It’s more of a steakhouse than a bar,” says General Manager Terry Davis. “We are going for a nightlife atmosphere.”

The Davis family has owned the Eaton Place restaurant for 25 years. The restaurant is next door to the pub, so when Frontier Saloon went up for sale, the Davises were interested in rehabbing the property.

“It was just a new opportunity to offer people finer dining,” Davis says.

It was also an opportunity to attract a new clientele.

“We’ve had our growing pains, obviously, but we’ve never been in the liquor business before and that’s added a whole new customer base,” Davis says. “We’re seeing a lot of new faces. I would say things are going well.”

The Eaton Pub & Grill hosts large parties and employs 35-40 people. The Eaton Pub & Grill is located at 214 S. Cochran Ave. in Charlotte.

Source: Terry Davis, Eaton Pub & Grill

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

Sushi is on the menu in the Capital region withthe addition of Maru Sushi & Grill in Okemos. The new restaurantopened about four months ago, around the same time that another newsushi spot, Sushi Moto, opened in Delta Township.

The 2,100 square foot Maru Sushi & Grill in Okemos is owned by Robert M. Song, who graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1994 and ran Japanese steakhouses in the tri-city area near Saginaw before moving back to East Lansing. His wife is an interior designer and helped Song start his business.

“I thought my time came to start something onmy own so I came back to East Lansing,” Song says. “We started thisconcept here and my wife designed the space.”

Maru’s been opened for about four months. Song says business is going well.

“We put a lot of time into our food,” Song says. “We pay attention to detail in the selection of ingredients.”

Song just received his liquor license, which he says his customers have “eagerly been awaiting.”

Song and his wife completely renovated the former bank that is now Maru Sushi & Grill.

“I wanted to be loud in our food, but not inour outward appearance, so I found a very nice location,” he says ofhis 5100 Marsh Rd. location.

Source: Robert M. Song, Maru Sushi & Grill

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

Photos:

The Soy Joy roll at Maru Sushi & Grill

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

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.

Photographer Jason Aten recently opened the Bridge Street Studio in Downtown Grand Ledge.

Aten’s new 1,600 square foot storefront at 219 S. Bridge St. will allow Aten to continue focusing on wedding photography through Jason Aten Photography, but will also allow him to provide studio-based services, such as senior pictures and family photos to his clients.

“We also wanted to find a place where clients could come and meet us and see the type of work that we do,” he says.

Aten grew up in Michigan, but lived in the San Francisco area, where he developed his photography business. He moved back to Michigan in 2007 when he got married.

“It was kind of a 'Does she move here or do I move there?' kind of thing, but since both of our families are here, it made since to come back,” Aten says. “I shoot a lot of weddings out-of-state so it doesn’t really matter where we’re based.”

Eventually, Aten would like to take on some associate photographers to help him with his workload.

Aten’s work has been recognized nationally and he is a member of Grace Ormonde's Wedding Style magazine platinum list.

The Bridge Street Studio open house will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 10 at the studio.

Source: Jason Aten, Bridge Street Studio

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

Mohre Soft Water of Dewitt Township is growing, and has doubled its existing space by adding 1,600 square foot space to the original 1,600 square feet.

Mohre Soft Water is a water treatment company that provides services ranging from drinking water systems to iron removal and treatment softeners.

“We started the procedure of site planning and blueprints in January of 2008,” says Butch Mohre. “We finally got moved in the first of March 2009.”

The Mohre’s operated their business out of their home for 10 years. When they finally acquired office space, they lost $35,000 worth of equipment in a fire. But, they bounced back, gradually building a 1,600 square foot facility. Now they’ve doubled their size.

As part of the expansion, the Mohres also added landscaping, a parking lot and a new employee.

“We’re holding our own and we may be growing a little bit,” Mohre says.

Mohre Soft Water is located at 16231 S. U.S. 127 in Dewitt Township.

Source: Butch Mohre, Mohre Soft Water

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.

The Art Apartment on Lansing’s Southside is a haven for artists who don’t have a lot of money or studio space, but still have desire to work on and showcase their art.

This year, the 700 square foot Art Apartment is expanding its services, adding more open art time to accommodate its growing following.

The Art Apartment, which was created by Melody Atwood and Sally Churchill, creates a community environment for artists, specifically painters. For $10 a session, the artists can drop by and work on their canvas. Artists of varying degree paint at the Art Apartment, sharing ideas and techniques.

“This is a very secure place where artists can leave their work and learn from each other,” says Atwood.

Atwood and Churchill opened the Art Apartment after meeting at a painting class. Frustrated that they had to pay for the classes regardless of their actual attendance, they opened a space where artists pay as they go.

“This makes it easy and accessible because you pay as you go,” Atwood says. “There’s no contracts, no $85 sessions. If you make it you make it. If you don’t, you don’t.”

The Art Apartment is open 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday, and is located at 1102 E. Mt. Hope Avenue. Due to increased demand, a Thursday night session is being added.

Formerly occupied by an insurance company, the Art Apartment opened in the summer of 2008. Atwood made numerous renovations to the space before opening it to the art community.

Atwood and Churchill are also members of Zonta Club of Lansing, an international service organization of executives working to advance the status of women.

Source: Melody Atwood, Art Apartment

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

The $11 million expansion of Lansing Community College’s (LCC) University Center was finished at the end of 2007 and is expected to have a 215 car parking lot added to the side by the time school starts.

The new parking lot should be complete by Aug. 20.

Originally, LCC was looking at buying an existing ramp from the City of Lansing, but the purchase was not approved. The community college is hopeful that a permanent parking solution that could also include additional classroom space, will be reached.

“Instead of committing the land where the University Center is for a ramp for the short term, we wanted to put a surface lot there,” says Chris Struger-Fritsch, director of LCC’s Administrative Services Division. “Then we can look at new parking on Shiawassee and Washington that would have classroom space as well.”

The $11 million, 40,478 square foot University Center project is home to universities from all over the state and offer and master’s degrees for LCC students. The new building also has computer labs, laptops, observation classrooms, a student lounge and seminar rooms.

Source: Chris Struger-Fritsch, LCC

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

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

The Lexington Lansing Hotel recently completed a $1.4 million renovation and rebranding.

The Lexington Lansing Hotel in Delta Township is a former Sheraton Hotel.The hotel was rebranded July 1 and the renovations, including a newlobby, two new guest workstations and other cosmetic changes, have been ongoing for six months.

“We are in conversations now with our ownershipas to what we should do next,” says General Manager Cindy Bowen. “We’rejust looking at future projects.”

Thefive-story hotel has 212 guest rooms. Bowen says the rebranding allows for a more free-flowing business model, allowing hotelstaff to implement changes more fitting for the region.

Bowen says it’s too soon to tell if the renovations and rebranding efforts have resulted in new clientele, but she’s optimistic.

“It’s summer, and summer in Lansing is one ofthe lowest months because most people either go on vacation or go upnorth somewhere on Michigan’s shorelines,” she says.

The Lexington Lansing Hotel is not currentlyhiring, but retained the 170 employees working at the facility beforethe renovations.

The Lexington Lansing Hotel is located at 925 S. Creyts Rd. and first opened as the Sheraton Lansing Hotel in 1982.

Source: Narine Manukova, Kolt Communications

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

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Capital Area Michigan Works! (CAMW) is working with the Ingham County Land Bank and other area partners to use a $1.2 million grant to retrain workers and rehab five Lansing houses.

The CAMW! YouthBuild Program will provide classroom and on the job training in construction and sustainability for 60 people ages 18-24. Selected students will take residential building classes at Lansing Community College (LCC) while simultaneously getting on-site construction experience.

A construction supervisor will oversee the students as they work on greening and rehabbing five of the Land Bank’s properties. The students will specifically focus on sustainable aspects of construction, working on air sealing, installation and other home upgrades.

“With this program, we hope to prepare young people for the residential energy efficiency market,” says Brindley Byrd, YouthBuild Program project manager. The students will also earn a Green Advantage Environmental Certificate and be introduced to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, increasing their marketability when they leave the program.

The students will spend time working on academics with Eagle Vision Ministries as most of them will be high school dropouts in need of a GED.

“These are young people who didn’t make it through the system and we’re getting them back on track,” Byrd says. “We need to let them know they’re part of a bigger system.”

The addresses of the first two houses to be renovated are 540 Paris and 551 Emily in Lansing. The other houses will be identified as the program advances.

The 60 selected students will be split into two groups with one starting in the fall and one in the spring. The City of Lansing and the Michigan Laborers’ Apprenticeship and Training Institution are also partnering on the project.

Anyone interested in applying to the program must attend two informational sessions at the CAMW’s Lansing office. The first is at 11a.m., Aug. 19 and the second is at 3 p.m., Aug. 21.

Source: Brindley Byrd, CAMW

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

Westside Lansing ice cream shop, the Udder Creamery, has undergone $40,000 in renovations, which include a complete makeover of the interior of the 1,000 square foot space and new signage.

Two Lansing natives with more than 40 years of food service experience opened the Udder Creamery in November 2008.

The Udder Creamery is known for premium ice cream cakes, pies, ice cream and malts and shakes. The Udder Creamery also offers delivery services, which is unique among ice cream shops in the area.

The Udder Creamery, located at 4131, was a Baskin Robbins for 21 years. When it went out of business, a former employee and his partner opened up shop.

An Udder Creamery owner says the two partners are looking at opening two more Udder Creamery locations in the area. 

Source: Udder Creamery

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

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

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

This fall, the Artisan’s Circle will move from 128 W. Grand River in Old Town to downtown Williamston. The move will more than double the co-op’s 750 square foot space, opening up the Artisan’s Circle for increased growth.

“We’ve been very happy where we are,” says Artisan’s Circle Executive Assistant Deirdre Hunt. “We’ve been in Old Town for two years and even with the economy being as bad as it is, we’ve survived and we’re doing moderately well.”

Hunt says the Artisan’s Circle is moving to Williamston because its Old Town space couldn’t accommodate gallery growth. The Artisan’s Circle is an art cooperative offering several mediums of artwork including pottery, painting, jewelry, photography and glasswork.

The new space is 1,600 square feet next to the Bucket Bar & Grill and will allow the group to support more arts and add a teaching components.

“We want to teach our art to new people because that obviously helps with income and there’s a need for a lot of things that are not being taught here,” she says.

The new location in downtown Williamston gives existing Artisan’s Circle artists better access to their studios because it’s a centrally located and easily reached from Lansing, East Lansing and outlying communities.

“Right now we have about 18 artists and with this new store we should be able to have at least 10 more,” Hunt says.

Source: Deirdre Hunt, Artisan’s Circle

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

Lansing Community College (LCC) is putting the finishing touches on a $200,000 renovation of the Gannon building, a project that will give digital media and audio cinema students access to high quality equipment.

The renovation includes a computer room-turned-production facility and a 65-seat presentation room complete with a new sound system and 9 foot by 16-foot screen.

“This is just the next step in putting together technology that is common in the industry,” says Judith Berry, dean of Business Media and Information Technologies for LCC.

LCC recently create a certificate program that includes an information design course, which focuses on two-dimensional information design, and a simulated reality course, which focuses on using hardware and software from EON Reality. Students taking information design and simulated reality courses will use the space.

“We will be the first community college in Michigan to have this type of program,” Berry says.

The program caters to the state’s push to increase film industry-based jobs in Michigan.

“If they (students) have design emphasis in the film industry, they can get a variety of jobs and go into immediate employment,” Berry says. “They can also go into a four year college.”

Source: Judith Berry, LCC

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

Photographs © Dave Trumpie

In May, Michelle Fink took over the former Gus’s Watershed near Lake Lansing in Haslett and tore through renovations, reopening as The Watershed Tavern & Grill in June.

Fink repainted the building, repaired thefloors and added new tables and high definition televisions. Fink’sbrother owns the building, but she is the general manager. Fink hopesto add a new patio by the end of this month.

“He couldn’t run it anymore, so that’s when I jumped in,” she says. “I wanted to change everything so it didn’t have the old identity from the old owners.”

NuvaMarketing, an online business strategy and marketing company, created the new brand identity for the Watershed Tavern & Grill. 

Fink says business has “absolutely” increased since she took over.

“July is usually our slowest month and wereally haven’t felt it this year,” she says. “It’s been consistent andthat’s been really positive.”

The Watershed Tavern & Grill is located at 5965 MarshRd. in Haslett.

Source: Michelle Fink, The Watershed Tavern & Grill

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

The hard work the Westside Commercial Association and Westside Lansing businesses have put into redeveloping the neighborhood has paid off.

The Westside recently received the Michigan Main Street Program associate level designation, which gives community organizers access to training for two years with the potential for future financial assistance. 

“The trainings will be really helpful to us in figuring out some of the technical things we need to do develop the district,” says Jessica Yorko, program manager with the Westside Commercial Association. “It will also give us technical assistance for founding our Main Street communities.”

This includes the creation of several committees specifically designed to improve Lansing’s Westside. The committees will focus on design, promotion, organization and revitalizing a historic district.

It will also help the association put a structure in place to create a more stable leadership model. Right now, the Westside Commercial Association doesn’t have a director.

“Broad community support is what’s given Old Town and other Main Street communities that broad, grassroots support,” Yorko says. “We will need a full time director within the next year. We’re really at capacity and it’s really hard to get four committees up and running and to do business improvement with our current staff level.”

Source: Jessica Yorko, Westside Commercial Association

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