REO Town : In the News

According to Doug Stites, of Capital Area Michigan Works!, entrepreneurship is possible for nearly everyone, and the Capital region is emerging as a great place for people to start a new business, take risks and seek out their passion or innovative idea. 

According to excerpts from the article.

Entrepreneur Magazine named East Lansing one of the top 10 college towns to start a business, CNN Money named Greater Lansing one of the 50 most business-friendly cities.

And most recently, well-known financial news organization Kiplinger's named Lansing one of the top 10 cities in the country for young adults.

Incubator space such as the East Lansing Technology Innovation Center, NEO Center and the Hatch is making it easier for individuals with great ideas and solid business plans to put it in action without needing much capital to start.

Read the entire article here.

Even though Glenn Dorshimer now lives near Chapel Hill, N.C., the Lansing native returned to the area to paint murals of classic American cars on the exterior walls of the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum.

According to excerpts from the article:

"I want to change the perception of import buyers by painting these murals. I want to change the way people think about the United Auto Workers (union)," Dorshimer said. "People understand what (GM and the UAW) are about here, but in North Carolina, import buyers still think American cars are inferior," he said.

Dorshimer earned a degree in design, then returned to GM and designed car seats for five years. He left in 1992. Now 48, Dorshimer wished he'd followed his earlier inclination and gone to work at a factory.

"That's where I'd like to be," he said. "I'd like to do that or design cars."

Read the entire article here.

From the Frank Lloyd Wright home in Okemos to the interior of the BWL building, the Capital region is sprinkled with architectural quality.

According to excerpts from the article:

When sculpture is something more than art, when it’s to be worked in and lived in and played in, we call it architecture. 

Functional sculpture — architecture of significance — is part of Greater Lansing’s landscape from the state Capitol and much written about Frank Lloyd Wright house in Okemos to the bits of gingerbread that dangle from the eaves of your own home.
We are surrounded by it. . . .

“The country is becoming really homogenous,” said Laura Rose Ashlee, communications director for the state Historic Preservation Office. “The older buildings are what sets communities apart.”

Read the entire article here.

According to excerpts from the article:

We began our search using the criteria we used to select our overall list of Best Cities for the Next Decade: healthy economies fueling new job growth.

We fine-tuned our search using other youth-friendly factors such as large percentages of people under 35, cost of living and rental costs, culture, nightlife, and the time you're likely to spend in traffic.

Home to five medical schools, two law schools and Michigan State University, Michigan’s capital is a little-known hotbed for young professionals. Granted, this Great Lakes community can’t quite compare to the larger cities on our list in terms of job prospects or things to do. But it has a relatively low cost of living. And its youthful population, downtown renewal projects, and emerging technology sector make Lansing a stand-out in mid-sized cities.

Read the entire article and view the slideshow here.

The Deluxe Inn on South Washington Avenue in REO Town is slated to be demolished by the end of August to make room for new development.

According to excerpts from the article:

Read the entire article here

According to excerpts from the article:

The Lansing Board of Water & Light plans to build a $182 million natural gas-powered electric and steam generation plant in REO Town, moving 180 workers to the district south of Downtown Lansing.

The facility, to be built on South Washington Avenue, would replace the coal-fired Moores Park Steam Plant. It also would generate electric power as the BWL looks to phase out portions of the coal-burning Eckert Power Station nearby.

Residential and business rates would be boosted to help pay for the project.

The public utility will burn 139,000 fewer tons of coal per year once the Moores Park plant is closed.

"The coolest thing from my point of view is that company-wide, this plant will allow us to reduce our carbon for electric output by 20 percent," General Manager J. Peter Lark said. "Everything they're talking about in Washington calls for a 17 percent reduction in carbon by 2020.”

Read the full article here:

The East Lansing Summer Concert Series helps draw people to the downtown business area. But it's also a way for the city to express how much it values community events, arts and culture, and bringing the community together, said Ami Van Antwerp, East Lansing's communications coordinator.