Pontiac : Development News

An effort to increase Pontiac residents' access to fresh, healthy foods is spreading in Oakland County with the opening of a third goverment-run market.

The newest market will operate one day a week on Tuesdays and sell fresh fruits and vegetables at a low cost.

The markets are a project of the Healthy Pontiac We Can! Coalition and the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency.

Two other markets sell on Fridays and Saturdays, and all three share recipes for meals using fresh foods, lead cooking demonstrations and offer free samples.

"This market is a part of Oakland County's strategy to improve the quality of life of our residents through healthier lifestyles," says Kathy Forzley, Oakland County Health Division manager and health officer. "Consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables decreases the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers."

Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Kathy Forzley, Oakland County Health Division

The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority and the Pontiac Downtown Business Association took home 16 of 30 awards given out at the Main Street Oakland County awards celebration at the Royal Oak Music Theater.

The event honors member communities of the Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) program for their downtown development efforts. More than 200 people attended the event, which was sponsored by ITC.

“Main Street Oakland County is a model for other Main Street programs across the country,” County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “I’m exceedingly proud of the progress Pontiac has made in bringing its downtown to life and Ferndale continues to amaze with the energy and passion it brings to the program. I congratulate both cities as well as the other winners for the contributions they make to create desirable and viable downtowns.”

MSOC, which created the awards program in 2008, recognizes excellence in downtown revitalization in five categories: Special, Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring.

Ferndale was honored for Outstanding Board Member (Stacey Tobar, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority), Volunteer of the Year (Scott Wright, Ferndale DDA) and Volunteer Recruitment Program among others. Pontiac’s honors included the Lafayette Lofts and the Lafayette Market. Pontiac also won the MSOC Spirit Award. A total of 11 MSOC communities won awards.

“Main Street is an economic development program that works and it continues to grow as we added Birmingham to the family this year,” Patterson said. “This is a vital tool that improves our downtowns and our county.”

The winners were:
ORGANIZATION

• Outstanding Board Member: Stacey Tobar, Ferndale DDA
• Volunteer of the Year: Dick and Dawn Rossell, Holly DDA
• Outstanding Fundraising Project: Yard Sale, Rochester DDA
• Outstanding Public Relations Effort: Lake Orion DDA and Oxford DDA
• Volunteer of the Year: Scott Wright, Ferndale DDA
• Volunteer Recruitment Program: Ferndale DDA

 
PROMOTION

• Outstanding Retail Event: Wish List Window, Farmington DDA
• Outstanding Promotional Design Piece:  Artwn - The Exhibit Brochure, Ferndale DDA
• Outstanding Event Series: Rhythmz in Riley Park, Farmington DDA
• Outstanding Special Event: C-Art, Highland DDA

 
DESIGN

• Most Creative Sign: Rust Belt Market, Ferndale
• Outstanding Signage: Lafayette Lofts and Lafayette Market, West Construction, Pontiac
• Outstanding Adaptive Use of a Building: Lafayette Lofts and Lafayette Market, TDG Architects, Pontiac

 
ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING

• Outstanding Public Investment: Downtown Streetscape/Main Street Makeover, Rochester DDA
• Outstanding Private Investment: Valentine Distilling Co., Ferndale

 
SPECIAL AWARDS

• Outstanding Business of the Year: Rust Belt Market, Ferndale
• Corporate Responsibility and Community Support: Future Help Designs and SCORE Detroit, Pontiac         
• Best Media Promotions Partner: Cavalier Pictures        
• Outstanding Retail Recruitment: Hope Ponsart and Holly DDA  
• Guts & Diplomacy: Madonna Van Fossen, Oxford DDA
• Best One Year Progress: Clawson DDA                                      
• Best Historic Preservation Ethic: Village of Franklin and Main Street Franklin
• Best Work Plans/Action Plans: Pontiac DBA Main Street Program
• Leadership & Integrity: Pontiac DBA Main Street Program
• Most Volunteer Hours: Glen Konopaskie, Pontiac DBA Main Street Program
• Best DPW and DDA Partnership: Ortonville DDA and DPW          
• Outstanding Public Relations Effort: Ferndale DDA
• Private Investment over $50,000: Imperial Bar, Ferndale
• Outstanding Downtown Planning Effort: Downtown Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, Clawson DDA and Greenway Collaborative, Inc.

 
Main Street Oakland County Spirit Award: Pontiac DBA Main Street    
 
Main Street is a trademarked program of the National Main Street Center in Washington. Clawson, Farmington, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Lake Orion, Ortonville, Oxford, Pontiac, Rochester and Walled Lake are MSOC communities. Birmingham, Clarkston, Leonard, South Lyon and Waterford are communities in the associate level program. Oakland County is the first county in the United States to operate a full-service county-wide Main Street program for the 32 distinct, historic downtowns in Oakland County. MSOC downtowns have generated more than $632 million in private and public investment, 7,629 new jobs and 773 new businesses since the program was formed in 2000.
 
For more information, go to MainStreetOaklandCounty.com.

About Oakland County Economic Development & Community Affairs
The Oakland County Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs, under the leadership of County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, is committed to promoting economic vitality, supporting distinct communities and conserving environmental resources through knowledge, cooperation and consultation services. For additional information, visit AdvantageOakland.com.

General Motors will be expanding its Global Powertrain Engineering Headquarters by investing $200 million to build a 138,000-square-foot wing in Pontiac (part of the $1.5 billion GM has said it would invest in North American facilities in 2013), creating 400 additional jobs. 

Read more.

Pontiac's Strand Theatre, a 1920-s era theater darkened since the mid-1980s, is the object of a major investment and revitalization project and one of several developments underway in a downtown that's lost most of its residents and businesses.

The theater renovation, which is funded by at least a $7 million in public investment, is a partnership between West Construction Services and the City of Pontiac and is the recipient of historic tax credits aimed at protecting historic structures and using them for economic revitalization.

The city owns the 1921-Renaissance style entertainment house on North Saginaw. Renovation is scheduled to to be completed in 2014.

West Construction Services is in experienced historic preservation and architecture and is owned by Kyle Westberg. He is developer of the $20-million Lafayette Place Lofts on North Saginaw, down the street from the theater. The lofts development in the center of downtown is taking tenants this month just weeks after ground floor retail tenants opened their doors.  Lafayette Market, a fresh food market, caterer, cafe and takeout business that opened just before Thanksgiving, and Anytime Fitness.

“I feel strongly that through our partnership with the City of Pontiac, the Strand will be restored to its original glory,” Westberg, CEO of West Construction Services, says in a statement announcing the public-private partnership.

“We are passionate about working to revive Pontiac’s wonderful downtown, and with our track record of successful historic projects we are excited about restoring this historic landmark and providing the community with a venue for creative and performance arts.”

The Strand was one of several booming theaters in downtown Pontiac's theater district and the only one to survive. The plan for the Strand is to bring back live theater and musical performances, show films and host community and private events.

The theater has been vacant since 2004, when previous renovation plans - also in the tens of millions of dollars - failed to pan out.

“The Strand is a long standing treasure in our community and we are excited to partner with an organization that has the best interest of our legacy and community needs in mind,” Mayor of Pontiac, Leon Jukowsk says in the announcement. “The team at West Construction has a proven record of excellence through their various investments in Pontiac. The community will reap the benefits of their work with increased community resources, services and now entertainment.”

Pontiac City Council President Lee Jones says a theater rebirth is an "opportunity to once again become one of the premiere meccas and showcase what this magnificent structure was built for," and Louis Schimmel, the emergency financial manager appointed to run the financially crumbling city, says the attorneys and accountants have worked for months on with West Construction in order to determine not only if it could "successfully complete the project, but to also make sure it could be finished with the proper financing.”

Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Corinne Petras, spokesperson, West Construction Services and Push22

In less than a month downtown Pontiac will have a grocery store, one with fresh foods, take-out lunch and dinner, a butcher, a cafe with coffee and baked goods and wide selection of merchandise like nothing the downtown has seen in years.

The 10,000-square-foot The Layfayette Market will be run by Chris Monette, who's managed a successful market at Oakland University and is part of the larger Lafayette Place Lofts, a project of developer Kyle Westberg's West Construction Services.

Next door to the market, which is at 154 N. Saginaw, will be an Anytime Fitness, and above the two businesses will be 46 loft apartments. It's all inside the former Sears Department Store, a behemoth of a building that's been closed for years. The structure has historic architectural components that are being incorporated into the renovation, including the market's wood floors, which are original. This project took advantage of the free design assistance offered to property and business owners through Main Street Oakland County.

The Lafayette Market will open Saturday, Nov. 17, and the apartments are expected to be completed in December. The market and lofts are close to Oakland McLaren Oakland Hospital.

In the meantime there is an effort to learn what the community wants in the store through an online survey.

"The community is very excited about this," says spokesperson Corinne Petras. "But the survey is to make sure it's clear what the community wants."

Writer: Kim North Shine
Source: Corinne Petras, spokesperson, Lafayette Lofts

GM will be relocating fuel cell researchers from their operations in Honeoye Falls, New York back to the Global Powertrain Engineering Headquarters in Pontiac, a practical move that will effectively cluster all of the work being done on electric vehicles and alternative technologies. 

Read more.

In an effort to promote long-term livability and economic growth in downtown Pontiac, a plan has been proposed to transform the existing Woodward Ave. "Loop" into two-way traffic, connecting the road to the surrounding neighborhoods and also facilitating bike and pedestrian traffic.

Read more. 

As plans to improve a 304-mile stretch of passenger rail line that runs through Michigan, Illinois and Indiana move forward, the public is invited to participate in the process that determines what the local impact will be.

For metro Detroiters, the Chicago-Detroit/Pontiac Passenger Rail Corridor could offer connections to places that improve economic situations or quality of life, but it could also affect neighborhoods.

A series of meetings will be held this month and hosted by the three states' Departments of Transportation. The meetings will explain more about the proposal to make changes to the line and also take comments from the public. They will also offer possible route alternatives and identify potential issues that should be considered in the planning. They are required as part of the plan formation and environmental impact assessment to be done before construction can begin.

The rail improvements come as several metro Detroit communities, including Detroit, Pontiac, Troy, Dearborn, and the federal government have invested in new transportation stations that have brought economic benefit to cities around the
country by opening up access to jobs, education and affordable transportation.

According to GreatLakesRail, "the purpose of the program is to improve intercity mobility by providing an improved passenger rail service that would be a competitive transportation alternative to automobile, bus and air service between Chicago and Detroit/Pontiac…The program will provide sufficient information for the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) to potentially support future decisions to fund and implement a major investment in the passenger rail corridor."

The local meeting will be held Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 7 pm. at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel, 5801 Southfield Expressway, Detroit.

Comments about the changes can also be shared online at GreatLakesRail.org or by telephone, 877-351-0853.

Source: Janet Foran, communications, Michigan Department of Transportation
Writer: Kim North Shine

The public is invited to a community open house on Sept. 26 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to review and comment on a new plan for readapting Pontiac’s Woodward Loop and improving the city’s street, sidewalk and bike path system. The community open house will be held at the Bowen Senior Center, 52 Bagley St. in Pontiac.

Among the options to consider is converting the Woodward Loop to two-way traffic, narrowing Woodward and adding on-street parking along select portions, and adding bike paths. The design was generated by project planners based on research and on ideas from citizens who attended the community open house workshops in March and June.
“Improving Pontiac’s infrastructure is an investment that stimulates future growth,” said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “I encourage all interested residents and business owners to attend this event.”
 
The open house is part of the Downtown Pontiac Transportation Assessment, an 18-month-long study to find the best ways to connect downtown Pontiac with surrounding neighborhoods and communities. This effort includes Pontiac residents and businesses, the city of Pontiac, Oakland County, the Michigan Department of Transportation and planning consultants from Parsons Brinckerhoff Michigan. 
 
Oakland County Planning & Economic Development Services, in partnership with Pontiac, was awarded a $300,000 federal grant for this project. Oakland County is providing a $104,000 in-kind match through staff time devoted to the project.
 
For more information, visit the project website at www.pontiaclivability.org or contact the Oakland County Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs at 248-858-5445.

About Oakland County Economic Development & Community Affairs
The Oakland County Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs is committed to promoting economic vitality, supporting distinct communities and conserving environmental resources through knowledge, cooperation and consultation services. For additional information, visit AdvantageOakland.com.

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO) will open its state-of-the-art Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine on Tuesday, Sept. 11.  The center will be located in The Alice Gustafson Center, Suite 200, on the hospital campus, 44405 Woodward Ave., Pontiac.
 
The center will treat patients who come for treatment of non-healing wounds with advanced equipment, including two hyperbaric chambers, making the St. Joe’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine one of the most convenient, comprehensive and sophisticated wound facilities in Southeastern Michigan.
 
“The new wound care center is another example of St. Joe’s commitment to provide our patients with the safest, highest quality and comprehensive care possible,” said Jack Weiner, SJMO President and CEO.  “This center will do many remarkable things for patients in the community who need this service.”
 
SJMO’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine will take a whole body approach to wound healing that includes:
·      Nutritional assessment and counseling
·      Diabetic education
·      Patient and caregiver counseling
·      Referrals for special needs pressure relief, including beds, seat cushions and footwear.
 
Among the conditions the SJMO Center for Wound Care can treat are:
·      Diabetic wounds
·      Any non-healing wound
·      Surgical wounds that have opened
·      Skin grafts or surgical flaps that are not healing post-surgery
·      Open wounds caused by radiation therapy
·      Bone infections
·      Pressure ulcers
·      Venous wounds
·      Internal injuries where no open wound exists, such as select acute traumatic and crush injuries, radiation cystitis or proctitis and reconstruction of the jaw or bone.
 
The addition of hyperbaric chambers, where patients receive pure oxygen needed to speed up the healing of their wounds, will provide a more advanced treatment option for those who qualify for the procedure. The hyperbaric oxygen chambers work by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure.  This increase in the amount of oxygen stimulates the tissues and helps the wounds heal more quickly. 
 
Board-certified plastic surgeon Firas Karmo, MD, is the medical director of the center.  Program Director is Matthew Davis, BSN, RN, CWOCN.  The health care team of multidisciplinary specialists at the wound care center includes:
·      Physicians specialty-trained in wound management and hyperbaric medicine
·      Certified or specialty-trained wound care nurses
·      Highly trained clinical hyperbaric managers and staff
 
Each year, about six million Americans will suffer from problem wounds resulting from diabetes, circulatory problems and many other conditions, with 1.1 to1.8 million new cases each year.  Studies have shown that patients seeking specialized care at wound care treatment facilities have reduced amputation rates and shortened length of hospital stays by allowing the patient to be discharged and followed by the wound care professionals.
 
Hours at the SJMO Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Free parking is available.  For information, call the wound care center at 248-858-2606.
 
About St. Joseph Mercy Oakland
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland is a 443-bed comprehensive, community, teaching hospital and a long-time leader in health care in Oakland County.  Founded in 1927 by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland has won numerous local and national awards for patient safety, quality and performance, and consistently ranks in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide.  A member of the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland is a technologically leading hospital that combines advanced medicine and personal care to assist patients on their path to wellness. With dedicated physicians, nurses and hospital staff committed to providing quality care throughout the patient stay, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland has truly personalized the patient care experience.
 
For more information about health services offered at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, please visit stjoesoakland.org. 
 
About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a newly expanded health care organization serving southeast Michigan. Health coverage spans six counties, including Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy in Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, 119-bed St. Joseph Mercy Port Huron, 113-bed Chelsea Community Hospital and 74-bed St. Joseph Mercy Saline. Combined, the seven hospitals are licensed for 1,726 beds, have five outpatient health centers, seven urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 14,000 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. 
 
A member of Trinity Health, the nation’s fourth largest Catholic health care organization, SJMHS is committed to providing a remarkable patient experience by using leading edge technology in a comforting and healing environment. As a mission-based organization, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System provides approximately $100 million in community benefit to the communities it serves each year.
 
For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit stjoeshealth.org.

The new LEED Gold certified terminal at Oakland County International Airport is operating with 44 percent greater energy efficiency than its predecessor. From October 2011 through March 2012, the new terminal’s average cost for utilities was 27.5 cents per square foot; whereas the old terminal’s average utility costs from October 2009 to March 2012 were 49 cents per square foot.
 
“These are real savings,” said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “The energy efficient technology is part of the ‘wow’ factor business and general aviation travelers encounter when they use the new terminal as their gateway to the region.”
 
Among the terminal's leading-edge green technologies are:

• Wind and solar generation of electricity
• A solar hot water heater
• Geothermal heating and cooling
• Highly efficient fluorescent and LED lighting
• A living wall of tropical rain forest plants that clean the air inside the building

 
OCIA learned in February that its terminal building had attained LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. OCIA's new terminal is the first airport terminal in Michigan and the first general aviation terminal in the nation to receive this coveted designation.
 
“The airport has a great impact on southeast Michigan,” said Oakland County Director of Central Services J. David VanderVeen, who oversees OCIA. “Nearly every Fortune 500 company flies through here in the course of a year and it has a $175 million impact on the region.”
 
The terminal at OCIA was built with airport user fees and federal and state grants. No Oakland County general fund dollars paid for its construction. OCIA is the second busiest airport in Michigan.

Oakland County International Airport's (OCIA) new terminal building has attained LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). OCIA's new terminal is the first airport terminal in Michigan and the first general aviation terminal in the nation to receive this coveted designation.

"Achieving LEED Gold status at our new terminal is like winning the airport Olympics," said J. David VanderVeen, director of Oakland County's Central Services who oversees OCIA and sits on the Michigan Aeronautics Commission.

OCIA's new terminal opened last August featuring leading-edge "green" technology including wind and solar generation of electricity; a solar hot water heater; geothermal heating and cooling; highly efficient fluorescent and LED lighting; electric car charging stations; and a living wall of tropical rain forest plants that clean the air inside the building, among other "green" features.

"Our new terminal incorporates a number of advanced green technologies and incredible architectural features that tell the business traveler that they have arrived at a county that embraces technology while preserving the environment," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "Comparing utility charges between the new terminal and the old one, our new terminal is operating at 44% greater efficiency."

Oakland County International Airport's cost for utilities in the terminal has dropped from 70¢ per square foot to 39¢ per square foot.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. It is a world-wide recognized green building certification system developed by the USBGC, providing verification that a building was designed and built using strategies intended to improve performance in various areas such as water efficiency, energy savings, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

The new 15,000 square foot terminal at OCIA cost $7.5 million. The construction of the new terminal, which began with the tear down of the old terminal building in early 2010 and finished nearly 18 months later in August of 2011, was funded by Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Energy grants; a Michigan Department of Transportation Bureau of Aeronautics grant; and OCIA airport user fees. The new terminal was completed on time and within budget.

Other notable features of the new terminal include a Pitts Special biplane on loan from famed stunt pilot Henry A. Haigh II and the Kalamazoo Air Zoo suspended from the ceiling; historical documents including the nation's first airport certificate issued to OCIA (then known as Pontiac Municipal Airport) in February, 1930, and a document commemorating Michigan's first air tour in 1929 signed by Orville Wright; an expanded U.S. Customs area that handles 70 passengers per flight, up from 20 per flight in the former terminal; an outdoor area for families to watch aircraft land and take off; and a conference center with catering kitchen.

The terminal is the crowning achievement of a master plan to create a world-class general aviation/business aviation airport. Other airport features include the first fuel-water separator in Michigan to keep aircraft fuel from leaching into groundwater; the world’s first aesthetic ground run-up enclosure; and an extended runway.

OCIA can handle aircraft as large as a 727; its runway length allows aircraft to reach the west coast, Mexico, Europe and Asia without refueling. In the course of a year, nearly every Fortune 500 company flies through OCIA. It has an annual economic impact of $175 million on the region.

Keep Michigan Beautiful, Inc. awarded Oakland County International Airport (OCIA) the President’s Plaque award on Friday, October 21, 2011 for OCIA’s efforts to maintain a beautiful natural landscape throughout the grounds. The President’s Plaque is KMB’s highest annual award in a series that recognizes programs and activities in that contribute to environmental improvement, clean up, beautification, site restoration and historical preservation.

OCIA, Michigan’s second busiest airport, opened the nation’s first LEED-certified general aviation airport terminal in August. Green technology features include solar power and water heating; wind power; geothermal heating and cooling; LED and fluorescent lighting; a living wall; and many other energy efficient technologies.

Excerpt:

“Oakland County prides itself on a great quality of life,” said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “Maintaining beautiful surroundings throughout the county – including at the airport – helps make Oakland County among the best places to live, work, play and raise a family.”

For more information, go to www.keepmichiganbeautiful.org.