It’s the latest Michigan site where the retail juggernaut hit ‘pause.’ The 3.8-million-square-foot center on the former Michigan State Fairgrounds was supposed to open in July with 1,200 jobs for Detroiters. About 100 people work there now.
Paula Gardner
Paula directs the business reporting on Bridge, writing much of it and setting the strategy for how statewide business coverage fits into Bridge’s nonpartisan policy-driven editorial mix. Paula came to Bridge in 2020 after several years at MLive.com, where she covered the state on both business and environmental teams. Prior to that, she was editor of the Ann Arbor News and news director of online startup AnnArbor,com, and also focused on business news as an editor and reporter at Michigan Business Review. Born and raised in metro Detroit, Paula moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan, and has lived in the city for 20 years with her husband, who grew up in their neighborhood. Paula also regularly visits East Lansing and Grand Rapids to visit her college-aged children. She can be reached at pgardner@bridgemi.com
Posted inBusiness Watch
Inflation hits pizza: customers picking up dinner to save the delivery fees
Consumers will want to save carryout fees due to high inflation, the Michigan-based Domino’s Pizza says. Michigan restaurants already are seeing the changes.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Cozy bedding and an online shift lifts Michigan's oldest woolen mill
The pandemic made people appreciate the comforts of home. For the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill, a 128-year-old business that still uses bathtubs to soak bales of wool, that meant an urgent shift in how it’s always done business.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Frankenmuth kept to its chickens during pandemic. Now, it’s thriving.
‘Little Bavaria’ draws 3 million visitors a year, fueling a robust rebound from pandemic restrictions. Its iconic restaurants and shops suffered financial disruptions similar to other towns. But leaders set aside politics and focused on winning back tourists.
Posted inBusiness Watch
After a cancer diagnosis, a family apple orchard owner weighs what’s next
Like many small business owners, Bruce and Jan Upston didn’t think much about a succession plan. But time, and a doctor’s visit, got them thinking about how to pass on all that the next owners will need to know.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan’s housing crisis has spread to Alpena. How $100M can help.
Add northeast lower Michigan to the list of regions where there is not enough affordable housing to meet worker demand. State and local officials are taking public comment on how to spend $100 million in federal rescue funds earmarked for housing.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan lands two more EV battery plants, bringing up to 4,000 jobs
Michigan’s effort to gain massive manufacturing sites for EV batteries leapt forward on Wednesday with deals near Big Rapids and metro Detroit, bringing the total to four this year.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan approves $846 million in aggressive bid to attract new business
Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reached a $1 billion spending bill, with most of it going to the SOAR fund, formed to attract large-scale developments to Michigan. The deal is not without critics.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Report: COVID forced 500k workers from workforce; thousands from Michigan
Researchers reveal at least 500,000 U.S. workers left their jobs after being severely sickened by COVID, leaving Michigan and other states with a smaller labor force and more unfilled jobs.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Higher mortgage costs cool home sales as Fed sends interest rate higher
Michigan is likely to see higher costs of borrowing and an unemployment rate that climbs close to 5 percent, based on the change made Wednesday to cool inflation.