If you have taken a tour through downtown Detroit, there is a good chance you have walked through Claire Nelson’s shop, Bureau of Urban Living. Bureau, as it’s commonly known, is an Urban Outfitters-style boutique with high-end housewares carrying an urban, Detroit theme. It’s in a small space on the ground floor of the Canfield […]
Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus. Our Michigan Economic Dashboard shows key metrics that show how the state is performing.
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TechTown broadens focus from high-tech
Wayne State University’s TechTown was intended to incubate high-tech when it was christened a decade ago. However, a survey of the 63 tenants now operating out of the 84-year-old, 120,000-square-foot former Chevy Creative Services building in central Detroit shows nearly two-thirds are doing things other than high-tech. The survey by Bridge Magazine shows life sciences, […]
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How far will Midtown's momentum go?
There are two Detroits in the life of Theo Nicholaidis. The first is a city of cafes and galleries, with his favorite crepe restaurant just down the block from his two-bedroom condo, a newly rehabbed unit with hardwood floors, a fireplace and deck. “We go for walks at night through the neighborhood,” Nicholaidis said. “There […]
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TechTown firms pleased, but see alleys of opportunity
Tenants at Wayne State University’s TechTown gave an average score of 8 out of 10 when asked by Bridge Magazine to rate the level of incubation and acceleration assistance provided by the business incubator. Said Keith Young, founder and executive adviser to Ecotek: “A lot of the acceleration is left up to the entrepreneur.” Ecotek […]
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Students left with little guidance in high schools
High school seniors are expected to ask their guidance counselors where they can find work in Michigan. Their guidance counselors, though, may be asking the same question. At a time when Michigan teens are struggling to find their footing in a changing economy, schools are thinning the ranks of guidance counselors. State schools averaged one […]
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Analysis: 'Economic Life' missed nonprofits' impact
Editor’s note: As part of our ongoing “Economic Life” coverage, we asked two observers to give their analysis of Bridge’s in-depth look into the state’s economic performance and job prospects. We’ve all seen the lists that show the growing and shrinking sectors of Michigan’s economy. Policy-makers use these inventories to help them chart the direction […]
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Analysis: Five strategies to help Michiganians find work
Editor’s note: As part of our ongoing “Economic Life” coverage, we asked two observers to give their analysis of Bridge’s in-depth look into the state’s economic performance and job prospects. Bridge’s series about jobs, skills and educational attainment frames a crucial agenda for all of us in Michigan. We face a daunting, multi-dimensional policy challenge: […]
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Michigan Web firm rides torrent of growth
Liquid Web is one of mid-Michigan’s biggest success stories. Launched in 1997, the managed Web-hosting company serves more than 20,000 clients in 120 countries. In 2009, it opened a 90,000-square-foot data center in Delta Township just west of Lansing. Liquid Web has expanded from 19 employees in 2005 to about 150 in 2009 to nearly […]
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MEDC plunks $5 million on Manistique mill
Is this really “economic gardening”? Manistique Papers Inc., an Upper Peninsula paper mill operation, has been saved from liquidation by Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced Wednesday that it had approved a loan of up to $5 million through the MEDC’s Michigan Business Growth Fund/Loan Participation Program for the troubled company. […]
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Herman Miller's Brian Walker talks LEED, green tech
Herman Miller is known as an innovative design and manufacturing firm of office furniture and equipment and furniture for the home. With 6,500 employees worldwide, this Zeeland company also has earned admiration for sustainability. Rachel Hood, executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council in Grand Rapids, applauds the way both Herman Miller and competitor […]
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