Read the full story here from MLive.

Small but with a more open footprint, the store is supposed to exude wellness from the minute a customer walks through the door.

Read the complete article here from MLive.

“We’re passionate about design,” says Hernandez. “Our company is about inventing new things and making our clients successful in the products we design — we’re about creating jobs and creating new markets.” Read more.

More bars, restaurants and grocery and drug stores topped the list of what Grand Rapids residents said they want to see as the future of Michigan Street NE is mapped out.

City planners held a community forum Wednesday as part of an 18-month study of what they’re calling the Michigan Street Corridor, a four-mile stretch of the road running from the Grand River to East Beltline Avenue NE, which includes some of the city’s biggest and best-known institutions.

The study area is home to about 20,000 residents, and 50,000 people work or attend school in a 50-acre area that includes the Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital campus, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University, among others.

“That’s not Michigan Street,” remarked Jayne Johns, a resident of the Belknap Lookout neighborhood while looking at displayed photos of what leaders in other cities like Portland, Maine, have done with what consultants say are similar neighborhoods. Johns hopes the plan city officials want to develop over the next year and a half will address issues arising from development near her neighborhood, which she said have been both a blessing and a curse.

“Medical Mile has increased the number of students coming and going and some are great, but with others we feel like we’ve had to play mommy and daddy and tell them where the trash goes,” Johns said. “We also have more people who work at Spectrum in our neighborhood and that’s a plus because they stick around and care about the neighborhood.”

Reaching a workable compromise — encouraging development while maintaining strong neighborhoods — is the study’s main goal, city Planning Director Suzanne Schulz said.

Noting the area has seen $1 billion in development during the past decade, Schulz conceded study results likely won’t please everyone but will at least give her office direct input from residents as she and her staff plan for the future, especially atop Michigan Street hill.

“We want the next billion dollars of development to be on that hill, but how do you do that without disrupting the neighborhoods?” Schulz asked. “Every building that goes up causes a domino effect so we only get one chance to do it right the first time.”

Schulz described the study as a proactive measure to help the city provide needed infrastructure to support development and strong neighborhoods. There are no plans waiting in the wings prompting the study, she said.

The only done deal for now stems from a $1.6 million federal grant the city has to improve the intersection at Michigan and College Avenue NE, which has long been a rush-hour choke point for motorists trying to use the on-ramp to the Gerald R. Ford Freeway (I-196). Belknap neighborhood resident Gretchen Warnimont said she was intrigued by a proposal for a roundabout at the intersection but questioned whether it would work.

Schulz said while the idea has been proposed and has proven effective in other locations, the 30,000 vehicles per day traveling through the intersection might create a continuous flow of traffic, making it difficult for pedestrians to cross the streets.

Virginia VanderVeen, 35, a former Heritage Hill resident who still attends college in the area, said she woudld like to see a streetscape concept making the area more attractive. She said a group of residents she sat with to brainstorm ideas also discussed the roundabout and locating Rapid bus stations along the street.
“The streets aren’t really walkable along Michigan Street,” she said. “It’s not a pleasant place to be.”
Others said they favored safe biking lanes. Still others said they want to see more diverse housing options, something they feel would encourage more people to live in the area rather than commute from the suburbs.

Laurie Volk, one of four consultants, estimated 4,660 households would consider buying a new residential unit in the study area, which could absorb 435 new residential units a year.

Schulz said officials expect to hold at least two more as-yet unscheduled forums on the study. Results from Wednesday’s forum should be posted on the city’s website, www.grcity.us, in about a week.

Suzanne Schulz, admittedly, dreams big.

Large enough to consider how to position Grand Rapids to accommodate the next $1 billion of growth along the Medical Mile without losing a residential feel that would invite people to set up house close to work and educational opportunities.

And big enough to go after a $28 million federal transportation grant that would compress three decades of work into three years while connecting the city’s riverwalks with bike trails that feed into the regional bus system and link downtown to Medical Mile – which now has no direct path.

The ideas, overcoming you-can’t-get-there-from-here hurdles by filling in gaps, present an opportunity for the city, says Schulz, the city’s planning director.

”I think the vision, what’s exciting about it, is the economic spin-off,” she said. “There is so much that can happen when you have what we’re after. When you create amenities that complete the systems, people are willing to move and it helps to attract the creative class and people who seek healthy, active lifestyles.

”There’s a lot of great opportunities and what I worry about is what happens if we miss those.”

The wish list is long for Schulz and other Grand Rapids leaders who are trying to capitalize on the momentum of private investments and partnerships that have developed the downtown, which has not withered in a years-long recession.

In fact, a recently released Brookings Institute study shows Grand Rapids among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country. The research showed Grand Rapids is one of only 15 areas to gain jobs in the last four quarters in manufacturing and other sectors. Brookings also identified the city as having “output” growth.

This led to National Public Radio to interview Mayor George Heartwell on “All Things Considered” this week, allowing him to tout the conversion from an economy dominated by making things to a diversified environment where health and education have taken the lead.

Heartwell sees that trend continuing even as manufacturers adapt to new technologies and produce products beyond the traditional auto parts and furniture that has defined the area.

The growing presence of the hospital systems, the Van Andel Institute and Michigan State’s College of Human Medicine couples nicely with the expansion of Grand Valley State University’s downtown campus that will soon include the under-construction Seidman College of Business.

When stacked on top of the DeVos Place convention center, Van Andel Arena, an entertainment district with a wide array of bars and restaurants, Heartwell forecasts another push with Grand Action’s development of the Urban Market.
”We’re at a fascinating stage of our growth,” Heartwell said. “All of the cornerstones of the local economy should continue to grow and I think the next explosion will be more residential and corresponding retail downtown.”
He expects the market, a $27 million plan that includes a brew pub and restaurant, will be the center of rehabilitated buildings and newly built residential complexes.

”This will drive downtown further south than what we’re accustomed and it will spread to the east and west of (U.S. 131),” he said.

”We’re creating an environment that people will want to be, and people, including employers and entrepreneurs, are going to give Grand Rapids a second look.”

Developers declined to speculate on what might be the next big project in Grand Rapids, but Grand Action leaders have talked openly in the past about an amphitheater and performing arts center. Feasibility studies and market considerations have put off those discussions for now.

Schulz, meanwhile, will focus on landing the highly competitive grant for transportation, and improving Michigan Street to bridge the divide between Belknap Lookout and Heritage Hill. Linking those areas, which include the health industry and Grand Rapids Community College, with downtown’s center is huge, she says. There are barriers preventing people from directly crossing Ionia to Ottawa avenues and Ottawa to Monroe Avenue.

”There are 50,000 people in 50 acres there every day,” she said. “How do you take those resources and build it into the local economy?

”We’ve identified that way, maybe it won’t be for everyone, but it will be there and it could be a game-changer.”

The remarks came at a town hall Tuesday night hosted by WOOD TV8. 50 people between the ages of 15 and 86 were in the studio audience. The governor touted an Ann Arbor-area program dubbed “Shifting Gears” that he said he helped to create.

“What ‘Shifting Gears’ was all about was taking people that had a successful career in one field where there weren’t really many openings any more, but to say you’ve got all the skills to do a certain set of work,” he said. “How can we work with you to get you in a young company, a start up company, something new and different where you can take those vast experiences and potentially match up with some other people that don’t understand the businesses areas that you’re so good at,” said the governor.

Snyder said he is going to try to “roll out that concept throughout all of Michigan.”

The answer came in reponse to a question from Grant Wright, a Lowell man looking for work.

“What I want to know is about the long-term unemployed and also the older workers — what are we going to do to give employers an incentive to get us back to work?” he asked.

In his response, the governor also talked about bringing more supplier companies into Michigan, using the example of laundry firms that service hospitals.

Interviewed after the meeting, Wright said he thought the answer he received was a good one. Wright said he thought the governor was encountering resistance from people unwilling to change.

But Wright said he does believe the economy needs “some more incentive to hire the older workers, the qualified people like myself.”

His question was followed immediately by a question from Sheri Welsh, a Kalamazoo woman who owns a firm that helps companies find employees.

In at least some cases, companies are looking for skills Michigan workers — and the unemployed — don’t have, she said.

“How do we get the skills that they need to get them back to work right now?” Welsh asked.

Snyder said he will address the question of talent — the workforce — during a “special message” in November.

Acknowledging that this legislative session has been a busy one, 24 Hour News 8 asked the governor why the plans have not come out sooner when so many are looking for work.

“You have to pick your priorities and if you look at it, the history of tax and budget in our state … the budget had to come first. It was legally required but it was also a case of past challenges,” he said.

Snyder noted that, at times, the budget hasn’t been completed until the very last minute in the fall. The governor said he has focused on economic development but there has to be some order dictating which items are tackled when.

Some who did not get to ask questions during the session — including Michael Niewata of Grand Rapids — had one-on-one time with Snyder afterward.

Niewata is looking for work and had to dip into his retirement funds. Now he says he’s about to be hit with the new pension tax.

The Grand Rapids man argues that retirement income should be taxed at the same level regardless of age, though he says state workers promised a pension should be left alone.

“It’s too difficult to have to go back to readjust when you thought you had a promise,” he said.

After speaking with the governor, Niewata said it did not appear Snyder was receptive to changing his policy. Niewata will be hoping for a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court striking down the tax.

Other topics brought up were education reform, standards and funding, the state sales tax and immigration.

Film tax credits were also brought up, and Snyder answered by saying the film credits were “a losing proposition” for the state, whereas an expense like Pure Michigan – the state’s advertising campaign for tourism – is a much better return on investment.

The governor also said a new bridge from Michigan into Windsor to is ultimately about jobs and making Michigan more competitive in the future.

He also said making Michigan a “right to work” state is “not on my agenda,” adding that there are more pressing issues that need to be handled first – education, health, taxes – without diving into this “divisive issue.”

You can watch the complete meeting here.

This article originally appeared here.

If your practice is like most in the medical industry, Stephen Covey’s second habit could easily be rewritten as “Begin with the End of the Next 12 Months in Mind.”

Rarely in the history of service and industry has a sector come under so much pressure to control costs, increase efficiencies and defend itself in the midst of ever-increasing demand for its services. The impact of the baby boomers growing into the age of their greatest medical need has been discussed extensively. Yet, mix in the large uncertainty from massive health care legislation and its political ramifications, and you see large-scale changes being forced upon you and your practice. A business constantly changes, but what is happening in the medical sector is forcing change at a historic pace! Let’s look at how to prepare for change by looking briefly at the life cycles of a medical practice.

Start-Up
Start-up businesses are ones that are just beginning to get their footing. Owners invest a great deal of resources into the new business to create a stable customer base, buy inventory and perform other activities before they generate profitable revenue. The challenges of start-ups are large, and these hurdles can be hard to overcome. Developing an owner mentality and establishing and expanding a customer base can take up a large majority of the hours in a day, and this does not even include the actual performance of services. While planning is essential, generating cash tends to be the primary focus.

Growth
When leaving the start-up stage, a company will either crash and burn or begin to gain a strong foothold in its market. Typically, there is enough cash flow — though limited — to get by without further investment. For a physician, his/her niche or expertise has come into focus, and a patient base is beginning to grow. The practice is beginning to sense the need for additional resources, such as personnel, larger office space and specialized equipment. Also, a sense of conflict is mounting between working “on the business,” instead of “in the business.” Finding ways to manage the business more efficiently becomes critical. This typically forces expansion of the employee base, bringing with it increased cost of insurance, other employee benefits and retirement plans. It’s critical in this stage to maintain an adequate cash reserve and watch expenses to guard against unforeseen problems.

Maturity
By this stage, a practice has become well-established with a reputation and name recognition in the community. Deep relationships have been developed between suppliers, including insurance providers. The business is benefitting from a steady stream of revenue, and the fundamentals of the business have settled into a predictable pattern. Usually at this stage, a reputation of caring for long-term employees and strong community involvement has been established. The main risk here is complacency and failure to adapt to a changing environment. Sound familiar? At this stage, owners are becoming increasingly aware that personal tax and investment planning is now becoming a critical factor in the planning of the practice.

Decline
In a nonmedical industry, the market for the company might be shrinking. Not so for the medical industry. In reality, the lack of ability or willingness to change might begin the decline of a medical firm. Because of the intensity of change in the medical field, this stage might actually become recognized as the stage of transition.

Whichever the stage you find your practice in, you will find there is substantial impact on how you plan your next steps. A focused business plan, even during these times of transitions, will help control and allocate resources most effectively and communicate a firm’s potential to lenders, patients and, yes, even future merger partners.

This article was also in print and online at MDNews.

New for this year, we are giving local residents, business & community leaders the chance to weigh in on which Top 100 cities are worthy of Top 10 Status in various breakout categories. Below are the Top 10 Overall Cities for 2011. Don’t despair if your city isn’t listed, there is still opportunity to have a say in why your community may be worthy of another one of our Top 10 Breakout lists. The nomination process is now underway for The Top Areas for Recreation.

View the complete list here; http://www.relocateamerica.com/top-100-cities/.

WOW! Grand Rapids, MI is listed as number 2!

To make sure it doesn’t become too busy and drive away future investors, residents and visitors, city commissioners on Tuesday on a $400,000 “corridor plan” aimed at blending the busy street’s various uses.

“This is a wonderful project to look at how we meld land use, employment and transportation,” said City Planning Director Suzanne Schulz. “If we don’t figure it out, the transportation system fails on Michigan (Street).”

That failure could drive away further investment along the street or drive it into surrounding neighborhoods, where the quality of life would suffer, Schulz said.

A corridor study could develop ways to add new development without increasing vehicle trips and the need for more parking, she said.

Tuesday’s action by the city commission sets aside $40,000 to get the study under way and match a $80,000 commitment from the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC).

The GVMC is holding a $1.6 million federal grant to improve the intersection of Michigan Street and College Avenue, a highly congested access point linking Michigan Street to the exit ramps for the Gerald R. Ford Freeway.

Schulz said they want to complete a study of the street before they decide how to use the intersection grant. “If we just put in a second left-turn lane, we’ll have only three feet of sidewalk left on Michigan Street,” she said.

Beyond the intersection, Schulz said she hopes the study will look at other transit options for the street, which currently is served by The Rapid bus line, the downtown DASH bus system and Spectrum Health’s own bus service to outlying parking lots.

The study also will look at how the area’s “anchor institutions” can promote housing in the neighborhood for its employees, she said.

Ultimately, Schulz said she hopes to have five consultant groups working together on the corridor plan. She said she has assembled funding for the project from 14 stakeholders and foundations.

This article is from Mlive.com. Read full article here.