Tag Archives: Depot Town

Stewart Beal on his plans to redevelop Ypsilanti’s Thompson Block with the help of small, local investors

By Mark | August 7, 2013

Late last week, when AnnArbor.com reported that Stewart Beal was changing tack relative to the Thompson Block, and going after small, unaccredited investors in order to get the stalled redevelopment project moving forward, I decided to reach out to the local developer and ask a few questions. Following are his answers. MARK: As I understand […]

Posted in Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged development, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, landlords, local investing, lofts, real estate, Stewart Beal, Thompson Block, Thompson Block Partners, Tyler Weston, West Michigan Lofts | 29 Comments

Commemorating the life of Tom Dodd by reintroducing smeet to Riverside Park

By Mark | June 16, 2013

When Tom Dodd, beloved local teacher and editor of Ypsilanti’s Depot Town Rag, passed away earlier this month at the age of 78, his friends gathered at Frenchie’s to share memories and remember his influential life over beers… And, judging from the words on this plaque which just recently showed up in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park, […]

Posted in History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged commemorating the lives of influential people, Depot Town Rag, Riverside Park, smeet, Tom Dodd, Ypsi history | 12 Comments

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Zach Pollock

By Mark | December 28, 2012

A few days ago, I posted an interview I did with an author by the name of Ted McClelland, who has written extensively about the emmigration of young professionals from Michigan to Chicago. To sum up our conversation in one sentence, McClelland believes that we have little hope of keeping bright, young people here in […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Shadow Art Fair, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Black Jake, Black Jake and the Carnies, Capitalism, Chicago, Cool Cities, Corner brewery, diversification, East Cross Street, education reform, emigration, exit interviews, graffiti, Growing Hope, Hipsilanti, Huron River, mandolin, Ohio, property theft, radon, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Spur Studios, Stuart Beal, taxes, Ted McClelland, things from Ohio that are tolerable, Thompson Block, Toledo, Water Street Redevelopment Project, Woodruff's, Ypsi Food Co-op, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Ypsilanti Public Schools, Ypsilanti real estate, Zach Pollock | 15 Comments

The trees of Ypsilanti and how you can do your part to help them on Saturday

By Mark | April 27, 2012

For the past several months, I’d been thinking about interviewing someone in City government about the trees that were planted along Cross Street as part of the recent $1 million streetscaping project. (I like trees.) For some reason, though, I’d kept putting it off until yesterday, when, in a fit of late night inspiration, I […]

Posted in Agriculture, Food, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Arbor Day, Arbor Day Foundation, berries, buckthorn, Casey Dixon, Common Bald Cypress, Corylus Colurna, crabapples, Cross Street, Department of Public Services, DTE, economic development, evil trees, fruit trees, Gilbert Park, Global Warming, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, healthy food access, invasive species, Ivory Silk Japanese Tree Lilac, Jamie Nauta, MDOT, Michigan Works, mind control, nut trees, Park Street, Peninsular Park, pruning, Rachel Blistein, Riverside Park, streetscape, Syringa Reticulata, Taxodium Distichum, Teresa Gillotti, Tilia Cordata, tree of heaven, trees, Turkish Filbert, vermin, Ypsi Tree Nursery | 23 Comments

Ypsilanti Immigration Interview: Gillian Ream

By Mark | February 19, 2012

Apparently, people keep moving to Ypsilanti… Today’s interview is with a young woman named Gilliam Ream. MARK: When did you move to Ypsilanti, and what brought you here? GILLIAN: We (my partner Adam and I) moved here in July 2011. Honestly, coming to Ypsi was just a happy accident. We were planning to stay in […]