Tag Archives: development

Bringing life, recreation and business back to the Huron River

By Mark | November 7, 2014

I had the good fortune not too long ago to have coffee with Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) Executive Director Laura Rubin. While we didn’t have great deal of time to discuss the condition of the Huron River, as we’d met to discuss something else, Laura did mention that their RiverUp! campaign was making great […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Environment, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Water Street Commons, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Ann Arbor, Asiatic clam, boating, Broadway, canoeing, carp, Clean Water Act, conservation, Detroit International Wildlife Refuge, Dexter, DTE, economic development, Elizabeth Riggs, Eurasian milfoil, fishing, Flat Rock, fly fishing, Global Warming, HRWC, Huron River, Huron River Water Trail, Huron River Watershed Council, invasive species, John Dingell, Laura Rubin, Mike Schultz, Milford, North Main corridor, Olmstead Brothers, phragmites, pollution, purple loosestrife, recreation, riverfront development, RiverUp!, riverwalk, Schultz Outfitters, stormwater runoff, swimming, total body contact recreation, Trail Towns, Ypsilanti, zebra mussel | 17 Comments

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 Depot Town, 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

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Newcombe Clark

By Mark | April 10, 2013

A week or so ago, in front of an audience at Conor O’Neills, I had the pleasure of conducting a live exit interview with Ann Arbor-born commercial real estate broker turned University of Michigan MBA Newcombe Clark, who will soon be leaving Michigan for Chicago. As there was still a great deal that we didn’t […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, History, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Special Projects | Also tagged affordable housing, aging population, Ann Arbor City Council, Ann Arbor history, Ann Arbor problems, Annarbour, Babo, Best Buy, big box retail, Borders, brain drain, Briarwood Mall, car free, change, Chicago, childhood, childhood memories, complaining about things that can't be changed, construction, craftsmanship, density, design porn, Discount Records, Encore Records, excellence, exit interviews, fear of change, Five Guys, Fleetwood Diner, Gandy Dancer, Grange, Iggy Pop, India, Kerrytown, land speculation, Last Word, Leopold Bloom’s, Literati, lure of cities, Mani, Mark's Carts, mentorship, Michigan Theater, Mr. Flood’s Party, Mumbai, national chains, Ned Duke, Newcombe Clark, North Ashley, nostalgia, Ojibwa, our fragile downtown business ecosystem, Portlandia, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, poverty, protectionism, Pune, race, race and poverty, racial steering, real estate, rent, retail in Ann Arbor, rewriting history, Rock Paper Scissors, Ross Business School, segregation, Shaman Drum, shifting national demographics, shop local, Vault of Midnight, Vellum, Waterhill, West End Grill, yoga, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Zingerman's | 50 Comments

Yet another post entitled, “What’s up with the Thompson Block?”

By Mark | April 26, 2011

Since people are discussing this in the comments section following an old thread, I thought that I’d move the subject up here, to the front page… Today is April 26th, which means, according to the interpretations of some, that Stewart Beal has missed the deadline that he’d negotiated with City Council, by which time he […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Civil War barrack, Cross Street, Depot Town, Ed Koryzno, Go Downtown, Historic Equities Fund, Historic Preservation tax credits, OPRA, River Street, Stewart Beal, the Kresge building, Thompson Block, urban development | 45 Comments

A federal push for transit-oriented development

By Mark | April 15, 2010

Incredibly, it looks as though there are some folks in DC who want to incentivize development that encourages density (as well as energy efficiency) in the vicinity of transit stations. Here’s a clip from the DC Streets Blog: New construction projects that are within a half-mile of transit stations and exceeding national energy-efficiency standards would […]