John Rumery The City of Grand Rapids and Local First recently announced their collaborative program, MyGRCity Points. The innovative and free program rewards customers who use the city's Single Stream Recycling Program and volunteer in the community. Points earned can be redeemed at local businesses for discounts on products and services. "This is the first time Local First has partnered with the city of Grand Rapids," says Elissa Sangalli Hillary, executive director of Local First.    While working on the details of this program behind the scenes for several months, national organization CEOs for Cities learned of the program and wanted to get involved.  CEOs for Cities is a non-profit organization that works with urban leaders to "catalyze the advancement of the next generation of great American cities." With CEOs for Cities' support, this program has the opportunity to be recognized on a national level.  This, in turn, then can elevate Grand Rapids' profile as an innovative leader in community engagement. According to Sangalli Hillary, many of the Local First members are "excited by the support the city is showing to locally owned businesses." Besides the positive benefits of recycling and volunteerism, this program has the potential to increase visibility and foot traffic for locally-owned businesses in the various neighborhoods throughout the city. Blending technology and incentives, the program is fairly simple to understand and administrate. Within the next few months, customers will be able to go online and register for a free MyGRCity Points account.  Once registered, participants can start earning points by participating in wide variety of activities such as using the single stream recycling program, helping to organize community events and volunteering for a wide variety of activities, which will be identified through the website. Individuals then can redeem points at participating local businesses for discounts on products and services. The entire program will be administered online. The program is scheduled to roll out in three phases, beginning with the recycling program.   The goal is to be fully implemented by the end of 2011. For more information you can visit the website http://points.grcity.us Source: Interview with Elissa Sangalli Hillary, City of Grand Rapids Media Release and CEOs for Cities website. John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected]  For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]

John RumeryAfter leaving a local software firm three years ago, Joe Johnston, soon became the first Grand Rapids employee of Universal Mind, a technology company with its headquarters outside of Boston, MA and with offices in Colorado and California.  With expertise in user experience design, the Grand Rapids office soon become Universal Mind's hub for that specialty and within those three years, the Grand Rapids office grew to eleven employees. User experience design helps create the experience a customer has with a product or service. In the case of software, it is often time making programs more user-friendly, eliminating redundant features and integrating the program with other parts of an organizations technology programs.Johnston explains that the team at Universal Mind is roughly made up of three groups: specialists, designers and technologists.  As a team their time is spent on discovery and trying to understand how customers work with various devices.  After that begins the development and implementation process.To showcase their unique talent, the group began the development of a consumer application that focused on creativity and collaboration.  In a relatively short time, the team developed and introduced iBrainstorm.  Launched in late July of 2010 it quickly rose to become the #3 free download of iPad applications.   Johnston estimates that there have been almost 500,000 downloads.  Although the application is free, Johnston states that the popularity and success of this program is essentially advertising for their firm and indicates that they have landed several projects because of iBrainstorm. Beside consumer application tools, where in the last six months opportunities "are exploding" due to the popularity of the Android, iPad and iPhone, Universal Mind also works on enterprise applications that help businesses to be more efficient and effective. Johnston cites the development of better customer relation management programs as an example.  In some cases the applications they develop are used internally and in other instances an application might become a retail product for their client.   Johnston shared a recent YouTube video that captures some of the work of Universal Mind.  Like the user experience team, Johnston is proud to state that both the video and music are local talent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SKCJNb-CooJohnston states that Universal Mind are always looking for talented people but acknowledges that finding individuals locally with a user design background in not always easy.Source: Interview with Joe Johnston, www.UniversalMind.com, John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected].  For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]

Deborah Johnson WoodThe City of Grand Rapids approved two proposed development projects with a combined investment cost of $39 million for brownfield redevelopment tax abatements last week. The $24 million entertainment and retail complex, Bobville, proposed by The Gilmore Collection, and the $15 million Health Park Central proposed by Health Park Central, LLC could generate an ongoing economic boost to the city, as well as dozens of jobs. Plans for the project dubbed "Bobville" include a new four-story mixed-use building adjacent to The B.O.B., and will feature retail, entertainment venues, hotel condos and packaged food manufacturing. The parcel, currently a parking lot, is contaminated "probably due to urban fill," says Kara Wood, city economic development director. The complex could create 150 jobs. "The lot was city-owned and sold to Greg Gilmore with a very specific development agreement," Wood says. "We're hoping Bobville will increase density in the downtown area and will provide a unique entertainment venue the downtown currently doesn't have."Health Park Central plans propose the renovation of an existing medical office building at 245 Cherry SE and construction of a second medical building. The large land parcel across from Saint Mary's Health Care includes 216 and 236 State St. SE and 114 and 120 Jefferson Ave. SE. The project is less than a block away from the $30 million Heart of the City Health Center currently under construction, and it will increase the availability of medical services and medical office space within steps of Saint Mary's Health Care campus."The city may be investing in this project with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act bonds we received," Wood says. "We got a total of $25 million and Health Park Central is asking for $8 million in bond allocation." The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority will support both projects with an as yet undetermined amount of tax increment financing, Wood says. Both projects will apply to the state for tax credits. "It's important to mention that even in these tough economic times, we're still able to put together strong public-private partnerships," Wood says.Source: Kara Wood, City of Grand Rapids Economic Development Office; Craig Clark, Clark CommunicationsRelated Articles Heartside's $30M Heart of the City Health Center breaks ground on national healthcare modelGrand Rapids sells property to Gilmore for proposed $5M festival marketplaceDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

The Daily News reports that a Stanton firm will receive $26 million in federal funds that will ultimately lead to the creation of 150 technology jobs.  Applications are now being accepted. According to excerpts from the story Casair Inc. may not receive $26 million in grant funds until November, but applications for dozens of jobs are being accepted right now.??The Stanton computer business currently employs 20 people and is looking to hire 33 direct hires and 150 total hires, including subcontractors, for a major project. All levels of employees will be hired, including administration project management and technicians of all calibers. ?? Read the complete story here. http://www.thedailynews.cc/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=11&ArticleID=35833

Inc. Magazine's 2010 Inc. 5000 lists Issue Media Group, the parent company of Rapid Growth Media and 14 other regional web magazines, as one of the nation's fastest growing private companies. Issue Media Group develops web magazines about local communities that report on development, creative people and businesses, vibrant neighborhoods, and popular places to live, eat, shop, work, and play. According to excerpts from the story:What is it about years ending in zero that prompts us to look both forward and back. We'll start with back. Vinyl-bound volumes of Inc. from 1990 to 2000 stretch across my desk. Year 2000 is a real doorstopper, obese with ads from tech companies and luxury manufacturers courting readers still blissfully unaware that the track they are climbing is part of a roller coaster. On that year's Inc. 500, the No. 1 company, Parson Group, provided financial, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management consulting to blue-chippers. Read the complete story here.

John Rumery When it comes to learning about social media, there is certainly no lack of options in the West Michigan area. If you are a self-directed learner, there is wide variety of instructional materials available. A quick search on Amazon reveals thousands of books on social media.  There are a multitude of free networking and informational events, such as social media slams and lunches hosted by a variety of organizations.  There are all-day and multi-day seminars, college classes, and webinars that are readily available and can deliver insight into how to engage your customers -- all using social media.     Sensing an opportunity to fill a space between the "free slams and lunches which oftentimes serve as an introduction," the "day-long seminars, which can be expensive and time consuming," and the lone-wolf world of webinars and books, Michael Yoder, Social Media Strategist with local marketing company Deksia, has created a series of training seminars that focus on the most popular social media platforms such as You Tube, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Yoder's workshops are 1 to 2 hour training sessions, offering three different levels of instruction based on an individual's previous experience.  For example, the LinkedIn series begins with LinkedIn 1.0, a session designed for someone who has created a profile, but hasn't engaged in the process. LinkedIn 2.0 advances the user to a more rigorous use, while LinkedIn 3.0 ends with a session for "power users."  Yoder has the same progressive series in the works for the other popular social media platforms. To deliver the training programs, Yoder and Deskia have partnered with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, which allows participants to meet in a high-tech classroom setting.   Currently, the training is held in the Grand Rapids and Lansing locations, but if the demand warrants, the partnership also has the potential to scale into other regions where New Horizons has a presence. Yoder feels this type of deliver system is "affordable, bite size and specialized" and will appeal to wide variety of professionals looking for a "hands on" way to learn more about how social media can be integrated into their organization's marketing mix.  Quoting Brian Solis, an author and social media thought leader, Yoder feels the reality for all businesses in the marketplace is "engage or die."    The workshops cost $85 per session. For more information and to register, you can to visit http://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=885242&view=Month Source: Mike Yoder, Deksia John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected]  For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]

Deborah Johnson WoodGrand Rapids' Midtown Neighborhood Association believes its Fulton Street Farmers Market is fertile ground for growing the 90-year-old open-air market into a $3 million all-season marketplace. The group unveiled its proposed plans for a LEED-certified market this week at a public event.The proposed transformation of the market, 1147 E. Fulton St., maintains the rustic charm and warm-weather appeal with an open-air market with a permanent roof, a 2,000-square-foot building for year-round vendors, an expanded plaza, A.D.A.-compliant restrooms at both ends of the market and improved traffic flow."Rebuilding the plaza area where the Salvation Army sells hotdogs is tricky for foot and car traffic," says Christine Helms Maletic, an independent consultant leading the project. Maletic's involvement includes her service as Midtown board president and as project director of Midtown's Brikyaat Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. "We're going to have an area to sit and eat, and we're hoping to get vendors to sell prepared foods," she says, adding that the new plaza area and the year-round building provide enough space for 10 to 12 more vendors than the market can accommodate now. The new market will have about 250 parking spaces for customers and vendors – the same as the current market – but a new traffic pattern will allow cars access to either side of the market without having to exit the property. "Right now, when you pull in, you're committed," Maletic says. "You have to go all the way down the market and out on the opposite street, then re-enter."Sustainable aspects of the new plan include permeable paving, retaining 100 percent of the stormwater on-site and use of renewable energy sources such as rooftop wind turbines.Maletic hopes to break ground in late 2011 provided the capital campaign is successful. A philanthropic feasibility study completed by Hopkins Fundraising Consulting in July indicates there is enough community support to finance the project. Lott3Metz designed the proposed market. Source: Christine Helms Maletic, Fulton Street Farmers Market; City of Grand Rapids press releaseRelated ArticlesProposed $2.8M upgrades to Grand Rapids farmers market include new layout, year-round shopping Plan for historic Brikyaat district adopted into GR Master PlanDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].