Deborah Johnson WoodShooting hoops and wordsmithing on a 10-foot by 10-foot Scrabble board are just two of the ways employees at Lambert Edwards & Associates can de-stress in their new office space in Heartside. In late May, the public and investor relations firm relocated from the National City Bank building on Monroe Avenue NW to an environmentally renovated former auto repair shop at 47 Commerce SW. "At first the contractors and architect thought I was joking when I said I wanted a basketball hoop in the corner," says Jeff Lambert, president. "But part of the reason for (buying) the building is about how we can really invest in the culture of our firm. You can have some great conversations around the basketball court."Lambert says they built the office around the natural light that streamed through the existing large windows by adding glass walls and skylights. The original brick walls, a media studio for producing videos and podcasts, and a blend of private offices and open workspaces give the place an air of "professional cool, a sharp-looking and creative space for clients to come in and work," he adds. The next project is to complete the 1,200-square-foot roof deck where employees and clients can take breaks or have meetings. The deck will have wireless Internet access, and Lambert says the company hopes to donate use of the space for charity events. The firm partnered with five of its clients on the renovation and relocation: Pioneer Construction, Springthrough, EPS Engineered Protection Systems, Inc., Avian and Two Men and a Truck. Lambert expects the project will receive LEED certification."We're really pleased to be part of the revitalization that's going on in Heartside with Gallery On Fulton, 38, Stella's and Viceroy," Lambert says. "Part of why we invested in the space was to be able to attract talent from other markets because we know that the environment we work in every day is very important."Source: Jeff Lambert, Lambert Edwards & Associates Related Articles PR firm Lambert Edwards hosted ArtPrize at 47 Commerce, now plans to relocate thereDeborah 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].

WOOD TV-8 reports that this week the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved brownfield tax credits of $4.1 million for the redevelopment of the Old Federal Building by Kendall College of Art & Design. According to excerpts from the story:Brownfield credit approved TuesdayA state board approved $4.1 million in tax credits Tuesday to redevelop the old Grand Rapids federal building into classrooms, offices and exhibit space for Ferris State University and the Kendall School of Art and Design. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved the credits for Christman Company subsidiary Federal Building Partners LLC, which is undertaking the $28.5 million renovation of the nearly 100-year-old city-owned building. Read the complete story here.

Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co. has begun hiring the first of 25 employees it plans to add to its Holland headquarters over the next two years, thanks to a $7.5 million investment in its plant

Deborah Johnson WoodGrand Rapids technology firm Atomic Object and Nathan Owen, a former IBM employee, have created a joint venture called Blue Medora to help Fortune 5000 companies manage aspects of cloud computing. Many companies are moving data systems to the Internet-based Amazon Cloud as a cost savings measure because they don't have to upgrade equipment continually and only pay for the data resources they use. However, the companies generally lose the ability to monitor their systems when they use Amazon Cloud. Until now. "Our angle is that this IBM Tivoli Monitoring (ITM) tool hasn't been adapted to work with customers who are putting things in their cloud," Nathan Owen says. "That's what we're doing now, giving them a single view of everything they have."Blue Medora's software allows users to meter computing resources, disk usage, the number of users in the system, system slowdowns and more. Additionally, companies can determine a cut-off point when the system will alert them they need more capacity to avoid a system crash. "The software tells companies when to elastically expand," Owen says. "Once you use, let's say, 90 percent capacity, it lets you go out and create new servers in the cloud."Owen says Blue Medora's relationship with IBM is mutually beneficial – IBM licenses some of Blue Medora's technology and sells it under the IBM brand, and IBM sends Blue Medora customer leads. Atomic Object incubated Blue Medora at Atomic's offices at 941 Wealthy St. SE for the first 18 months. Atomic's staff worked closely with Owen, enabling him to develop a marketable product without having to hire his own staff. Now the company has some 10 employees and Owen expects to double that in the next 18 months. "It's in our interest to find people like Nathan with good ideas and to invest in him or her to expand our business," says Carl Erickson, Atomic Object president. "Companies like Atomic and Blue Medora are growing and creating jobs that keep the talent here."Source: Nathan Owen, Blue Medora; Carl Erickson, Atomic ObjectDeborah 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].

Deborah Johnson WoodPlans are far from complete, but officials at Kendall College of Art and Design say they're working to get approvals by summer's end for a $27.9 million reconfiguration of the Old Federal Building into a creative space where the college, the public and the arts intersect."Kendall is growing and like any flourishing college involved with the arts, creative space is so important," says John Willey, Ferris State University's vice president for university advancement and marketing. Kendall is Ferris State's creative arts and design college."For about seven years we've been thinking about how we could expand in a meaningful way," he says. "Because of the federal building's proximity to Kendall (17 Fountain St. NW) and to our other building at 25 Lyon, we're thinking it would help connect several pieces that we're trying to do with Kendall College in downtown Grand Rapids."Preliminary plans include a studio for ceramics and sculpture, another for metal sculpture, classrooms and lecture spaces, and "significant public areas where the public can come in and engage art and be part of a vivacious creative enterprise," says Willey. Those public areas may include a restaurant or café. "We hope to have a major space dedicated to sustainable design," Willey adds. Ferris recently added a sustainable design degree to its list of course offerings. A component of the coursework takes place at Kendall, which Willey says will move the college's expertise in forward-thinking furniture design to the larger built environment."Higher education is one of our core anchors of downtown and having creative young people occupying that building is a great extension on Kendall's and Ferris' presence here," says Jay Fowler, executive director of Grand Rapids' Downtown Development Authority. The federal government transferred ownership of the building to the city of Grand Rapids when the Grand Rapids Art Museum planned to move into the space in the early '80s, says Fowler. GRAM relocated to 101 Monroe Center in 2007, leaving the building vacant,Kendall is jumping some complicated financial hurdles to purchase the building. However, because of the building's historical significance, the federal government will have the final say on changes to the structure.Source: John Willey, Ferris State University; Jay Fowler, Grand Rapids Downtown Development AuthorityDeborah 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].