LANSING – The Michigan Economic Development Corporation today announced Michigan Strategic Fund approval of state incentives to five business expansions and four community improvement projects across the state that are expected to generate $173 million in new investments and add 1,119 new jobs in Michigan.

“These business expansions and community improvements demonstrate the growing optimism across Michigan among our business leaders and citizens,” said Governor Rick Snyder. “We’ve worked to better our state’s business climate and our efforts are bringing strong results. These new investments will strengthen our communities and fuel more and better jobs for our talented workforce.”

The MSF-approved projects include three in the metro Detroit region, another three in the corridor near Flint and Saginaw, two in West Michigan and one in Traverse City. The projects span industry sectors including auto suppliers in Marysville, Saginaw and Lake Orion, cereal production in Battle Creek, automation products near Holland and include a historic renovation in Detroit and community improvements in Fenton, Owosso and Traverse City.

MICHIGAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM:
SMR Automotive Systems, USA, Inc. is a Tier 1 automotive supplier of rear vision systems. The company plans to expand its facility in the City of Marysville by adding a paint line and new equipment and reconfiguring the existing space. The company also plans to purchase a 100,000 square foot warehouse in the City of Port Huron. SMR plans to invest $40 million and add 350 new jobs related to the projects, resulting in a $4 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. The City of Marysville is providing property tax abatements in support of the project.

J.R. Automation Technologies, LLC designs, manufactures and maintains specialized automated machinery around the world. Established in 1980, the company provided automated machinery to customers within the automotive industry. In 2008, the company expanded into new markets which now include consumer products, food processing, pharmaceutical, medical device and aeronautic industries. The company plans to expand existing operations in Olive Township and Holland Charter Township, creating 90 new jobs and investing up to $4.2 million. As a result of the expansion, J.R. Automation has been awarded a $300,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. The townships have offered support in the form of 12-year property tax abatements.

Kay Screen Printing (d/b/a Kay Automotive Graphics) produces exterior graphics and trim parts for the North American automotive market. The company plans to construct a new facility in Orion Township, investing $12.9 million and creating 50 new jobs. As a result of the expansion, Kay Screen Printing has been awarded a $350,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Lake Orion Township is offering a 12-year property tax abatement valued at $731,000.

Post Foods dates back to 1895 as one of the early pioneers in the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal business when C.W. Post came to Michigan and formed the Postum Company. The company currently has manufacturing facilities in four locations: Battle Creek, MI; Jonesboro, AR; Modesto, CA; and Niagara, ON. This project would consolidate the manufacturing headquarters into the Battle Creek facility, relocating key leadership roles to Battle Creek and closing the Modesto facility. The company plans to invest $30 million and create 92 jobs, resulting in a $700,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. The City of Battle Creek is offering support in the form of a property tax abatement.

COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PROGRAM:
1212 Griswold Street LLC plans to renovate the historic 13-story Chamber of Commerce building, also formerly known as the Detroit Savings Bank Building, originally constructed in 1895 at 1212 Griswold Street in the City of Detroit. The building will be renovated into 56 residential apartments and commercial office space on floors one through five. The project will generate a total capital investment of approximately $37.6 million and create 120 new jobs. As a result, the project has been awarded a $6 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program loan. The City of Detroit is offering support to the project in the form of a 12-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation tax abatement.

Corlin Builders, Inc. has been awarded an $880,000 Michigan Community Revitalization Program incentive to demolish an obsolete building located at 134 North Leroy in the City of Fenton and build a new, four-story mixed use development. The project will include first floor dining and retail space with 23 residential units on the top three floors. The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of approximately $5.2 million and create 75 full-time positions. The City of Fenton has provided direct funding to the project from the Fenton Downtown Development Authority in the amount of $1.2 million.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM:
The City of Owosso has been awarded $270,375 in CDBG funds for façade improvements for seven buildings located within the traditional downtown core of Owosso. The project is receiving private matching funds from the business owners totaling $83,728 and $6,397 from the City of Owosso.

BROWNFIELD WORK PLAN:
TBA Credit Union Redevelopment Project – The County of Grand Traverse Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will use school and local tax capture valued at $1,017,309 to demolish two buildings located on Front Street in the City of Traverse City. The project will include infrastructure improvements and preparation of the property for the construction of a new three-story headquarters for TBA Credit Union. The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $7.3 million and create 17 permanent new jobs.

JOB RETENTION MBT TAX CREDIT AMENDMENT:
Nexteer Automotive Corporation MBT Retention Tax Credit amendment – Nexteer Automotive Corporation received an MBT Retention Tax Credit for 2,400 retained jobs at its Buena Vista Township facility in 2009. In October 2012 the credit was amended to allow for an additional 325 jobs related to new business for the years 2012 and 2013. The number of allowed jobs under the credit was set to revert back to 2,400 after 2013. Currently the company has the opportunity to locate new electric power steering and steering column manufacturing programs to the Buena Vista Township facility, requiring an estimated $36 million in new investment and 325 new jobs by December 2015. As a result of this growth, MSF approved an increase in the maximum allowance for retained jobs on Nexteer’s Job Retention MBT Tax Credit from 2,400 to 2,725 for the years 2014 through 2017.

“Today’s wide range of projects will all lead to greater economic opportunities for people across Michigan,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney. “These projects will help strengthen and revitalize Michigan’s communities and help growing companies generate new job opportunities.”

Pure Michigan is a brand on the rise, representing business, talent and tourism initiatives across Michigan. These efforts are driven by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which serves as the state’s marketing arm and lead agency for business growth, jobs and opportunity with a focus on helping grow Michigan’s economy.

For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit: MichiganAdvantage.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org.
 

Detroit Branch NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony today unveiled plans for the 50th anniversary of the March on Woodward led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Several organizations, institutions and individuals, including the NAACP and the United Auto Workers (UAW), are joining hands in a coalition to celebrate the 1963 march, which was the prelude to the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. It was at the Washington march and on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream,” speech now cited as one of the greatest oratory presentations in history.
The Detroit celebration on June 22 will be a march down Woodward Avenue following the same route that King took when he marched in Detroit, organized by the Detroit Council for Human Rights and chaired by the late Rev. C.L. Franklin.
“It has been 50 years since Dr. King walked down the streets of Woodward Avenue in the city of Detroit to begin a collection from the bank of freedom and justice. He would later declare at the mall in Washington in August 1963 that the check has come back marked ‘insufficient funds,’” Anthony told a media roundtable today at the NAACP offices in Detroit.
“Even though the check came back marked ‘insufficient funds,’ Dr. King still declared to the world that he had a dream. That dream was for people to be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. The dream was for jobs, justice and peace.”
Anthony said recreating the historic march down Woodward with labor, faith-based, community, business and grassroots organizations is to continue to demand equality at the highest levels of government.
This year’s commemoration will feature a long line of speakers and there is no keynote speaker.
Despite the progress that has been made since the King years and with Barack Obama becoming the first African American president, Anthony said, “We are mindful that we still need jobs, justice and peace. We are mindful that democracy is under attack. We are mindful that everyone is not pleased with the changing realities that are visible within our nation.”
Rev, Franklin, who was a close friend of Dr. King, said this about the March on Woodward and its significance to succeeding generations:
“A demonstration should be held every year on the last Sunday in the month of June until the last vestige of inequality in this country is wiped out. It is our responsibility to fight for what is ours, and that means every day.”
Franklin, who was pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, led the Detroit Human Rights Council and its directors including Jackie Vaughn III, Rev. Albert Cleage, James Del Rio, Rev. J. A. Bruce, Rev. Ordie Burns and Lillian Hatcher on May 17, 1963 to unanimously adopt the “Declaration of Detroit,” resolution at his church.
African Americans at the time had only consisted of 30 percent of the city’s population, but according to the resolution they made up of “70 percent existing in substandard housing; denied after 100 years of Constitutional freedom the full measure of the social contract, we do hereby declare before God and all men that we will no longer abide, tolerate or countenance this manifest injustice.”
The demands in the resolution for some still ring true today as Blacks continue to face some of the same hurdles, notwithstanding the progress that has occurred in the Black community since 1963.
Events leading up to next month’s celebration will include a series of strategy sessions called “Voices for Action” on June 21, on the eve of the anniversary dealing with the rights of workers and the necessity to provide opportunities in job creation, entrepreneurship, ending youth violence and protecting the right to vote.
A video contest for school and college students is also part of activities marking the anniversary, according to NAACP Executive Director Donnell White. Students wishing to enter the contest are asked to upload a one-minute video explaining how they are helping to rebuild their community at www.freedomwalkdetroit.com/contest, the official website for the program. Students could win prizes such as an Apple MacBook Pro or an Apple iPad Mini.
“We thought it was important that we connect King’s legacy with today’s actions, and youths working toward Detroit’s revitalization is a perfect way to do that,” said Anthony.
UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said, “We have many milestones to celebrate since King walked Detroit’s streets. But we are asking that everyone take a step toward finding solutions as we go forward and the anniversary celebration is a good place to start.”
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LANSING – The Michigan Film Office announced today the pilot for new a cable television series and the second season of the Internet program Detroit Rubber have been approved for film incentives from the state. 

The television pilot project is a reality show following a Michigan gym owner and his staff as they work to train professional athletes and the middle-aged dads that work alongside them. Shooting in Plymouth, the project is being directed by Michigan native Chris Farah with Mike Farah and Anna Wenger producing.

“Both of these projects highlight Michigan entrepreneurs and their businesses while providing opportunities for the talented crew base we have here in the state,” said Margaret O’Riley, director of the Michigan Film Office. “It is especially exciting that Chris and Mike Farah, two talented filmmakers from our state, are bringing another project home to Michigan.”

The pilot was awarded an incentive of $78,153 on $259,922 of projected in-state expenditures and expected to hire 35 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 2 jobs.

Detroit Rubber Season 2 was awarded an incentive of $68,348 on $235,987 of projected in-state expenditures. The project expects to hire 20 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 1 job.

Detroit Rubber follows Rick Williams and Roland “Ro” Coit, owners of the Royal Oak sneaker shop Burn Rubber and boutique two/eighteen. The show will continue to highlight these Michigan entrepreneurs as they balance family, a growing business and day-to-day struggles.

Michigan native Christos Moisides will serve as director and producer on the project with executive producers including Marshall Mathers and Paul Rosenberg from Shady Films and Evan Bregman, Ben Silverman, Montrel McKay and Danny Lee from Electus. The eight episode show will again air on the premium YouTube channel LOUD, which has more than 135,000 subscribers and 1.5 million views each week.

In Fiscal Year 2013, 19 projects have been awarded a total of $33,078,203 on $127,566,757 of approved production expenditures for the year. These projects are expected to create 1,376 Michigan hires with a full time equivalent of 599 jobs.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Film Review Committee, comprised of senior MEDC staff including the Michigan Film Commissioner, reviews all completed applications using the statute to guide approval decisions.

The Michigan Film Office was created in 1979 to assist and attract incoming production companies and promote the growth of Michigan’s own film industry. The Film Office also administers the incentive program for film, television and other digital media production in Michigan. For more on the Michigan Film Office, visit: MichiganFilmOffice.org.

Pure Michigan is a brand on the rise, representing business, talent and tourism initiatives across Michigan. These efforts are driven by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which serves as the state’s marketing arm and lead agency for business growth, jobs and opportunity with a focus on helping grow Michigan’s economy.

For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit: MichiganAdvantage.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org. 

The American Heart Association wants metro Detroiters to let their footsteps be heard as they start their journey to better heart health at the Metro Detroit Heart Walk at Ford Field on June 8 from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Stadium doors open at 8 a.m. followed by a welcome ceremony at 10 a.m., then the walk at 10:30 a.m. This event is free to the public, however, individuals and teams are encouraged to register and fundraise in advance.

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death while stroke is the No. 4 cause of death in Americans. The annual Heart Walk is a nationwide event that allows attendees to participate in physical activities while raising funds for heart disease and stroke research and education. Thousands will walk or run through downtown Detroit to celebrate those living with or lost from heart disease.

“When you join Heart Walk, you join more than a million people in 350 cities across America in taking a stand against heart disease and helping save lives,” said Joel Kahn, chair of the Metro Detroit Heart Walk and professor of Medicine at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. “From every dollar raised through the Heart Walk campaign, three dollars goes back into the community to help improve the lives of Michigan residents.”

Attendees can participate in a wide range of activities including: a mascot race, Fifth Third Kids’ Zone, Bokwa fitness demonstration, health screenings and live entertainment among others. Radio Disney, Sean Lee of WWJ News Radio 950 and Anqunette Jamison of Fox 2 News will also be on-site to interact with the crowd. Attendees have the option to participate in a 1-mile or 3-mile walk, or the Barton Malow 5K Fun Run/Walk. This year, the Association added a Torch Ceremony to honor those impacted by cardiovascular disease and stroke.

“The Heart Walk is more than a one-day celebration,” said Kahn. “It is the first step to a longer and healthier life free from cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

Parking for the Detroit Heart Walk is available for $4 through Ampco System Parking in Lots 4, 5, and 6 and for $5 through Olympia Entertainment in Lots 1, 2, 3 and W. Follow the Metro Detroit Heart Walk event on Twitter using the hashtag #DetroitHeartWalk.

The Heart Walk is nationally sponsored by Subway and Jenny Craig. The Metro Detroit Heart Walk is locally sponsored by FMR, Fifth Third Bank, Meritor, Ford Field and Levy Restaurants, Michigan Radio, FOX 2 News and WWJ Newsradio 950. For more information about the Heart Walk and registration, visit miheartwalk.org or call 248-936-5782.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Our mission is to build healthier lives by preventing, treating and defeating these diseases – America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.