November 5, 2018
Street Talk: Diesel fuels electric’s cause
Electric vehicles may be one step closer to truly being the future of transportation in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently announced it plans to leverage $64.8 million toward sustainable air quality improvements. The money is the outcome of the 2016 Volkswagen Diesel Settlement, whereby an Environmental Mitigation Trust was established to resolve […]
Change Ups: Pine Rest opens 18th outpatient clinic in WM
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services opened an outpatient clinic at 877 Forest Hills Ave. SW, Suite C, located in the same building as Forest Hills Pediatric Associates. Tory Seif has transitioned to become the Forest Hills Clinic manager. This is Pine Rest’s 18th outpatient clinic in West Michigan, which serves children, adolescents and their families. It has […]
Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds KEANE, Gregory F. et al, Old National Bank, Marshall Park, Lot 15, $650,000 GILLIES, Robert W. et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Condo-Villas of Ada, $217,500 HANNANT, Karen et al, Kaye Financial Corp., Mission Hills Estates, Lot 61, $276,450 TOTH, Scottie L. et al, ChoiceOne Bank, […]
Does human resources impact the bottom line?
Last month, I received a survey whereby of the 700 participants (CEO, CFO, CPO), a large majority of CEOs and CFOs said the human resources function doesn’t have a positive impact on the bottom line in small to medium-sized businesses. What is even more surprising is a large number of HR managers tend to agree. […]
Digging out from the past to continue drive forward
How Michigan can improve its roads and infrastructure is an important issue. We’ve all heard the campaign ads, but I encourage our citizens to take a hard look at the facts and the recently passed funding that is ramping up to finally deliver progress that Michigan deserves on this important issue. In 2011, Michigan’s transportation […]
Considerations for selling a midsize business in today’s market
For several years now, professionals in the financial markets have been advising their midsize clients the time was right for selling their business. Sale multiples have been at all-time highs, the private equity market has been awash in capital and expectations were such that the market could not continue to be as good. So, is […]
Region’s stocks grow 6% from Q1
Despite losses last month, West Michigan’s public companies have seen stock market returns of 6 percent in the first three quarters of 2018. Gregg Dimkoff, professor of finance at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business, calculated the West Michigan stock index using weighted averages of share returns from the region’s 16 publicly traded […]
Experts share AI, advanced manufacturing tips
At a recent gathering, presenters challenged manufacturers to embrace digital disruption in a systematic way. The Right Place, West Michigan’s economic development agency, hosted the 2018 Manufacturing Leadership Summit on Oct. 30 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. This year’s event had the theme “Industry 4.0” and included keynote speeches, presentations […]
Franklin pulls out of Studio Park
A key partner in the development of Studio Park has left the project, but Jackson Entertainment intends to maintain its course. Franklin Partners recently issued a statement saying it will no longer partner with Jackson Entertainment on the office portion of Studio Park. The group said it was unable to secure enough preleasing to break […]
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Inside Track: Serial entrepreneur invests in community
The three greatest loves of Nicole Gregory’s career are marketing, real estate and building businesses — and she pursues them all with gusto. Gregory is owner and CEO of Urban You, a Grand Rapids beauty bar and medical spa business with two locations; managing partner and CEO of Urban Lab Ventures, a Grand Rapids private […]
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Tax incentives help prevent fire injuries
The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors recently was able to benefit from its years of work that led to new tax incentives for installing fire sprinkler systems. The nonprofit, which supports burn victims all over the world, spent 14 years fighting on a coalition to allow tax benefits for property owners who install fire protection […]
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Economic growth sprouts at Tulip Time
More people are making the trek to Holland to see the springtime tulips, according to an economic report. The 2018 Tulip Time economic impact report, conducted in partnership with Hope College’s Frost Research Center, shows the nine-day festival that was held from May 5-13 yielded $48 million in economic impact, which resulted from hotel stays, […]
Employers gravitate to self-insured health plans
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) There is an upward trend in the type of health plan some employers desire. According to Robert Hughes, president of Grand Rapids-based Advantage Benefits Group — a full-service employee benefits agency — large companies with an employee base greater than 100 have been increasingly pursuing self-insured health plans, in […]
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Muskegon reveals downtown campus
Plans for the future downtown Muskegon convention center campus show a total investment of at least $26 million. The main piece of the project is a new $17-million, 45,000-square-foot convention center on the Fourth Street block between Western Avenue and Shoreline Drive, slated to open early 2021. The facility will sit between the updated L.C. […]
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Dredging would link downtown, Lake Michigan
A new study shows dredging a 23-mile portion of the Grand River from the Fulton Street bridge to the Bass River could create a $5.7-million annual economic impact and raise riverfront property values by 16.9 percent. The state-funded study was completed by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group and commissioned by Grand River Waterway, a nonprofit […]
