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In a virtual awards ceremony, Red Pole Park, a larger-than-life interactive public art installation in the Southfield City Centre was recognized by the Michigan Chapter of the American Association for Landscape Architects (ASLA). The recognition took place in the virtual State of the Chapter and Awards Ceremony.

The General Design Merit Award was presented by ASLA President Wendy Miller to Landscape Architects Mijung Ko, ASLA, PLA, LEED GA and Mark Hieber, ASLA, LEED AP, Principal at HED, a national architecture and engineering firm with a local office in Southfield, that was retained by the Southfield City Centre to design the first phase of a shared use pathway system and this environmental art feature as a centerpiece for community engagement.

“This design award is a nod toward the power of landscape, in all its forms, to enhance the positive perception of ‘Place,'” said Hieber. “It is the result of a broad vision by the City of Southfield and its planning department to advance Southfield toward a more walkable and bikeable city.”

Hieber graciously recognized the partnership with the City of Southfield and Director of Planning, Terry Croad, AICP, ASLA, also a member of the Michigan Chapter of ASLA.

“We want to congratulate Mijung and Mark for working on this exciting project,” said Croad. “This was a goat path before the pathway went in and Mark and his design team created a series of outdoor rooms. This was built not along a river or an old rail-to-trail, but a freeway that has 110,000 cars that go by it every day.”

Recognized as “monumental and memorable”

The award is significant in that it was adjudicated by the Iowa Chapter of ASLA, rather than by a local panel. The jury said, “The creative solution and innovative approach to using existing utility infrastructure not only pushed the design further but worked within the limited budget.

The buzz this project generated is very exciting and not surprising considering its unique, monumental and memorable quality. This project shows what can happen when the role of the landscape architect is expanded beyond the traditional definition.”

Consisting of 65 red poles, each 35-feet tall, the installation intersects the extra-wide shared-use path at a segment of the Southfield City Centre Trail visible to the vehicles that traverse the Lodge Freeway each day. Red Pole Park represents the past, present and future of civic mindfulness in Southfield, with special historical recognition for past generations and founders of Southfield, as well as the growth and development of civic leaders yet to come.

At night, the tallest of the poles are lit with twinkling blue lights, which signal safe harbor, much like Michigan’s many beautiful and historic lighthouses. Walkers, runners and cyclists on the Trail can interact with the poles, which are home among native wildflowers, trees and unique birdhouses.

“We felt that we needed something bold and exciting to get people’s attention and it has done that and more,” said Croad during the awards ceremony. “It was the first piece of a 2.25-mile trail that has continued to be expanded on along M-10 the Lodge through the city of Southfield. We want to congratulate HED for our partnership with the city on this project that has been a catalyst to a number of redevelopments along this corridor including a new North American headquarters for Clarience Technologies, a convention center, two new hotels and expansion at Lawrence Tech University.”

Creative…and creatively funded

As unique in its design is the story behind how Red Pole Park came to be. Sparked by the generosity of 3,665 sponsors in a 2017 Patronicity crowdfunding campaign, the funding was matched by a grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) Public Spaces, Community Places funding initiative.

Installed in 2018 and dedicated in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 22, 2018, the park is located directly on the Southfield City Centre Trail along the Northwestern Highway service drive, just north of Civic Center Drive and is accessible on foot year-round. Red Pole Park is just one of several art installations available along the Southfield City Centre Trail and within the district.

There is grant money available until the end of 2020 to help your manufacturing company become more agile and part of the Industry 4.0 age. It’s a unique program available to the first 300 qualified manufacturers.  There are also opportunities for manufacturing adjacent companies (e.g., distributors, installers, service and support, and light fabricators) in a related program.

Working with Automation Alley, Oakland County is funding consultations, training and equipment that can help your company change and adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.  Manufacturers accepted into the program will receive:

• Strategic Guidance on how to transform from legacy operations to digital manufacturing
• An Industry 4.0 Assessment outlining where your business stands today and what digital opportunities best fit your needs
• Connections and Introductions to state-of-the art vendors and applied research that can help you along your path to Industry 4.0
• A Financial Investment, including grant money to purchase Industry 4.0 and state-of-the art digital technologies like a production part capable 3D printer—valued at more than $20,000, at no cost to you—or an Augmented Reality (AR) manufacturing system
• Essential Business Designation for those manufacturers continuing to produce PPE

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly reshaping and accelerating the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector. The U.S. needs to be better prepared to respond to future emergencies and demand for PPE, ventilators and other related healthcare supplies and equipment. This program will position our region as an agile, digital-ready and essential source of manufactured goods in times of national crisis.

To qualify, companies must be a small or medium sized manufacturer residing in Oakland County. To apply, visit  AutomationAlley.com/PPEgrant

If you are a manufacturing adjacent company, you can submit a different form on the Automation Alley site.

For an introduction to Industry 4.0, see attached document.

If you have questions on this program, please contact Automation Alley (Troy):
info@automationalley.com  |  (800) 427-5100

In 1980, Etkin, LLC celebrated the opening of a sleek new five-story office building at 26261 Evergreen Road, directly across from Southfield’s Municipal Center. Now, Evergreen Atrium Office Building is marking its 40th anniversary as one of the city’s most iconic modern workplaces with the completion of its sophisticated new lobby and select common areas, including the restroom facilities.

The building’s original lobby opened to reveal a five-story skylit atrium with three glass-faced passenger elevators, a fountain and towering indoor trees. After four decades, the redesigned open space lobby now provides the warmth and sense of connection necessary to compliment Etkin’s corporate brand message.

Faudie Architecture was commissioned to lead the design for the lobby transformation. Faudie has designed several signature properties for Etkin and is a long-term tenant at Evergreen Atrium Office Building.

“Their designs are very clean and inspiring, the Faudie team understands how to make our vision come to life. We wanted the focal point to center on the atrium’s water feature and three glass elevators,” said Etkin Vice President, Josh Suardini. “They responded by creating a unique lounge area, which is defined by a trellis-like hardwood slat ceiling with matching accent wall panels. The new lounge area creates an intimate, more human scaled space. Our goal was to ‘activate’ the lobby to create opportunities for socialization among the tenants and places where tenants can collaborate or work independently beyond their suite,” commented Suardini.

Faudie’s design includes three large-scale TV monitors, lobby Wi-Fi access, comfortable lounge seating, a long-bar with stools, smaller areas to impromptu meetings, low planters, stone-clad columns and unique flooring patterns.

Evergreen Atrium also offers and a diverse number of dining options with on-site restaurants including TGI Fridays, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Beyond Juicery + Eatery and the addition of Market Twenty 4 Seven, a self-checkout micro market offering an ever-rotating selection of fresh, delicious grab-and-go meals, snacks, premium beverages and sundries.

Office floors offer full-height windows, open floor plates and generous finish allowances. The fifth floor is currently available for lease with 33,725 SF of space, which includes signature sign rights on the top of the building. Smaller office suites are also available and may be viewed at EtkinLLC.com.

ABOUT ETKIN

Etkin has played a prominent role in southeast Michigan real estate development and acquisition for nearly four decades. The privately owned company was formed in 1982 and is led by principal, Douglas Etkin, and president, Curtis Burstein. Etkin has been involved in over 9.5 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, hotel, senior living and mixed-use developments. The company also offers fee-based management and development services to a select number of third-party clients, financial institutions, hospital organizations and physician groups. For additional information, visit EtkinLLC.com.

The Southfield City Centre Trail will be the venue for the 2020 Walk to Bring Awareness of Domestic Violence to be held on October 4.

Sponsored by 411 Therapy, the event is a collaborative effort of The City of Southfield, Southfield Police and Fire Departments, the 46th District Court, Haven Oakland, the Southfield Domestic Violence Group and the Dr. Martin Luther King Task Force.

“We don’t have a lot of serious crime here in Southfield, and that’s a great thing. But sadly, domestic violence is almost an everyday occurrence,” says Kenson Siver, Mayor of the City of Southfield. “We are stepping up to respond to the incidence of domestic violence in the City of Southfield. Unfortunately, it’s the No.1 police run in the city.”

To reduce the number of participants at any one time, the event will be held in two shifts, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. The approximately 2.5 mile walk will begin and end on the front lawn of the Southfield Municipal Campus in the Southfield City Centre.

Participants must register prior to the event at the walk website: http://walktoraiseawarenessofdv.qmigroupinc.com/.

To highlight the City of Southfield’s new strategy to address and reduce domestic violence and its impact on families and individuals in Southfield, the event will begin with a press conference prior to both shifts of the walk.

The extra-wide shared use pathway provides strategically placed benches and trash receptacles, public art installations and other pedestrian-friendly amenities, making it the ideal venue for walkers of all abilities.

Learn more about the event and register at http://walktoraiseawarenessofdv.qmigroupinc.com/.

When Vicki Perry was an elementary school principal in the Southfield Public School District, she shared a common love for books with a friend who supported efforts to help children become confident readers, even though she herself couldn’t read.

That friend was a black labrador named Lucky. Perry says Lucky was an appropriate name for her companion for a couple of reasons. Two decades ago, during a heatwave in Detroit, Perry purchased Lucky, then a tiny puppy with no name, from some guys who asked $5 for the dog. “We gave them $10 and took her to a vet around the corner and waited 90 minutes to get her in. She was beautiful but sick. Our $10 turned into about $900,” she says.

With a lot of care, Lucky recovered. “She was lucky that we took her to the vet because she probably wouldn’t have made it,” Perry says. “But we were lucky to have found her because she was a wonderful dog. Smart, smart, smart.”

Lucky’s gentle nature made her a perfect reading companion in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms at the schools where Perry worked. “She went to work with me a couple of times during the week. She had her glasses and a book bag and the children would take turns reading to her, and I think they really enjoyed it because Lucky never told them they mispronounced a word. She never corrected them. She never judged them,” Perry says.

Five years ago, after nearly 14 years of companionship, Perry said goodbye to Lucky. But just prior to this farewell — and during a walk near Perry’s cottage in Canada — Perry noticed in a neighbor’s yard a special bookshelf dedicated to a beloved pet. “It had a sign that said ‘Feel free to take a book,’ and I thought that’s so wonderful,” she recalls. Ever since then, Perry has planned to create a Lucky Library to honor her own pet.

“I needed to retire and research it and I was finally able to purchase the library,” says Perry, now an assistant to Southfield Mayor Ken Siver. “With the assistance and wonderful responsibility of Kyle Bryce and Terry Croad in the planning department and the Southfield City Centre Advisory Board, it was approved.”

The library was installed on Thursday, August 13 and a ribbon-cutting took place on Sunday, August 16. “I put the first books into the Lucky Free Library, and they are all about dogs,” Perry says. The library sits on the southwest corner of Evergreen Road and Civic Center Drive and exists to support literacy in the community.

“The books I purchased years ago as a reflection of my dog, and in the library will be books of all genres and for all ages,” Perry says. Soon, she hopes to adorn the library with a nameplate that says “The Lucky Library.”

While Perry does not have a new dog to take Lucky’s place in her family, she says she does enjoy “timesharing” Oliver, a dog that belongs to family members and enjoys long visits with Perry throughout the year. In fact, Oliver and Lucky met briefly, and Perry says she likes to think Lucky passed a message to Oliver — in whatever dog language they communicate — to step in whenever Perry may need him.

“Oliver is such a perfect dog. He’s so good,” says Perry.

Take a book, leave a book, enjoy The Lucky Library. It’s on the southwest corner of Evergreen Road and Civic Center Drive in the Southfield City Centre.