Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies, including updates about the COVID-19 pandemic. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Detroit’s Techno Music Festival Hits Hart Plaza Memorial Day Weekend
For the first time since 2019, music fans will once again be able to make the pilgrimage to Detroit, the mecca of Techno music, for three days of diverse curation on Memorial Day Weekend (May 28-30, 2022) inside Hart Plaza at downtown Detroit’s riverfront.
The Detroit’s Movement Music Festival 2022 will be produced by Paxahau in Detroit. The lineup to date offers an early taste of the breadth of the festival’s programming, featuring a selection of dance music’s most in-demand artists, underground mainstays, and notable first-time performers.
This year’s Movement Stage headliners will include Swedish producer and Drumcode label boss Adam Beyer; Techno titan Richie Hawtin; as well as acclaimed Techno pioneer, producer, and composer Jeff Mills. The Detroit native makes his long-awaited return to Movement for a special performance celebrating 30 years of his iconic label, Axis Records.
“Of all the places I’ve traveled to and audiences I’ve played music for, Detroit is still the city that remains the barometer of advanced creative knowledge and technique,” says Mills. “It’s special because of what the long list of native Detroit musicians that have contributed to the world of music.
“It’s a place that is infamous for proposing new ways and ideas as well as a unique and common viewpoint on the future of music. The city taught me to never fear what lies beyond but embrace it as a means to advance the music art form. I look forward to Movement 2022 — returning back to the city and to the people that taught me and the World everything.”
Additionally, UK Drum and Bass legends Goldie and LTJ Bukem will perform together for the first-time ever as Goldie b2b LTJ Bukem. Notable first-time performers include: LCD Soundsystem frontman andDFA co-founder, James Murphy; NYC mainstay and “45 Queen” Natasha Diggs; Naples rising Techno star Anfisa Letyago; UK-born DJ and producer Blawan; and Chicago’s singer-songwriter and producer duo DRAMA. Today’s announcement also features renowned producer, DJ and Smart Bar (Chicago) resident The Blessed Madonna; Brazilian Techno producer ANNA; T4T LUV NRG founders Eris Drew b2b Octo Octa; House music legend Louie Vega; underground dance music champion Seth Troxler; and internationally acclaimed Tech House producer Maceo Plex.
One-day and three-day passes for both general admission and VIPs are on sale now here.
Newmark Signs Trigo Quality Solutions to Auburn Hills Lease
Farmington Hills commercial real estate agency Newmark has completed a 102,377-square-foot industrial lease with Trigo Quality Solutions Inc. at 2430 East Walton Blvd. in Auburn Hills.
The landlord, Frain Cooper Holdings, purchased the 125,063-square-foot industrial building via a partial sale-leaseback with Norma Group. The Newmark team was able to secure a deal with Trigo Quality Solutions to bring the total building occupancy to 100 percent upon closing.
“With very limited supply of available industrial properties in the market, and cost of new construction up 40 percent, demand has been outpacing supply,” says Geoff Hill, executive managing director at Newmark who, along with associate Chris Hill, represented the landlord. “We were able to leverage the strong market conditions in order to backfill the space upon the sale closing.”
Trigo Quality Solutions will use the space for sequence and warehousing, to fulfill client needs. Norma Group will remain in the building in 22,686 square feet of office and lab space.
According to Newmark Research, the Metro Detroit industrial market vacancy rate fell 20 basis points to 4 percent during the fourth quarter of 2021 as just over 2.8 million square feet was absorbed, for a total of 7.5 million square feet of net absorption in 2021, a level not seen since 2017.
Shinola Debuts Serta 313 Mattress Collection
Detroit-based Shinola today is debuting a unique collaboration with Serta — The 313 Mattress Collection — a line of premium mattresses that marry Serta’s commitment to comfort with Shinola’s timeless style.
An ode to Shinola’s hometown of Detroit, the 313 Mattress Collection brings Serta’s trademark comfort to consumers in a new, convenient, and stylish way, the company says. The mattress features stitched Shinola lightning bolt logos and bold stripe on the border complement the soft, cool-to-the-touch cover and gel memory foam layers.
With a 10-inch height and plush feel, the 313 Mattresses “are ideal for anyone looking to elevate their sleep space,” the company says. They are available in Twin XL ($889), Queen ($1,199), and King/California King ($1,499). The 313 Mattress Collection comes packaged in a box for easy set-up.
Detroit Pistons Team with Rosa Parks Estate for Black History Month
The Detroit Pistons kicked off their Black History Month celebration by announcing a collaboration with the Rosa Parks Estate to honor one of the most influential civil rights icons.
Pistons Chief Business Officer Mike Zavodsky lauded the partnership and the collaboration with the Rosa Parks Estate as part of the organization’s Black History Month festivities and reaffirmed the team’s commitment to serving the Detroit community, advancing social justice and enhancing education opportunities for the city’s youth.
“Mrs. Parks’ heroism and activism helped initiate a civil rights movement that changed U.S. history and continues to this day,” says Zavodsky. “We are honored to kick off the beginning of this year’s Black History Month in collaboration with the Rosa Parks Estate. As we celebrate her life and place in our nation’s history, recent events demonstrate that significant work remains to advance equality and social justice for all. Our organization will continue finding ways to enhance economic opportunity, enrich youth education and support voting rights.”
In partnership with the Rosa Parks Estate, Priority Health, and The Knight Foundation, the Pistons will provide free bus fares for Detroiters across the city to celebrate Mrs. Parks’ birthday on Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 and have created a special Rosa Parks commemorative merchandise line. Following her passing in 2005, Detroit bus seats were adorned with black ribbons to honor her life, activism and advancement of the civil rights movement in the United States.
At the Rosa Parks Transit Center, 500 jackets were gifted to bus drivers and staff from the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). These jackets will be worn by city bus drivers on Feb. 4. To provide a token of gratitude for their hard work and dedication to the city of Detroit, each driver will be gifted free tickets to an upcoming Pistons home game, a group of whom will be recognized in-game on Feb. 4 as the Detroit Pistons host the Boston Celtics.
Lastly, two DDOT buses will be wrapped in Rosa Parks-inspired artwork created by local artist Desiree Kelly, in addition to four bus shelters (SB Woodward at State Fair, WB Jefferson at E Grand Blvd., SB Gratiot at E. Grand Blvd, and EB Grand River at Livernois).
“Mrs. Parks would be pleased with the Pistons’ celebration of her legacy and, more importantly, with its outreach to the community,” says Elaine Steele, a longtime friend of Mrs. Parks and co-founder of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development Mrs. Steele. “As Mrs. Parks said, her mistreatment on the bus did not begin with her arrest in 1955 — she ‘did a lot of walking in Montgomery.’
“Today, the public buses in the city of Detroit provide a critical artery for transport in the region and are ridden, driven and administrated by folks who will never be forced to the back of the bus again.”
The Pistons will celebrate Black History Month with a variety of activations and partnerships throughout the month of February. Events include the Pistons 17th Annual Black History Month Scholarship Event where high school seniors in Detroit will have an opportunity to earn $50,000 in scholarships and an “HBCU Night” at Little Caesars Arena when the Pistons host the Boston Celtics on Feb. 26.
The team will visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. on Feb. 28 and honor prominent Detroit creatives and leaders in our community during game nights throughout the month.
Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Seeks Interns
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is seeking applicants for two summer internship positions: a public programs intern and development events/communications intern. Both will support the planning and coordination of various programs, events, and projects.
Successful candidates will be passionate about Detroit and want to help the conservancy continue its vision of creating a beautiful, exciting, safe, accessible world-class gathering place for all.
For more information and to apply, click the following positions by Feb. 11:
Summer Development Events & Communications Internship
Interns will receive a monthly stipend.
Plugging in to Federal Clean Energy Innovation Programs
Third Way and the Clean Energy Business Network are hosting a Zoom program titled “Plugging in to Federal Clean Energy Innovation Programs” from 2:30-4 p.m. on Feb. 14.
The goal of the program is to inform how American clean energy businesses and entrepreneurs plug in to federal programs to support the development and commercialization of new technologies.
The recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, contains nearly $30 billion in funding for clean energy innovation. This funding will support new and existing programs at the Department of Energy to move innovative technologies from the lab to the market.
Among the scheduled speakers are Vanessa Chan, director of the Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of Energy; Rob Edwards, director of Outreach and Business Development in the Loan Programs Office at the U.S. Department of Energy; John Carlisle,
Director of Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory, and others.
These experts will provide a holistic overview of the U.S. clean energy innovation ecosystem to demonstrate how clean energy businesses, entrepreneurs, and innovators can take advantage of federal programs.
To register for the program, visit here.
