December 30, 2002
MiBiz Network
By Tim Gwozdz

MUSKEGON - Just as Thomas Alva Edison revolutionized the use of electricity, backers of the Muskegon Lakeshore SmartZone hope the research conducted on this site will revolutionize the use of alternative energy. And as a tribute to the Wizard of Menlo Park, this "smart park" has been dubbed Edison Landing.

The Muskegon Lakeshore SmartZone is a 32-acre site on the shore of Muskegon Lake in Downtown Muskegon. It will focus creating a concentrated cluster of businesses and learning centers to stimulate the research and development of alternative energy solutions as well as support businesses that will be included in a mixed-use waterfront center of commerce on the site.

The city of Muskegon, Muskegon County and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) are the key players in this ambitious endeavor to pioneer the use of alternative energy. At the heart of Edison Landing and its SmartZone mandate is a state-of-the-art energy research and development center. The 25,000-square-foot Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) is scheduled to open in spring 2003 and will serve as a business incubator and research center. It will be the first commercial project in the world to integrate photovoltaics, fuel cells, HVAC heat recovery systems and a nickel hydride battery storage system.

"By integrating fuel cells, solar/photovolataics, battery storage systems and other emerging technologies, we will demonstrate for the first time anywhere that alternative and renewable energy systems will play a major role in our economic future," said GVSU Seidman School of Business Dean David Mielke. "The applied research in our center will continue the development of alternative fuels derived from biomass and the commercialization of new ideas. Our incubator will help jumpstart companies that capitalize on innovation."

The MAREC project has attracted several high-profile partners including Siemens Corp. and Workstage LLC, a joint venture of Steelcase Inc., Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds and The Gayle Company. Several regional industry clusters, including aerospace, will benefit from research work performed at the center. Local firms including First Power, Harding Energy Inc., Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr Huber and URS of Grand Rapids and Johnston Boiler Co. in Ferrysburg are taking an active role in MAREC's arrival.

The MAREC groundbreaking in October caught the eye of developers interested in the mixed-use portion of Edison Landing that will support the research center efforts. Officials from Grand Rapids-based Encore Properties, which is providing lease, purchase and built-to-suit real estate services for the property owner Lakefront Development LLC, say construction on some of those developments could begin in spring 2003. Gillespie Development of Lansing has committed to build four multi-story buildings that will house commercial and retail tenants. Other sites are being considered for a restaurant, upscale condominiums and apartments and townhouses.

As soon as Muskegon received its SmartZone designation from the state, the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce and Muskegon Area First established the Lakeshore Launch Pad, a high-tech business incubator. One of its original tenants, Next IT, graduated from the Lakeshore Launch Pad and into its own facility in April. Another incubator tenant, RelativityKM just last month announced that it had been acquired by Grand Rapids-based Sagestone Inc. and would now become Sagestone Knowledge Solutions.

Other firms still located in the Lakeshore Launch Pad include E-Tool Developers, First Power, Gold Shield and Vesta Consultants.


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This article appeared in the December 30, 2002 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who do business in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com