News

The Detroit Police Department is launching a new app today aimed at helping it better communicate and interact with the people living and working in the Motor City.

The DPD Connect app (available for Andriod and iPhone) will provide streamlined pathways for users to report tips to police, a phone directory for the city’s public safety agencies, links to the police departments social media channels, and news/crime statistics. Users will be able to leave anonymous tips (delivered through an independent third-party service to ensure anonymity) and also access local public safety numbers, such as community officers and neighborhood precincts.

"The whole theme is to better connect people to the police department," says Will McDowell, a business analyst with Detroit Labs, which built the app.

The Detroit Police Department approached the downtown Detroit-based software firm to create the mobile app earlier this year. McDowell oversaw the construction of the app, which was worked on by a large team from Detroit Labs including five of the company’s interns.

Detroit Labs has hired 30 people over the last year, expanding its staff to 75 people. It recently moved from the M@dison Building into a bigger office in the M@dison Building (1520 Woodward) earlier this year. Many of its new hires come from the company's apprentice program, which trains software developers and paves the way for full-time employment at the company. The firm is also looking to hire established software developers.

"We're always looking for good developers," says Bill Camp, who works in planning and development at Detroit Labs.

Source: Bill Camp and Will McDowell, Detroit Labs
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

MSN Money named Detroit one of the 15 hottest American cities for 2015, thanks in part to young, motivated innovators turning the city around.

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When Veronika Scott, 24, was in college, she was challenged to design something that would actually meet a physical need in the world. What she came up with is brilliant and directly meets the needs of countless numbers of homeless in the Detroit area.

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"In the comeback-kid city of Detroit, the Eastern Market neighborhood—named for one of the oldest outdoor food emporiums in the country—is among its greatest revivals," writes Meghan McEwen and Joe Vaughn in Why You Should Travel to Detroit.

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Detroit is famous for its architectural and musical history – and photographer Joe Gall captures the history and spirit of Detroit like only a select few can. Joe Gall, also known as “Camera Jesus,” provides an artistic look into Detroit’s most prominent landmarks, concerts, and social happenings. Joe’s unique ability to explore the city and capture incredible images of Detroit has allowed him to gain popularity on social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook.

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When Punch Bowl Social opened its gastro diner-meets-rec room last week, it was the highlight of an already-overflowing list of restaurants to hang a shingle in the Motor City over the past year. 

More than a dozen new eateries have opened, with the much-anticipated Antietam, Gold Cash Gold, HopCat Detroit and Selden Standard all debuting in the past two months alone. And more are already announced, including Chartreuse Kitchen, Jolly Pumpkin and Parks and Recreation.

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The City of Detroit is to announce Tuesday that it has selected Larson Realty Group to redevelop the Tiger Stadium site, choosing a proposal that will not only preserve the historic playing field, but add residential and commercial space.

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Detroit officially exited the biggest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy, allowing Michigan's largest city to start a new chapter with a lighter debt load.

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There’s a new must-read for anyone with their finger on the quickening pulse of the Detroit art scene: ZIPR Magazine. The Zenith Index of Public Record (ZIPR) debuted its inaugural issue on November 22nd, which includes an extensive Gallery Guide and map of Detroit art spaces, scorching photography, and profiles on some of Detroit’s legends an up-and-comers, including Gilda Snowden, Jerry Vile, Joe Gall and Michelle Tanguay.

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Taking note from the U.S. Men's Soccer Team's awesome hype videos from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, local soccer team Detroit City FC is getting supporters pumped for the coming season with a hype video of its own. In it, the local football club urges fans to reserve their "rightful place" at home games well in advance of the 2015 season, which starts in May, by purchasing season tickets. In 2014, DCFC sold out several home games, thanks in large part to the faithful presence of the Northern Guard, a group of DCFC supporters who pack the grandstands and cheer wildly at each home game (and many away games, too).



 

Detroit City FC, nicknamed "Le Rouge," will play eight home games next year on the football field of Cass Technical High School in downtown Detroit. 2015 will mark the club's fourth season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Last year, Le Rouge finished second in the Midwest-Great Lakes West region of the NPSL and did not qualify for the playoffs. If the club's new hype video is any indication, Detroit City FC plans to compete at a high level in 2015 and make up for last year's disappointing finish. 

When Amy Swift moved back to Michigan in 2011, the newly minted Ivy Leaguer had a master's degree in historic preservation from Columbia University, but not much else.

"I wasn't sure what was next at that point," Swift says. But it didn't take long for the architect to fall in love with Detroit, so she launched her own business: Building Hugger.

"I was really inspired by the opportunities that were here," Swift says.

Building Hugger specializes in historic preservation. If that seems broad, then know that such a wide focus wasn’t accidental. Today the company specializes in everything from design to renovating distressed properties to refurbishing historic windows.

"I founded Building Hugger before I knew what the focus would be," Swift says. "I found a lot of different projects. Some have been successes. Some have been failures. Some have been both. It’s to the point where I now know exactly what Building Hugger is."

The Detroit resident has participated in a recent auction of tax foreclosed properties and is working on rehabbing a couple of single family homes -- one at the front and the other at the rear of the same lot -- near Clark Park in southwest Detroit. You can check out the business plan for the project here.

Swift also is working in a number of construction trades, taking a special interest in window restoration. She has recently been working on restoring the windows of the Venture For America house in Virginia Park, and is taking on more similar projects.

"There is a lot of room for growth in this area," Swift says.

Source: Amy Swift, founder & principal of Building Hugger
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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Detroit is currently immersed in change. Every direction you turn, you can see it, feel it. This just might be the coolest and most interesting time in the history of the city and I've made it my mission to document this transformation. 

I recently met someone who might be as passionate as I am about highlighting the positive things going on in our great city: Jordan Garland. He's a skateboarder and most recently the filmmaker for a project called #aDetroitFilm.

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From Henry Ford to Motown’s Barry Gordy, Thomas Edison to Jerry Bruckheimer, the Detroit area has long been home to big thinkers, game changers, and rebels with a cause. Maybe it’s something in the lake water, or maybe it’s a reaction to the harsh winters and harsher realities—either way, Detroit has produced more than it’s share of entrepreneurs. There is something about the city (and its very public problems) that creates people who are able to step up and come up with solutions. From small business creators, artists, and community builders, Detroit has a whole new breed of innovators ready to lead the way.

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Always Brewing Detroit is thankful to be open and prospering! It's customers are thankful it exists. (Video.)

Watch the video here.