You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Tue, Sep 27, 2011 : 7 p.m.

Costco, Mark's Carts among nominees for AnnArbor.com Business Review's 2011 Deals of the Year

By Nathan Bomey

Deals_of_the_Year_2011_presenters.png

These Ann Arbor area executives will serve as presenters at AnnArbor.com Business Review's 2011 "Deals of the Year" event on Friday, Nov. 4.

A new Costco store to be built in Pittsfield Township and a new outdoor food courtyard in downtown Ann Arbor are among the nominees for AnnArbor.com Business Review's 2011 "Deals of the Year" awards.

The ceremony — which AnnArbor.com continued in 2009 after absorbing the Ann Arbor Business Review brand — is in its seventh year. The black-tie optional event will take place Friday, Nov. 4 at Eastern Michigan University's Student Center. Tickets are available online.

The awards honor Washtenaw County's best, most significant and creative business deals, transactions and announcements over the last 12 months.

dotysaginaw.jpg

Zingerman's co-founder Paul Saginaw accepts AnnArbor.com Business Review's 2010 "Deals of the Year' award for Company of the Year. Saginaw will be one of the presenters at the 2011 ceremony on Nov. 4.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Presenters include Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Michael Finney; ForeSee CEO Larry Freed; EMU President Susan Martin; University of Michigan Health System CEO Ora Pescovitz; Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn managing partner David Parsigian; Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Paul Krutko; and Zingerman's co-founder Paul Saginaw.

Nominees — which are decided after receiving nominations from the public — are honored in seven sector categories: health care, retail, technology, research, construction and development, commercial real estate and nonprofits. Winners aren't revealed until the night of the event, which starts with networking at 6 p.m.

AnnArbor.com Business Review also honors a Company of the Year and Executive of the Year — although nominees are not announced in those categories. In 2010, Zingerman's won Company of the Year, and entrepreneur Jeff Williams was named Executive of the Year.

Here's the list of Deals of the Year nominees for 2011, revealed today:

Health care

St. Joseph Mercy Health System: St. Joe’s acquires Integrated Healthcare Associates and Michigan Heart in a series of deals that position the nonprofit to adapt to federal health care reform.

Cielo MedSolutions: University of Michigan electronic medical records startup Cielo MedSolutions is acquired by The Advisory Board Co. and continues to expand its Ann Arbor presence.

Evangelical Homes of Michigan: Evangelical Homes of Michigan signs a deal to lease the vacant inpatient unit at St. Joseph Mercy Health System’s Saline hospital. EHM is using the space to expand the rehab capabilities of its Saline nursing home facility.

Retail

Mark’s Carts: Downtown Home & Garden owner Mark Hodesh creates a new, innovative model for local dining — an outdoor food courtyard that has proved to be instantly popular to customers and serves as a springboard for culinary entrepreneurs.

Rider’s Hobby Shop and Tree Town Toys: The Ypsilanti area Rider’s Hobby Shop coordinates a deal with Ann Arbor’s Tree Town Toys to move into the same retail space at Traver Village Shopping Center on Plymouth Road, keeping the 65-year-old Rider’s brand alive and providing shoppers with a unique shopping experience.

Aubree’s Pizzeria & Tavern: The Ypsilanti restaurant, owned by Bill and Andy French, spawns a Dexter franchise in the former location of North Point Seafood & Steak House.

Technology

Mobiata: The Ann Arbor-based mobile software company, founded by Ben Kazez, was sold to global travel website Expedia, which is using Mobiata to develop its mobile presence and has authorized a quadrupling of the company’s local office space.

Adaptive Materials: The Pittsfield Township-based fuel cell firm was sold to United Kingdom-based Ultra Electronics for $23 million — and the company has since expanded its local production capacity and hired new workers.

Accuri Cytometers: Accuri, one of the Ann Arbor region’s biggest success stories in the medical device sector, was sold for $205 million to Becton, Dickinson and Co.

Research

Lycera: The U-M drug discovery startup signed a licensing deal with Merck that could be worth up to $300 million, then proceeded to move from Ann Arbor SPARK’s incubator in Plymouth Township to a leased facility at the ex-Pfizer site in Ann Arbor.

Molecular Imaging Research Inc.: Entrepreneurs and investors restarted Molecular Imaging Research Inc. in the same 22,000-square-foot Pittsfield Township building where it had been operating when corporate parent Charles River Laboratories shut it down in November. They secured $7 million in venture capital and rehired 13 employees who had been laid off.

University of Michigan Technology Transfer Office: The Tech Transfer Office launched the Venture Accelerator, making good on a promise to use part of the ex-Pfizer space to house its own startup companies, giving faculty entrepreneurs a cheap place to get their innovation off the ground.

Commercial Real Estate

University of Michigan Credit Union and Arbor Research Collaborative for Health: Nonprofit Arbor Research signed a deal with the U-M Credit Union to lease the 19,700-square-foot third floor of the 58,000-square-foot former Ann Arbor News building.

Phoenix Contact and Amcor: One building sale created opportunity for two global companies with offices in Pittsfield Township’s Avis Farms. Phoenix Contact bought the building at the entrance of the business park after it entered foreclosure, adding space for it to expand. At the same time, it moved out of another office in the park - creating room for Amcor to expand its offices, too.

Tim Hortons: The coffee shop chain signed deals to build stores on two long-vacant sites in the city of Ann Arbor: one at the former Enzo’s at the northeast corner of State and Ellsworth Roads; and one in Maple Village at the site of the former Golden Chef Restaurant, which was destroyed by fire in 2006.

Nonprofits

Eastern Michigan University: EMU agreed to play a significant role in assisting Gov. Rick Snyder’s new statewide Education Achievement System. EMU’s College of Education will have a number of responsibilities that could include creating a “laboratory” schools and training public school teachers.

Michigan Future: The Ann Arbor-based nonprofit group is using $13 million in grant funding to help launch new college preparatory high schools in Detroit, including the Dr. Benjamin Carson High School of Science & Medicine and the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy.

United Way of Washtenaw County, city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation: Officials created a new coordinated funding model, simplifying application processes, expediting funding distribution and coordinating grant decisions to fund human services.

Construction & Development

C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital: The new $754 million facility is set to up in November after five years of construction, completing what is believed to be the most expensive construction project in the history of the state.

Costco: The national retailer won rezoning and site plan approval to start construction on a new store near the corner of South State and Ellsworth in a development that was widely applauded by local residents and political leaders.

Parkview Apartments: Years of litigation came to an end this year at Parkview Apartments, as the Ypsilanti Housing Commission acquired ownership of the 144-unit low-income housing complex. The deal means a $12 million renovation started, adding to the city’s affordable housing stock and ending the highly visible blight at the city’s southern gateway.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.

Comments

a2huron

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 12:15 p.m.

Looking at the options, Costco is the no-brainer for this award. No other business will draw as much economic development to the region. The project has already drawn lot sales in the area from recent news reports. Clearly the deal of the year.

applehazar

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 11:58 a.m.

Since it is taking so long for Costco to break ground - maybe they can be nominated in 2012 also - What is the delay? Are they waiting for snow?

A2comments

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 11:51 a.m.

Interesting "awards". Someone announces they are going to build a store, IN THE FUTURE, and they get nominated for an award? Seems ridiculous.

Alan Goldsmith

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 10:43 a.m.

SPARK, MEDC, AnnArbor.com. Is the watchdog reporting bed big enough to hold all of them?

hut hut

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 1:53 a.m.

Why is the City giving Mark's Carts the $$bureaucratic run around$$ for wanting to expand and take the carts to other locations?

Neighbor

Thu, Oct 27, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.

Just returned from Austin, TX where such Carts are a terrific tourist draw and clearly a huge business! They've expanded from food carts to selling upscale shoes!

FredMax

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 1:24 a.m.

No category for giant sculptures?

Gordon

Wed, Sep 28, 2011 : 1:18 a.m.

A comment that had to be removed honering businesses growing & trying to hire more people thorough their well run & ratioal growth. How childish. New business expansion, and adjusting to the times. Can't ask for more then that. Thanks for the article.