design star winner

The heart of Detroit's business district is beating a lot faster after last week's announcement that another major firm is relocating downtown.

The move of Marketing Associates from West Bloomfield to downtown is quite a coup for Detroit and proof of just how far downtown Detroit has come in a relatively short time. The firm, which employs 140 now with plans for expansion, will be housed in the One Kennedy Square Building.

Ten years ago much of the city's center was underachieving, to put it nicely. New and growing companies did not have downtown Detroit on a short list of destinations.

But a decade's worth of investment counted in the billions of dollars, attractive tax breaks that save companies millions and an increasing cosmopolitan vibrancy have made the area quite attractive to new businesses and residents today.

Detroit's downtown isn't comparable to central business districts of other major American metropolises, like Chicago or San Francisco. Not yet. But 10 years ago, a CEO from Oakland County would likely not have said this at a press conference that had the buzz usually reserved for an appearance by a pop star:

"We are thrilled to join the ranks of companies already enjoying the rebirth of downtown Detroit," said Mark Petroff, president and CEO of Marketing Associates. The conference was held last Thursday at One Kennedy Square. "Moving here fosters a greater sense of community for our employees. From being part of a vibrant business district to the social benefits of working downtown, we are creating an environment designed to inspire and motivate, which we hope will retain employees and ultimately, promote growth for the company."

Let's make a deal

Petroff boiled down the reasons his firm moved to downtown to three key points: vibrancy, quality infrastructure and best deal available.

That's right, someone just said Detroit offered the best deal for a company's growing business. A 140-person firm that expects to increase its staff by 20 percent in less than a year and to a total of 225 employees in the near future chose Detroit over numerous other places throughout the metro area. That means that Detroit not only competed with the Troys, Birminghams and West Bloomfields. but it won. Why? It is just good business, Petroff said.

"This was at its most basic level an economic decision," he said. "This deal was the best one out there."

Tax breaks made that possible. Marketing Associates will take advantage of an 8.5-year Renaissance Zone tax incentive and other abatements, which will allow the company to significantly defray the state's new business tax.

Marketing Associates says it loves One Kennedy Square, often called the Ernst & Young Building, calling its 50,000 square feet a clean slate on which to work. Downtown's newest office building, built in 2006, offers 10 stories with 250,000 square feet of now fully leased Class A office space overlooking Campus Martius.

It's plugged into a lot of new high-tech infrastructure utilized by a number of corporate neighbors, such as Compuware. These neighbors played a big part in making a move downtown attractive not only because of the support they offer but the opportunities they present. Marketing Associates, a technology-enabled marketing firm, hopes to diversify its client list from its base of automotive companies to some of the other businesses nearby, a list that could increase if more firms follow suit and move downtown (Quicken Loans and ePrize, we're looking at you.)

One Kennedy Square was designed with independent heating and cooling systems on each floor, making the building more energy efficient. However, its environmentally friendly characteristics don't go much beyond that. It's a step forward for Detroit office space but not far enough when towers like Tierra Place, set to start construction in Ann Arbor next spring, are turning competitors almost as green (with envy) as its design values.

Best yet to come?

What is starting to make other communities jealous is downtown Detroit's rapidly increasing density and vitality ― an attribute suburban corporate parks just don't have an answer for. This is what Marketing Associates says it desires. The average age of the firm's employees range between 26 and 30, an age group that stereotypically wants to live, work and play in urban areas.

"We have a young work force," Petroff said. "I have a bunch of Generation X and Generation Y employees who find satisfaction from work by linking their social network with their work network. When you work in a suburban, stand-alone building, it's hard to make that connection. It's hard to get a group of folks out and walk across the street for a beer. It doesn't exist in the suburbs. You have to drive everywhere."

There are of course the questions about losing employees who don't want to make the move. Worries about taxes, parking, commutes and safety were raised. To counter that, Marketing Associates is giving its employees a 1.5 percent raise, paying for parking, working with Compuware's car-pool program and introducing its employees to downtown through events with other local companies.

But Petroff said he expects to lose only a handful of employees, if any. In fact, he said most of his employees are excited about the move and even thinking of moving to the downtown area.

It's good that experiencing downtown is the key to Detroit selling itself, but the city needs to get to the point where those questions aren't relevant. That will likely happen as more and more people shift their focus to downtown, where corporate tenants and city officials alike are banking that the best is yet to come.
The battle for ballots is in full swing for the two HGTV Design Star finalists left standing - artist/landscape architect Todd Davis, 35, of San Francisco and hairstylist/design enthusiast Kim Myles, 34, of New York City-who have overcome all obstacles thrown their way, outshining nine other designers, architects, decorators and artists, as well as surviving seven rigorous design makeover challenges. Todd and Kim are competing to win what many consider to be reality television's grandest prize: host of a prime time TV series on HGTV and a feature in InStyle Home magazine. The winner will be unveiled in an adrenaline-fueled finale full of surprise features on September 16, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Fans are rushing to the virtual polls to cast their vote to select the next HGTV Design Star following the conclusion of last night's episode, when the pair squared off in the final challenge at an exotic locale, an "Island Dreams Makeover" in Hawaii.

Since then, HGTV's website has been steadily bombarded. Photos of the finalists' designs have already received nearly 200,000 page views in less than 24 hours, and thousands of people have logged on to hgtv.com to post their fervid opinions in the popular interactive "Rate my Work" area of the HGTV Design Star website.

For the final challenge, Todd and Kim have each designed a luxury suite in the famed Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii-both creating dramatic rooms with plenty of visual pop with just 32 hours and $10,000. Todd has created an aquatic-themed space inspired by blue hues and original artwork, such as a seven-foot jellyfish to hang above the dining room table. Kim refers to her design as "tropical punch," and has transformed the space using warm, "juicy" colors and crafting special headboards and features that draw on local island artists.

Voting is open until noon ET this Wednesday, September 12. Until then, anyone can cast a vote online at HGTV.com/DesignStar or text message his or her choice via mobile phone to HGTV1 or 44881; they can text the letter A to vote for Kim or the letter B to vote for Todd. Voters can cast their ballot a total of six times per day-submitting up to five text messages and one online vote daily.

"HGTV is extremely pleased with the final two vying to win HGTV Design Star, and either would be a terrific addition to the network's amazing talent roster," said James Bolosh, HGTV's vice president of event programming.

In the September 16 finale (9 p.m. ET/PT), viewers can expect a spectacle, including the return of sparkle Josh, Will, Robb and the rest of the original cast of 11, as well as special guests and highlights from the series. A number of the network's top talent and hosts will also come out to Hollywood to show their support from the studio audience and help welcome the new host-to-be winner to the HGTV family.

HGTV Design Star is the top rated prime time show in the network's history. Since the series premiere on July 22, more than 22 million viewers have tuned-in-a figure that does not include Sunday night's highly watched final challenge episode.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 93 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, http://www.HGTV.com is the nation's leading online home and garden destination that attracts an average of 5.4 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. The network's branded programming also can be seen in 124 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to service men and women on board Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS) which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York, HGTV is wholly owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), which also operates Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country.