Exactly where you should meet.

There’s a little bit of magic when we come together in a place like Traverse City. Where meetings have purpose, people have connection, and business has direction.

We can help put it all together… TraverseCity.com/meetings

CAREER EXPLORATION EVENT: MAY 11

There is still time for area employers to sign up for the region’s largest career exploration event for students. MiCareerQuest™ Northwest will be held May 11 at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center in Traverse City. The hands-on, career and college readiness event is focused on ninth grade students. Local employersfrom agriculture and construction to IT and manufacturing - will be in attendance. Register at nwm.org/micqnw.

will be moving into the former 4,000 square-foot Nest space at 218 East Front St., according to building owner Jennifer Ringl. Renovations are slated to begin soon, but no opening date has been set. Lululemon previously launched a pop-up store at 204 East Front.

The second location for Common Good Bakery has opened at 1115 East Eighth St., operating daily from 6am3pm. The new location is also offering Common Good @ Night, a pizza and pasta eatery with a full bar that operates Wednesday-Saturday evenings.

$1.6M FOR FRESHWATER RESEARCH CENTER

The Discovery Center & Pier in Traverse City will receive $1.6 million for the Freshwater Research & Innovation Center project as part of a federal government funding bill. Once complete, the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center will establish the Grand Traverse region as a hub for applied freshwater innovation. The project is a collaborative effort of 20Fathoms, Discovery Center & Pier, Michigan Technological University, Northwestern Michigan College and Traverse Connect. The funding will be used to take the next steps in building new facilities on the current site of the Discovery Pier and also provides a significant piece of the funding needed to help build a classroom, lab and docks for research vessels on the pier, enabling water-related research projects to begin at the facility as early as summer 2023.

Finally, local entrepreneur Whittney Allen is targeting a late winter opening of NoMI Collective at 1019 East Eighth Street (former Blue Photo Co. building). The beauty and wellness center is planned to have three components: The Label, a boutique retail space with gifts, housewares, and style pieces; The Collective, a co-working community of independent beauty and wellness practitioners (such as massage therapists, estheticians, and makeup artists) operating in 14 private studios; and The Eatery, a commercial kitchen space offering healthy prepared food. Allen also owns and operates Team Hair + Beauty and The Hair + Beauty Lounge in Traverse City.

Hagerty Launches Enthusiast Carbon Offset Program

New Business Openings

Several new businesses have opened - or will soon - in and around downtown Traverse City. Le Macaron French Pastries will open at 332 East Front St. (the former Big Salad space) in April or early May. The franchise specializes in macarons and also offers gelato, gourmet chocolates, coffee, pastries and candies. It will be the second store for owners Bobbi and William Blanton, who also own a Grand Rapids location.

Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon

Hagerty has launched ECO, a voluntary Enthusiast Carbon Offset program to help motorists reduce the carbon footprint of their collectible cars, trucks and motorcycles. ECO will allow collectible vehicle owners to monitor their CO2 emissions by entering their vehicle’s type and the mileage they want to offset into a web-based emissions calculator powered by Chrome Carbon, a reforestation program and carbon reduction initiative for automotive enthusiasts. The calculator helps owners recognize their vehicle’s impact and allows them to offset multiple times its CO2 emissions by planting trees locally in the U.S, Canada or the U.K. Chrome Carbon partners with certified climate bodies and organizations to fund highly ranked reforestation and carbon reduction projects with real and measurable gains. Chrome Carbon then partners with organizations working with national forest agencies, local forest experts and farmers, to ensure the right trees are planted in the most relevant locations. Hagerty is also now offsetting all emissions from its own classic fleet and driving events. For 2022, this included the California Mille and Greenwich Concours Driving Tour.

VISION: Develop a new assisted living facility with formidable standards: homey, high-quality and affordable

Building Relationships

I wouldn’t work with anyone else. Burdco was a true partner–with us, the subcontractors and everyone involved. Mike and his crew take ownership every step of the construction process. There were no headaches–and they were always reachable and always accountable.

COMMENTARY BY DAVID LORENZ