At Tech Town’s monthly First Friday event, some 250 attendees were given a sneak peek inside the dealer showroom at Cass and Amsterdam where Cadillacs were sold for over 50 years. (Photo by HB Meeks/Tell Us Detroit)

Tech Town expands footprint in Detroit's New Center area

By Karen H. Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

Detroit’s legendary Dalgleish Cadillac dealership, closed in September 2009, will be the future home of Tech Town II, an expansion of the research and technology park, which plans to launch 400 new business startups over next three years. At Tech Town’s monthly First Friday event, some 250 attendees were given a sneak peek inside the dealer showroom at Cass and Amsterdam where Cadillacs were sold for over 50 years.

Randal Charlton, Executive Director of Tech Town sees an innovation revolution emerging from the facility acquired by Wayne State, Tech Town’s university partner. Charlton spoke with Tell Us Detroit at First Friday event, “This is a city of great innovation, engineering and other skills and we’re going to tap into those skills to create the next generation of jobs. That job growth will be realized through new business owners, Randal said “We’re building the next generation of entrepreneurs’ right here in Detroit, history was made in the 20th century, we’re going to make in the 21st. In a year Charlton says he envisions 200 to 300 businesses at TechTown II ranging from the arts to alternative energy and IT. http://techtownwsu.org/randalsblog/


Randal Charlton, Executive Director of Tech Town

Governor Jennifer Granholm visited Tech Town recently and pledged $200,000 to train 1,000 people on how to start a business through Tech Town’s FastTrac program. In all, the Governor will make $43 million available for loans to about 2,100 small businesses.

As the First Friday networking crowd mingled prior a panel of business owners, many were excited by the potential of Tech Town II. Herb Drayton, a Tech Town mentor and business owner of Drayton Consulting said acquiring the dealer location “Shows the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well”. Drayton expressed hope that the historical significance of the building will be preserved “The showroom could be a great showplace for entrepreneurs, just like you used to see new cars, it would something visible of what is going on with new businesses.” The symbolism of new business start-ups getting launched on the spot that helped build General Motors was not lost on many in attendance, most said simply, “It’s exciting.”


Governor Granholm with TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton. Governor announced $43 million in loans to the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers, the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers, Michigan Credit Union League and FastTrac NewVenture program clients. (Source TechTown techtownwsu.org)

TechTown One opened in 2004 in the historic midtown district of the Detroit with a long term plan to stimulate the business growth in such 21st century industries as advanced engineering, life sciences and alternative energy. “Talk of reconstructing this once-vital neighborhood of Detroit began in the 1990s when Irvin D. Reid, then-president of Wayne State University, conceived the idea for an economic catalyst that would galvanize local business while also turning around the state’s flagging economy” according to the Tech Town website. To learn more about the business history of midtown visit: http://techtownwsu.org/about/history.php.