eNewsletter
Seeing is Believing
Many people have viewed the Wolverine Building from the outside as they drive by, but not many people have
ever been inside. They are not aware of the many features and amenities the building has. The facility offers premier
office space at an affordable price. You’ve seen it from the outside, now you can tour the building and see for
yourself how it can work for you. A staff of planners can create a plan for your business. We’re sure you’ll be
pleased at the results.
History Review
From the beginning, the Wolverine Building was designed to be versatile and quickly adaptable to any future
application. Wide-open areas and many stairs, exits and elevators were incorporated in the design so the facility
could accommodate any office group. In 1988 the two-story portion was built with expansion in mind. In 1992 the
three-story portion was built expanding the total building size to 64,500 square feet. In addition to flexibility, the cost
of change was to be held to a practical minimum. Since change is the only thing that is sure, the Wolverine Building
was to be cost effective to change and to handle rapid change with minimal disruption to the occupants. For the past
16 years the Wolverine Building has handled its indeterminate mission well.
Marketing by Owner
The owners of the Wolverine Building are following an aggressive marketing plan in an effort to find tenants and
buyers. The marketing plan includes all advertising techniques used by real estate Brokers. The various methods for
advertising are altered at different intervals in an effort to reach as many potential buyers and tenants as possible.
Advertising methods include canvassing local business, expos, conferences, brokerage firms, public functions and
organizations. Advertising by sending Direct mail flyers and brochures to potential buyers and tenants. The property is
listed on many commercial real estate multi-listing networks as well as the use of web site and web marketing. Local
and surrounding newspapers, magazines and yellow pages. Television and cable networks, all of which round out an
extensive marketing plan.
Premier Facility
The Wolverine Building has the features and amenities that Tenants want. The facility offers office personal a
professional business environment. The facility is a Class A office building. Any business that locates in this facility will
be able to make a big impression on customers and show off their address. All companies must advance or fall
behind. The appearance of your office facility makes a big statement about your company’s success. When the facility
you occupy has all the modern tools and features to perform lucrative contracts, you know you made the right choice.
Put your business in a position to be the best.
Bringing Business to Midland
Businesses that make their home in the Wolverine Building will be helping Midland. Now that the facility is
available, the door is open for new businesses to relocate to Midland. Midland Tomorrow, a partnership between the
state and local communities, promotes smart economic growth by developing strategies to create and retain good
jobs and a high quality of life for all citizens. Most every state and community competes to attract and retain jobs
. Wide arrays of incentives are offered to encourage business to expand or relocate in various towns. Midland has
always been a great place to live and do business. Midland has a great business climate, with a skilled workforce,
good training opportunities, and good infrastructure. The Wolverine Building offers what many other facilities cannot,
and that is a lot of office space for a large corporation. At the same time, the facility can be divided to accommodate
smaller companies as well.
Midland People Work for the Common Good
Can the Wolverine Building contribute to Midland’s overall quality of life? First you may need to look at how
Midland sustains itself. The community has diverse, and experienced leaders that include educators, business
executives, government leaders and non-profit agencies that form a creative partnership to enhance the overall quality
of life. They are people who work together to exchange viewpoints that foster and attract business and improve the
quality of life for all citizens. Each institution helps create a sustainable community. When everyone becomes allies and
network for the common good, a town becomes a great place to live. The Wolverine Building is versatile to
accommodate any entity, and is an opportunity for the Midland community to again create something good.
Michigan Strives to be the Best High-Tech
Everyone in Michigan is working together to make Michigan a high-tech frontrunner. It starts with the Governor
and continues on to everyone, including businesses and educators, all working as one team. Each Government
division, each city, and each high tech business cluster, create networking organizations to share what they know and
help each other for a common good, to make Michigan the best. It is already known that Michigan is very near the
top of the list compared to other states when it comes to high-tech jobs, advanced manufacturing, life science
research, Microsystems, nanotechnolgy, alternative energy’s, telematics and engineering. Many organizations and
associations are in place in Michigan that allows their members to stay at the leading edge of technology and perform
business to business efficiently. Michigan has created business clusters in industries such as automotive, furniture,
plastics, metal, chemical, pharmaceutical, life sciences, health-care and information technology. To name a few,
Automation Alley, Ann Arbor IT Zone, Digital Detroit, Smart Detroit, GLIMA, Smart Zone and Southwest Michigan
First. Other networking organizations include iEconomy, ITAM, i-Team, Small Tech and Telemantics. Economic
Development has many helpful incentives for business including Renaissance zones. The Governor has a new
Michigan program now called Smart Cities. One of her quotes regarding this was “building vibrant, energetic cities is
essential to attracting jobs, people, and opportunity to our state”. There are many more that are not mentioned here.
Some of these organizations have expos and conferences that put the newest technology out to their members and the
public, creating a camaraderie exchange that builds power because everyone is on the same team.
Real Estate Opportunities are at Their Best
Now is the best time to take advantage of real estate opportunities. We have passed the turning point and the
economy is rebounding. It currently is a Tenants market. The sale price and lease price of the Wolverine Building are
at their lowest. Now is the right time for Corporations to position themselves for the next business cycle. Most tenants
who have been sitting on the fence waiting for Landlord concessions to get to their best deal, are now finalizing new
lease deals. As the economy improves, Landlord concessions will start to diminish and interest rates will start to
increase. There is certainty that the Wolverine Building will be a viable entity again. Success occurs when investors,
tenants and the community have the vision to identify and take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself.
Midland is a Fun Place
For anyone choosing to relocate to Midland, they will find it all here. Residents of Midland enjoy outstanding
facilities for a variety of sports such as golfing, cross-country skiing, disc golf, tobogganing, curling, basketball,
racquetball, volleyball, water polo, ice skating, in-line skating, hockey, soccer, skateboarding, swimming, hunting and
fishing. Midland also has many parks and the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail. The NCG Theater Multiplex is also a great
place to see a movie. The Center for the Arts has many theatrical shows and events. The Midland Community Center
is also has many activities. Midland has many fun social organizations and wonderful churches as well.
Defining the Next Business Cycle
Now that the Dot-Com waive has passed, everyone is asking, “What is the next business cycle to boost the
world’s standard of living”. The next business cycle is still emerging. No one can predict the future, but top R& D
people probably have a pretty good idea of what’s in the wings for the next economic boom. New innovations come
from people finding better ways to do things. In recent years, the number of people doing creative thinking has
exploded. This is the reason that the next economic boom will be from many little things verses one big internet cycle.
Venture Capital Companies seam to investing a lot into Life Science, Pharmaceuticals, Software, and IT
Technology. Some make it sound broader and say the next business cycle is in healthcare, and Technology. As an
economy, we are moving toward earning our keep by increasing creative values as reward for a better life. Many
ideas have not been publicly announced, but businesses have not stopped from frantically trying to be out in front of
their competition. Everyone seems to use the Internet now to get instant leading edge information in fields related to
their industry. Patents have not slowed down, but the economic downturn has delayed bringing some good ideas to
market. The automotive industry, like any other, never stops improving and inventing. Creative thinking, more than
ever must be allowed and rewarded in education and in the workplace. It will truly be interesting to see which
innovations turn out to be extraordinary and amaze us all.
Community Livelihood Challenges
The economic slow down that occurred after 911 has changed Business for the foreseeable future. Everyone has
seen examples of financial distress from the Federal Government, State Government, Local Government, Large
Corporation, Small Business, Non-Profit Groups, Colleges, Schools and all People. Communities face
unprecedented challenges to their livelihoods and the ability to make ends meet in an economic crises. People and
communities can lose their place in the new global village when local industry downsizes. The new world requires
fundamental and far reaching changes in attitude and behavior of its citizens, its governments, and corporations, if it is
going to provide sustainable future. Each town now has to look at the aftermath of the last three years and find a way
to achieve sustainable livelihood. Within a community, Government and Business must compromise over revenue.
Within a community, Business must be loyal to its town’s people first, and the people must compromise over litigation
issues between Business and the people. More than ever, community decision makers, including government and the
corporate world, will find the most effective way to maintain a sustainable community. Often it is best to start advisory
comities to allow people to network and be creative, and think of ways put communities on the “Cool Cities” list. It
requires government to offer a better than average business climate that will retain and create jobs. It requires a
workforce that is well educated, highly skilled, and motivated. It requires all to reach out and help those who are not
so fortunate. Government, Business, People, Non-Profits, and Educators need to continue working together to make
a sustainable community.
Advantages to Merging Department
Corporations who have scattered locations may find that merging all operations in one building will reduce
overhead and help to survive in tough times. In the last three years, many government agencies and corporations have
made changes to their office space needs. Many of them reduced their needs and closed satellite offices. They
consolidated in one location in an effort to reduce excess capacity. Unwanted satellite offices are either handed back
to landlords or sold. This is when opportunity presents itself, because large tracts of high quality office space can be
obtained at a good price. Choosing a facility that is high tech and has a history of energy efficiency is even better yet.
Consolidating will allow office staff to share common conference rooms, waiting rooms, reception areas, and kitchen
areas. Various departments often can share staff as a way to be more efficient. Managers may standardize job
positions in each department to organize for enterprise-wide systems. Inter-divisional cooperation offers resources to
achieve benefit from economies of scale, while maintaining customer service. Staff can consolidate collections,
payables, payroll, purchasing, staff training, advertising, and employee policies. They can develop technology to share
administrative services across various agencies, yet each department can be responsible for itself. Economies of scale
can be realized through bulk-buys or interagency purchasing. Inter-divisional cooperation offers a chance at
upgrading to new office technology, which may involve new computer software that networks between agencies.
Phone and other communication equipment can be improved. By merging many people on one phone system, big
cost savings can be realized by purchasing phone systems that run communications through the Internet. Allow
agencies to share information more easily and eliminate repetition, even though each department is, in effect, a
different company. The trend today leads toward the paperless office. Many documents are scanned into digital
images and are stored and organized with help of special software, then distributed electronically among departments,
verses using hard copies. In economic downturns, all staff must become more efficient. Office equipment must be
shared. Money can be saved when staff shares copiers, fax machines, computer systems, printers, and scanners.
Leasing and outsourcing are utilized extensively. Improving your office space and technology, while reducing cost, is a
must in slow economic times.
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