May 2021

May 18, 1971

Supt. Sherman Martin of the Intermediate School District today received confirmation of the acquisition of 80 acres of land for the Wexford-Missaukee Vocational Training Center site. Martin said he received information from Senator John F. Toepp and CE Rademacher, superintendent in charge of trade and easements for the Lands Division of the Department of Natural Resources. Rademacher said the land was granted to the district for the professional site at a Conservation Commission meeting on Friday. The documents will be sent to the district in about 10 days, he said. The 80-acre site is located on East 13th Street. This is the eastern half of the southeast quarter of Section 27 of Haring Township, it has been reported. The land belongs to the state. Martin said Toepp was instrumental in helping the district apply for and secure the land.

May 18, 1996

A man described as a “champion of the community” received the Outstanding Citizen’s Award from the Business Hall of Fame. Doug Brown, a “Cadillac lifer,” was chosen by a committee of his peers to receive this honor. The award was presented Thursday at the annual Cadillac Chamber of Commerce banquet. Brown said he was unaware that the person described as the recipient was until the last item, that he is a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Cadillac. “I don’t know what to say,” he said as his 90-year-old mother and another family member joined him on stage. “In my life, I haven’t been perfect, but I believe in working together. Each of us must give back what we can, ”he said. Brown was chosen for this honor because of his business and economic leadership, community and civic involvement, seniority in community service and political leadership, said Sherry Payne, vice president of the chamber. Brown, vice president of NBD Bank at Cadillac, has a “long heritage” of contributing to the community, Payne said. His involvement in the community began when he was a student at Cadillac High School. Brown was a member of the tennis team, ski club and ski team, Hi Y, legislature, Varsity Club and worked on the school newspaper. He is currently a member of the Cadillac Chamber of Commerce, Country Club, Elks Club, Tourism Association and Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau. Brown has been described by his peers as a provider of “unsolicited help”, “financial, physical and emotional support”. He is also considered a “major player” and “a leader who has helped us get to where we are and who will help us lead us into the future”.

The proposed vocational school, Baum said, will allow local employers to train workers for the ever-changing modern economy, an indispensable service in a post-pandemic world.

“There is such a demand for it that everyone is talking about it, from the president to the governor and below,” Baum said, referring to calls from politicians to invest in workforce development.

The five-story building can accommodate up to 60 different tenants in spaces as small as 1,400 square feet and as large as 30,000 square feet. Depending on demand, approximately 150,000 square feet of floor space will be reserved for vocational training.

Baum said he intends to lease space to a range of industries, from plumbing and welding companies to robotics manufacturers and real estate companies. Companies will be able to train workers on site while operating their businesses.

As part of the request, Baum is asking the Zoning Commission to change the zoning rules to allow colleges, universities and schools, including vocational training centers, to exist in certain areas zoned for industrial purposes.

“The regulations say that you cannot have a training center to train industrial workers in an industrial area. It’s just an oversight that we’re looking to correct, ”Baum said. “How can you have an industrial zone and not train apprentice workers? That does not make sense.

The huge building was constructed in 1923 and was first used to make hats for the Crofut & Knapp Company and the Hat Corporation of America. Over the past decades, the structure has been used to house offices and workspaces for no less than 30 different companies.

“The site has continuously supported industrial and commercial uses for almost 100 years,” says demand.

Baum said the building has undergone extensive renovations in recent years to make it more energy efficient. The roof has been replaced, new windows have been installed and insulation is added to the exterior of the building.

The site has also undergone significant technological developments, including the installation of a network of fiber optic cables.

“We already have virtually unlimited network capacity available to our tenants,” Baum said.

The building is less than 300 yards from East Norwalk Station and is located directly on a city bus route, which Baum says makes it a great place to house a vocational school.

Planning and Zoning Director Steve Kleppin said the request could go to the zoning commission for review as early as next week.

The committee must hold a public hearing before members can vote to approve or reject the proposal. Kleppin said the hearing will likely take place in late June.