[DetroitSky]

Crews install the last panels of pizza-slice glass at Little Caesars HQ, finally

After a year's delay, construction crews Monday were installing the final glass panels in on the upper floors of the new Little Caesars headquarters on Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theatre.

Originally expected to be opened last summer, the building was delayed over an apparent problem with the unique pizza-slice wedges of glass that form the facade.

The Ilitch family's Olympia Development has never commented on where the problem lay. There has been speculation that the tower's heating and air conditioning system was causing a vibration that damaged the glass panels.

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Life Remodeled's one-stop Durfee center adds tenants, nears full occupancy

Life Remodeled has made a name for its ability to mobilize 10,000 volunteers each of the past three years for its six-day cleanup of central Detroit.

But its largest impact in the neighborhood could be yet to come.

The nonprofit has secured lease commitments from three new organizations for the repurposed former Detroit Public Schools Community District school building it's converted into a community center, with public use of gym and auditorium spaces and services to help lift people in the neighborhood out of poverty.

Those leases will bring it to 27 business, government and nonprofit service provider tenants in the Durfee Innovation Society center, and depending on final agreements, could bring occupancy up to 89 percent, founder and CEO Chris Lambert said. He's looking to bring the 143,000-square-foot center to full occupancy by year's end.

Wayne State, Michigan Mobility Institute to launch new mobility center in TechTown

Wayne State University is partnering with the Michigan Mobility Institute to create a new mobility center focused on autonomous driving, connectivity, smart infrastructure and electrification.

The Center for Advanced Mobility will be folded into the Detroit-based university's College of Engineering and launch this fall, with new course work being rolled out gradually, said Jessica Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Mobility Institute. It will offer a master of science degree in robotics beginning fall 2020.

The center will be housed in the school's 45,000-square-foot Industry Innovation Center, which the university bought last year, in the city's TechTown neighborhood.

The Michigan Mobility Institute, which is the marquee initiative of nonprofit Detroit Mobility Lab, will advise Wayne State on its mobility curriculum through partnerships with companies in Southeast Michigan and beyond, Robinson said. The classes will be administered by Wayne State. The goal is to create a bridge between the classroom and field by "bringing together OEMs, suppliers and startups."

Brilliant Detroit opening 7 new neighborhood sites this year in expansion push

The free programs are geared to children from birth to age 8 or third grade and their families. They range from breast feeding support for new mothers and community baby showers to developmental and educational programs, parenting and financial literacy programs for adults.

There are also family bonding activities like movie, karaoke and game nights and "literacy nights" that turn reading into fun, like using a recipe to make a tasty treat, outdoor play areas for children, community gardens and a signature orange door at each house.

Central to the model is buy-in from the community. Brilliant Detroit builds relationships in the neighborhood, then seeks an invitation to bring its programs there. It hires local residents to help renovate its houses, seeks their input on unique needs in the area and hosts monthly dinners to build community.

Located near Livernois and McNichols, the house in the Fitzgerald neighborhood is Brilliant Detroit's seventh in the city and the third it's opened so far this year.

Brilliant Detroit plans to open four more before year's end, and by the end of 2023, another 13 for a total of two dozen homes across the city to help fill gaps in high need areas, co-founder and CEO Cindy Eggleton said.