{"id":2327,"date":"2013-03-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otava.test\/online-tech-at-forefront-of-flints-effort-to-repurpose-shuttered-auto-industry-properties\/"},"modified":"2013-03-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-08T00:00:00","slug":"online-tech-at-forefront-of-flints-effort-to-repurpose-shuttered-auto-industry-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/online-tech-at-forefront-of-flints-effort-to-repurpose-shuttered-auto-industry-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Tech at Forefront of Flint\u2019s Effort to Repurpose Shuttered Auto Industry Properties"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fledgling rebirth of Detroit has received plenty of attention as tech startup companies sprout up amid the modern-day ruins that symbolize its manufacturing past. But Michigan\u2019s largest city isn\u2019t the only one shaking free of its rust belt reputation.<\/p>\n

Flint, the birthplace of General Motors, once had 80,000 residents employed by the automaker. That number shrank to less than 8,000 by the time GM and Chrysler entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2009.<\/p>\n

The struggling city\u2019s attempt at a comeback focuses on repurposing some of the 15 shuttered former GM sites<\/a> spread around Genesee County. Just three of those closed locations have found a new life to date.<\/p>\n

One of them \u2013 a site originally built by EDS as General Motor\u2019s IT disaster recovery<\/a> data center \u2013 became Online Tech\u2019s Mid-Michigan data center<\/a>, offering premier hosting for mid-size firms.<\/p>\n

In 2005, Online Tech invested $1 million to get the 32,500 square foot Flint Township facility up to its compliance standards<\/a>. The company recently announced plans to invest another $1 million<\/a> in the center and hire additional employees by the end of 2013.<\/p>\n

Today, the Mid-Michigan data center is one of the biggest in the state and the anchor of Online Tech’s three Michigan locations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We wouldn’t have naturally moved here if we wouldn’t have been able to find these assets that were left behind that we could leverage into growing this business,” Online Tech co-CEO Mike Klein told MLive.com<\/a>. “It would be great to see other companies leverage the assets that GM has left behind.”<\/p>\n

While Online Tech will continue to look for similar opportunities as part of its plan to add four Midwest data centers<\/a> to its portfolio, other companies are also repurposing old GM locations in the Flint Area.<\/p>\n

According to MLive, the former GM Great Lakes Tech Centre is filling up with healthcare industry tenants and internet auction company Repocast.com recently renovated a 100,000-square-foot facility once owned by a GM supplier.<\/p>\n

Former auto industry properties can be a difficult sell because of their large scale and brownfield classification<\/a>. But recent reports continue to suggest that Michigan is quickly rebounding. The state is third in high tech job growth nationally and a report released Wednesday puts Michigan as the No. 4 state<\/a> for major new corporate facilities and expansions in 2012.<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Online Tech Presents on Cloud Computing at the West Flint, Michigan Business Association<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
\nOnline Tech\u2019s Co-CEO Mike Klein will be speaking about cloud computing at the West Flint Business Association luncheon meeting, April 17 at noon, in Flint Michigan. The topic is how small businesses can benefit from a cloud-based service that stores \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Michigan Data Centers Reshape State\u2019s IT Landscape<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
\nAccording to the Associated Press, General Motors Co. may build a $258 million data center in Oakland County\u2019s Milford Township, Michigan, with construction beginning as early as next month. GM is currently seeking tax abatements for the 100,000 square foot \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n

Michigan CIO David Behen: Michigan is the Ideal Place for Data Centers<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
\nLast Thursday, Online Tech attended the State of Michigan\u2019s CIO David Behen\u2019s speech at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), co-sponsored by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the Detroit Metropolitcan Chapter, EMU Political Science Dept. and the EMU Foundation. Behen\u2019s \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fledgling rebirth of Detroit has received plenty of attention as tech startup companies sprout up amid the modern-day ruins that symbolize its manufacturing past. But Michigan\u2019s largest city isn\u2019t the only one shaking free of its rust belt reputation. Flint, the birthplace of General Motors, once had 80,000 residents employed by the automaker. That number shrank to less than 8,000 by the time GM and Chrysler entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2009. The struggling city\u2019s attempt at a comeback focuses on repurposing some of the 15 shuttered former GM sites spread around Genesee County. Just three of those closed locations have found a new life to date. One of them \u2013 a site originally built by EDS as General Motor\u2019s IT disaster recovery data center \u2013 became Online Tech\u2019s Mid-Michigan data center, offering premier hosting for mid-size firms. In 2005, Online Tech invested $1 million to get the 32,500 square foot Flint Township facility up to its compliance standards. The company recently announced plans to invest another $1 million in the center and hire additional employees by the end of 2013. Today, the Mid-Michigan data center is one of the biggest in the state and the anchor of Online Tech’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"other_category":[],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOnline Tech at Forefront of Flint\u2019s Effort to Repurpose Shuttered Auto Industry Properties | OTAVA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Flint's attempt at a comeback focuses on repurposing some of the 15 shuttered former GM sites spread around Genesee County.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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