At the end of 2020, Perkins Eastman’s office in Chicago’s historic Rookery Building achieved a platinum WELL health and safety rating from the International WELL Building Institute. WELL is a building standard focusing on enhancing people’s health and wellness through the buildings in which they live, work and play. Like many architecture firms, Perkins Eastman’s Chicago office is still in flux with many employees still working from home and a few returning to the office. Jennica Deely, Perkins Eastman communications associate, said the certification bolstered the Chicago staff’s morale.

Stantec recently helped its client, the city of New Holstein, Wis., secure $1.16 million in state and federal grants for the redevelopment of 40 acres and demolition of the former Tecumseh Industrial building in New Holsten. The city plans to create a shovel-ready site for potential developers thanks to the demolition and remediation.

As the city’s consultant for the Tecumseh site, Stantec provided grant writing, demolition planning assistance and market analysis to support New Holstein’s redevelopment goals. Funding came from state-level idle sites redevelopment grants and the federal community development block grant (CDBG-CLOSE program). Building demolition is scheduled for mid-2021.

In recognition of a new $5-million gift by GameAbove, an Eastern Michigan University alumni group, the university is renaming its engineering and technology college to the GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology. The EMU Board of Regents approved the renaming at its regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. The new name will become effective March 1.

GameAbove is a team of Eastern Michigan University alumni who desire to make a difference for all of EMU and the Ypsilanti, Mich., community. The group has made unprecedented contributions to support Eastern students and faculty. The GameAbove team includes a diverse group of individuals of various ages and backgrounds, including accomplished entrepreneurs, business people, EMU athletics Hall of Famers and select EMU coaches, all of whom are EMU graduates. The group has been focused on supporting the university and its students and faculty.

“The College of Engineering and Technology has a strong reputation. It will soon be making waves at a national level with the addition of several new engineering programs and a particular focus on emerging technologies such as cybersecurity for connected and autonomous vehicles and select aviation specialties,” said Keith J. Stone, member of the GameAbove advisory board. “We strive to have these selected programs recognized nationally as the absolute best in the country, making Eastern Michigan incredibly attractive to students for decades to come.”

Eastern Michigan University President James Smith said, “We are extremely proud and gratified to honor the singular contributions of GameAbove with the renaming of our outstanding College of Engineering and Technology.”

GameAbove’s $20 million in support to the university, over a 15-month period of time, represents the largest gift received in Eastern Michigan University’s 171-year history.