(Detroit) March 9, 2006—TechTown is launching a unique collaboration to overhaul its 12-block community. On March 13, TechTown will host a community kick-off for the master site development plan of Detroit’s only technology park.

Numerous partners from Detroit, Ann Arbor, Philadelphia and New York will converge for the first time to collaborate on a comprehensive plan detailing the complete landscaping and renovation of TechTown by 2020. The plan will incorporate business, residential and entertainment developments.

TechTown Master Site Development Plan Community Kick-Off March 13, 2006 Speakers and Participants U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick U.S. Congressman John Conyers Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO James Epolito Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. TechTown Chairman and Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid Professor Roy Strickland, Director of the Master of Urban Design Program, University of Michigan Michigan State Representative Marsha Cheeks Michigan State Senator Hansen Clarke Michigan State Senator Martha Scott Lucius Vassar, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Detroit Daedra Von Mike McGhee, Advisor, Business and Civic Affairs, Office of the Governor of Michigan Janice Barnes, Midwest Region Education Group, Scholastic Lawrence Agulnick, Chief of Staff, Science Center, Philadelphia University of Michigan Graduate Architecture and Urban Design Students Cass Technical High School Architecture Students

“Our master site development project will generate tremendous economic momentum,” says TechTown Executive Director Howard Bell. “I fully expect TechTown to become the most exciting neighborhood in Detroit.”

The summit, co-hosted by local nonprofits New Center Council and University Cultural Center Association, will be held at NextEnergy. Confirmed guest speakers include Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO James Epolito, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. and TechTown Chairman and Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid.

“This innovative partnership will help develop new markets that lead to the creation of jobs. It will also help diminish the digital divide by expanding access to technology in our community,” says Kilpatrick. “Both are crucial elements in helping ensure that Detroit and the surrounding region stay ahead of technological advancements and maintain a presence in our increasingly global economy.”

Fourteen University of Michigan graduate architecture and urban design students, led by Professor Roy Strickland, will execute the master site development plan. The students, having completed on-site research at tech parks in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, will describe their role and goals.

Lawrence Agulnick, chief of staff of Philadelphia’s Science Center, a 40-year-old tech park, will share his organization’s model planning process. The country’s oldest and most successful urban tech park, it has attracted more than 150 entrepreneurial ventures as tenants.

While growing Detroit’s high tech sector, TechTown also ensures that local residents will be prepared for technology jobs with ongoing tutoring and mentoring. In addition, TechTown is pleased to announce the donation of the Read 180 software platform from Scholastic, a New York-based, global children’s publishing and media company. Read 180 is an intensive reading intervention program that confronts adolescent illiteracy using technology and other resources.

TechTown empowers entrepreneurs to build successful technology businesses that improve the quality of life for people across the country and around the world. At TechTown, we provide the support and access to capital needed to build high tech companies in Detroit. For more information, visit www.TechTownWSU.org.