I saw this article in this week's edition of Crain's [[Page 4 entire page):
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...door-fish-farm

As I read it, an Ohio-based for-profit company wants to expand in Michigan to be "nearer to a customer." The company wants to start a tilapia farming operation and also an operation to make fiberglass fish farming tubs or ponds.

So, this unamed company didn't seem to have contacted the City of Detroit or the State or even the eEstern Market Corporation to discuss options for expanding here. Instead, they contacted, according to the article, SHAR to get help with expanding into the Eastern market area:

"Wozniak [[SHAR's Development Officer) said he was approached by an Ohio-based business wanting to locate a tilapia farm closer to his Michigan clients.

The tilapia farmer [[Wozniak declined to reveal the name) has been in business for 14 years and sells about 300,000 pounds of fish a year.

But the signing of a large Michigan-based client is requiring him to ramp up production to 5 million pounds, and Wozniak said Eastern Market makes logistical sense for his business since it's a food distribution hub.

"Michigan is a big market for his business, and tilapia is in demand," Wozniak said. "They approached us about Eastern Market because it will get them closer to their clients."

Nowhere in the article is a statement that SHAR owns a building and that is why they were approached. Instead Wozniak seems to be saying that SHAR will benefit somehow. He also mysteriously says that the Ohio company is not doing the expansion on its own: "Wozniak said private and public financing and grants will fund the project and are confirmed, but would not elaborate on the sources. "

Last, Wozniak says that, although the company seems to have been building the tanks previously, it now has $5 million in back-orders for tanks and so will be building a manufacturing facilty near Russel to fill the orders:
"The Ohio tilapia farm also manufactures the Fiberglas tanks it uses and is looking to build a Detroit Fiberglas manufacturing facility.

The build-out of the Fiberglas plant will cost less than $250,000 and it is planned for the north side of Detroit near the Russell Industrial Center. Wozniak said the company already has about $5 million worth of Fiberglas orders to fill. "

So, dear readers, does this sound funny and a little overdone to you? I ask because I have a dim memory of SHAR being involved in shady stuff in the distant, distant past. Not saying this is shady but a little preposturous as it is written [[unless SHAR does, indeed own the building and the company went to them because of it). Also, fish farming has a funny history here. Remember when "African Town" was going to have a shrimp farm?

Anyone here have anything about SHAR?