Latest news with #Michalski
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ground is broken for next phase projects at St. Paul's Highland Bridge
With a ceremonial toss of a shovel of dirt, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined developers with the Ryan Cos. along Ford Parkway this week to break ground on a long-stalled, $68 million phase of construction within Highland Bridge, which will include the first retail additions since Lunds and Byerlys relocated a nearby store there in September 2022. Highland Bridge, which is about 50% developed, was once the site of the Ford Motor Co.'s Twin Cities assembly plant, which closed in December 2011, leading into more than 13 years of planning, soil remediation and building construction. That construction has slowed, though not entirely stopped, in the era of high interest rates, softer urban housing demand and rent control, which the city of St. Paul permanently rolled back last month for new construction. Work on the five new additions — spanning four single-level retail buildings, a 97-unit mixed-use apartment building with ground-level retail, and a two-level parking structure — is expected to get underway in earnest this summer and continue into October or November 2026. Given the current state of interest rates, financing and urban housing demand, 'it is challenging right now to do market-rate, multi-family,' said Maureen Michalski, a senior vice president of development with the Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., 'but we're committed to the site. Weidner Apartment Homes is committed to the site. We're willing to advance the site based on this being a legacy project for us.' One of the single-story structures to be erected closest to Lunds and Byerlys already has a tenant lined up — Tierra Encantada, a Spanish-immersion daycare that plans to make Highland Bridge its 10th Minnesota location. The three other single-story structures, which will front Ford Parkway, will be built on more of an 'if you build it, they will come' model, with hopes of attracting retail to one of the more affluent corners of the city. Together with the ground-level of the future mixed-use building, they'll total 35,000 square feet of retail, Michalski said. The 133-acre Highland Bridge development also houses a two-story medical office building anchored by M Health Fairview, though most of the other construction to date has been residential, and until now, hundreds of units of planned market-rate housing have been on pause for years. That pause is over, according to the Ryan Cos. 'We have a variety of actions taken at the (city) council level that helped,' Michalski said, noting recent changes to tax increment financing agreements and other site controls. 'We essentially looked at the existing redevelopment agreement and minimum assessment agreement, and made some reallocations and rebalancing there … basically changing some timing of things.' The latest buildings, to be developed by the Ryan Cos. and located between Cretin Avenue and Mount Curve Boulevard, will be bisected by a new pedestrian promenade that will emerge at an angle from a small plaza to be located near Lunds at Ford Parkway and Cretin Ave. The future promenade will extend to an existing plaza located near Marvella 2190, the senior independent living apartment complex at 2190 Hillcrest Ave. 'It's a very desirable location,' Michalski said. 'Marvella 2190, which just opened in the spring, was fully leased when it opened in March.' Roads and infrastructure along the far southern end of the site are being completed south of Montreal Avenue and east of Cretin Avenue. Throughout Highland Bridge, four parks have opened to the public. Michalski said Weidner Apartment Homes plans to begin work next year on a roughly 170-unit apartment building south of the site, toward Bohland and Cretin avenues, and Presbyterian Homes plans additional senior housing. Elsewhere within the 133-acre development, six of 20 single-family lots have been sold, Michalski said, and about 150 upscale Pulte rowhomes have been completed to date. Overall, Highland Bridge currently spans about 1,000 units of residential housing, much of it located within multi-family developments and senior apartments built close to Ford Parkway. Of that total, about 200 units would qualify as affordable housing, much of it assembled with the help of tax incentives known as tax increment financing, using market-rate development to subsidize the affordable units. The Lumin, affordable senior apartments developed by CommonBond Communities, and Project for Pride in Living's Restoring Waters, which caters to families that have experienced homelessness, were constructed with funding derived in part from the two market-rate Marvella senior housing projects. Restoring Waters is now the headquarters for Emma Norton Services. St. Paul: At Highland Bridge, Weidner Homes, Ryan Cos. win concessions St. Paul City Council ends rent control for housing built after 2004 St. Paul: Ryan Cos. plan for four one-story buildings along Ford Parkway inch closer to approval by default
Business Insider
02-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that got an ex-Amazon exec $10 million to bring AI agents to health systems
Ascertain raised a $10 million Series A round to ease healthcare administrative burdens with AI. Ascertain's CEO, formerly on Amazon's life sciences team, is bringing AI agents to health systems. It now has more deals on the horizon with private equity firm Deerfield Management. Ascertain CEO Dr. Mark Michalski, a radiologist by training, loved practicing medicine. But the administrative burdens he faced as a clinician eventually drove him to stop seeing patients. It's the very problem Michalski wants to fix at Ascertain, a healthcare startup that's collaborating with top New York health system Northwell Health to relieve clinicians of those administrative burdens using AI. "It's so hard to deliver care in a scalable way that's fulfilling for providers and meaningful for patients," Michalski said. "I don't want to pass the baton on to the next generation [of clinicians] with the same story." In its efforts to change that story with AI, Ascertain just raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by private equity firm Deerfield Management with participation from Northwell Health. The startup launched in 2022 out of New York-based startup studio Aegis Ventures, in partnership with Northwell Health. Its AI agent platform helps hospitals tackle a wide range of administrative tasks, from clinical documentation to prior authorization to compliance management. Michalski joined Ascertain in 2023 from Amazon, where he worked on Amazon Web Services' life sciences business and on Amazon's healthcare brands, from primary care chain One Medical to Amazon Pharmacy. There, he saw how new AI technologies could be hugely useful to automate the brands' rote administrative tasks — and, soon, could be revolutionary for clinical care. "While I was at Amazon, there was early proof of concept that AI agents were going to be very effective for healthcare minutiae, which the industry is drowning in," he said. "I came to Ascertain with that thesis, and we retooled the company around it." Ascertain launched its AI agent platform as a copilot for case managers, who are typically nurses who coordinate patient care, payments, and hospital discharges. Ascertain is one of many startups gaining ground to tackle healthcare administrative tasks with AI. Some have already raised tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars from VCs, such as General Catalyst-backed Hippocratic AI, which raised $141 million in January at a $1.64 billion valuation for its AI agents to help providers automate some patient-facing tasks. Michalski said Ascertain has intentionally moved more slowly, improving its tech thoughtfully over the past two years according to Northwell Health's needs. Northwell Health treats about 2 million patients every year, more than any other New York health system, volumes that would leave any hospital overrun with administrative tasks. "It's almost impossible to solve these problems at a large health system like Northwell without a really intimate partnership early on," Michalski said. He said Ascertain's focus on case managers also sets the startup apart. "For the life of me, I can't understand why people are not looking at case managers. They are the nexus of so many things — denial rates, length of stay, patient satisfaction," he said. Ascertain's next phase of customers will come from its Series A lead investor, Deerfield Management, where Michalski will now also serve as Chief Information Officer. Deerfield's portfolio includes a number of healthcare delivery companies that Ascertain will soon sell into, Michalski said. Dr. Julian Harris, an operating partner at Deerfield, said he sees lots of opportunities for Ascertain to enhance the firm's portfolio companies' workflows, as well as to connect with the hospitals and health systems that Deerfield has previously partnered with, co-invested with, or that are limited partners in Deerfield's fund. Deerfield also has relationships with health plans, Harris said, which could help Ascertain expand into payer contracts in the long term. "But out of the gate, the health system opportunities are massive," he said. Here's the 10-slide pitch deck Ascertain used to bank $10 million from Deerfield.
Sunday World
27-04-2025
- Sunday World
Irish man suspected of killing American nurse in Budapest remains in detention
Body of Mackenzie Michalski (31) was found in a suitcase two hours from Hungarian capital last November Mackenzie Michalski and inset, the Irish suspect leading police to her body An Irish man in custody in Budapest in Hungary over the murder of a US tourist will remain in pre-trial detention until at least next month as police continue to probe the violent killing. Mackenzie Michalski, a 31-year-old American nurse, went missing on November 4 from a nightclub in central Budapest. Her body was later discovered in a suitcase in a wooded area 140km outside the capital. A 37-year-old Irish man was arrested in connection with her murder after the discovery of her remains. The man, who works in marketing and has not been named, has appealed his ongoing detention. The body of Mackenzie Michalski was found near Budapest last November His lawyer, Dr Gyorgy Magyar, said: 'My law firm is defending an Irish citizen who is suspected of the crime of murder committed against a US citizen. 'In relation to the case, I can inform you that the investigation conducted by the police is still ongoing, which is to obtain further expert opinions and evaluate the available evidence. 'The court has extended the detention of our client for two months, against which our office has filed an appeal. The next court decision regarding the extension of the detention is expected in early May.' Mackenzie Michalski The man's ongoing incarceration is the second extension Budapest's Metropolitan Prosecution Office has secured in relation to the Irish suspect. He was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ms Michalski on November 7 after police reviewed CCTV footage from the surrounding area where the young woman was last seen. Ms Michalski, who worked as a nurse in Portland, Oregon, last made contact with friends on the night of Monday November 4 from a nightclub in central Budapest. She was reported missing the next day by her friends after she did not check out of her Airbnb accommodation in the Hungarian capital. Mackenzie Michalski with her parents Jill and Bill According to a statement released by Budapest police, Ms Michalski and the male suspect met at a nightclub in central Budapest on the night of her disappearance before going to another nightclub and later to the man's rented apartment in the city. The same police statement noted that the Irish man maintained that Ms Michalski's death was accidental. According to the police, following Ms Michalski's death, the suspect cleaned his apartment and drove to Lake Balaton, two hours west of Budapest, with Ms Michalski's body placed in the suitcase, before hiding her body in a wooded area. After his arrest, the suspect travelled with police to Lake Balaton to reveal the location of Ms Michalski's body. Mr Magyar previously told a Hungarian media outlet that Ms Michalski's death was 'an accidental act without intention'. Mackenzie Michalski on her graduation day Under Hungarian law, a suspect is formally charged after the conclusion of an investigation. In cases of suspected murder or manslaughter, an investigation period can take a number of months, and, in some cases, more than a year to conclude. In an interview with this newspaper earlier this year, Ms Michalski's father said he did not believe his daughter's death was accidental. 'The main thing for us now is to be patient and allow the police to continue to carry out their investigation,' Bill Michalski said. 'Everyone wants to know the details. We have faith in the police investigation, and they are keeping us updated.' Ms Michalski's mother, Jill, added: 'Our daughter was kind, compassionate, independent and adventurous. And she loved to laugh. People ask us how we are doing… all we can say is we are doing as well as we can be.'
RTHK
25-04-2025
- Science
- RTHK
'Shenzhou mission helps China's space development'
The three astronauts on board the Shenzhou-20 have successfully docked with the Tiangong space station, according to state three-man crew blasted off on Thursday and will spend six months on the space on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme , Joe Michalski, a professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the Shenzhou crew would carry out some important experiments during their mission."One of the more exciting ones is this idea of life experiments to life response in space to challenges of radiation and low gravity and other types of exposure," Michalski said."So any kind of life experiments that we can carry out will inform how life forms of other types would respond in the future because we're aiming toward long-term habitability in space for everyone."Professor Michalski also said the mission was a good way for China to deepen its talent pool of astronauts."This will allow for other astronauts, or taikonauts, to progress into leadership roles and have more experience in space because it's such a challenging environment that affects the body and mind in such a challenging way."
BBC News
02-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Migrant stories: From Poland to Lincolnshire for a better life
In 2004, Poland was one of 10 countries that joined the European Union, sparking a wave of migration to the UK. Many settled in Lincolnshire, working in the agricultural sector, and although some returned in the aftermath of Brexit, others have put down roots in the county. "My home is where my family is, and the people that I love," says Maciej Michalski, who came to the UK in from Bydgoszcz, a city in northern Poland, he stayed with his sister in Sleaford after losing a well-paid job in security."I was really scared," he admitted. "I didn't know what I would find here, but after a few days I had a job at a recycling working for about four months, Mr Michalski said he had earned enough money to rent his own house and buy a trailer, so that he could bring his family and their possessions "over for a better life".He added: "I had a small child and my wife couldn't go to work to help. In Poland, just one person working isn't enough - unless you get help, or live with your parents."The Polish economy at the time, it was hard to find something good."He said that despite the upheaval, there were many benefits to living in the UK, including being able to afford the rent on a house, run a car and enjoy days out as a family."That was impossible in Poland," he added. Gregory Lesiak, 40, who is now a HGV technician, originally came over on his own in 2007."I never planned to emigrate from Poland – I came over here for two weeks and the second week my brother-in-law asked if I could help him out, and that's how I started my first job at a recycling plant."It was the same place where Mr Michalski still works and the two men became Lesiak said for him the decision to stay in the UK was really easy as he earned more money in a week than he could in a whole month in Poland."I thought 'hold on a second' there is a different world out there."Mr Lesiak, who is originally from Tychy in southern Poland, met his partner Magdalena during a trip back home, and eventually asked her to come and live with him in Lincolnshire."I was excited, so I said yes," Magdalena added. "He is a good man."And despite being late to pick her up from the airport, they are now happily married with two children and living in Sleaford. How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum?Migration: How many people come to work and study in the UK and what are the rules? The influx of migrants to Lincolnshire after 2004 sparked protests in Boston, with the market town also recording the highest leave vote in the Brexit despite some of their compatriots deciding to leave after Brexit, both Mr Michalski and Mr Lesiak said their experience had been mostly positive."I never experienced any issues - everyone is friendly and gets on with each other, Mr Lesiak said."Our kids were born here - our home is here."Mr Michalski concurred, but added that home for him was wherever his family was - not a geographical the 1.2 million people who came to live in the UK in the year ending June 2024, only around 10% were from EU+ countries, which includes Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, according to the Office for National to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
