•

mess

The University of Village Green
provides prime training
for employees of Holtzman
and Silverman companies.

hotos by Dan iel Li

RUTH UTTIMANN STAFF WRITER

Village Green locations primarily appeal to second and third-time renters.

f the University of Vil-
lage Green had a football
team, players might
compete against rivals
from Disney World and
McDonald's — two oth-
er companies that spon-
sor worker-training
schools.
Picture the mascots:
Mickey Mouse sings a
high-pitched fight song of
squeaks and frightened squeals
as Ronald McDonald charges
the defensive line clutching a
box of french fries.
Then there's the University.
of Village Green. Without ques-
tion, its mascot would be a
fresh-faced UVG grad with
plenty of spirit. The chant? "Go
Green!" Naturally.
UVG is in Farmington Hills
on Northwestern Highway. It
is sponsored by the Village

Green Management Company,
which operates 25,000 apart-
ments in nine states, including
Michigan, Texas, Maryland and
Kentucky. Most prominent in
the metro Detroit area are the
company's 25 Village Green
Apartment locations.
Holtzman and Silverman, a
70-year-old builder, developer
and manager of residential
properties, owns Village Green.
In 1988, Jonathan Holtzman,
co-chairman of Holtzman and
Silverman, and Terry
Schwartz, CEO of Village
Green, attended a business con-
ference at U-D (Disney, that is).
The conference sparked the
idea for UVG.
As management of large
companies put more emphasis
on worker training, the univer-
sity concept is taking hold in
corporations across the country.

On an early Thursday morn-
ing in late October, no one is
late for class at the Holtzman
and Silverman building. The
professor is Christina Steeg,
also known as a corporate sales

"People realize
we're making a
commitment to
them."

Terry Schwartz

trainer. She introduces herself
to a dozen students, then asks
them to do the same.
The classroom atmosphere,
though friendly, has a corporate
aura. These students mean

business. Some hail from Vil-
lage Green locations in Wis-
consin and Kentucky. Most
work at local sites.
The students, who range in
age from 19 to 40-something,
speak candidly about their goals
with the company.
Katherine Kuschmann, 23,
intended to finish school after
getting married. Her family
members have college degrees,
and Ms. Kuschmann wasn't
sure if she'd feel comfortable
without a diploma. But, as she
was shopping for apartments
recently, she came across a job
opening at Village Green.
Ms. Kuschmann was hired
as a leasing consultant, and the
experience has thus far given
her double thoughts about im-
mediately pursuing a full-time
academic track.

GO GREEN page 34