DETROIT ? TechTown celebrated its first year in business Tuesday by handing out some awards, a hundred TechTown T-shirts, and high hopes the rapid progress made by Detroit?s only research and technology park will continue in year two and beyond.

In a single year, TechOne went from an empty building to a business incubator housing 10 companies that employ some 80 people.

?We have doubled the total businesses in the park,?? said TechTown CEO Howard Bell. ?We have built out 60,000 of the 100,000 square feet in the TechOne Building. We?ve started working with students to provide computer access, mentoring and apprenticeships. We?re looking to populate it with another 60 employees and looking to open our first retail shops. We?ll even have apartments opening up later this year.?

Bell said once TechOne gets filled, he wants to line up tenants for TechTwo, a 120,000 square foot building, the former Criminal Justice Building, and TechThree, an 80,000 square foot structure that once was home to the American Beauty Iron Works. He?d like the first floor of TechTwo to become home to a restaurant.

?There is a Renaissance going on around the city, in pockets,?? Bell said. ?That?s urban living.?

Bell hopes five years from now, the Renaissance underway at TechTown will become the nucleus for a thriving neighborhood in the Wayne State University area with hundreds of loft apartments, condos, and people on the street walking to the dry cleaners, the super markets, the coffee shops ? what downtown Detroit looked like in the golden years right after World War II.

The highlight Tuesday was the awards given to some TechTown partners that have made the first year?s success possible. Those include:

TechTown Developer of the Year: James Croce, CEO of NextEnergy, a nonprofit corporation founded to advance alternative energy in Michigan. NextEnergy recently completed its $15 million, 45,000-square-foot headquarters across the street from TechOne.

TechTown Entrepreneur of the Year, Randal Charlton, CEO of Asterand. TechTown?s first and largest tenant, Asterand?s staff has grown by 50 percent since moving into TechOne, and its revenues are climbing exponentially.

TechTown Board Member of the Year, James Connelly, CFO of Henry Ford Health System. Connelly has demonstrated extraordinary personal commitment and leadership as treasurer of the TechTown board of directors.

TechTown Community Partner of the Year, William Moseley, founder of Parent Child Computer Learning Foundation. Moseley?s organization is responsible for the after-school program housed in TechOne through which high school students boost their math and computer skills.