What’s happening: The month of October has proven to be a fruitful one for the economic development teams of four different rural communities found at various points throughout Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. The communities of Baldwin, East Tawas, Ontonagon, and Parchment each achieved designations as Redevelopment Ready Communities this October.
What it means: The Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) program offers Michigan communities a collection of economic development best practices that, once met, indicate to investors that the community is an attractive place to do business. Developed by both the private and public sectors, the RRC program stresses transparency, predictability, and efficiency when it comes to economic development. Per their
website, the RRC Essentials designation formally recognizes “that a community has a vision for the future and the fundamental practices in place to get there.”
Who’s in: The communities of Baldwin, Ontonagon, and Parchment each achieved their RRC Essentials designations this October, demonstrating their preparedness to prospective investors by having “key documents and practices in place to provide a predictable development experience and meet local planning and zoning responsibilities,” as laid out in the
RRC Best Practice Handbook.
The City of East Tawas has gone one step further, reaching the second tier of the RRC program by achieving its RRC Certified designation, which requires all that of the Essentials designation but also recognizes the community for proactively seeking development opportunities by way of economic development and marketing strategies and the Redevelopment Ready Sites program.
What they’re saying: “The Essentials designation makes many new and valuable resources available to our community,” reads a statement from Baldwin Village President Jim Truxton. “The Village has worked for over two years to complete a long checklist of requirements around policies, procedures, public engagement and transparency. These completed items demonstrate we are ready and willing to work with developers and businesses to bring about the projects wanted and needed by our community.”
Visit the MEDC online to learn more about Redevelopment Ready Communities.
Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
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