Northern Michigan town to prove they are ready to grow

Boyne City wins competitive spot in Redevelopment Ready Communities certification program.

A small community in Northern Michigan is ready to show the world that they are ready to handle new development by becoming certified as a Redevelopment Ready Community.

Boyne City, Michigan, was recently awarded one of eight spots in the program designed to help them compete for new business and complete a plan for growth by meeting a set of Best Practices.

According to Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC), a program originally launched by the Michigan Suburbs Alliance of southeast Michigan, an RRC certification signals to business owners, developers and investors that the community has removed development barriers by building deliberate, fair and consistent processes. Certified Redevelopment Ready Communities® attract investment to create thriving places where people want to live, work and play. RRC envisions communities that creatively reuse space, embrace economic innovation and best practices, and proactively plan their future, making them more attractive to redevelopment investments.

Boyne City will join Allegan, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Lansing, Lathrup Village, Muskegon and Novi in this first round of certification work. They will design plans to comply with a set of Best Practices created specifically to indicate when a community is a Redevelopment Ready Community. These Best Practices include Community Plans & Public Outreach, Zoning Policy and Regulation, Development Review Process, Education and Training, Identifying Redevelopment Ready Sites, and Community Prosperity. These eight communities will be working with a team to identify each community’s needs, design or update their master plan, and set forth a plan for future growth, among other projects.

“The community of Boyne City is already on their way toward these Best Practices,” according to Sara Christensen, Economic Development Specialist at Northern Lakes Economic Alliance, a partner of Michigan State University. “They have already completed infrastructure updates, initiated façade improvements in the downtown district, and created niche industry locations throughout the community.” You can view some of Boyne City’s projects on our website, www.northernlakes.net.

An additional 28 communities that applied for the Redevelopment Ready Communities Program will continue to work on their program foundation with training and assistance throughout the year. If you are curious about the Redevelopment Ready Community Best Practices, you can download a copy through www.northernlakes.net, under the Useful Links portion of “Services for Communities”. 

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