By City of Wyoming
The designation, announced today by the MEDC, recognizes the City’s efforts in establishing a solid foundation to attract private investment and improve economic development opportunities. It also means Wyoming is “thoroughly prepared” when it comes to planning and zoning to remove traditional barriers and promote opportunities for prospective investors.
“Certification as a Redevelopment Ready Community shows our commitment to development readiness,” Mayor Jack Poll said. “We went through a rigorous assessment and worked to implement the program’s best practices. We look forward to our continued partnership with the MEDC to spur economic development, investment and job growth in our great city.”
Wyoming’s RCC certification qualifies it for state community development incentives that encourage developers to invest in the city. This includes small business programs like Match on Main that provides reimbursable grant funds for new or expanding place-based businesses.
Certification also means Wyoming will receive support from the MEDC’s Redevelopment Services Team. The City will partner with the team to evaluate development sites and produce customized marketing that will promote investment in key areas. These will likely include some of the five special area plans identified in the Wyoming [re]Imagined Master Plan document –sections of 28th Street SW, Wilson Avenue SW, Burton Street SW, Division Avenue SW and the Kelvinator industrial site near Clyde Park Avenue SW and Grandville Avenue SW.
After the Wyoming City Council voted in March 2017 to participate in the Redevelopment Ready Community program, the City received a baseline evaluation of the existing planning and economic development processes compared to RRC best practices. These best practices were:
· Plans and engagement
· Zoning
· Development review
· Boards and commissions
· Economic development and marketing
The program also evaluated the City’s public participation and marketing efforts to assess its ability to engage the community and attract businesses. The certification demonstrates Wyoming has streamlined processes and enhanced engagement to attract developers and stimulate investment in the city.
“One of the goals of our new Master Plan, Wyoming [re] Imagined, is to retain existing businesses while fostering new growth and investment,” said Nicole Hofert, Wyoming’s director of planning and economic development. “The Redevelopment Ready Community designation enables the City to leverage state economic development tools and other resources that can help us take a positive step toward achieving this goal. It reflects our continued efforts to work closely with developers to facilitate investment in Wyoming and attract talent to our city.”
For more information about the City’s Redevelopment Ready Community certification, visit wyomingmi.gov/Doing-Business-in-Wyoming. For more on the Wyoming [re] Imagined master plan, visit wyomingmi.gov/reimagined.
