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Posted February 20, 2012 in News
The newest ideas from a coalition of corporate CEOs and university presidents seek to build on what Michigan already does well to drive employment and economic growth in the years ahead.
Building on Michigan’s engineering and logistics acumen; growing the life sciences sector further; boosting agricultural processing and exports and tourism; strengthening higher education; and leveraging the auto industry’s legacy for new forms of transportation are the key elements of a “New Michigan” strategy rolled out by Business Leaders for Michigan.
If the New Michigan goals are achieved, the economic impact will result in 200,000 to 500,000 new jobs and an $18,000 increase in per-capita personal income for the state over a decade — and that’s on top of the normal growth rate, the group estimates.
“We believe these are the best opportunities for creating good-paying jobs and strengthening our economy,” Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said last week as Business Leaders for Michigan rolled out the new ideas. “Our vision is to do a better job of building what’s already in Michigan (and) our existing assets to take advantage of global trends.”
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Posted January 20, 2012 in News
Holland--Financially-solid local banks, manufacturing strength and regional stability could mean a prosperous future for the Holland area, economists and commercial Realtors said Wednesday at presentations in Grand Rapids and Holland.
KC Conway, director of real estate analytics for commercial real estate firm Colliers International, gave a pessimistic forecast for U.S. economy, but said that West Michigan was better off than most locales.
“Having that capital in your banks, combined with your manufacturing, you’ve got a real great combination going here,” he said at a lunch event at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center.
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Posted January 12, 2012 in News
By Jennie L Phipps | MLive.com Contributor
Here's an interesting tidbit, courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which announced today that from June 2010 to June 2011, employment increased in 215 of the 322 largest U.S. counties. Ottawa, Mich., posted the largest increase, with a gain of 4.7 percent year over year, compared with national job growth of 0.9 percent.
Within Ottawa, which includes the city of Holland, the largest employment increase occurred in manufacturing, which gained 2,514 jobs over the year (9 percent). Below is a list of the top five counties nationwide that gained the most jobs during this time period. These counties had a combined year-over-year gain of 174,600, or 15.4 percent of the overall employment increase for the U.S.
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Posted January 12, 2012 in News
It’s been more than three years since the sounds of construction last rang through the Savannah Lakes subdivision off Perry Street.
But land development company Savannah Lakes LLC thinks the Holland-Zeeland market is right for some spec home construction in the residential project it started in 2005.
“We’re seeing new industry coming to the area with new employees in higher paying jobs and expect these people are going to want new homes,” said Craig Datema, chairman and CEO of Triangle Associates Inc. of Grand Rapids and a partner in Savannah Lakes.
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Posted January 03, 2012 in News
By Andrew Domino | MiBiz
adomino@mibiz.com
WEST MICHIGAN — Local businesses and city governments run side-by-side in every community in Michigan, but it’s much more of a challenge to make sure they work together.
A new study from the University of Michigan-Dearborn shows several West Michigan cities and townships have been succeeding at that challenge. Cities from Grand Haven to Marshall were recognized as four-star and five-star communities by iLabs, UMD’s Center for Innovation Research.
The 2011 eCities study looked at 89 locations across the state for characteristics such as positive property growth and tax rates. Information on the communities with the highest marks was released in November. The full study is expected in late January. Businesses can still participate in the study by visiting the iLabs website at www.umdilabs.com/ecities.
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