COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA, MI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT REGION 13 2017-2022 Table of Contents Chapter Page 1. Introduction 1 2. Background 3 3. Regional Profile 8 4. Infrastructure, Facilities, and Services 34 5. The Economy 51 6. Planning/Economic Development Network 64 7. Issue Identification 68 8. Goals and Objectives 71 9. Implementation Plan 74 Chapter 1| Introduction PURPOSE The Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region Commission (WUPPDR or “Western Region” ) has served as an Economic Development District under the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) since 1970. Since then, WUPPDR has worked closely with EDA to monitor and plan economic development initiatives. A comprehensive economic development strategy, or CEDS, serves as one of our region’s primary economic development plans (supplemented by the Regional Prosperity Plan described later in this document). EDA, in its 2015 Content Guidelines, describes the CEDS as follows: Simply put, a CEDS is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS is the result of a regionally owned planning process designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region. It is a key component in establishing and maintaining a robust economic ecosystem by helping to build regional capacity (through hard and soft infrastructure) that contributes to individual, firm, and community success. The CEDS provides a vehicle for individuals, organizations, local governments, institutes of learning, and private industry to engage in a meaningful conversation and debate about what capacity building efforts would best serve economic development in the region. The CEDS should take into account and, where appropriate, integrate or leverage other regional planning efforts, including the use of other available federal funds, private sector resources, and state support which can advance a region's CEDS goals and objectives. Initially created as a planning document for EDA-funded projects, the CEDS has since evolved into a multi-purpose and comprehensive planning tool. Along with its original purpose, the CEDS is used as a reference in developing projects across many of WUPPDR’s program areas. THE CEDS PROCESS The CEDS is prepared by WUPPDR staff based on planning and input from the CEDS Committee under oversight of the WUPPDR Commission. For this update, the WUPPDR Commission designated the Western Upper Peninsula (U.P.) Regional Prosperity Collaborative, discussed in later chapters, as the CEDS Committee. WUPPDR staff drafted the CEDS background relying on existing information and data that have become available since the previous CEDS update. Later chapters, beginning with the SWOT analysis, were based largely on committee input. The CEDS draft was released for a 30-day public review period on March 17, 2017, posted on the WUPPDR website, and publicized through social and traditional media. The final CEDS was adopted by the WUPPDR Commission on April 17 with amendments to address feedback received and necessary updates identified during review. Major updates to the CEDS are completed every five years, with annual performance updates in the intermediate years. The five-year CEDS and its annual updates include a list of potential projects submitted by municipalities and engineering firms. The five-year CEDS and annual updates are available on WUPPDR’s website at http://www.wuppdr.org . ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS In the last 13 years, WUPPDR has collaborated with area municipalities, organizations and universities on the development of several EDA- and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)-funded planning and construction projects in the region. Some highlights include: 1 Chapter 1| Introduction 2004 : WUPPDR facilitated an $800,000 EDA grant to renovate three floors of the Jutila Center for Global Design and Business in Hancock (previously the Portage View Hospital). The Jutila Center, part of the campus of Finlandia University in Hancock, houses classrooms, studios, and a business incubator along with a Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) SmartZone incubator. Both provide vibrant work spaces and operating support to new and emerging businesses. This renovation was made successful through an innovative plan to combine high-tech business with art and design. 2005: WUPPDR authored an EDA grant for $1 million to assist Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) in constructing its Advanced Technology Development Complex (ATDC) in Houghton. The ATDC provides space for high-tech business start-ups, prototyping, research, testing laboratories, and conference space, in addition to business support services offered through Michigan Tech’s Corporate Services and MTEC SmartZone. 2007 : MEDC funded $1 million to renovate MTEC SmartZone’s Powerhouse facility in Houghton with WUPPDR authoring and administering the grant. The Powerhouse incubator renovation tripled the square footage with the creation of two new floors. Subsequently the building has housed satellite operations of various large companies. 2008 : The largest EDA grant WUPPDR has applied for and administered was $3.2 million to benefit the City of Houghton, Michigan Tech, and SmartZone. The project provided complete refurbishment of the three-story former Upper Peninsula Power Company building now named the Lakeshore Center. The building houses university offices and is MTEC SmartZone’s flagship facility providing high -tech office and laboratory spaces for several established businesses and new start-ups. WUPPDR secured $500,000 from MEDC allowing MTEC SmartZone to lease the first floor of the Lakeshore Center for 20 years. This wa s EDA’s first LEED -certified building funded by the Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund. 2012 : EDA provided $35,000 for Baraga County for development of an economic development strategy. Entitled "Go! Baraga County," the strategy identified several opportunities for new or expanded industries to improve and diversify the county's economy. One of these was to supply infrastructure to an industrial park later funded by EDA. In 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession, Baraga County at one time had the highest county unemployment rate in the nation. 2014: WUPPDR assisted the Village of L'Anse in Baraga County in securing $1.3 million dollars toward expansion of sewer and road infrastructure to serve the mostly undeveloped Lambert Road Industrial Park. Industrial park space with a lease-to-own option is highly in demand in the county. Though construction has been delayed by environmental factors, it is still expected to be completed. 2016 : WUPPDR assisted Keweenaw County in obtaining $20,000 from MEDC and $25,000 from EDA toward a commercial appraisal and Best Use Study for the beleaguered Keweenaw Mountain Lodge resort and conference facility located near the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. In addition to these economic development projects, WUPPDR also runs a variety of programs which provide broad support to the region. Some other areas of work include transportation planning, housing rehabilitation, master/comprehensive planning, recreation planning, asset management, emergency management, and geographic information systems (GIS) services. Over the next five years, WUPPDR looks forward to continued collaborative support from its funding partners to create economic development and regional support opportunities in the Western U.P. More details on current and future projects can be found in Chapter 9: Implementation Plan . 2 Chapter 2| Background REGIONAL PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS A regional planning organization is a multi-service entity with State and locally-defined boundaries that delivers a variety of Federal, State, and local programs, and acts as a technical assistance provider and “visionary” to its member local governments. As such, they are accountable to local units of government and are effective partners for State and Federal governments. Regional planning organizations (regions) in Michigan were first conceived in the 1960s with the perspective that local governments must work together regionally to provide important services to their communities, including comprehensive and transportation planning, economic development, workforce development, the environment, services for the elderly, and clearinghouse functions. Most of the 14 planning regions in Michigan are also EDA economic development districts. In this capacity and others, the three regions of the Upper Peninsula —regions 11, 12, and 13 —often work beyond their boundaries to provide cross-regional opportunities for development. Planning at the regional level is different from the municipal, township, or county levels. Regional planners respond to region-wide problems in a single integrated area, but they usually report back to a variety of governments rather than to just one. Since they are not usually responsible to a single unit of government, regional planning organizations encourage independent governments to act in concert if regional objectives are to be attained. With all governments facing budget reductions, the importance of regionalism and collaboration is becoming apparent in order to provide programs and services to a larger geographic boundary. Regional organizations would benefit from more stable financial resources, along with more consistent support from a wide variety of Federal aid programs and strong support from and