Lawmakers pass bills to rejuvenate Mich. downtowns, attract young grads

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A new batch of laws giving greater power to Downtown Development Authority boards is designed to strengthen and rejuvenate Michigan’s downtowns to make them more appealing to young professionals.

“(The laws) will create tools and enhance existing ones to help in reinvigorating downtowns across the state,” said Bridget Beckman, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The legislative package, spearheaded by Rep. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, contained 10 bills, six of which have been signed into law.

The laws allow Michigan DDA boards and city governments to offer loan programs, business incubators and tax abatements to foster redevelopment and business growth in downtowns, said Joe Agostinelli, a legislative director for Allen.

Agostinelli said the legislation was created to rejuvenate Michigan’s downtowns to attract young college graduates who want their hometown to be a place to live, work and play.

“Twenty years ago, you’d graduate and find a job … and move wherever that job is,” he said. “The current generation of graduates decide where they want to live first, move there and then look for a job.”

Agostinelli said cities like Chicago, which offers a vibrant downtown to accompany a thriving professional atmosphere, are good models for how the legislation aims to transform Michigan cities.

While none of the existing development projects in East Lansing will benefit from the new laws, the incentives could be used for future projects, said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s community and economic development administrator.

“The projects underway have already had incentive framework put into place, so the new tools aren’t necessarily anything we’d be able to apply,” he said.

Howard Ballein, owner of Student Book Store, 421 E. Grand River Ave., said East Lansing is a good example of how thriving downtown areas can improve an entire city.

“The downtown is almost the first thing that a visitor to East Lansing sees,” he said. “It is important to have an attractive downtown, and I think (East Lansing) has done a wonderful job.”

Brian McGrain, chief operating officer of the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, said downtowns are important for establishing a city’s identity.

“They’re what makes a place a place,” McGrain said. “Everyone’s got the suburbs and Wal-Marts and Applebee’s, but it’s our cities that are our unique aspects.”

McGrain, who also is president of Grand River Connection, Lansing’s networking organization for young professionals, said rejuvenating Michigan’s downtowns would be a good first step in attracting educated young people back to Michigan.

But for December MSU graduate Ryan Weltzer, the decision to leave Michigan had to do with a lack of job prospects, not a lack of cool cities. Weltzer, who graduated with an international studies degree, plans to move to Baltimore in August.

“Nice downtowns are nice, but they’re not a substitute for being able to find a job,” he said. “If they can’t find a job there, people are not going to stay.”

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