Cornerstone Alliance has been working for years to attract new business to the 255-acre development site commonly referred to as the Meadowbrook & Yore Industrial Park in Benton Charter Township. Business attraction efforts nationwide are typically enhanced dramatically by official certification by key economic development agencies and a new designation should go a long way toward increasing the visibility and marketability of that site thanks to the Michigan Economic Developers Association in Lansing.
Rob Cleveland, President of Cornerstone Alliance, the privately-funded, lead economic development organization in Berrien County tells me, "Obtaining the MEDA certification is another step in finding a quality user for the Meadowbrook & Yore site that will bring new jobs and investment to Berrien County."
Thanks to action by the MEDA Board designating the large tract of "shovel ready" land as the first Certified Industrial Park in Berrien County, the 255-acre site at 2274 Yore Avenue, the parcel should gain widespread interest from site selectors across the nation looking for property ripe for development in close proximity to key infrastructure elements including major transportation routes, qualified workers and impressive amenities.
The economic development team at Cornerstone Alliance has placed the Yore/Meadowbrook options in play on multiple occasions over the past 15 years or so, and were delighted to garner early certification from the economic development advisory firm of McCallum Sweeney, but the action by MEDA will help redouble efforts to attract site selectors and manufacturing or processing facilities with good paying jobs going forward.
Cleveland says that "Having this certification from MEDA for Meadowbrook & Yore allows Berrien County to be more competitive in our business attraction strategy to increase job growth and investments." He adds, "Cathy Tilley, Greg Vaughn and the entire Business Development Team have spent countless hours and resources to improve our chances when responding to leads. Their efforts have resulted in not only a certification by McCallum Sweeney, a globally recognized firm, but now by the state of Michigan."
Site selectors seek out Certified Business Parks and Certified Industrial Parks knowing that the companies they work for will be situated among the best in the industry. The folks at MEDA contend that Certified Business Parks provide businesses with features necessary to conduct business. Each Certified Business Park assures companies locating in them such amenities as:
- Protective covenants
- Landscaped development
- Telephone, gas and electric service
- Municipal water and sewer lines
- Continuous management
- Class "A" all-weather roads
- Improved paved parking
- Enclosed storm sewers
As Cleveland and his team celebrate the new MEDA certification, he says, "The vast majority of leads that come to Cornerstone Alliance are generated by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The goal of site certification is to mitigate risk; to eliminate unknowns." Cleveland says the sheer size of any potential development at Yore & Meadowbrook is a game changer. He says, "What makes the site unique is its size. Having a site of more than 200 acres puts us in a finite group of communities with sites that large. It gives us a lot of flexibility in recruiting new companies to utilize either pieces of, or the entire site." He concludes, "These two certifications validate that the Meadowbrook & Yore site is ready for business."
Hopefully, site selectors who have heard Cleveland's pitch at key meetings, tradeshows and conventions across the nation and those who traveled here for first hand looks, such as those who were invited to the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid this spring, will recognize the certification and help the Cornerstone team put shovels in the ground and people onto payrolls in the not too distant future. Stay tuned.
