Cornerstone Alliance welcomed Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer to Benton Harbor on Thursday to showcase some of the projects that have been transforming the community with the help of the state.
Messer toured five key sites that have been developed with MEDC support, including City Center Lofts, Emma Jean Hull Flats, the Waterfront Plaza underway on Riverview Drive, Whirlpool’s St. Joseph Tech Center, and the Riverview Drive corridor. Messer told us when organizations like Cornerstone Alliance pitch projects like these, the MEDC considers what they will mean to the area and how they could attract people.
“People want to go to places that have great amenities and great natural beauty,” Messer said. “You certainly have that here in Benton Harbor and St. Joe. Two, they want to go to places that have great economic opportunity. And so it’s vitally important that we continue to support Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Foundation. We’re grateful for them.”
State Representative Joey Andrews said lawmakers like himself have a role in drawing attention to their districts, serving as cheerleaders to attract state support.
“The assets we have here are pretty incredible, and I think it’s just a matter of leveraging them and making sure that the folks at MEDC know what we’ve got here as people come in and are looking for sites,” Andrews said.
Cornerstone Alliance President Marla Schneider said the sites being shown off Thursday show how a community can be made more attractive by connecting the things needed to live, work, and play.
“You have the Whirlpool Tech Center here, the Emma Jean Flats, and then this Riverfront Plaza that we’ll have,” Schneider said. “All of those connections work together to build a vibrant community.”
Messer and other MEDC leaders were on a tour of the entire region to better understand how the corporation is changing communities by supporting projects that seek to attract residents and businesses.
Messer told us companies are looking for more than just industrial assets when they consider an area because they also need quality of life amenities to attract talent. He said there’s plenty of opportunity for both of those things in Southwest Michigan.
