City of Albion receives certification as Redevelopment Ready Community

Designation facilitates private investment, improves economic development opportunities

LANSING, Mich. – For their efforts in establishing a solid foundation to attract private investment and further build on municipality assets, the city of Albion has been awarded the Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) certification, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced today.

The MEDC formally recognizes the city of Albion as a Certified Redevelopment Ready Community. Albion joins 44 other Michigan communities in all corners of the state that have qualified as “thoroughly prepared” when it comes to planning and zoning to remove traditional barriers and promote opportunities for prospective investors. Visit here to see the entire list of Redevelopment Ready Communities.

As an RRC participant, the city of Albion received a comprehensive assessment that measured current community and economic development practices compared to RRC Best Practice standards. The program evaluates and certifies communities that integrate transparency, predictability and efficiency into their economic development practices. Certification status is a compelling indicator that a community has removed development barriers and streamlined processes to be more competitive and attractive to investors.

“This was a collaboration of many local and state stakeholders dedicated to pursuing an environment within our community that is customer-focused, with a solid foundation to attract business investment and talent while proactively seeking redevelopment of our most challenging areas,” said Albion Economic Development Corporation President Amy Deprez. “Being Redevelopment Ready means Albion is open for redevelopment, actively seeking development options that meet the community needs, and willing to partner for the growth of Albion and the surrounding area.”

To reach certification, the city of Albion undertook several notable projects, including adopting a new Comprehensive Plan in 2017, creating a Capital Improvements Plan in 2017, and most recently, updating the zoning ordinance in 2019. Albion has also updated their Guide to Development and website to include flowcharts with and key contact information. Additionally, economic development, marketing, and branding strategies have all been created. The city’s efforts have produced high-quality documents and processes that will continue to generate value.

“Our mission at MEDC is to support Michigan’s strong economic momentum and empower communities to establish a strong planning, zoning and economic development foundation,” said MEDC Senior Vice President Michele Wildman. “Albion is well-positioned to implement their vision for the future and further improve the quality of life for residents. We look forward to continue building upon our relationship with the city and supporting local economic development efforts.”

“The Redevelopment Ready Communities program is a valuable tool that lends strong support to the City of Albion’s effort to streamline development processes and to focus scarce resources on the community’s greatest needs and priorities,” said City Manager Darwin McClary. “Creating sustainable community capacity for redevelopment through authentic citizen engagement, simplified and supportive development regulations, expedited review processes, and marketability of shovel-ready sites is possible because of the outstanding resources of the RRC program. Albion is proud to become part of this elite circle of best-practice communities.”

 

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.