LANSING—The board of the Michigan Strategic Fund has approved state aid for two business expansions and a community project that will generate a total of $154.7 million in capital investment and bring 457 jobs to Michiganders, officials at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced.
The projects were as follows:
Perrigo Co., the Allegan-based manufacturer of generic drugs and health-and-beauty products, received a $2 million Michigan Business Development Program grant to support the construction of a new, $44.7 million corporate headquarters at 430 Monore Ave. NW in Grand Rapids, within Michigan State University’s Grand Rapids Innovation Park and the city’s Medical Mile district. Perrigo expects sales of more than $5 billion this year and employs more than 4,000 people at its offices and plants in Allegan and Ottawa counties. The new headquarters will have 170 employees. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in Southeast Florida and a suburb of Chicago. The city of Grand Rapids has offered to support the project with a property tax abatement valued at $1.5 million and a $140,000 one-year parking incentive for city-owned lots or ramps. Individuals interested in careers with Perrigo should visit https://www.perrigo.com/start-your-career-future-health.
Kroger Co., the Cincinnati-based grocery store chain, received a $1.6 million Michigan Business Development Program grant to support construction of a $94 million automated fulfillment center in Romulus, a project expected to create 270 jobs. The center will be operated by Kroger subsidiary Kroger Fulfillment Network, designed by online grocery technology developer Ocado Solutions USA Inc., a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Ocado Group PLC. The center will fulfill grocery orders for delivery to customers within a 90-mile radius using hundreds of robots, as pictured above. The Detroit Region Aerotropolis Development Corp. and the city of Detroit have agreed to provide staff or economic assistance in support of the project. Individuals interested in careers with Kroger should visit https://jobs.kroger.com/.
The MSF board also approved a $1.5 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program grant for the $15.9 million Commongrounds Cooperative community development project in the Eighth Street Corridor on the Boardman River in Traverse City. The project will include the demolition of an existing parking lot and construction of a new four-story mixed-use co-operative building with underground parking that will include space for commercial businesses on the first and second floors as well as 25 residential units on the third and fourth floors. The project also includes low-impact stormwater management practices to protect the adjacent water bodies and provide an attractive common space for the occupants and patrons visiting the site. Current investors include both commercial tenants Higher Grounds Coffee, Pathways Pre-School, Iron Fish Distillery, Common Place Co-working and Crosshatch Community Art, as well as more than 500 local constituents as general co-op owners. The Grand Traverse Brownfield Redevelopment Authority also received MSF approval of a brownfield work plan that includes $440,693 in state tax capture that will assist with the remediation of brownfield conditions at the site, and a $210,000 grant to the development team.
The Michigan Strategic Fund also approved several administrative actions, including updated program guidelines for the Michigan Community Revitalization Program (MCRP) and the 21st Century Job Fund FY21 appropriation spending plan.
The updated guidelines for the flagship MCRP ensure the projects supported reflect an organizational commitment to equity and resiliency, while making the program more accessible and the guidelines more streamlined moving forward.
The Michigan Strategic Fund also approved support for various service providers and initiatives over the coming year as part of our comprehensive in-state business support services, including:
- Working with the Michigan Small Business Development Center and others to provide support for companies working with MEDC’s International Trade team. This could include costs for legal assistance, intellectual property protection training, export growth research and search engine optimization for international website improvements.
- Supporting MEDC’s efforts to catalyze entrepreneurship in the state, including technology commercialization from universities through MEDC’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization program and the Business Accelerator Fund supporting business accelerators in Michigan’s statewide SmartZone network.
The Michigan Strategic Fund also authorized funding for two COVID-19 relief funds as statutorily required under Public Acts 166 and 205 of 2020.
More about the MEDC and its initiatives at www.MichiganBusiness.org.