Rising Tide Action Strategy opens door to new opportunities

There is no “magic fix” included with Project Rising Tide. Marilyn Crowley with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) made that point clear when presenting the Project Rising Tide Action Strategy to Charlotte City Council on Monday, Jan. 25.
What is included, however, are incentives and grant programs available to those ready to develop within the community.
“Your status is extremely elevated being a Rising Tide community,” Crowley said, addressing incentives and grants provided by the state. “There’s not a pot of money that is special Charlotte funding, but if you increase awareness of grant programs and someone does decide to invest and apply, there is priority for funding.”
What is also included through Project Rising Tide is a list of clear action items the Department of Talent and Development (TED) believes will open the door for the City of Charlotte to increase economic prosperity.
“I believe we are on the front end of some significant opportunities,” said Charlotte resident Jason Vanderstelt, of Dutch Brothers Development. “A concerted effort to bring all the resources together, that’s what’s exciting. I see a community that has a lot of opportunity, more than most, for a significant amount of development and growth.”
Vanderstelt said it is time for Charlotte to step up to the opportunity in front of it.
Joe E. Pray, owner of Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte who attended Monday’s presentation, was also excited about the chance to bring together the many different parties in the community that are working on revitalization efforts to collaborate and help each other move forward.
“My view is that the first key effort is educating the interested parties on how to best work together, and on what help there is available from agencies and programs outside of our community,” Pray said. “It appears to me that if we can coordinate the many efforts that are being made in our community we can fulfill the goal of making our community a great place to live, rather than a good place to live.”
In addition to the action items, the City of Charlotte has already received a comprehensive review of its web site and recommendations for its improvement. City staff has also undergone a self-evaluation that identified ways they can be more “business” friendly.
Crowley said the Pure Michigan video team will put together a promotional video highlighting the many assets community members have already identified.
The TED team will also put together an inventory of sites within the city that are ready for development. MEDC Redevelopment Ready Communities Planner Michelle Parkkonen explained that packaging all of that information together streamlines the development process.
“It’s all of the information that you would really need to get moving forward on a project and you are taking the initiative to market that available site,” Parkkonen said during the Monday presentation.
Action items listed within the Action Strategy are broken down by quarter and ownership of each action item is identified. The action strategy concentrates a lot of effort into the Michigan Main Street program, of which Charlotte was just approved membership at the initial “Associate” level.
“This program has trainings available to really get you ready for that downtown development process,” Crowley said of the Michigan Main Street program. “Through Project Rising Tide we want to support the Michigan Main Street program, assisting with forming the Main Street Steering Committee, going to the trainings … helping to get everyone on the same page through the program.”
In the first quarter (January through March), the TED team will review the city’s current economic development strategy to identify how and where it can be improved. The team will also review the city’s existing zoning ordinance to try to identify ways to make it more user friendly. Lastly, the TED team will provide education regarding target market analysis, which would identify the housing needs within the community. A Community Action Team will begin educating city officials on how to conduct a low-mod survey (which identifies what percentage of a community is considered low to moderate income), which could potentially open the door to further grant programs. The Main Street Steering Committee will also take form in the first quarter and identify expectations.
The second quarter is when the community really takes ownership of moving action items forward. The only involvement from the TED team is a review of the city’s development process. The Main Street Steering Committee will establish its organizational structure and attend basic training programs. City staff will present an economic development strategy to city council for adoption. City staff will also conduct the low-mod survey and submit a target market analysis application if there is community support to do so.
The third and final quarter of Project Rising Tide includes a review of the city’s development process, including a list of prioritized sites for redevelopment. The Main Street Steering Committee will develop a five-year budget and fundraising plan, attend Main Street in Practice training, and begin its application to become a Select level Main Street community.
The complete strategy can be found online at www.charlottemi.org.