Viewpoint: Eagle Township can help create thousands of jobs for years – and a stronger American future
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the prospect of creating the Michigan Manufacturing Innovation Campus in Eagle Township. As president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, an organization committed to creating jobs and opportunities in the tri-county region, it is my job to make sure everyone has the facts.
The Michigan Manufacturing Innovation Campus, which represents less than 0.4% of agricultural land in Clinton County, has the potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs. This development will bring engineering and professional service careers to the area, along with production jobs. The site will also have a transformative, positive economic impact, across the region and state, for locally owned small main street businesses, places of worship, property values and the public services we count on, like schools, roads, parks, police and fire.
The proposed location in Eagle Township is perfect for a manufacturing and innovation campus because it is centrally located and accessible to the entire region. It is bookended by an interstate interchange as well as an industrial park and airport, located on a state highway, and only 15 minutes from Michigan State University, Lansing Community College and the downtowns of Lansing and East Lansing. This remarkable site offers a truly historic opportunity for all of us in Eagle Township and Clinton County as well as the region, state and country. It’s also the only location in the region that can support the type of transformative, global, technology-forward potential development we have once in a lifetime opportunity to create.
Through the Eagle Township/Clinton County master planning process, we’ll be able to work together to attract development while preserving our proud heritage of farming and protecting our environment and the integrity of our community.
As we think about our future, we are duty-bound to secure a prosperous and hopeful community for the generations to come, our kids and grandkids, just as our forefathers and mothers have done for us. States like Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky are working around the clock, right now, to attract companies and talent from all over the country, creating large sites for transformative companies. It’s time for us to do the same.
Get the facts and show your support for a brighter future online at mimanufacturinginnovationcampus.com.
Bob Trezise is the president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Trezise: Eagle Township site can help create thousands of jobs for years
