Peyton Hines, president and CEO of the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance, briefed Petoskey’s council on Nov. 6 about economic‑development activity affecting Petoskey and the four‑county region the organization serves.

Hines said the alliance is working on four strategic focus areas — business growth, infrastructure and development, talent retention and attraction, and education and policy — and highlighted locally relevant wins. He said the alliance helped employers secure an Employer‑Assisted Housing grant to retain or attract at least 14 employees, supported a childcare provider with a USDA 0% loan to create more than 40 childcare slots in a renovated building, and worked on the relocation and expansion of Aster Brands in Harbor Springs.

"We went through community engagement in 2024 to map our priority focus areas," Hines said, and added that the alliance is coordinating financing, technical assistance and marketing to address shortages in the local labor pool.

Hines told council that, three quarters through the year, the alliance has helped secure nearly $10 million in state and federal funding for regional projects (about $3.5 million in Emmet County, $2.5 million of which supported a Petoskey project), resulting in roughly $14 million in private investment tied to those projects.

Why it matters: The NLEA update ties local housing and workforce efforts to tangible employer supports, childcare capacity expansion and targeted financing, connecting the council’s housing and planning discussions to business retention and talent strategies.

What’s next: Hines said mixed‑use redevelopment and brownfield support will continue into 2026; he invited Petoskey to host a developer day modeled on a recent East Jordan event to promote local priority sites to developers and investors.

Sources: Presentation by Peyton Hines and Jessica Love, Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (00:49:17–01:14:00).