Madison Heights awarded Redevelopment Ready Communities certification; MEDC offers technical assistance and funding access
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Summary
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation recognized Madison Heights as Redevelopment Ready Communities, granting a five-year designation that opens state technical assistance, marketing support and access to funding rounds for small-business and redevelopment projects.
Stephanie Pena, a senior community planner with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, presented Madison Heights with its Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) certification and described the benefits for local planning and economic development.
Pena said RRC is a statewide technical-assistance initiative that helps municipalities modernize zoning and development processes to reduce friction for investors and clarify resources for residents and businesses. She noted Madison Heights joins roughly 88 other communities that have attained the designation and described a five-year certification period that gives the city access to MEDC staff services, technical assistance, and competitive funding rounds including a small-business funding opening on March 1.
City staff and council members praised the multi-year effort, noting the zoning rewrite and planning-commission work that prepared Madison Heights to secure the designation. City staff said MEDC assistance will include marketing and support for priority redevelopment parcels, including a downtown site at 11 Mile and John R.
What it means: The RRC designation is intended to streamline permitting, planning and economic development processes and to make Madison Heights more competitive for technical assistance and state funding. The council highlighted that achieving certification was a multi-year effort involving staff, council and volunteers on the planning commission.
Next steps: The city will work with MEDC on master-planning efforts and to pursue upcoming funding opportunities; no funding commitments were made at the meeting.
