A ceremony was held Monday night recognizing Howell as a Redevelopment Ready Community.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced that Howell would receive the RRC certification last week, which shows the city has established a solid foundation to attract private investment and further build on municipality assets. Howell joins 29 other communities, including the Village of Pinckney, that have qualified as “thoroughly prepared” when it comes to planning and zoning to remove traditional barriers and promote opportunities for prospective investors. Howell Mayor Nick Proctor told WHMI it’s a big step for the community…

“We are the 30th community in the state to receive this designation, we are the second in the state following Pinckney that went through the same hoops we did. So it’s not that we’re deserving, it just shows that the city of Howell is poised to develop, redevelop and work with businesses and developers to move our city forward.”

As an RRC participant, the City of Howell received a comprehensive assessment that measured current community and economic development practices compared to RRC best practice standards. The program evaluates and certifies communities that integrate transparency, predictability and efficiency into economic development practices. Certification status is a compelling indicator that a community has removed development barriers and streamlined processes to be more competitive and attractive to investors.

Proctor also told WHMI that the city is looking ahead to the future...

“Well, going forward we have to build on the successes we’ve had. We can’t sit on our laurels and wait for people to come to us. Our meeting this morning through the Michigan Main Street Program was futuring of Howell, where should we develop, how should we develop, what are parking needs are – and we do have parking needs, how do we fulfill those needs going forward with the demographics and dynamics, open spaces, businesses, parks, buildings, so we did a lot of futuring.”(AV)