West Michigan/Grand Rapids Economy

[Jonesey]

I feel like this Is nothing new for Ottawa County, it's just become more visible lately.  I have always known which way politically, religiously, etc the OC GR burbs have leaned.  I think everyone has.  I know it's not everyone out there and it is continuing to become more diverse.  Sometimes it's the loudest voices, not necessarily the majority.  Regardless of your beliefs, shutting down a library  and doing racist things at a basketball, game, things that got national attention, are probably going to be bad for business.  OC is the fastest growing county in the state and like I said things are (slowly) changing 

(Feel free to edit if needed, I tried to state it as civil as possible lol)

[Khorasaurus1]

11 hours ago, Jonesey said:

I feel like this Is nothing new for Ottawa County, it's just become more visible lately.  I have always known which way politically, religiously, etc the OC GR burbs have leaned.  I think everyone has.  I know it's not everyone out there and it is continuing to become more diverse.  Sometimes it's the loudest voices, not necessarily the majority.  Regardless of your beliefs, shutting down a library  and doing racist things at a basketball, game, things that got national attention, are probably going to be bad for business.  OC is the fastest growing county in the state and like I said things are (slowly) changing 

(Feel free to edit if needed, I tried to state it as civil as possible lol)

No, this is new. Ottawa County has always been Republican, obviously. But the problem with these people isn't that they're Republicans. It's that they clearly have no interest in running the County effectively and they're just going to do outlandish things that will get them attention nationally on cable news and social media. That's a stark contrast to the "small but effective" government that has long been the County's guiding philosophy.

It's particularly troubling given the County's water table and housing issues - two problems that are making each other worse. I doubt Ottawa Impact even cares.

Ottawa County is actually less Republican than it used to be. Rick Snyder won the county by 60 points (!!) Tudor Dixon only won it by 18. 

[RiversideGR]

Perrigo and Twisthink are two companies who have already moved their headquarters from Holland to GR.  Not sure whether culture/politics impacted those decisions at all.

Twisthink chooses Grand Rapids for new headquarters - Grand Rapids Business Journal (grbj.com)

 

[GRLaker]

2 hours ago, Khorasaurus1 said:

No, this is new. Ottawa County has always been Republican, obviously. But the problem with these people isn't that they're Republicans. It's that they clearly have no interest in running the County effectively and they're just going to do outlandish things that will get them attention nationally on cable news and social media. That's a stark contrast to the "small but effective" government that has long been the County's guiding philosophy.

It's particularly troubling given the County's water table and housing issues - two problems that are making each other worse. I doubt Ottawa Impact even cares.

Ottawa County is actually less Republican than it used to be. Rick Snyder won the county by 60 points (!!) Tudor Dixon only won it by 18. 

I honestly think that's it. This transcends politics and ventures into the territory of Ottawa County no longer being an environment that's stable enough to do business. As much as businesses prefer no government intervention, they do rely on it in a lot of ways (roads, utilities, department of health, schools, attracting people to live there, etc.). All of these actions that fly in the face of what businesses are asking for is Ottawa County essentially saying, "we're closed for business." Also, Millennials and Gen Z take notice of these things in a time where everything is now readily available information. It will factor into their decisions when they are deciding if they want to live and work in Holland or Grand Haven when a more inclusive Grand Rapids/Wyoming/Kentwood and its share of industry is right up the road. 

[MJLO]

34 minutes ago, GRLaker said:

I honestly think that's it. This transcends politics and ventures into the territory of Ottawa County no longer being an environment that's stable enough to do business. As much as businesses prefer no government intervention, they do rely on it in a lot of ways (roads, utilities, department of health, schools, attracting people to live there, etc.). All of these actions that fly in the face of what businesses are asking for is Ottawa County essentially saying, "we're closed for business." Also, Millennials and Gen Z take notice of these things in a time where everything is now readily available information. It will factor into their decisions when they are deciding if they want to live and work in Holland or Grand Haven when a more inclusive Grand Rapids/Wyoming/Kentwood and its share of industry is right up the road. 

Sincere question because I'm only loosely following.  What exactly are they doing that's bad for business?    Eliminating DEI as a county dept?  I'm not fully connecting the dots on how that is government intervention with private businesses, unless they are saying that employers within the county cannot have DEI dept's as well.  That seems more along the lines of obnoxious virtue signaling than it does actually being anti-business.   I understand it being a deal breaker for the younger/more progressive crowd, but I have a hard time seeing it having an actual measurable impact on local employers overall ability to recruit.  Most folks who value DEI aren't likely to consider Ottawa County as a serious place for relocation to begin with.   There are conservative suburban counties in areas that are growing much more rapidly with the same type of policies that are still thriving.  Optically I agree it's a liability.  As far as I know Ottawa County is still a lower tax, loosely regulated alternative to Kent County.  I would think that still appeals to a lot of businesses and potential new residents.  

Are they doing other things that are potentially regulating/affecting the private sector?

[GRLaker]

41 minutes ago, MJLO said:

Sincere question because I'm only loosely following.  What exactly are they doing that's bad for business?    Eliminating DEI as a county dept?  I'm not fully connecting the dots on how that is government intervention with private businesses, unless they are saying that employers within the county cannot have DEI dept's as well.  That seems more along the lines of obnoxious virtue signaling than it does actually being anti-business.   I understand it being a deal breaker for the younger/more progressive crowd, but I have a hard time seeing it having an actual measurable impact on local employers overall ability to recruit.  Most folks who value DEI aren't likely to consider Ottawa County as a serious place for relocation to begin with.   There are conservative suburban counties in areas that are growing much more rapidly with the same type of policies that are still thriving.  Optically I agree it's a liability.  As far as I know Ottawa County is still a lower tax, loosely regulated alternative to Kent County.  I would think that still appeals to a lot of businesses and potential new residents.  

Are they doing other things that are potentially regulating/affecting the private sector?

Regarding the DEI department: From what I recall, it was put into place by the past board at the request of the larger businesses in the county. There was actually a solid working relationship between the previous board and the business community and the DEI office was the brainchild of that partnership in an attempt to draw a more diverse workforce into their ranks and the community.

[joeDowntown]

Oddest part to me is that they fired the county administrator, who most people in articles admitted was doing a good to great job. They also changed the county's motto from “Where You Belong” to “Where Freedom Rings" which seems unproductive (unless you are a sign or stationary company). I'm a bit puzzled.

Joe

[MJLO]

15 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Oddest part to me is that they fired the county administrator, who most people in articles admitted was doing a good to great job. They also changed the county's motto from “Where You Belong” to “Where Freedom Rings" which seems unproductive (unless you are a sign or stationary company). I'm a bit puzzled.

Joe

Yeah it's hard to say.  Given the nature of politics perhaps the administrator was an obstacle to the political objectives of this new elected faction.  I think the seemingly out of left field appointment of John Gibbs could be a better indicator.   Getting rid of DEI can easily be interpreted as anti-minority.  The simultaneous hiring of Gibbs to that role could be an attempt to assuage some of that criticism.   Additionally it gives John Gibbs more local ties and visibility than he previously had, should he intend to run again.  Kind of a two birds/one stone thing.   Perhaps it's too cynical on my part but I think politics tend to work this way.   Though typically with more nuance/subtly than the folks behind this are showing. 

[Khorasaurus1]

Honestly, hiring John Gibbs is the biggest red flag to me. Again, not because he's a Republican or even a politician, but because he has zero experience in local government. County Administrator is not a political job. It's a management job. Management of the people who make everyday life work - snow plow drivers, sheriff's deputies,  parks maintenance people, planners, engineers, economic development professionals, health department professionals, environmental regulators, etc. 

They fired a highly competent (by all accounts) professional and hired someone completely unqualified. It makes it look like they don't care about County services functioning, which is bad news for businesses. Especially, as I said, with the housing shortage and water table problem, which require serious solutions from competent, experienced people. 

[cstonesparty]

10 hours ago, Khorasaurus1 said:

No, this is new. Ottawa County has always been Republican, obviously. But the problem with these people isn't that they're Republicans. It's that they clearly have no interest in running the County effectively and they're just going to do outlandish things that will get them attention nationally on cable news and social media. That's a stark contrast to the "small but effective" government that has long been the County's guiding philosophy.

It's particularly troubling given the County's water table and housing issues - two problems that are making each other worse. I doubt Ottawa Impact even cares.

Ottawa County is actually less Republican than it used to be. Rick Snyder won the county by 60 points (!!) Tudor Dixon only won it by 18. 

This.  Exactly.  I grew up out there.  This is not the same as the reliably republican county of my childhood...

[Zads]

I won't get into the political opinions on my part, I have many, but here's a piece from WOOD TV regarding the shutting down of the DEI office and the response from the West Coast Chamber of Commerce.

https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-county/dei-office-shutdown-worries-some-ottawa-co-business-leaders/

The Holland City Manager is optimistic. 

[GR8scott]

Hot topic here. Playing devils advocate and optimist? here (in contrast to some obvious political bias/pessimism, and no Im not a republican and no I dont live in Ottawa Co (OC). This doesnt seem like the doom and gloom some make it out to be. Only time will tell BUT OC is  getting MORE diverse AND LESS republican as time goes on, think 25 years ago when it was like 95%+ homogonous. That said you cant argue that business has been booming (amongst predominantly republican leadership) and perhaps the thought with the DEI team going away is "if were becoming more diverse naturally, why do we need extra resources to attract that more? We can operate with a smaller and less expensive government. And now my person opinion that you probably dont care to read, the equity part is not always a good thing, some see that as "Inequality in the name of a selected result" In other words in this case, county government spending more more money and resources trying to pick winners and losers by distributing more unequally. I do see the business downside of losing the "free" recruiting services but naturally they will take what ever resources the community will through their way. Now bigger picture is how much of this is the counties "job"? Michigan already has extra layers like townships so there are no real unincorporated areas. As the city of Holland said, they will continue their initiatives, there is also the West Coast chamber among other local organizations that has their similar initiatives, is it necessary for the county to be that involved in business' DEI or leave that to the individual municipalities AND the chambers? Oh and the motto thing is meaningless to me, yes it speaks to the current board general attitude but so what, both are "positive" mottos, if you consider yourself progressive, you would probably be open to small change like this overtime, I would think "freedom" attracts business and people too. 

[joeDowntown]

I think that since this inevitably going to be a political discussion (even though everyone is doing a good job staying in their lane), let's leave these discussions for Facebook and move on. 

[walker]

A Greek owned cracker manufacturer announced the opening of a plant and their U.S. headquarters in Kentwood the other day in a property that's been empty a few  years that had housed an Irish owned food ingredients factory:

NEW TENANT 4444 52nd St: european-snack-manufacturer-snackcraft-hosts-grand-opening-of-new-u-s-hq-in-kentwood

OLD TENANT 4444 52nd St: 2019 kentwood-manufacturer-closes-laysoff-107-employees

This is at the southwest corner of Broadmoor and 52nd Street

Edited January 20 by walker

[RiversideGR]

Public and investor relations firm Lambert & Co. has acquired the building at 61 Commerce Ave SW. for $3 million to accommodate company growth and form a tech and marketing hub. This is on the same downtown block as their current office. 

Lambert & Co. founder acquires downtown GR building for $3M to support growth (mibiz.com)

[joeDowntown]

Employment in Grand Rapids area first in Michigan to pass pre-pandemic levels:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/01/this-is-a-milestone-grand-rapids-first-region-in-state-to-recover-to-pre-pandemic-job-levels.html
 

Joe

 

[GR_Urbanist]

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Employment in Grand Rapids area first in Michigan to pass pre-pandemic levels:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/01/this-is-a-milestone-grand-rapids-first-region-in-state-to-recover-to-pre-pandemic-job-levels.html
 

Joe

 

WOW! That is very uplifting news. It seemed like so many places were taking it under the chin lately. I'm glad to see that people that need work are able to get it in the GR area. 

This might reasonably help start refilling the numerous empty storefronts in places and prevent many more.

[Jonesey]

With Jackson landing the new massive battery plant, I'm curious if there has been any talk on a mega site in west Michigan.  These sites are pieced together but the state and reserved for massive developments.  I think the other two are in Flushing and Lansing.  Jackson seems like a pretty good location being at the junction of 94 & 69.  I feel like east of GR could probably be ideal, since 131 really only goes to 94.  West of GR would better for connecting to Chicago.

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, Jonesey said:

With Jackson landing the new massive battery plant, I'm curious if there has been any talk on a mega site in west Michigan.  These sites are pieced together but the state and reserved for massive developments.  I think the other two are in Flushing and Lansing.  Jackson seems like a pretty good location being at the junction of 94 & 69.  I feel like east of GR could probably be ideal, since 131 really only goes to 94.  West of GR would better for connecting to Chicago.

Wasn’t the old GM plant on 36th/US 131 marketed as a mega site? I don’t know exactly how many acres it is, but seems like it was attempted and didn’t really get anywhere. 

[Khorasaurus1]

18 hours ago, Jonesey said:

With Jackson landing the new massive battery plant, I'm curious if there has been any talk on a mega site in west Michigan.  These sites are pieced together but the state and reserved for massive developments.  I think the other two are in Flushing and Lansing.  Jackson seems like a pretty good location being at the junction of 94 & 69.  I feel like east of GR could probably be ideal, since 131 really only goes to 94.  West of GR would better for connecting to Chicago.

The new plant will be in Marshall, though the easy commute from both Jackson and Battle Creek was clearly a factor in the decision.

Regardless it's great news for an economically struggling part of the state.

15 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Wasn’t the old GM plant on 36th/US 131 marketed as a mega site? I don’t know exactly how many acres it is, but seems like it was attempted and didn’t really get anywhere. 

This site should be a high priority for the stare - an urban site with pre-existing infrastructure. 

There's community opposition to some of these sites in more rural areas, but the local entitlements process in Wyoming would presumably be smooth.

Edited February 19 by Khorasaurus1