State - Muskegon Land giveaway part of city's development plan Initiative is designed to jump-start manufacturing in county

By Dave Alexander The Muskegon Chronicle MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) -- Muskegon 25, an offer of free land for job-creating developments, might be the most aggressive local economic development program since Charles Hackley's days. The city of Muskegon has joined Muskegon County, Dalton Township and Muskegon Area First to promote a program of free land on top of existing tax incentives and reductions in initial sewer and water rates. Muskegon 25 is designed to jump-start manufacturing in a county that suffers from a 13.9 percent unemployment rate. The program also is designed to get development into the city's Seaway Industrial Park and the county's Muskegon County Business Park North in Dalton Township. "We are eager to attract new employers to our area and have assembled an extremely attractive economic incentive package," Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington said. "If your company commits to the creation of 25 or more new jobs, we will provide fully serviced industrial-park property for you to build on at no cost." Both the Seaway and Business Park North are in Michigan-designated, low-tax Renaissance Zones. The zones that eliminate most state and local taxes are in place through 2014 but can be extended for another 15 years on a parcel-by-parcel basis, Cathy Brubaker-Clarke said. Such an aggressive pitch for new businesses to locate in Muskegon County harkens back to 1894 when Muskegon Mayor Newcomb McGraft initiated the community's famous "bonus" plan. Along with lumber barons such as Hackley, the early economic development program offered $100 per industrial job to any company locating in Muskegon. The "bonus" plan kick-started the transition from a lumbering to an industrial economy. Muskegon manufacturing giants such as the Amazon Knitting Co., Central Paper Co., Shaw-Walker Co., Continental Motors Co. and Brunswick-Balke-Collender came here under that program to create a thriving industrial sector for nearly a century. Muskegon officials are hoping for just a fraction of that historic success. When Wisconsin companies began marketing to companies in the South to come to the Great Lakes due to water, it got local economic developers thinking, Brubaker-Clarke said. And when Muskegon-based WindTronics decide to pursue its initial manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ontario, instead of Muskegon because of free land and government grants, Muskegon 25 was born. "We wanted something dramatic that would jump out at people," Brubaker-Clarke said. The free land offer is tied directly to jobs. Those guaranteeing 25 jobs can get five acres of industrial park land in either the city or Dalton Township. From there, 50 jobs will bring 12 acres of free land, 75 jobs 20 acres and 100 jobs 30 acres. The asking price for land in the Seaway Industrial Park averages about $30,000 per acre and in the Business Park North $17,500 per acre. At the 25-job level, the business also receives three-year, 50-percent reductions in water and sewer charges. Businesses creating more jobs get deeper discounts. "It is one of the most publicly aggressive programs I've seen," said Ed Garner, president of the economic development agency Muskegon Area First. "I commend the city for taking the lead and the county for agreeing to participate. We're open for business in Muskegon." Published: Thu, Aug 26, 2010

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