It is “a place with a purpose,” says Arell Chapman, Chief Strategy Officer of the Midwest Energy & Communications (MEC) cooperative. In the above interview, Chapman is speaking about MEC’s ongoing development of approximately 400 acres adjacent to the headquarters of this energy and communications company. The Southwest Michigan Advanced Research and Technology (SMART) Park is designed to attract businesses and create jobs for the residents of the greater Cassopolis, MI region.

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Interview Highlights

00:14 – Chapman provides an overview of the SMART Park. It is about creating a place with a purpose. They started with a scope of work that was created with input from the community.
01:49 – Hydra is creating a $150 million plant on 30 acres out of the 400-acre SMART park. They received a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Corporation.
02:34 – The original motivation for the purchase of the land was that MEC needed a place for their new headquarters. The land trust required them to purchase the entire 500-acre plot and wanted MEC to follow through on their vision to develop the land.
03:24 – Chapman discusses how they worked with the communities and plugged into their placemaking processes.
04:22 – MEC clears the regulatory roadblocks for its tenants, making it relatively fast to build and move into the SMART Park. The types of organizations they are attracting want to be involved in the community, such as what Hydra is already doing in its work with the local community college.
05:34 – Working with regional development organizations, MEC has a targeted marketing campaign for the SMART Park. The package they provide to prospective tenants goes beyond marketing documents and includes documentation of soil samples, utility requirements, and traffic studies.
07:45 – The amenities go beyond commerce and include elements to improve the quality of life, such as food trucks, trails, and a dark sky park.
09:25 – This is a legacy project that will live on for generations.
10:34 – It is a project that reflects MEC’s cooperative roots.
11:15 – Fiber is now as essential as the electricity and propane products they provide their members.
12:17 – The additional energy and data usage will help generate returns on MEC’s investment. It also opens new opportunities for people to work near where they live.