City of Hart receives certification as Redevelopment Ready Community

Designation facilitates private investment, improves economic development opportunities

LANSING, Mich. – For their efforts in establishing a solid foundation to attract private investment and further build on municipality assets, the City of Hart has been awarded the Redevelopment Ready Communities (RRC) certification, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced today.

The MEDC formally recognizes the City of Hart as a Certified Redevelopment Ready Community. Hart joins 44 other Michigan communities in all corners of the state that have qualified as “thoroughly prepared” when it comes to planning and zoning to remove traditional barriers and promote opportunities for prospective investors. Visit here to see the entire list of Redevelopment Ready Communities.

“The RRC process gave the City of Hart the opportunity to engage the community in a comprehensive assessment of our community and economic development practices,” said Hart City Manager Lynne Ladner. “The help that we received in creating a cohesive community marketing strategy was immensely valuable and has helped the city with focusing our long-term efforts and in identifying ways to assist our businesses throughout the COVID pandemic crisis. As an RRC community, the resources that we have been able to access and continue to have access to will strengthen our community going forward.”

As an RRC participant, the City of Hart 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 their 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.

To reach certification, the City of Hart worked to improve upon numerous policies and processes. The city’s efforts are highlighted by developing an overarching economic development and marketing plan in 2019, creating a comprehensive development review guidebook and the development of flowcharts that clarify the steps in each of the city’s development review processes. The city’s efforts have produced high-quality documents and processes that will continue to generate value.

“Our mission at MEDC is to support Michigan’s strong economic momentum and empower communities to establish a strong planning, zoning and economic development foundation,” said MEDC Senior Vice President Michele Wildman. “Hart is well-positioned to implement their vision for the future and further improve the quality of life for residents. We look forward to continue building upon our relationship with the city and supporting local economic development efforts.”

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.