Kalamazoo's Economic Revitalization (cont.)

Redevelopment of the former General Motors stamping plant as Midlink Business Park brings the facility’s story full circle. Closed in 1999, Hackman Capital Partners of California invested $56 million in the purchase and redevelopment of the facility and its surrounding property. Over the next five years, Kalamazoo County’s Comstock Township and Southwest Michigan First partnered on a $3 million grant proposal to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to provide new public roads, as well as sewer and water that would serve the remaining 200 acres of land surrounding the building. The result is a world-class business park that offers 1.6 million square feet of space within a virtually tax-free Renaissance Zone, and 240 acres available for commercial, retail, and build-to-suit opportunities within the campus community.

As the community braced for looming changes in the pharmaceutical industry, SMF developed a strategy to move toward a collaborative relationship with higher education. The strategy meant positioning the community’s colleges and universities to step into the vacuum that would occur if Pharmacia Corporation – Kalamazoo’s largest employer – were to leave the community or reduce its local workforce.

To encourage new business creation in and around the biopharmaceutical industry, SMF began construction of a 58,000-square-foot wet lab facility, the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, and started hosting regular investment forums with the hope of bringing venture capitalists and entrepreneurs into the community.

When the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) made state monies available for the creation of SmartZones – areas dedicated to accelerating industry/educational networks where communities can use tax revenues for building improvements and operations – SMF, the City of Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University successfully petitioned for a SmartZone designation in the university’s new Business Technology and Research Park.

In November of 2002, Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical firm, completed a $60 billion buyout of Pharmacia Corporation.Within six months, Pfizer announced that it would phase out most of the research and development operations in Kalamazoo as part of its corporate restructuring. The community wasn’t ready, but SMF at least was prepared.

SMF previously had begun working with community leaders, the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce, state legislators, MEDC and the governor’s office.Within days of the Pfizer announcement, SMF launched a campaign to retain as much of the workforce as possible, provide resources for new business startups, and create opportunities for local investment.

SMF developed aggressive tactics to support those who were losing their jobs at Pfizer. One of these, the award-winning “Stick Around” campaign, was launched in spring 2003. It was designed to assist ex-Pharmacia workers who wanted to remain in the community. “Stick Around” included a regional advertising campaign, as well as:

• a $10 million state pharmaceutical R&D tax
• a special Web site listing regional life science jobs;
• a series of career forums and entrepreneurial training workshops;
• monthly forums that connected entrepreneurs with potential investors;
• personalized business coaching and planning services;
• help with financing and marketing strategies; and
• temporary pro bono services by local attorneys.

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