News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A crane is seen at the site of ongoing renovations to MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, where crews are wrapping up construction of a new patient tower.

ALPENA — Over the last decade, changes to zoning, local governments’ master and recreation plans, and other steps to make the area more friendly to development have set the stage for a boom in Alpena, officials said.

Meanwhile, expansions of existing amenities have made Northeast Michigan more appealing to potential developers, local officials say.

Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Adam Poll said that, when people look to develop in Alpena, medical services, education, and public safety are usually at the top of the list of things people consider before moving and investing.

The millions of dollars invested into facilities in those sectors recently – a new county jail, a new patient tower at the hospital, districtwide renovations at Alpena Public Schools, major renovations at Alpena Community College, and renovations at the Alpena County Library – makes Alpena an attractive option for investment, he said.

“Over the last few years, there is a long list of things scratched off our list of things we needed in those areas,” Poll said. “Things like the hospital, our schools, ACC are all important components to growth.”

Poll, who previously worked for Alpena city government as the planning and development director, said officials have laid a lot of groundwork in the last decade, and that groundwork is beginning to bear fruit.

Poll said running utilities and making streets on properties like the city-owned property on U.S.-23 North make it ripe for development. He said setting up Brownfield plans to help developers overcome obstacles for underutilized and contaminated property should make it easier for economic development leaders to lure more businesses to the area, Poll said.

“On the municipal side, which I am familiar with from my time at the city, they have modernized their zoning ordinances and are looking at beneficial regulations to make it as easy for a business or resident to live and operate here as possible,” Poll said. “They want to make sure we have an awesome community to do business and live in. They are doing a great job of allowing developers to do their own thing, or having minimal regulations that restrict them.”

Alpena has three Renaissance Zones, places where investors are exempt from local real and personal property taxes and from Michigan’s Business Tax if they begin business activity in those areas.

The Alpena Downtown Development Authority has a low-interest loan program for upstart businesses, as well as facade grants that help improve the appearance of stores and shops.

The city also has several tax abatements it has used over the years to close development deals in the past.

Alpena City Manager Rachel Smolinski said the city recently updated its Master Plan, which gives government officials direction on what residents want the city to look like down the road. She said the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, which spells out infrastructure priorities and which is updated annually, also outlines projects that are forward thinking.

Smolinski said the plans establish goals and priorities, but executing those priorities happens over time. She said work will begin soon on a new plan geared toward city government staff that outlines steps that need to be taken to make the goals a reality.

Smolinski said one of the biggest obstacles facing the area is a shortage of housing. Within weeks, however, a new initiative will begin through which leaders will begin to meet and come up with ideas, plans, and goals on how to address that issue.

Smolinski said housing is a key component in helping Alpena reach its full potential.

“I have been talking to different housing organizations about establishing a housing coalition,” Smolinksi said. “We are pulling together stakeholders and we’re having our first planning meeting in January. Then, I would like to see the community come together for a summit to talk about how we can coordinate efforts and how the coalition might have the most impact.”

Smolinski said the stakeholders could include Alpena County, the Chamber, economic development firm Target Alpena, the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, and others.

Alpena is on the radar for private investment, too.

A new Starbucks and an urgent care are being built on M-32, and a new hotel is proposed for downtown, a Fairfield Inn and Suites near the former Vaughn department store and State Theater, which are also being fully renovated.

An Aldi and a Marshalls also may be in the cards in Alpena Township.

Alpena Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said it is important for the city and township to continue to work together in development projects, because what happens downtown or on M-32 impacts the other.

“A healthy downtown helps create a healthy peripheral, and vice-versa,” Skibbe said. “We all need to continue to work together, because what impacts one of us impacts all of us.”

Similar things have happened throughout Northeast Michigan.

The leaders in Rogers City, for example, working in tandem with the public, have established a blueprint on what they want the city to be two decades from now, and are working to reach that dream.

Mayor Scott McLennan said that, about five years ago, the city sought a grant to develop a community economic development and marketing strategy, which provided a pathway toward the revitalization of the town.

A key element in the structuring of that plan was seeking community input. McLennan said the community has become very engaged in helping set a course for the city.

Furthermore, McLennan said, the city continues to check the boxes within that plan over the past number of years, joining a program that will bring state help for economic development.

He also said paying down city debt helps the city invest in the future.

“We tackled an extremely troubling pension liability problem, one which had us on a fast track toward bankruptcy,” McLennan said. “The next step is well underway as we now engage with the (Michigan Economic Development Corp.) and Michigan Main Street to again ask residents, what improvements and enhancements would you like to see developed within your community? Rogers City will prosper and grow over the next 20 years, but it is clear that, in order to do so, our community must reinvent itself to a degree, without losing it’s current identity.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.