MML The Review MarchApr 2021 Magazine

Michigan Municipal League’s Community Excellence Awards, 2010—Region 4 Winner City of Mt. Pleasant, Borden Creamery Restoration The Creamery restoration was a monumental undertaking of 40 years of trying and 17 attempts to pull it off. Using a photograph taken around 1910 as a guide, rehabilitation began brick-by-brick. The entire process was overseen by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office and the local Historic District Commission. The project created a rallying point in the community and increased civic pride during tough times. Although the exterior is straight from a history book, the interior of the building was rehabilitated into a state-of-the-art office space. City Hall was moved to the new building, with

commission chambers located in the factory’s former boiler room.

Photos courtesy of the City of Mt. Pleasant.

City of Mt. Pleasant Offices in the Historic Borden Creamery Building at 320 W. Broadway.

In using the Michigan HTC, building owners and project developers go from being unable to get the right loans and investments to pay for a building rehab to suddenly bridging the gap in project financing and actually being able to make projects happen in Michigan communities. Using the Michigan HTC, for every $1 spent on rehab, $9.58 goes to direct economic impact in the local economy. It means that projects can hire Michigan architects, attorneys, designers, skilled trades, laborers, and engineers to turn around vacant or underutilized buildings and prepare them to be occupied by Michigan households and businesses. It means that those Michigan professionals who live in our communities have work, and that they will in turn spend some of those dollars here in our local economies. And our Michigan communities? They get improved historic resources which will remain as durable assets that can be flexed to meet market demands, serving as a source of local pride and increased tax revenue. MHPN has advocated tirelessly for the return of the Michigan HTC, and the League has vocally supported its return to use. We’re now seeing this program reconstituted—more to come. Let's hope that this recession is neither Great nor long. We need to see this amazing economic development tool in action, funding a revival of Michigan's historic city and village centers, rural areas, and neighborhoods. Melissa Milton-Pung is a policy research labs program manager for the League. You may contact her at 734.669.6328 or mmiltonpung@mml.org

HOW CAN YOU PREDICT THE LEGAL RISKS YOUR COMMUNITY MIGHT FACE? A. CRYSTAL BALL B. TAROT CARDS C. OUIJA BOARD D. ROSATI, SCHULTZ, JOPPICH & AMTSBUECHLER, PC ANSWER: D “ They are integrally involved with the day-to-day operations of the township. They anticipate what the impacts will be for the township andmake recommendations on how to deal with them.” —Township Supervisor

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THE REVIEW