Opportunities abound for the Midland community in 2016 and beyond
Bill Allen, CEO Midland Area Chamber of Commerce
Expect some exciting growth coming out of Midland in 2016 and the years ahead. The community continues to show wisdom as we position ourselves to take advantage of opportunities in both business and geographic sectors. In addition, with support from the foundations, we are looking at the long term focus on education.
On the corner of Ashman and Main Streets in Downtown Midland, a five-story mixed use development is scheduled to be completed later this year with housing, retail and restaurant space adding to the landscape. SSP Associates, Inc., the developer on the project is excited to add residents to the area and further the walkable downtown idea that is so successful in other Michigan communities. In addition, a group of properties have recently been included in a downtown development opportunity designed to build on the current activities taking place downtown.
Out by the Midland Mall, both Kroger and Lucky’s Steakhouse have recently been approved to develop new buildings that will add to an ever-growing retail sector, with easy access to the highway and offer new alternatives for both shoppers and diners. Aldi also moved into this area recently, opening their new store in late 2015.
Much has been written about The Dow Chemical Company merger with DuPont. When complete, the Midland-based material sciences company will be headquartered here and positioned for future growth. As a part of this merger, Dow is also fully acquiring Dow Corning Corporation, and that is expected to be complete by the middle of this year. Construction on a new headquarters building in Midland at the existing corporate site on Patrick Road continues and is expected to be complete next year.
Further fueling Midland’s growth, the Midland Public schools have announced plans to build a STEM elementary school on the site of the former Central Elementary School. The school will have the capacity for 600 students and will utilize project-based learning with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. This will be only the third such school that is built specifically for this purpose.
Looking forward, both long and short term, Midland is poised for growth.
About the Author
Mr. Bill Allen was appointed President and CEO of the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce and Midland Tomorrow, the economic development organization for Midland County, in January 2016. Prior to that he was the President and CEO of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce [Las Cruces, NM] and held that position from December 2010 to December 2015. During that period he served on the Executive Board and is a past president of the New Mexico Chamber Executives Association; the boards of Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance and the Bridge of Southern New Mexico. He currently serves as a board member of the Western Association of Chamber Executives
Mr. Allen has over 30 years of experience in business. During his career he has held various upper management positions with both large and small businesses including Controller for both Mercer Consulting and Xerox Corporation. At Xerox, he was part of the team that kicked off their Xerox Global Services Division as a Business Development Manager on the manufacturing and energy team. He also has experience in the commercial real estate industry serving as Director of Operations and VP Accelerated Sales for Insite Commercial Group. He moved into the not-for-profit sector, first with the Greater Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce [Royal Oak, MI].
Mr. Allen has both a BBA and an MBA from Northwood University in Midland, MI.
