Detroit (WWJ) -- Detroit Renaissance Thursday released the first quarterly report showing progress made to date on the Road to Renaissance -- specific strategies to transform the economy in Detroit and Southeast Michigan that were presented to the community last spring.
"Back in May we said that we would post quarterly progress reports to ensure accountability and success in all of the initiatives," said Detroit Renaissance president, Doug Rothwell.
"That claim was met with some skepticism among people who had seen many of the reports of past decades. Today, not only do we release the progress report but we also prove the skeptics wrong," he said.
"It is time to change the narrative about our assets in Southeast Michigan. This report shows that we are on target to meet our objectives and substantial work has been done to achieve our goal of transforming the economy of Southeast Michigan."
The "Road to Renaissance" initiative focuses on helping the region achieve the following six objectives:
1) Become the center for global mobility; 2) develop an aerotropolis; 3) grow Metro Detroit's creative community; 4) expand the region's entrepreneurial capacity; 5) secure a strong future talent base; and, 6) promote globally while communicating locally.
According to Rothwell, this has been an unprecedented civic effort combining the talents and input of diverse constituencies into a plan that addresses our economic growth by building upon the region's assets.
Among the highlights of the report:
- The program design for the Mobility Innovation Center is underway by the Center for Automotive Research; specific technologies with high potential for cooperative research are being identified,
- A public/private task force was appointed by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano to oversee the studies necessary to begin to develop an aerotropolis around Detroit/Wayne County Metropolitan and Willow Run Airports; studies are underway to handle the master development planning, and benchmark the project;
- Five contracts have been awarded and work is underway to launch the creative community initiative: a creative business asset inventory, a development plan for the creative corridor, a business attraction strategy; strategy to develop a creative business accelerator within the corridor and a marketing and branding strategy consistent with the overall D branding initiative spearheaded by the Metro Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau,
- A coalition of the region's economic developers and business accelerators was formed to advocate for more funding at the state and federal levels,
- Detroit Renaissance has teamed with representatives from Oakland County and Ann Arbor to create a "Fund of Funds" venture capital fund that has to date raised commitments of $35 million toward its $100 million goal.
- The STEM initiative has been incorporated into the Federal Employment and Training Administration's Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) plan for SE Michigan. WIRED funding has been secured to expand The Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program and Project Lead the Way initiatives as well as to jumpstart the internship/apprenticeship initiative.
- Funding is being sought for the creation of a DNewsbureau -- a media management agency for the region. The bureau has sharpened its focus to align with the initiatives of One D.
For more information, visit http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/
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