The City of Sterling Heights is the first community in Macomb County to be awarded one of three new SmartZone projects by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The project at the former Venture Industries building on 15 Mile Road is a cooperative effort between the city, Oakland University and the Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Department. The SmartZone designation allows the city to create a business incubator site that offers start-up services and ongoing support to entrepreneurial companies, especially those that place a premium on technology, the defense industry and homeland security.

This business incubator will provide office space to entrepreneurs, along with access to laboratories where researchers can explore new products with the goal of creating new companies and new jobs. New companies will be able to minimize start-up costs and preserve working capital that can be better used for initial sales, partnerships, networking and customer relations. 

“Establishment of a SmartZone and incubator in Sterling Heights greatly expandsthe resources of our local economic  development efforts for business retention, attraction, diversification and entrepreneurial development,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Richard J. Notte. “This partnership with Oakland University and Macomb County culminates months of work by our City Council and city administration to bring Macomb County’s first SmartZone to our community.”

A total of three new SmartZones were announced Wednesday by MEDC officials during a reception on economic development initiatives held in Mount Clemens.

Sterling Heights, Oakland University and the Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Department qualified for the project by:

• Establishing a Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) sponsored by Sterling Heights and Macomb County.

• Creating an affiliation with Oakland University, which has pledged its support and has considerable experience with the SmartZone initiative.

• Approval of a tax increment-financing district in which the revenue generated in the SmartZone district is pledged to the operation and support of the business incubator.

The state has now approved a total of 15 SmartZones in Michigan since creation of the business incubator program.
 
It’s estimated that by 2010 the new SmartZone in Sterling Heights could create up to 12 new companies and 130 new jobs and, by 2015, 55 new companies and nearly 600 new jobs. Additional areas for entrepreneurial exploration could eventually include life sciences, communication and information technology and alternative energy.