Last of a series

MONROE — Across the Ohio border in Monroe County’s Dundee, Mich., economic development is booming.

“Probably since 2015 we’ve been growing rapidly every year,” said David Uhl, Dundee village manager.

Several nearby Michigan communities have been experiencing similar growth spurts in recent years, and local officials are preparing for continued expansion in the future.

Thanks to career tech education programs, a residential housing boom despite high construction costs, and economies reliant on business development and tourism, local leadership is optimistic that the current progress won’t slow down any time soon.

And, many said, area municipalities are often so intertwined that growth in one place tends to be beneficial for everything surrounding it.

“What’s good for Monroe is good for Dundee,” Mr. Uhl said. “And what’s good for Dundee is good for Monroe.”

One of the ways that business development has become streamlined in the village, Mr. Uhl said, is by getting all the pertinent players — including company representatives, engineers, road commissioner, health department, and more — into the same room early in the process to get everyone on the same page.

The village, he said, has gotten a reputation for being business-friendly, which itself helps bring in more development.

“I don’t see any downturn in the near future,” he said, and he pointed out that if there were any impending decline, he believes it would have happened during the past year, when the pandemic hit.

Bella Estates Apartments is adding more units, Mr. Uhl said, and home builders “can’t put enough holes in the ground.”

Michigan's passage of a right-to-work law in 2012 might be one reason for the growth.

Tracy Bosman, a Chicago-based site selection consultant with Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co., says Michigan's law has generated development interest in the state.

Up to 50 percent of manufacturers automatically screen out any state that is not right-to-work, Ms. Bosman said, adding that Michigan was left out of the picture for many companies looking to add production capacity.

“While it does not guarantee success for Michigan, it does at least mean the state will get a second look from firms that automatically excluded it in the past,” she said.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is designed to connect Detroit to Windsor in Ontario, Canada, is currently under construction. It will likely bring more traffic to I-75, Mr. Uhl said, and officials are working with municipalities to develop projects along the interstate.

“Once you start to grow, if you don’t continue to grow, you’ll die,” he said.

Tim Lake, president of the Monroe County Business Development Corporation, said part of what his organization is working on, beyond keeping busy with development projects, is building a comprehensive destination and marketing campaign for next year. One of their goals, he said, is to establish this area of Michigan as a cornerstone of the state.

“Our message to the community is that we need to be working together,” he said.

Located north of Toledo and south of Detroit, Monroe County is part of a space that people often travel through and not always to, Mr. Lake said. So along with the residential and commercial projects, resources are also going toward building up the county’s historical sites, including the River Raisin National Battlefield Park.

And officials aren’t just thinking about non-residents when it comes to tourist attractions, Mr. Lake said, but also the people who call the county home.

“Our tourism campaign is outward, but it’s also inward,” he said.

Mark Cochran, assistant to the Monroe city manager and the city’s economic development director, said part of the city’s master plan is concentrating on the historic nature of the area as an asset. At this point, he said, the city is a place where people pass through north or south as well as a destination itself.

One of the challenges, however, is the lack of land within the city compared to the more rural Dundee or Bedford Township, he said. So there’s also a focus on redevelopment as well as small business in the downtown area. Additionally, the Telegraph Road corridor, which Mr. Cochran said sees 35,000 vehicles a day and where several national retailers are located, is also slated for new development.

He also said that new residents anywhere in the county can have a positive impact on the city, and it never feels like the city is in competition with any other municipalities.

“We know it’s not just city residents who are spending money in the city,” Mr. Cochran said. “One’s gain is also our benefit.”

Other business that Mr. Lake expects to expand locally in the future is logistics and supply chain. Monroe is like Toledo and greater northwest Ohio in its auto manufacturing, he said, but also in its transportation and warehouse industries.

“Toledo has the same kind of history,” he said. “There are a lot of similarities between the two.”

Mr. Lake cited the former La-Z-Boy World Headquarters, a company which started in Monroe, as an example of an enterprise that should be fostered — the kind of company that starts out in a garage and expands to a multi-million dollar venture.

“We’re trying to build on some of that entrepreneurial spirit that we had in the ‘20s and ‘30s and ‘40s,” he said. 

In the future, Mr. Lake said, there will be a huge demand for logistics-style business. To help build a potential workforce, Mr. Lake said schools have established career technical programs for students.

“It all benefits us at the end of the day, I think,” he said.

Stephen McNew, superintendent of the Monroe County Intermediate School District, said there has been a huge push in the last several years for more career technical programs. The business community approached the school district for help in filling jobs, Mr. McNew said.

“There’s a tremendous shortage of skilled trade workers,” he said. “The local districts are trying to do their part to grow their programs.”

Mr. McNew, who is also vice chairman of the board for the Monroe County Business Development Corporation, said the relationship between the schools and the local business community is vital for future growth.

“Their future is in our classrooms,” he said. “It’s really important that we’re on the same page.”

And as time goes on, Mr. McNew believes the need for such education will only increase.

“I firmly believe that we’re going to have to grow our [career tech] offerings,” he said.

In addition to the education programs, Mr. McNew said several local districts are looking at improving their own internal infrastructure. Eventually, he said, there’s the possibility of year-round schooling, and some of the elementary schools need duct work and air conditioning.

“Now’s the time to build the infrastructure,” he said.

For business owners, Rich Kenny, CEO of Forest View Lanes Recreation Bar & Grill in Temperance, Mich., also believes now is a good time to reinvest in their companies.

Customer behavior has shifted with the pandemic, Mr. Kenny said, and he believes there will be more multi-generational outings — the whole family together — and that there will be a heavier demand for entertainment than before.

“There’s going to be a resurgence of social interaction,” he said. “Think about how you can supply that demand that’s happening right now.”

Forest View Lanes underwent a renovation of its kitchen area recently, Mr. Kenny said, to make the space more efficient and provide better service to customers.

“Everyone who walks in here who hasn’t been here in a while are amazed at the changes,” he said.

Tim Oswald, co-owner of Lambertville Hardware, has watched Bedford Township evolve over the decades, and while he said that the development has slowed down a bit in recent times since the township is running out of space, there has been plenty of building up, commercially and residentially.

“It’s grown a lot,” he said. “There’s not many places sitting vacant.”

Lambertville Hardware will be one of the businesses participating in a job fair on Sept. 15 at the Monroe County Community College Whitman Center, 7777 Lewis Ave., Temperance.

“Everybody’s looking for [employees],” he said.

But for the most part, economic development is going well, he believes. Commercial enterprise on Lewis Avenue in Temperance is going well, Mr. Oswald said, and he also pointed out that some customers from Ohio crossed the border for things to do during the pandemic, and a lot of those customers have been back since.

“Something goes out of business, something new goes in,” he said.

Janis Howard, owner of Howard’s Meats since 1985, said she started her business, a butcher shop and bakery, in Toledo before moving up to Lambertville.

“When we opened, it started right away being busy,” she said.

Also a past president of the Bedford Business Association, which is hosting the job fair this month, Ms. Howard said the organization’s focus has been on small businesses so people can shop local. Plus new housing being constructed as well.

“We have a lot more small businesses coming in now,” she said. “We have so much growth when it comes to condos.”

Certain business districts allow residents to open businesses out of their homes, she said, and the community is loyal. Ms. Howard described the township as one that “really sticks together.”

Development was slow several years ago, Ms. Howard said, but lately she believes it has been gaining momentum.

“Bedford Township was one of the fastest growing townships around,” she said. “And now it seems like it’s coming back again.”

First Published September 5, 2021, 1:00 p.m.