There is an emerging school of thought that successful job growth should be measured and celebrated with the creation of, believe it or not, one and two jobs. The days of attracting thousands of manufacturing jobs have all but disappeared and in order for Michigan communities to thrive in the 21st century, we need to offer the type of setting that will attract knowledge-based jobs that typically emerge in smaller numbers. I am pleased to say that the City of East Lansing is doing just that.

On October 28th, there will be a ribbon-cutting to initiate East Lansing’s Technology Innovation Center (TIC). The TIC is a publicly funded technology business incubator designed for small startup and restart companies that have a technology focus and are looking to grow. It is a three-year program designed to reduce the risk and overhead associated with starting a business and also to provide an assortment of resources for the businesses to succeed. These services include mentoring, help with market studies and business plans, reduced/no cost legal, accounting, and insurance. The TIC will also be hosting regular training and seminar events in the space.

The great news is that, as of today, all but 4 workstations have been reserved. The tenant list includes CEMA LLC, Live Concepts, and KiWe Video Productions, to name a few. These companies offer a range of services from advanced security to audio/video production. Construction is set to be completed by the end of this week, barring any set backs. The majority of the tenants are prepared to move in on October 1st and we are excited about the “long-term effect” that the TIC will have in terms of establishing East Lansing as an ideal location for knowledge-based jobs.