By Tony Willis
Lansing Economic Area Partnership
When people hear the term economic development, a variety of images and definitions may come to mind.
Let’s be clear about what it really means: Economic development is not the end goal — it is the means to achieving prosperity.
That’s a principle the Lansing Economic Area Partnership has spent 20 years putting into practice. This year, we celebrate two decades of driving smart growth across Michigan’s capital region, a milestone that has us thinking hard about what the next two decades should look like.
We want the communities of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties to be prosperous. A prosperous community is a community of choice — a place where people want to live, work, invest and raise their families. It offers quality opportunities for employment, housing, education, recreation, entrepreneurship and cultural experiences. Most importantly, it is a community of belonging, where people from every background feel welcomed, valued and included.
Prosperity, however, does not happen by accident. It is the product of growth — more specifically, smart growth.
Smart growth is guided by data, informed by community voices and carried out through thoughtful stewardship of our resources. It recognizes that success is not measured simply by how much we grow, but by how intentionally and sustainably we grow.
You can see that approach at work across our region. Since 2012 alone, LEAP has helped generate nearly 11,000 jobs and $7.3 billion in investment. It’s visible in the $1.6 billion Red Cedar development rising on a former brownfield along Michigan Avenue; in downtown East Lansing, where the Center City project helped spark a tall building renaissance; and in the Stadium District, where a single anchor investment grew into an entire live-work-play neighborhood.
Smart growth also means investing in the places themselves, not just attracting businesses. From the new market in DeWitt to an accessible playground in Grand Ledge to downtown Lansing, projects like these are revitalizing downtowns and public spaces in communities of every size across all three counties. Businesses bring people. The place makes them stay.
LEAP has collected immense feedback from stakeholders and the community at large and is now working with a cross-section of our membership to shape a bold long-term vision and collaboratively develop a 2030 strategy that will be rolled out fully and implemented in 2027. At the heart of that vision is a simple belief: Growth should never happen to people — it should happen with people.
Our work extends well beyond strategic planning. Every day, LEAP supports entrepreneurs through small business technical assistance, attracts domestic and international investment, advances redevelopment, and helps communities prepare for the jobs and industries of tomorrow. But doing the work alone is not enough.
We must also continue advocating for Michigan to strengthen its economic development toolbox. Our region is competing and winning, but imagine what we could accomplish with tools as strong as our competitors’. When we compare ourselves to the states we compete with most directly — Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina — we see that many have economic development programs that are better funded, more streamlined and more comprehensive than our own. Standing still is not a strategy.
The prosperity of our region — and of Michigan itself — is not guaranteed. It is earned through intentional leadership, thoughtful planning and collective action. The choices we make today will determine the opportunities available to future generations.
Let’s choose to invest in smart growth. Let’s choose to compete. And let’s continue building a Greater Lansing region — and a Michigan — that doesn’t simply keep pace with the future but helps define it.
