Michigan's struggle to emerge from its looming budget deficit might be eased by new developments being made in its capital city.
"One of the key pieces of the governor's plan to revitalize Michigan is to ensure that we have vibrant cities, including Lansing," said Michelle Begnoche, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. "We know that vibrant cities attract business and people, and that is good for the state as a whole."
During his State of the City address Jan. 29, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero stressed the importance of bolstering downtown Lansing.
Bernero's initiative has led to the construction of several buildings that will make Lansing a more attractive location for Michigan residents and tourists.
One of the bigger projects being developed in downtown Lansing is the Stadium District — a $13 million project that will contain both office space and apartments.
The project is being constructed directly across from Oldsmobile Park, home of minor league baseball's Lansing Lugnuts. The architecture of the Stadium District will mirror the design of the ballpark, said Randy Hannan, Bernero's spokesman.
"The Stadium District will complement both physically and economically the baseball diamond," Hannan said. "One of our biggest goals has been to get people to live in downtown Lansing. Developments like this are a major step in the right direction."
Some of Bernero's other projects include a new performing arts center, a redeveloped Ottawa Power Station on Lansing's riverfront and a combined facility containing the Capital Area District Library and the Impression 5 Science Museum.
"One new development tends to encourage the next new development," Hannan said. "When there's one successful development, people think, well maybe we can develop something successful too."
If Lansing emerges as an economic power, the entire state would reap the benefits, said Faron Supanich-Goldner, an economic specialist with University Outreach and Engagement.
Because it's a principal city, Lansing's economic success would resonate across the smaller cities surrounding it, Supanich-Goldner said.
"Most scholars have pointed to the fact that regions surrounding certain cities live and die based on the success of central cities," he said. "Studies say a struggling central city is a drag on the cities around it — there's a regional effect."
Lansing's success would have a positive impact on Michigan, but because the city plays such a small economic role, it wouldn't mean that much, said Charles Ballard, an MSU economics professor.
"It would take a very large increase in the size of Lansing to have a major impact on the overall size of Michigan," he said. "It's not likely that the impact of Lansing, in the economic picture, will dramatically revolutionize the entire state."
It's hard to determine when all these projects will be completed, Hannan said.
"It's an incremental process," he said. "We take steps forward every day on each of the projects, but each of them has its own timeline.
"We hope to make significant progress next year, but some of them will be a multiple-year process."
