Economic Development
Current Projects
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Ottawa County Brownfield Redevelopment
Formally established in 2008, the Ottawa County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (OCBRA) facilitates the rehabilitation, revitalization, and reuse of environmentally contaminated, blighted, or functionally obsolete properties identified as "brownfields." The OCBRA can offer several financial tools to help developers offset costs incurred for environmental assessment, demolition, lead or asbestos abatement, and other activities performed as part of an approved brownfield plan. Learn More »
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Ottawa County Digital Inclusion Strategy
High-speed internet service is fast becoming as essential to modern life as indoor plumbing and electricity. With education, business, healthcare, all being conducted online with increasing regularity, we must ensure our communities have access to reliable and affordable broadband service. Although Ottawa County does not own or operate an internet system, it is working on collaborative solutions to improve access to broadband for all. The Digital Inclusion Strategy is about establishing affordable broadband access across all areas of the County and eventually West Michigan as a whole.
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Agricultural Initiatives
Agriculture is a thriving economic industry in Ottawa County! That is why the County is developing and implementing a Farmland Preservation Strategy to help our farmers succeed, whether through coordinated, effective land use planning, technology advancements, market development, succession planning, and more. Learn More »
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Property Assessed Clean Energy Program
Enabled by Public Act 270 of 2010, the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program helps businesses secure loans for up to 25 years to cover the cost of making renewable energy or energy-efficient improvements to their properties. The loan is secured with the assessment — meaning it runs with the land, not the owner. Learn More >>
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Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds (2010)
Ottawa was the first county in Michigan to allocate a Recovery Zone Bond allotment. A Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond (RZEDB) award of $5.6 million was allocated to the City of Grand Haven in August 2009 for their Washington Avenue Improvement Project.
The Department of Strategic Impact recommended a second RZEDB allocation of $6.4 million to the City of Coopersville for upgrades to their wastewater treatment system, as well as for public infrastructure improvements to accommodate growth in the community. These bonds were allocated in April 2010.
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Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (2010)
In February 2010, Ottawa County allocated their entire $31.1 million allotment in Federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFB) to the Michigan Strategic Fund for the Continental Dairy Products project. The project includes construction, renovation, and equipment purchases to convert the vacant Delphi facility that is located in the City of Coopersville into a milk processing plant. The plant will be capable of processing four million pounds of milk daily into longer shelf life products such as butter, cream, condensed milk and milk powder. The project will create 70 permanent, full-time jobs over the next two years at a total cost of $90.5 million.
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Renaissance Zones (2010)
In 2010, the Department of Strategic Impact worked in conjunction with Request Foods and Holland Charter Township to successfully process an Agricultural Processing Renaissance Zone designation to accommodate a proposed plant expansion. This designation, which the Board of Commissioners approved, will result in a $40.6 million investment in the new facility and the creation of 250 new jobs.
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Metropolitan Statistical Areas (2009)
Ottawa County became its own single county metropolitan statistical area (Holland-Grand Haven MSA) after the 2000 Census because it was 317 individuals short from reaching the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) 25% commuter threshold in order to be included with the larger Grand Rapids MSA. The OMB’s standards created a serious misconception regarding the economic size of this region. In 2009, the Department of Strategic Impact pursued a dialog with the OMB to modify its standards for defining MSAs and the County Planning Commission approved a Resolution which supported having Ottawa County join the Kent County (i.e. Grand Rapids) region in order to achieve an MSA that has a population of more than 1,000,000. This Resolution was forwarded to the OMB.
In March 2013, the OMB designated Ottawa County as part of a four-county MSA (Grand Rapids-Wyoming) that also includes Kent, Barry, and Montcalm Counties. The Grand Rapids-Wyoming MSA has a population of more than 1 million. Learn more »
Completed Projects
Contact the Department of Strategic Impact for more information about other projects completed prior to 2009.
