The new president of local economic development group Cornerstone Alliance has big plans for how to restart the economic engine in Southwest Michigan and it starts with a familiar focus across the United States – adequate housing for the area’s workforce.
Marla Schneider officially started in her new role as President and CEO of Cornerstone Alliance in early January and nearly one month in, she’s been busy meeting with area leaders, hearing a lot of discussion about the gaps between where the region is and where many want Southwest Michigan to be.
“If you look at Berrien County in comparison to its neighboring counties… we are the only county that has been losing population since the late 70s. We need jobs. We need places for people to live,” –Schneider during an interview on the WSJM Morning Show with Ken & Friends.
Schneider said she wants to focus on housing, in part because businesses looking to locate here or expand existing operations need a workforce able to live in the communities where they work.
“We need a countywide housing study,” said Schneider. “There is data out there that is public right now for the county and it is great data. I also think we need some supplemental reporting and data collecting done that we can get into each community and dig down a little bit deeper to see what their individual needs are.”
Schneider said she was involved in a similar data-gathering exercise in Muskegon County where community partners helped with the financial cost.
“Collaboration is huge for me. And so that’s something that will be a tenant of how we move forward. We need to be better collaborators and good stewards of that with our partners so I’d like to formulate a housing study that partners are involved in. We commission this for the county, we share information publicly with everyone, we then need to figure out how… we develop a resource for workforce housing in collaboration with our partners and municipalities to drive forward housing.”
Housing has been at the forefront of recent high-profile discussions across the county, most recently at a countywide forum led by the Southwest Michigan Chamber of Commerce. The two-day housing summit featured the nonprofit Strong Towns and looked at incremental development, housing-friendly zoning policies, and collaborative action planning.
“Our region’s housing challenges remain complex, and any meaningful solutions will require a united effort. That’s why we hosted the summit — to get us, Cornerstone Alliance, the Southwest Michigan Association of Realtors, and others together with major employers, municipal leaders, developers, lenders, and landowners to agree on real solutions,” –Arthur Havlicek, President and CEO of the Southwest Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
“I think we’re all energized and incentivized to solve this issue together. Now it’s time to move forward and make measurable progress,” Havlicek added.
