"We may announce our decision some time in February," she toldGlobeSt.com. "We wanted to go back and negotiate with the applicants. We toured allnine proposals in December, because we wanted to see them first-hand."

The MEDC received nine full proposals and nine pre-proposals from municipalities interested in receiving the SmartZone designation. The MEDC can designate up to 10 SmartZones, which are being created to foster high-tech development. The remaining six zones must be designated by December 31, 2002.

SmartZones will be created through recently adopted amendments to theLocal Development Financing Act. The amendments allow municipalities to use tax increment financing for property acquisition, infrastructure, business incubators and other park facilities, management and marketing. The program aims to stimulate the growth of technology-based businesses and jobs by creating recognized clusters of technological businesses and research institutions throughout the state.

Among the zones being studied are the Woodward Technology Corridor proposed by the city and Wayne State University. Initially, the Woodward Technology Corridor would be bordered by the I-94 expressway, Euclid, John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10) and Fisher Freeway (I-75).

The other full proposals received came from the Lansing/East Lansing area; the citiesof Houghton and Hancock; the city of Romulus, Huron Township and Wayne County; the cities of Muskegon and Norton Shores along with Muskegon County and Grand Valley State University; the city of Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University and Southwest Michigan First; the cities of Battle Creek, Marshall and Springfield; Washtenaw County; the city of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan University, Dow Chemical and IBM.

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Cities Vying for Money for High-Tech SmartZones Must Wait Longer for Answers

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