Indiana Michigan Power has launched a new initiative to prepare sites for manufacturing opportunities. The utility has picked five sites to start the program, including one in St. Joseph County.
I&M is calling the initiative their Future Ready Site Accelerator. They’ll work to get underutilized properties connected with the infrastructure needed for development that creates jobs, in this case, electricity.
In Michigan they’ve identified sites in Mattawan and Benton Harbor, and in Indiana, in Auburn, Muncie and St. Joseph County. The St. Joseph County site is 200 acres of farmland west of the U.S. 31 bypass and State Road 23, west of Four Winds Casino.
Jill Scicchitano, I&M’s economic and business development manager, says this is not about building more data centers.
”This program really focuses on other industries outside of say a data center space, to attract growing industries like those potentially in the aerospace and defense, maybe advanced manufacturing to support high-growth industries in the medical device or automotive space, perhaps food and beverage manufacturing to compliment the robust agricultural access in the region," Scicchitano says.
Scicchitano says the property’s owner will next partner with South Carolina-based InSite Consulting to see if the site is suitable for manufacturing and market it to potential companies.
