Economic Development

VAN BUREN COUNTY – ONE POWERFUL LOCATION

With a growing and increasingly educated work force, as well as being strategically straddled between major interstate highways, Van Buren County is well positioned to enhance its existing business clusters.

Van Buren County communities are committed to a program of preparedness for growth.
Surrounded by supportive businesses and a progressive governmental leadership core, Van Buren County is rising to the top of every site selection list. See why we are certainly "on the grow."

Postal address
Edward VanderVries - Economic Development Director
219 Paw Paw St. #302
Paw Paw, MI 49079
Telephone(269) 657-8234
FAX (269) 657-0579
Electronic mail
General Information: vandervriese@vbco.org

Location, Location, Locomotion
Workforce
Supportive Businesses
Progressive Government
Recovery Zone Facility Bonds

Location, Location, Locomotion

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Nearly ten thousand years ago with the retreat of the glaciers, hunters from the south ventured into southwest Michigan seeking hunting grounds. As the centuries passed, trails (such as the Sauk Trail) were established along these ancient paths.

With the opening of the Erie Canal in the early part of the nineteenth century, Native American trails became the Territorial Road which traversed Van Buren County from east to west. It was said that rooms in Paw Paw were so hard to come by in those days that travelers would pay a dollar just to lean against a post.

Today Van Buren County continues that transportation tradition with three major rail lines and is crisscrossed with eighty-two miles of State highways along with forty-one miles of Interstate system.

I-94 runs from Mattawan in the east through Paw Paw and Lawrence to Hartford in the west. I-196 enters Western Van Buren County in Covert Township and runs north through South Haven.

This transportation network allows for efficient movement of raw and finished materials to Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and Grand Rapids. You can get there from here.

Power generation has long been a staple to the economy of Van Buren County. Beginning with individual communities harnessing water and burning coal to the modern techniques of using the atom and burning natural gas. Recently, construction began in Covert Township on a five hundred million-dollar facility to utilize natural gas to generate twelve hundred mega-watts of electricity. This new facility together with the CMS nuclear facility (also in Covert Township) will generate nearly two thousand mega-watts of electricity. We've got the power.

Documents/Forms:
I-94 Corridor
A good place to do business!!!

Van Buren County [Click here to view full size picture]

Workforce

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Van Buren County’s population grew at a faster rate (8.9%) in the last ten years than most of the neighboring counties. Significant growth (over 15%) was experienced in many communities. More importantly, educational attainment levels also increased. Training opportunities to increase skills abound. The Van Buren County Intermediate School District’s Technology Center centrally located in Lawrence offers continuing educational opportunities, as do the M-Tech Centers at nearby community colleges. Although commute times remain under thirty minutes nearly forty percent of the adult workforce travels outside of the county every workday. Seeking a trained available workforce? Look no further.

Supportive Businesses

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Industrial production in Van Buren County exceeds one billion dollars annually. Some of the clusters include Plastic Injection Molding, Fabricated Metals, Tool & Die, Die-Casting, Machinery Production, Chemicals and Food Products. In addition to many branches of regional banks, the county is the home to two banks which have been locally owned for over one hundred years. You won’t be alone in Van Buren County.

Documents/Forms:
Bangor DDA Makes Grants Awards
Why Locate in Paw Paw
Paw Paw DDA Assistance Programs
Paw Paw's Revolving Loan Fund Program

Progressive Government

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Key to any new development is Community Readiness. Available, affordable and attractive locations have been created and enhanced within the past three years. These Business Parks (formerly known as industrial parks) offer sites with all infrastructure and zoning in place throughout Van Buren County. Every community responds positively to new investment and most offer generous tax abatement packages. Four communities have established Renaissance Zones and the county has the ability (with State Approval) to create four additional zones involving significant new investment and job creation.

Documents/Forms:
Workforce Enhancement Steering Committee 1
Workforce Enhancement Steering Committee 2
Renaissance Zones
State Certified Industrial Parks

Recovery Zone Facility Bonds

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County accepting applications for federal bonds
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Van Buren County is accepting applications for $8.1 million in Federal Recovery Zone Facility Bonds now available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The application deadline is April 30, 2010. Projects must be ready to start construction within 60 days of application submittal.
Recovery Zone Facility Bonds are tax-exempt private activity bonds that may be used by private businesses in designated recovery zones to finance many types of depreciable capital projects that would normally not qualify — such as large manufacturing plants, distribution centers, hotels and research facilities.
The Van Buren County Board of Commissioners has declared the entire county as an Economic Recovery Zone; therefore, projects throughout the county may be eligible for the bonds — with the exception of rental housing, golf courses, country clubs, massage parlors, hot tub and suntan facilities, racetracks, or premises primarily intended for gambling or selling alcohol for off-premise consumption.
Applications and a description of the selection criteria are available online at www.vbco.org or by contacting Edward VanderVries – Director, Van Buren County Department of Land Service, Planning & Economic Development at 269-657-8234 x17 or by e-mail at vandervriese@vbco.org.

Documents/Forms:
Recovery Zone Guidelines and Selection Criteria
Recovery Zone Project Application

Page Last Updated: 3/3/2011