Jun 27, 2016
The Aerotropolis’ First Asset Familiarization Tour
In early June, the Aerotropolis hosted 10 members of the Site Selectors Guild to showcase our region and give them a memorable and first-hand look at the Aerotropolis. The first Detroit Region Aerotropolis Asset Familiarization Tour revolved around three objectives:
- Familiarize the Site Selectors with the Aerotropolis concept and region
- Exchange information between Aerotropolis stakeholders, site selectors, and local businesses
- Receive feedback from industry professionals on our efforts
Over the course of Tuesday evening through Thursday morning, our 10 guests were joined by attendees from Ann Arbor SPARK, the Detroit Regional Chamber, DTE Energy, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Wayne County Airport Authority, Wayne County Economic Development Corporation, and our Aerotropolis Communities.
The Aerotropolis Agenda
The event kicked off with an amazing walk-off win for the Tigers at Comerica Park, where our guests were able to see the renaissance of Downtown Detroit firsthand as all in attendance discussed the importance of the City of Detroit to southeast Michigan.
On Wednesday morning, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans gave charming remarks to our guests followed by our Aerotropolis overview at the Metro Airport Westin. After presentations and discussion, nearly 30 attendees started on our bus tour of the region, viewing properties throughout Aerotropolis communities and showcasing our finest assets. Lunch at Willow Run was followed by informative talks from Ann Arbor SPARK and MDOT on the American Center for Mobility, Mcity, and other connected vehicle initiatives.
The highlight of the trip for our Site Selector guests took place 1500 feet above Washtenaw County, in a B17 Bomber Flight from the Yankee Air Museum!
During our Business Leaders Dinner that evening, our Site Selectors heard directly from private sector leaders including John Rakolta Jr., CEO of Walbridge; Joy Fewell, CIO and site leader at GE’s Digital Thread Hub in Van Buren Township; and Sabrina Keeley, COO of Business Leaders for Michigan, and Lauren Scaprace, Senior VP at CBRE in Southfield. All contributed to a fascinating discussion that revolved around workforce development and education, topics that were weaved into most conversations throughout the week.
Our events concluded Thursday morning, when we turned the tables on our Site Selector guests as they held an extremely informative panel discussion on every aspect of economic development, from marketing and incentives, through site approval processes.
Relationships Built, Lessons Learned
We shared as much information as possible with the Site Selectors, and, in return, they shared invaluable insight that can be applied to economic development efforts at all levels of government. We gained both knowledge and validation. The Detroit Region Aerotropolis has all of the right assets and positioning. Now our efforts must continue and strengthen.
Feedback from all involved has been positive, and we are very appreciative of the time and insight from both the Site Consultants, and the economic development and private sector partners involved. Looking forward, we hope to bring all of these experiences and lessons learned to more successful events in the future, and more importantly to more development projects in the Aerotropolis region.
