KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo area will be facing challenges if it hopes to grow and thrive as an industrial center.
That’s according to the new director of Southwest Michigan First, who says any industrial developer who looks near Kalamazoo will find there are few places to build and if they do a site, it would be hard to find skilled workers.
Director Jonas Peterson briefed Kalamazoo County officials earlier this month and said they need more sites that are competitive with those in other communities.
The need for space is so acute that the Portage City Council are considering a tax break for a speculative industrial plant that would be built off Milham Avenue, something they have never done before, especially with no occupant identified.
A similar tax break is being tried at a parcel near Battle Creek in the Ft. Custer Industrial Park.
Peterson used the word “disturbing” to describe area workforce trends.
The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners will receive a presentation Tuesday on efforts to beef up vocational training in the county.
