Chris Sell has a vision that he shares with people who make Lansing home. It's a vision, he says, that evolved from a wish he had three years ago when he moved back to Lansing to work for Michigan State University, buy a home, and build a life just minutes from his hometown of Williamston.
Sell's vision relates to the city's Michigan Avenue corridor—a bustling avenue of commerce, retail and entertainment, supported by a strong, vibrant economy. He sees more and more people of all ages, living and working downtown—some even on a riverfront that is cared for by stewards of business, community and environment.
Chris Sell, founder of Lansing 5:01-photo Dave TrumpieToday, Sell is helping to shape that vision, energized by economic snapshots that reveal a 21
st century Lansing teeming with career opportunities. In early 2016, he founded
Lansing 5:01—a social group for college interns and young professionals that showcases the city's emerging scene for urban living and careers.
"College graduates often ask if this as a city to live in and settle down" says Sell, who is also the
director of entrepreneur engagement for the MSU Alumni Association. "I answer with a resounding yes, telling them that Lansing is a legitimate city, with a wide range of industries that are hiring. We're a mecca for Michigan and the Midwest. There's tons of opportunity here."
Warm welcome
As a Lansing super fan, Sell and Lansing 5:01 will be among 15 to 20 organizations and employers participating in
Capital Comeback—a first-time event that encourages former residents to rethink opportunity and make a life in mid-Michigan.
Slated for Wednesday, Nov. 23—or Thanksgiving Eve—Capital Comeback is a casual, contemporary networking event set at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. Returning professionals who are home for the holiday can attend and learn first-hand about the career and living options reshaping the city, including Lansing's urban core.
Andrea Ragan, one of the event organizers, says Capital Comeback takes its cue from
Hello West Michigan's ReThink West Michigan. That event, now in its fifth year, invites former residents of West Michigan to consider returning to their hometown and reestablishing their careers within a reinvigorated economic landscape.
"With Capital Comeback, we're building on that dynamic of people who might want to see the economic development in Lansing since they left," says Ragan, executive director of the
Capital Area IT Council. "Detroit gets a lot of attention. Grand Rapids gets a lot of attention. Lansing has a lot to offer in career development and growth potential, and we're here to show them some of those facts and figures that they may not have considered before."
Michigan hasn't experienced an exodus lately. The most recent figures for Michigan from the U.S. Census reveal a small
Andrea Ragan, executive director of the Capital Area IT Council-photo Dave Trumpieuptick in population of .4 percent from 2010 to 2016. In the Lansing-East Lansing region, statistics provided through the
Lansing Area Economic Partnership show a modest 1.17 percent increase since 2010.
"The state of Michigan did do the impossible," notes Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP in reflecting on population and economic forces. "It's not necessarily about loss and a comeback. In Lansing, our growth is where we need to add new people. It's a net gain."
Tale of the tape
Basic indicators like unemployment, housing and education underscore the significance of Greater Lansing's stability and growth potential. Recent figures through the
Michigan Bureau of Labor Statistics for Lansing-East Lansing show a 3.8 percent unemployment rate compared to 4.5 percent statewide. Education-wise, about 25.1 percent of people 25 or older have a bachelor's, a slight lag behind areas like Grand Rapids with 30.7 percent or Michigan as a whole with 26.4 percent.
United States Census figures indicate Lansing's affordability. About 65 percent of people in Lansing-East Lansing own their own homes compared to 45.7 percent in Ann Arbor or 55.1 in Grand Rapids. Housing costs are reasonable, with median home values of $79,000 for Lansing and $174,000 for East Lansing—a fraction of Michigan cities like Ann Arbor at $231,000 or metro areas like Chicago at $225,700, New York at $490,700 or Los Angeles at $453,800.
Figures through LEAP show that the
average monthly costs for an owner-occupied home in Greater Lansing average a little under $600 a month, when mortgage, property taxes, and miscellaneous household expenses are considered. In addition, about 72 percent of households in the Lansing-East Lansing area claim an annual income of $40,000 or above. About 115,000
people reside in Lansing proper, and a combined 469,485 live in the Lansing-East Lansing metro area.
"You get a lot of big city amenities here and yet we're small town affordable," says Trezise. "Our community has a unique opportunity. We're experiencing population growth, and our property values and wages can afford to go up a bit. That will be healthy for our community."
Pillars of opportunity
Mid-Michigan appears poised to support an influx of workers and professionals.
Leading industries include insurance and financial services, information technology, life science and biomedical, supply chain and logistics, health care and accelerator technologies. State government, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and education serve as cornerstones.
In the past half-dozen years, the area experienced intense growth as an insurance and finance hub. Six insurance companies make their headquarters in Lansing, contributing to employment base of nearly 10,000 people when combined with smaller insurance companies and branches. Information technology continues to grow as well, with more than 300 local IT companies employing about 4,000 local residents. Capital Comeback, organizers say, is intended as a broad talent initiative focused on STEAM-related jobs.
"We want to show people the economic and cultural development that they didn't notice when they lived here," says Ragan. "Having the event at the Broad Art Museum sends a very clear message as an internationally attractive and appealing art museum—that Lansing does big business and is a major economic driver in the state."
Ragan says the Mid-Michigan economy has an abundance of high-wage, high-demand jobs in STEAM fields, with employers eager to fill positions. Referencing recent stats from the state's Bureau of Labor Marketing Information, Ragan says that upward of 1,000 positions are open in information and technology occupations in Mid-Michigan as of spring 2016. Median hourly wages range from $14.02 for customer service representatives up to $44.24 for computer network architects.
"IT permeates all the industries and businesses we have here," says Ragan. "There's potential here for a lot of career and upward mobility, with a cost of living that's 40 percent lower than some other areas of the country that offer IT opportunity."
Capital Comeback organizer Michelle Cordano is committed to the health and vitality of Greater Lansing. As the executive director of the
Capital Area Manufacturing Council, Cordano has focused her event efforts on attracting professionals with bachelor's degrees or higher to consider manufacturing-related jobs in Mid-Michigan.
Cordano says Lansing continues to benefit from the presence of General Motors, with many suppliers and related manufacturers located within 25 miles of the two Lansing plants. Recent stats from the Bureau of Labor Marketing Information and Strategic Initiatives supplied by Cordano indicate that for every manufacturing job added, four to six indirect jobs are created.
Cordano pointed out that one in five manufacturing workers statewide and in Lansing are employed in a management or professional capacity, with nearly 40 percent of all Michigan engineers employed by a manufacturing company. Recent reports by the CAMC reveal that median wages for high-growth management and professional occupations in Mid-Michigan manufacturing range from $23.80 to $33.76 an hour.
"If you're a professional working elsewhere and you miss your family, there is no reason you should not come back to Lansing," Cordano says. "There are good jobs with respected employers, and we'll show you that through Capital Comeback. We've turned things around, the area is thriving. It's a great time to live here right now."
Ann Kammerer is the News Editor for Capital Gains and writes occasional features.
Photos ©
Dave Trumpie
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.
This article was created in partnership with Capital Area Michigan Works.