Our 2022 annual impact report titled Brick and Mortar: People building prosperity in the Lansing Region, is hot off the press showcasing a historic year of economic development success for the Lansing region!

Resulting from collaborations with countless individuals, entrepreneurs, local partners, developers, government leaders and institutions, LEAP’s projects infused more than $3.2 billion in private investment across Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties and created nearly 2,000 direct jobs in the Lansing regional economy in 2022.

One of LEAP’s most significant wins in 2022 was securing the Lansing Region’s largest and most important economic development project in history—a massive, future enabling, Ultium electric vehicle (EV) battery plant totaling $2.6 billion in private investment on track to create 1,700 jobs. This unprecedented and historic win set the stage for the Lansing Region’s future as a national epicenter for the future of the mobility industry and a force driving the regional, state, and U.S. economies forward.

“Large-scale development work like the Ultium project is the brick of economic development. But brick will not stand without mortar. People, places, and fresh entrepreneurial ideas are the mortar. Small businesses, entrepreneurs, and the diversity of our talent and place are the glue that holds our economy together,” said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP. “Like many communities across the country and world, our small business community was hit hard over the past three years because of the COVID pandemic. As we continue to heal together, LEAP continues to work doggedly to connect small businesses with resources and opportunities to sustain stronger into the future.”

Building on more than a decade of intentional partnerships and work, LEAP continued throughout 2022 to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem, resulting in numerous achievements to support and attract high-tech startups and deliver ground-breaking economic equity programs to ensure everyone in the Lansing region is engaged with regional economic opportunities.

One significant first was in graduating the first cohort of LEAP’s Elevate program, a Black-business accelerator program funded by the PNC Foundation and LEAP. Additionally, LEAP’s internationally recognized inclusive entrepreneurship program One and All published results in the International Economic Development Council Journal, showing the program is working to advance economic mobility for entrepreneurs living at or below the ALICE threshold by increasing household income and the likelihood of sustained business success.

LEAP also continued to provide small business support through the Ingham County Sunrise Small Business Relief Program, created in 2021 by the Ingham County Board of Commissioners using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. One vital program started in 2022 that will continue through 2023 is the Leave A Legacy program which addresses two major economic concerns: the impending “Silver Tsunami,” or the nearing retirement and likely closing of nearly 2,400 Ingham County businesses with owners aged 55+, and the lasting impact of the pandemic.

The Ingham County business community is predominantly comprised of small businesses, with 98% employing 50 or fewer employees. Importantly, small businesses are likely not to have succession plans in place. Leave A Legacy helps retain gems that make Ingham County unique, ensuring small business owners are set up for ongoing success once they have succession plans and helping employees realize greater economic mobility by gaining an ownership stake in their livelihoods.

Moving into 2023, LEAP will accelerate an emphasis on the talent pipeline organizing support and developing the infrastructure that enables broader workforce participation with amenities and systems centered around housing, childcare, public transportation, educational and career pathways from K-12 onward, and workforce diversity.

“To continue growing and attracting business and jobs, we must intensify our efforts to build, retain, and attract a highly educated and trained regional talent force. Incentives and traditional infrastructure (wastewater treatment capacity, water supply, electricity, roads) are necessary, but we need equal effort and emphasis in the talent pipeline,” said Trezise.

Recent work in this area includes organizing the Capital Area Child Care Coalition with Capital Area Michigan Works! and the United Way of South Central Michigan and receiving a $150,000 grant from the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC building a connected regional network and improving access to quality, affordable child care across the region.

Trezise emphasized that LEAP will organize, measure, and integrate this focus through LEAP’s organizational structure and partner work to grow and land new companies, entrepreneurs, and jobs throughout the rural and urban three-county region with an innovative regional plan to keep and grow a diverse, highly skilled population, “If we do this right together as a region and with the state, we will continue to grow the Lansing region as one of the most innovative, prosperous, and competitive communities in America.”

Over the past 12 years, LEAP’s cumulative impact on the Lansing Regional economy stands at $6.5 billion in private investment, more than 10,000 new direct jobs created and over 200 companies launched. Read LEAP’s 2022 Annual Report, People Building Prosperity in the Lansing Region, and past annual reports on LEAP’s website at purelansing.com/impact.