FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 6, 2024 GVSU will move to a building owned by BCU and expand programming in Battle Creek. BATTLE CREEK, MICH - Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) congratulates Grand Valley State University (GVSU) on the $10.3 million grant award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), announced on June 3, 2024. The funds will be used to expand GVSU’s activities in downtown Battle Creek, which will include new educational programming and community outreach. GVSU will utilize the Kendall Center, which BCU acquired in July 2022. This announcement builds on a 2019 grant from WKKF to GVSU, which provided $15.5 ...

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 3, 2024 Contact: Michele Coffill, GVSU University Communications coffillm@gvsu.edu (616) 331-2221 GVSU expands programming in Battle Creek with $10 million grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation Media note: photos can be downloaded via https://gvsu.edu/s/2Jx BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Grand Valley State University received a three-year, $10.3 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to expand the university’s community outreach and educational opportunities in Battle Creek, which includes renovating the Kendall Center to accommodate new programs. The grant enables Grand Valley to serve Battle Creek area residents through three main areas: increasing access to GVSU degrees and ...

BCU is pleased to share its Spring 2024 Quarterly Newsletter  This edition includes: From the President's Desk; Battle Creek Named a Top Tier-3 Metro by Site Selection Magazine; BCU Receives 2024 Mac Conway Award for Excellence; Battle Creek Welcomes Americas Competitiveness Exchange Tour; Michigan Announces New Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation; ....plus other news and information. The newsletter is available to view as a PDF  Our goal is to provide useful information to people who live and/or work in Battle Creek. We welcome your feedback and story ideas. Email your comments to BCUNewsletter@bcunlimited.org. You can also follow BCU on ...

Article written by:  Jane C. Parikh, Second Wave Southwest Michigan BATTLE CREEK, MI  — Ripples of hope are being felt by an organization that has been working since 2014 to naturalize a portion of the Kalamazoo River in the city’s downtown. In late April, Battle Creek Unlimited issued a press release about the city’s acquisition of buildings that formerly housed Ralston/TreeHouse and Graphic Packaging International. Members of  Battle Creek Whitewater Inc., the nonprofit that wants the river restored to a natural-looking state, say they are encouraged by these latest developments. “Those acquisitions are the result of gifts made to the city by ...

May 9th, 2024 BATTLE CREEK, MICH – Battle Creek was host to over 70 senior-level government, business, policy, and economic leaders from 20 countries as part of this year’s Americas Competitiveness Exchange (ACE) tour of Michigan. The delegation toured two locations, considered among Michigan’s best of the best in Southeast and Southwest Michigan: WK Kellogg Co and Duncan Aviation. Each company showcased Battle Creek’s penchant for innovation and our continuous growth in key industries. Both WK Kellogg Co and Duncan Aviation have made significant investment into the Battle Creek community in the past year. For their first tour, delegates were ...

BATTLE CREEK, MICH – Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU), has been awarded a 2024 Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development by Site Selection Magazine. The award is named for Conway Data founder Mac Conway was created to “recognize the efforts of those who worked tirelessly to bring projects large and small to their communities.” Economic development organizations who receive the award are being recognized for their diligence in attracting new projects of all sizes to their communities for the greater good of the entire region. Organizations were determined by an index of corporate facility investment according to Site Selection ...

New Mill Capital Holdings to donate land to BCU after demolition. April 23, 2024 BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – New Mill Capital Holdings and Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) have partnered together, as part of the ongoing River Naturalization project, to demolish the 350,000 square foot former Graphic Packaging International (GPI) facility. Work has been underway on the interior for months and major demolition work is set to begin within weeks. Upon completion of the demolition, New Mill Capital Holdings will donate the land to support the overall river naturalization and redevelopment plan. The GPI facility officially shuttered its doors in August ...

Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) applauds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the MEDC on the creation of the Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation (ODAI). BCU is focused on growing the Defense/Aerospace industry in Battle Creek, especially in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector. The Defense/Aerospace sector is critically important to Battle Creek. The city is home to more thank 6,000 servicemen and civilian employees working at the Fort Custer Training Center, the Defense Logistics Agency at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, 110th Wing at the Michigan Air National Guard Base, and Battle Creek VA Medical Center. BCU is also hard at work ...

April 11, 2024 BATTLE CREEK, MICH – Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU), along with members of the board, the City of Battle Creek, and the Calhoun County Visitor’s Bureau were in attendance to accept the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM) award for “Innovative Tourism Collaboration – Non-Traditional Tourism Partnerships” at the “Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism” hosted in Kalamazoo, Michigan on April 10th, 2024. The awards were created in collaboration with the Governor’s Office to boost the image of Michigan's tourism industry and promote innovative collaboration. The DoubleTree by Hilton was recognized for its innovative approach to community involvement ...

March Issue 2024 Read the full release here for all of the details: 2023-Top-Metros-Tier-3: Industrial At Heart (siteselection.com) ...

BCU is pleased to share its Winter 2024 Quarterly Newsletter  This edition includes: From the President's Desk; WK Kellogg Co to Invest $44 million in Battle Creek; Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Next Spec Building; SUITE Collaborative Launched to Develop Careers in Hospitality; Roundabout Recognized as "Project of the Year"; ....plus other news and information. The newsletter is available to view as a PDF Our goal is to provide useful information to people who live and/or work in Battle Creek. We welcome your feedback and story ideas. Email your comments to BCUNewsletter@bcunlimited.org. You can also follow BCU on Twitter, Facebook, and ...

MEDC – December 12, 2023 - WK Kellogg Co was established in 2023 as a standalone company, resulting from the separation of the former Kellogg Company into two separate entities, Kellanova and WK Kellogg Co. WK Kellogg Co is focused on its founder’s original business – ready-to-eat cereal. The company employs approximately 750 employees – nearly one-third of its total North America employee base – in Michigan and will continue to be headquartered in Battle Creek, where it has spent the past 117 years as Kellogg Company. In 2021, Kellogg Company announced that by the end of 2023, it would move ...

Battle Creek Enquirer, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023 A rendering of a new industrial speculative building on Watkins Road. The first half of the building is expected to be ready for tenants next fall. BATTLE CREEK — As the sun broke through the clouds along Watkins Road on Friday morning, Joe Sobieralski turned to face the crowd with a smile on his face. "These are the days that are fun," Sobieralski, president and CEO of Battle Creek Unlimited, told the crowd. "When we get to come out and turn some earth, it’s really fun." Equipped with hard hats, vests and shovels, ...

BCU is pleased to share its Fall 2023 Quarterly Newsletter  This edition includes: From the President's Desk; DENSO to Invest $63 Million in Battle Creek; United Federal Credit Union to Open Battle Creek Branch; BC Food Reimagined Receives $3.3 Million Grant; First Food Prize a Huge Success; ....plus other news and information. The newsletter is available to view as a PDF Our goal is to provide useful information to people who live and/or work in Battle Creek. We welcome your feedback and story ideas. Email your comments to BCUNewsletter@bcunlimited.org. You can also follow BCU on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  ...

Thursday, November 9, 2023 LANSING, Mich. – Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to announce that 27 organizations have been selected to serve as entrepreneurial hubs across the state of Michigan, providing comprehensive resources and support to the state’s small businesses. The Small Business Support Hubs (SBSH) program received approval by the Michigan Strategic Fund in June, following the passage of the $75 million Small Business Smart Zones and Business Accelerators initiative by the Michigan legislature in February. The program is funded by a one-time appropriation using American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) dollars to create and operate programs ...

504,000 square feet of industrial space planned just off I-94. November 1, 2023 BATTLE CREEK, MICH – Battle Creek Unlimited (BCU) has sold 34 acres of land to Industrial Partners USA (IPUSA) for the construction of a new spec building. The property is located on Watkins Road along Interstate 94, just off exit 92. This will be the developer’s second spec building in Battle Creek. IPUSA began work on the project the last week of October. The new building will have 504,000 square feet of industrial space and will be built in two phases. The first half of the building ...

UFCU secures space in The Milton for its first branch in Calhoun County October 10, 2023 BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – United Federal Credit Union (UFCU) will open their first full-service branch in the Battle Creek market in early 2024. The new location will be in The Milton, located in the heart of Battle Creek’s downtown business district. The state-of-the-art branch will occupy 2,900 square feet of space and house seven full-time staff, including tellers, mortgage loan officers, and commercial lenders. Construction on UFCU’s new branch in The Milton will begin in late fall, with the opening expected in the first ...

Zoetis, LLC expanding operations, adding 59 new jobs in Kalamazoo, Calhoun Counties · SJS Electric expanding, adding 60 jobs in Calhoun County Thursday, October 5, 2023 LANSING, Mich. –The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) today announced business expansion projects in Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Ottawa and Kent Counties, which in total are expected to generate nearly $153 million in capital investment and create 236 new high-tech jobs, have received support from the Michigan Strategic Fund. “Michigan is on the move, and making great things happen in high-tech industries. We applaud the efforts of these companies and their commitment to Making it in Michigan,” said MEDC Sr ...

LANSING, Mich. — Friday, September 8, 2023, On the second day of her investment mission to Japan, Governor Whitmer secured a $63 million from global mobility supplier DENSO in its Battle Creek thermal manufacturing facility to retool production lines, accommodating product offerings that will support the electrification of vehicles in the years ahead. The project will ensure DENSO’s continued green mobility transformation in Michigan, where the company has more than 3,500 employees at several locations across the state, including its North American headquarters and technical center in Southfield. More than 2,100 employees are based at the thermal facility in Battle Creek ...

BCU is pleased to share its Summer 2023 Quarterly Newsletter  This edition includes:     From the President's Desk;     State Officials Visit Battle Creek and Tour MICH-AIR Site;     BCU Receives $7 Million Appropriation for MICH-AIR;     Anson Hotel Project Awarded $1.5 Million Grant;     Battle Creek Air National Guard Breaks Ground on New Entrance;  ....plus other news and information. The newsletter is available to view as a PDF Our goal is to provide useful information to people who live and/or work in Battle Creek. We welcome your feedback and story ideas. Email your comments ...