HANCOCK, MI-- The City of Hancock is getting $2.7 million in federal funding to construct a business and technology park.
City Manager Mary Babcock says up to 15 sites will be developed on a 40-acre plot of land. She says the project should draw talent from Michigan Tech and Finlandia Universities and increase economic opportunities in the region.
“Hopefully it will help grow our tax base,” she says. “That would be one of the byproducts of this. Hopefully it’ll create jobs that have a better living wage and attract people to this area.”
The funding comes from the Economic Development Administration. Part of the money will be used to create a drainage system to prevent flooding like what happened on Father’s Day in 2018.
Hancock also received $75,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to help the city pay for its portion of site development.
Babcock says city officials hope to finish design of the technology park and send the project out for bids by late this year. Construction could begin sometime in 2022 and be finished in 2023.
