"We want to do all we can to support the ongoing redevelopment activities surrounding the Armory Arts project in Jackson," Granholm says. "This is a perfect example of how we can transform a site thought to be a liability into a catalyst for further revitalization."

Great Lakes Home Health & Hospice will use the tax credit valued at $550,000 to help clean up and prepare the former state prison site at 900 Cooper St. for development. The company plans to build a 22,300-sf headquarters building and parking facilities for 110 vehicles. An additional incentive for the company is that the site is located within a Michigan Renaissance Zone, which will allow the company to operate free from virtually all state and local taxes.

"When it is completed, the redevelopment of the state prison will, I believe, serve as a model for how functionally obsolete structures can be made useful again here in Michigan," says MEDC president and chief executive officer Don Jakeway. "Great Lakes' growth necessitated expedited responses to meet aggressive targets for starting construction," adds Steve Czarnecki, president and chief executive officer of the Enterprise Group of Jackson.