For the last ten years, the City of Novi has planned for growth and reaped the benefits from land development which has a significant surge of new non-residential investment. As a result of these new and sizable investments, Novi’s State Equalized Value (SEV) of $3.8 billion ranks the 7th highest in Oakland County. In comparison, Troy leads with $6.4 billion, and Farmington Hills, Southfield, and Rochester Hills at $4.5 billion. Investment drives our taxable values per capita, and we believe it to be the single most reflective indicator of our successes.

New residential construction has provided Novi with the opportunity to increase population. The Southeast Michigan Council of Government (SEMCOG) reports that within Oakland County, Novi has seen the highest population growth, a 14% increase, since 2000. (Rochester Hills was second).

The above facts reflect that the City of Novi continues to be an attractive community for both residential and commercial markets. Based upon retention calls made in 2007, companies that call Novi "home" do so primarily because of the high quality of life our city provides to them.

Economic development continues to play an important role in maintaining Novi’s growth and quality of life for both commercial ventures and residents. Economic development provides the jobs, the vitality, and the resources for government to provide public services. Proactive City efforts that first and foremost retain and grow existing businesses (and help them flourish for years to come) are vital. Such investments provide both the jobs and taxable value per capita that our City needs to maintain and grow our municipal services; an integral component of our success formula. There are over 29,000 jobs within the City of Novi (based on a 2002 report by SEMCOG).

This report is a summary of the economic development activities accomplished in 2007 as measured by the adopted goals and objectives set forth by the Novi City Council in December 2006. The following prioritized goals were adopted at that time and serve to guide our current state of economic development:

1. Improve internal processes to reduce time and variability in planning and building approvals.
2. Retain and encourage growth and expansion of current Novi businesses by improving City processes and revising ordinances and regulations to assist business growth while maintaining a quality of life for residents.
3. Attract high quality new development to Novi with specific emphasis on Office Service Technology (OST) development.
4. Work cooperatively with partners on the city, county, and state level to attract and retain quality business development.
5. Find opportunities to share information with the community and describe benefits of businesses to the community as job provider, taxpayer, and neighbor.
6. Restructure the Economic Development Corporation to allow the group to have a broader role in local economic development efforts.
7. Develop ongoing funding sources to meet City Economic Development objectives.

Click on the link in the box above to read the full report.