Five Problems.
Five Solutions.

Problem

A regional employer carries unfilled positions month after month — not for lack of applicants, but because new hires have nowhere to live. Zero vacancy in an undersized rental market becomes a hard cap on economic growth.

Solution

SMG QROF forms a single-purpose Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB) to develop a small multifamily property targeting households at 80–120% of Area Median Income. Site selection prioritizes proximity to the employer and access to existing services.

Outcome

Residential units delivered into a market with effectively zero vacancy, directly enabling workforce recruitment and retention for anchor employers.

Problem

A downtown building carries a functioning ground-floor tenant but sealed, deteriorating upper floors that have been vacant for decades. The owner lacks capital for rehabilitation; the community loses residential density and tax base.

Solution

A QOZB acquires and performs substantial rehabilitation, restoring upper-floor residential units while preserving or upgrading the ground-floor commercial tenant. Historic tax credits layer with OZ equity where available.

Outcome

Downtown residential density returns. The building contributes to a critical mass of occupied storefronts that makes Main Street a viable destination again.

Problem

Local contractors and trades are operating out of undersized, improvised space — residential garages, rented corners of agricultural buildings, or simply their driveways. The region has near-zero small-bay flex inventory.

Solution

A QOZB develops or repositions a multi-bay flex facility designed for contractors and light industrial users. Bay sizes and door heights are matched to real tenant demand gathered in pre-development canvassing.

Outcome

Local trades gain the physical capacity to scale their operations. The municipality gains a new tax-generating commercial asset on previously underutilized land.

Problem

A profitable rural business — a hardware store, a lumber yard, a fuel dealer, a service shop — has no family successor and no willing buyer who will keep it local. Closure or out-of-market acquisition breaks the community services people depend on.

Solution

A QOZB acquires the business and its real estate, retains existing staff under a transition management agreement, and invests in operational and physical improvements that position the business for the next 20 years.

Outcome

Continuity of employment and essential services. The retiring owner achieves a fair exit. The community retains an anchor business.

Problem

Established seasonal markets — Tahquamenon Falls, the Pictured Rocks corridor, the Les Cheneaux Islands — generate strong summer demand but leak visitor spending to adjacent markets due to aging or insufficient lodging inventory.

Solution

A QOZB acquires or constructs lodging in a verified demand market, paired with a shoulder-season operating strategy (snowmobile trails, ice fishing, fall color, winter sports) to extend the economic calendar.

Outcome

Captured visitor spending that previously leaked. Improved destination infrastructure that attracts further investment. A stabilized asset with year-round cash flow.