BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Cornerstone Alliance, Berrien County’s lead economic development agency, has been recognized for redeveloping a Main Street building and preserving a piece of Benton Harbor history. When Cornerstone Alliance relocated its headquarters to Main Street in November 2017, it invested nearly $1Million and created a modern, collaborative work environment for the team responsible for attracting new jobs, new business and new investment to Berrien County.

“This is a tremendous honor and on behalf of the Cornerstone Alliance Board of Director and our more than 300 investors, we’re proud to receive this recognition,” said Greg Vaughn, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Business Development at Cornerstone Alliance. “Morton House Museum plays a key role in preserving the rich history of Benton Harbor. Our building has stood for nearly 150 years and we invested in the redevelopment of the building in the hopes that it will stand for 150 more.”

Morton House Museum presents its Preservation Awards every-other-year. The Cornerstone Alliance building was one of three buildings recognized by Morton House, along with Ken Ankli’s Sheffield Building and Jay Fettig’s North Shore Inn and North Pier Brewing. Greg Vaughn, Cornerstone Alliance CEO Rob Cleveland and Cornerstone Alliance Business Development Manager Shane Kissack were on hand to accept the award at a celebration held on Tuesday, Sept. 18 in Benton Harbor.

The Cornerstone Alliance headquarters building is located at 80 W. Main Street in the heart of downtown Benton Harbor. The renovation, design and construction of the office and conference space was completed on time and on budget by Pearson Construction and Tera Architects, also headquartered in Benton Harbor.

“These Preservation Awards recognize the outstanding efforts of these winners in their efforts to preserve historic buildings in Benton Harbor,” said Chuck Jager, Morton House Board Member. “All across the country, downtowns are seeing a resurgence. It’s clear that people love cities with old, historic buildings. These 2018 Award winners have helped to make Benton Harbor more enticing to residents, businesses and tourists by maintaining these buildings.”

In addition to the Economic Development services that Cornerstone Alliance has provided the community for 30 years, the building also houses the Women’s Business Center at Cornerstone Alliance, one of only four certified Women’s Business Centers in the State of Michigan.