AMBITION IN BLOOM: LEARNING FROM ANN ARBOR SPARK'S INNOVATION JOURNEY

Yesterday at The Mill, we had the privilege of hosting Paul Krutko, President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, for a day of conversation, collaboration, and shared vision. SPARK is widely recognized as one of the most successful innovation-driven economic development organizations in the country. Paul’s visit gave us an inside look at how Ann Arbor catalyzed two decades of growth by bringing together private and public partners around a bold vision for entrepreneurship and community benefit.

The story of SPARK is deeply relevant to Bloomington today. When the organization launched, Ann Arbor faced many of the same challenges and opportunities we now see here: the need to retain top university talent, launch and accelerate startups, and build a more connected and resilient innovation ecosystem. With strong leadership from the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor’s corporate leadership, SPARK emerged as a powerful model of what’s possible when higher education, city leadership, and business interests align.

Paul kicked off the day with a morning presentation with The Mill team, sharing insights on SPARK’s structure, impact, and evolution. He emphasized the importance of sustained investment, public-private trust, and adaptability in building a long-term economic development strategy. The Q&A that followed was rich with thoughtful questions about how we might apply similar approaches here at home.

At lunch, Paul met with influential leaders across Bloomington—representing the university, city, business, and nonprofit sectors—to continue the conversation on what it takes to accelerate growth at a regional level. His perspective helped frame the importance of creating and enduring platform for collaboration and community alignment as we envision the next chapter of The Mill and the Trades District.

Today’s exchange made it clear that while we’re still early in our journey, we’re on the right path—and we have an incredible opportunity to shape Bloomington’s future as a thriving innovation hub.

We’re grateful to Paul for sharing his time, his expertise, and his encouragement. And we’re energized to keep growing—together.

Ambition lives here. And today, it’s blooming. 🌱