GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan’s Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist is touting our state as a future spot for a tech innovation hub.

Gilchrist and Gov. Whitmer are calling on the U.S. Economic Development Administration to designate a regional technology and innovation hub in our state.

A tech hub designation would bring a $500 million national investment to Michigan in an effort to create new jobs and expand the economy.

Gilchrist said the hub will be an attraction for young people.

“This is the kind of thing that if we create it, young people will stay here. When your child or grandchild or niece or nephew, when they’re looking for a job opportunity, they’re going to want one of the jobs that come from a thing like this,” he said.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2005, Gilchrist lived on the west coast for nine years before coming back to Michigan to build his family and future. He said having a technology hub at the time may have changed his path.

“With this kind of innovation center, I would have seen an opportunity to stay here, to build my family, my future and my career here, and that’s exactly what this will mean for folks’ families all across Michigan,” he said.

Gilchrist has hosted meetings in several Michigan cities, including Grand Rapids, to talk about the possibility of a Michigan tech hub.

A statewide strategy session is set to be held next month in Detroit.