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Kalamazoo awarded EGLE brownfield funding to redevelop two contaminated sites


Two Kalamazoo redevelopment projects received brownfield funding from EGLE Nov. 21, 2022. (File/WWMT)
Two Kalamazoo redevelopment projects received brownfield funding from EGLE Nov. 21, 2022. (File/WWMT)
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Kalamazoo received a portion of a total $2.4 million in brownfield funding through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to redevelop contaminated properties.

Statewide, the department, also known as EGLE, is expected to award $20.7 million in brownfield funding to 67 projects, but Kalamazoo plans to use about $1.6 million for two projects, according to officials.

River Caddis Development LLC, in partnership with Standard Communities, is anticipated to build close to 310,000 square feet of housing, community amenities and a Live/Work facility that continues efforts to "breathe new life into the city," officials said.

To do this, the City of Kalamazoo Brownfield Redevelopment Authority is planning to use a $1 million EGLE brownfield grant to make property, located on a property at the southeast intersection of Harrison Street and Gull Road, safe for reuse.

Officials plan on demolishing and removing the Precision Heat Treating Facility, installing a new soil barrier, managing ground and surface water during the developmental process, including placing a lining under the stormwater detention ponds, and installing a ventilation system under the future buildings to prevent potential exposure to any residual contamination.

The $55,000,000 project along the Kalamazoo River on the city's north side is expected to include 222 apartments within two four-story buildings, a leasing center with additional tenant amenities, a four unit live-work facility, and pedestrian connections to the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail, according to officials.

“The planning and execution of this project has been over three years in the making, and we are eager to begin the work that both cleans this site and returns it as a significant driver in the economic cog of this local community,” Kevin McGraw, president of River Caddis Development, said.

The housing project, according to officials, is expected to "help reinvigorate an area of the city that already has benefitted from several successful brownfield projects." When complete, the redevelopment will create nine new jobs.

Remediation of the site's environmental contamination is expected to begin next spring, officials said.

Additionally, the City of Kalamazoo Economic Development Corporation is anticipated to use a $630,000 EGLE brownfield grant to help make way for a new mixed-use, live-work development at 315 E. Frank Street.

The project, led by Bogan Developments, is expected to renovate the property into a youth development center and community garden, according to officials.

The property had been used for industrial purposes from 1926 until 1980, resulting in the contamination of the property's soil and groundwater, officials said.

"My team and I are extremely excited that EGLE awarded the city a grant to help support the redevelopment of 315 E. Frank St.,” Jamauri Bogan, CEO of Bogan Developments, said. “We look forward to bringing affordable housing and childcare to the Northside of Kalamazoo. The best is yet to come."

Using the EGLE grant, the City of Kalamazoo Economic Development Corporation is expected to remove contaminated soil, install a clean soil barrier, and provide a ventilation system under the buildings to prevent exposure to residual contamination.

The Lansing Economic Development Corporation also received $1 million in brownfield funding from EGLE to build a senior and multi-family affordable housing development in the Stadium District, officials said.

Of the funding, $200,000 comes from the 2023 brownfield grant budget.

The new development is expected to create three new jobs after the property's environmental contamination is managed, supports the need for affordable housing in downtown Lansing, and is expected to increase downtown retail traffic with the new residents' occupancy, according to officials.

“MVAH Partners and the City of Lansing are grateful to receive an EGLE Brownfield Redevelopment Grant that will act as a crucial gap filler in the development of Stadium North Lofts and Stadium North Senior Lofts,” Pete Schwiegeraht, senior vice president of development – Midwest region, for MVAH Partners, said. “This funding will help assure the creation 132 multi-generational affordable housing units desperately needed in Lansing.”

To complete this project, Lansing Economic Development Corporation is anticipated to use the EGLE grant to remove contaminated soil, demolish buildings, and install ventilation systems under the proposed buildings to prevent exposure to residual subsurface contamination.

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