Vacant land in Pontiac and Royal Oak Township to be redeveloped as projects win Brownfield grants

What’s happening: New housing developments in Pontiac and Royal Oak Township are among those to receive a combined $4.2 million in Brownfield Redevelopment Grants from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Those developments plus others in the communities of Bay City, Cadillac, Elk Rapids, and Muskegon represent a total of 287 new housing units planned.

Why it’s important: EGLE’s Brownfield program awards grants, loans, and other incentives to new developers of previously developed properties that are now vacant, blighted, and contaminated. These latest grants both revitalize vacant and contaminated properties in communities across the state, while also adding new residential units to Michigan’s shallow housing supply.

In Pontiac: The now-vacant land at 454 Auburn Ave. in Pontiac was first developed as an apartment and hotel building in 1930 with a dry cleaning suite added in 1937. Though the buildings were demolished in the 1970s, contaminants from the dry cleaners remain with metals and petroleum compounds found in the soil and groundwater. A $1 million EGLE grant will fund the transportation and disposal of contaminated soil, and installation of a vapor venting system, stormwater engineering controls, and a direct contact barrier for landscaping.

Once completed, 54 units of low income housing will rise from the site as Auburn Place, a $30.3 million five-story development that will reserve most rental units for those households making 30 to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. An unspecified number of units will also be set aside for tenants who are currently homeless.

In Royal Oak Township: A total of 24 parcels of land in Royal Oak Township will soon host Royal Oak Cottages, a series of 24 new affordable single-family homes spread across Woodside Road, Glen Lodge Road, Garden Lane, Parkside Street, and Westview Avenue. Each parcel has been vacant since the original homes built on-site were demolished anywhere from 1967 to 2019. A $410,000 EGLE grant will support the removal of metals and chemical compounds found in the soil and groundwater, contaminants believed to be introduced by way of fill material brought in following demolition.

What they’re saying: "Today we’re transforming more abandoned or underutilized property sites into hundreds of units of quality, affordable homes across Michigan," says Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "These brownfield grants not only provide more Michiganders with safe places to live, but they also make our communities stronger, better places for small businesses and future investment. Together, we will grow our economy, drive down the cost of housing, and create good-paying construction jobs along the way."