"Today we’re transforming more abandoned or underutilized property sites into hundreds of units of quality, affordable homes across Michigan," says Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Pexels
What’s happening: New housing developments in Cadillac and Elk Rapids 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 more urban and suburban communities of Bay City, Muskegon, Pontiac, and Royal Oak Township 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 atop otherwise valuable real estate in downtown communities across the state, while also adding new residential units to Michigan’s shallow housing supply.
In Cadillac: Plans for a second building as part of the Cadillac Lofts development were abandoned in 2018, but a $817,925 EGLE will support its construction in 2025 with Cadillac Lofts Building #2 expected to be finished in the fall of 2026. The grant will be used to transport and dispose of contaminated soil at the site, which includes petroleum compounds and metals, as well as a vapor mitigation system for the new building.
The Cadillac Lofts Building #2 will mirror Building #1, which itself received a 2018 EGLE grant and opened in 2021. The four-story building will feature commercial space on the ground floor and 50 apartments in the three floors above. It’s located 223 Mitchell St. in downtown Cadillac.
In Elk Rapids: A 2.36-acre parking lot in Elk Rapids will soon become site to 24 units of workforce housing spread across two new apartment buildings. The site’s previous use as a bulk petroleum storage site from the 1960s until 2003 requires the removal of contaminated soil before construction, a process supported with a $700,000 EGLE grant that also covers future site assessments and a the potential need for a vapor mitigation system.
City leaders hope that the $6.9 million Flats on Bridge project will draw additional investment in the community, including spin-off developments and new jobs.
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."
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