The state is awarding more than $3.5 million in grants to projects in five Michigan cities that are expected to create approximately 80 jobs and 378 new housing units.
Funded through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Brownfield Redevelopment program, the agency announced on Wednesday that the grants will support projects in Ann Arbor, Oak Park, Holland, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.
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EGLE awarded a $1 million grant to pay for demolition and removal of contaminated soil at the former Ann Arbor YMCA site at 350 South 5th Ave., Ann Arbor, where the city plans to construct a 20-story high rise with 330 affordable housing units. Ann Arbor officials are also working with the local transit authority to expand the platform of the Blake Transit Center next to the redevelopment site, improving public transportation in the area.
The project is expected to cost a total of $209 million and is scheduled to be move-in ready by the fall of 2028.
In Oak Park, EGLE is awarding $285,000 to support an expansion at Southfield-based construction company Barton-Malow’s site known as “The Yard,” located at 13000 West 8 Mile Rd., Oak Park. The funding will support the demolition of one of three buildings on the site, as well as the removal of an underground storage tank and treatment and disposal of contaminated groundwater.
The $25 million project is expected to be completed by next summer, and will create around 25 jobs, according to EGLE.
EGLE has also awarded $200,000 to transform a a contaminated former drycleaners site in Holland into a new floral shop; $745,000 to pay for environmental assessments, demolition and removal of contaminated soil at a former gas station site to allow for a 10,158-square-foot expansion of the Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy; and $1 million to redevelop a contaminated former paper mill into a new 48-unit affordable housing complex in Kalamazoo.
Last year, the EGLE Brownfield program dedicated $23 million in brownfield incentives to support 76 projects across 52 Michigan communities, resulting in more than $675 million in capital investment and creating 600 jobs, according to the state.
For more information about this latest round of Brownfield redevelopment grants, visit michigan.gov/egle.