Purpose:
The Revitalization Revolving Loan (RRL) Program is designed to support local community efforts to redevelop brownfield properties by providing eligible entities with low-interest loans which may be used to evaluate contaminated or potentially contaminated properties, demolish dangerous or hazardous buildings that obstruct redevelopment, and to conduct interim response actions necessary to investigate a property or demolish a building.

Goals of the Program:
To promote the economic redevelopment and safe reuse of abandoned, vacant, or underutilized brownfield properties where contamination is known or believed to have occurred.

Criteria:
A proposed project must have economic development potential. A municipality must pledge its full faith and credit to secure the loan. When the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is the applicant, the municipality under which the BRA was formed, must make this pledge. The Michigan Department of Treasury will approve the applicant's ability to incur the debt.  Loans are offered at an interest rate of 2.0 percent, simple interest. There are no payments or interest due for the first five years after a loan is awarded. Annual payments begin in the fifth year of the loan. The full amount must be repaid within 15 years of the loan award. This arrangement provides an excellent opportunity for a community, or the BRA, to use tax incremental financing under the provisions of the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act, 1996 PA 381, as amended, to capture future taxes generated from the redevelopment of the property, to repay the loan. The PA381 also provides the authority for the community to capture an additional amount of the incremental tax increase, after having repaid the loan, to use of future Brownfield redevelopment activities in their communities, essentially creating a local revolving fund .  The Revitalization Revolving Loan program is limited to funding site assessments and demolition.  Loan funds can not be used for site clean-up activities. 

Dollar Amount(s) Available (Min or Max.):
There is no minimum or maximum loan amount.

Eligibility:
Any county, city, township, village, or BRA may apply for a loan. Eligible activities include environmental evaluations, demolition of hazardous or dangerous buildings, and interim response activities required to facilitate evaluation and demolition. The property at which a loan is used must be either a known site of environmental contamination, or believed to be contaminated, based on current or historic use. In other words, the property is a "facility" as defined in Part 201, Environmental Remediation, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended.

Application Process:
Applications are accepted on a continuing basis.

Source(s) of Funds:
The RRL Fund was originally capitalized with general funds and additional funds per PA 480 of 1996.

Authority:
Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 of PA 451, as amended.

For a list of RRL projects, please refer to the Consolidated Report