April 25, 2005

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that a $700,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant and a $300,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Loan have been awarded to the city of Birmingham to create a mixed-use housing development and spur redevelopment of a brownfield site. The money is a part of Governor Granholm’s Jobs Today initiative designed to clean up contaminated sites.

“Returning abandoned and contaminated properties to a productive use that will create jobs and increase local revenues is key to Michigan’s environmental and economic progress and is a central theme in my Jobs Today program,” Granholm said.

The 2400 East Lincoln Road project in the city of Birmingham will redevelop a 6-acre site as a mixed-use residential and commercial development that incorporates live and work community design concepts. The proposed re-use is expected to create 30 to 40 permanent jobs.

“The DEQ is committed to working with communities to restore brownfield properties to their full potential,” said Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester. “We hope that more communities will choose to take advantage of our brownfield grant and loan programs so we can spur environmental clean-up and urban redevelopment.”

The property to be developed was used from the 1950s through the late 1990s to manufacture garage doors. Several different owners operated on this property during this period; however the property has been idle for a number of years. The new owner has conducted a Baseline Environmental Assessment, and the funding announced today will be used to address environmental concerns and further investigate environmental issues beneath the building in preparation for redevelopment of the property.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Grant and Loan Program was initiated in 1988 and is part of the Clean Michigan Initiative. To date the fund has provided over $123 million for 281 projects statewide creating an estimated 10,700 jobs and leveraging $2.4 billion in private investments. Communities interested in finding out if their project is eligible for a brownfield grant or loan can log on to www.michigan.gov/deq or contact the DEQ at 1-800-662-9278.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised April 25, 2005 by Pat Watson