593 new Michigan housing units coming, thanks to $8.95 million in brownfield grants

This year’s grants ranged from $400,000 up to $1 million. The money will pay for several types of work including:

• Site assessments to determine exactly what contamination is on a property.
• Removing soil contaminated with things like petroleum, metals, and solvents.
• Designing and installing vapor mitigation systems, which are used to keep potentially harmful vapors out of buildings.
• Caps and barriers to prevent direct contact with any remaining contamination.
• Stormwater controls to prevent rain from seeping down to any remaining contamination.
• Demolition and asbestos abatement.

Five of the 11 projects set aside units for low-income households. All 24 units of the Royal Oak Cottages project are being held for households making 30%-60% of the Area Median Income (the midpoint of an area’s incomes as calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). The Auburn Place redevelopment in Pontiac even sets some units aside for people who are currently homeless.

The projects are spread across the state, as you can see on the accompanying map. Some are in small towns, others are in large cities with little room for new development, where EGLE brownfield funding can unlock plans that would otherwise be too expensive to seriously consider. Some will create new jobs by including retail and commercial space, a restaurant, and even a hotel. Combined, the projects are drawing an estimated $336.95 million in capital investment to their communities. But those numbers aren’t as important as the 593 households that will have a place to live because of the cooperation between EGLE, local governments, developers, and environmental consultants.