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EGLE grant will help bring new business, jobs to downtown Central Lake

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is awarding a $400,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant to a project that will turn a contaminated former gas station site into new commercial and retail space. The former Central Lake Auto Clinic at 2432 Main Street in Central Lake, Antrim County has been vacant since last year.

The property was first developed in the early 1900s as a tavern and hotel. They were replaced by a gas station and service center in the 1920s. Central Lake Auto Clinic stopped selling gas in 2021 and closed when the owner sold the business in 2024.

Site investigations paid for with EGLE Brownfield Site Assessment funds found petroleum compounds and metals in soil and groundwater. The contamination is believed to have come from releases from six underground storage tanks removed in 1998, and from a plume that migrated from a neighboring property. EGLE used $211,800 in state funding for groundwater monitoring and treatment in the early 2000s.

The new EGLE grant will pay for additional site assessments, transportation and disposal of contaminated soil, asbestos abatement, and demolition of the auto clinic building.

The developer plans to build a 5,440-square-foot building divided into two commercial or retail units. The Central Lake Downtown Development Authority expects the redevelopment to create six full-time-equivalent jobs. It will be within walking distance of Intermediate Lake and is expected to help revitalize the downtown corridor. Construction is scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2026.

More than half of EGLE’s annual budget supports local projects, protects public health and the environment, and helps create economic growth and jobs for Michigan workers. Redevelopment increases the value of brownfield sites and other nearby properties. In 2024 EGLE awarded $25.1 million in brownfield incentives to 87 projects around Michigan.

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