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EGLE grant will bring new housing and new jobs to Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is awarding a $1 million grant to a project that will redevelop a contaminated site into new housing and jobs in Detroit’s historic Corktown neighborhood. The property at 1340 and 1350 Michigan Avenue was home to an electric motor repair company for nearly a century. It’s also been used for coal storage, residential, and retail. Only the former Spaulding Electric Company building remains. The site has been vacant since 2010.

Environmental assessments dating back to 2002 found PCBs, petroleum compounds, and chlorinated solvents in soil on the property. The EGLE Brownfield Redevelopment Grant will pay for:

  • Additional environmental assessments.
  • Limited interior abatement and demolition of the historic building.
  • Removal and disposal contaminated soil.
  • Installation of a vapor venting system beneath the building.

The $11.1 million redevelopment will turn the Spaulding building at 1350 Michigan Avenue into a mixed-use building with 18 new housing units, four of which will be reserved for people making up to 80% of the Area Median Income. It will also have 3,582 square feet of commercial space, which is expected to bring 23 new jobs to Corktown. Construction is scheduled to be finished in late 2028. 

The 1340 Michigan Avenue parcel will be redeveloped after the Spaulding building rehabilitation and soil remediation is done. The grant-funded assessment will determine if it is contaminated and needs environmental remediation. The city of Detroit is offering more than $4 million in tax incentives to this project.

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 2025, the EGLE Brownfield program provided more than $23 million in brownfield incentives to 76 projects in 52 Michigan communities. These projects are projected to create more than 440 housing units, 600 jobs, and result in more than $675 million in capital investment.

 

 

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