News Release: City of Muskegon Downtown Development Authority awarded $50,000 EGLE Brownfield Grant

For Immediate Release:
May 16, 2019

For More Information:
Andrea Ryswick, EGLE Brownfield Coordinator, RyswickA@michigan.gov, 616-401-0827
Jill Greenberg, EGLE Public Information Officer, GreenbergJ@Michigan.gov, 517-897-4965

City of Muskegon Downtown Development Authority awarded $50,000 EGLE Brownfield Grant

Environmental contamination at the former McDonald’s at the intersection of West Muskegon Avenue and Terrace Street in Muskegon will be evaluated with the help of a $50,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Limited environmental assessments of the property already have shown the soil is contaminated with solvents, but the extent of the contamination is unknown. 

The grant will help the city of Muskegon’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) investigate the environmental condition of the site. The site’s historical uses – a tire vulcanizing company, battery shop, auto repair and paint shop, gas station, hat cleaner, and dry cleaner – are used to determine what contaminants to look for and where they might be located. The results will help the DDA determine cleanup needs and estimate costs to safely redevelop the site.

Once the environmental condition is known, the current owner, 122, LLC, will redevelop the blighted property with a residential and commercial building. Redevelopment will result in approximately $9 million in private investment and 90 full-time jobs, and also will help fill a need for local residential housing.

EGLE partners with communities to protect public health and the environment and revitalize contaminated property. EGLE grants and loans pay for environmental investigation and cleanup on brownfields. Brownfields are vacant or abandoned properties with known or suspected environmental contamination.

About half of EGLE’s budget each year flows into Michigan communities in the form of grants that support local projects that protect public health and the environment, while spurring economic growth and creating jobs for Michigan workers in the process. 

Partnerships between EGLE and communities have created more than $4.7 billion in private investment and 24,000 new jobs over the life of the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. Each grant and loan dollar invested by EGLE in 2018 to protect residents and the environment is expected to return an average of $42 to the state’s economy. When brownfields are redeveloped, property values increase both on the revitalized site and on other nearby properties. Learn more at Michigan.gov/EGLEBrownfields.

To stay up to date on other EGLE News follow us at Michigan.gov/MIEnvironment.

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