News Release: EGLE awards $600,000 grant, $1M loan to revitalize former Woodhaven manufacturing site

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 30, 2019
Dan Gough, EGLE Brownfield Coordinator, GoughD1@Michigan.gov,  517-281-8253
Jill Greenberg, EGLE Public Information Officer, GreenbergJ@Michigan.gov, 517-897-4965

EGLE awards $600,000 grant, $1M loan to revitalize former Woodhaven manufacturing site

A contaminated property in the city of Woodhaven will be redeveloped with new restaurants, retail, office space, and public park with help from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

EGLE awarded a $600,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant and a $1 million Brownfield Redevelopment Loan to Woodhaven to revitalize and safely reuse a 9-acre former manufacturing site next to a Meijer store at West and Allen roads.

A company that made coated underground transmission pipes from the 1940s to the early 1980s contaminated the soil. A cap and a trench were installed in the late 1980s to cover the contaminated soil and prevent contaminants from spreading. The cap and trench have contained the contamination, but they prevent redevelopment of the site. The brownfield grant and loan will be used to remove the contaminated soil and the trench so the property can be safely developed.

Woodhaven Retail Management will build restaurants, retail, office buildings, and a park with a playground and small amphitheater. The $12 million redevelopment will create 320 full-time and 80 part-time jobs. 

The city of Woodhaven developed a brownfield plan to repay the brownfield loan with a portion of the developer’s property taxes. The city will not use General Operation Funds to complete the project.

EGLE grants and loans pay for environmental investigation and cleanup on brownfields, which are vacant or abandoned properties with known or suspected environmental contamination.

More than half of EGLE’s budget each year flows into Michigan communities in grants, loans and other spending that supports local projects, protects public health and the environment, and creates economic growth and jobs for Michigan workers. Partnerships between EGLE and communities have created over $4.7 billion in private investment and 24,000 new jobs over the life of the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. 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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