Kalamazoo is making strides with two new brownfield developments that promise not only to cleanse the remnants of industrial pollution but also to bring much-needed affordable housing and economic invigoration to the area. A former junkyard and auto repair shop near 508 Harrison Street is transforming into Harrison Circle, a $14 million mixed-use development, heralding affordable housing and commercial space, thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), as reported by FOX 17.
Similarly, the River's Edge project progresses to remediate a site once plagued by petroleum compounds, metals, and PCBs. The project is buoyed by a $1 million EGLE grant, and upon completion, it will feature 224 mixed-income rental units, commercial space, and a community center, according to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. This project, which was a major beneficiary of state funds, represents a $55 million investment in the revitalization of Kalamazoo’s urban fabric.
Phil Roos, Director of EGLE, emphasized the economic leverage such projects provide: “For every dollar in state money that we put into it, it generates about 45 dollars on average in private investment. It’s one of the best things you can invest money in,” Roos told FOX 17. This compelling return on investment highlights a strategic way to rehabilitate long-neglected sites and foster sustainable urban renewal.
State Representative Julie Rogers, reflecting on the impactful changes the new brownfield policy has brought to fruition in Kalamazoo, stated, “As a former member of the Kalamazoo County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Board for over a decade, I've witnessed the rehabilitation of many contaminated industrial sites that we have been able to redevelop into prime commercial real estate properties. With the changes in brownfield policy we passed at the state level, I am thrilled we can also turn brownfields in Kalamazoo into vibrant housing solutions for our communities,” as per the insights she shared with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
