For Immediate Release:
June 11, 2018
 
Contact: 
Janet Michaluk, MDEQ Brownfield Coordinator, michalukj@michigan.gov, 517-643-0314
Tiffany Brown, MDEQ Public Information Officer, brownt22@michigan.gov, 517-284-6716

Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority awarded Brownfield Grant for Bridge Street Redevelopment

Lansing, MI. A vacant, contaminated property in Grand Rapids will be returned to productive use with help from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). A $330,000 grant was awarded to the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to revitalize the former Red Lion building and return this Bridge Street property to productive use.

449 Bridge Street Development, LLC will build a new five-story mixed use building on the site. A new restaurant, North, and bar/lounge, MASH, will occupy the first floor, and 44 residential units will fill the remaining floors. The $11,399,335 redevelopment will create 55 new jobs.

Through a partnership with the non-profit housing organization, Michigan Community Capital, rents will be priced for people with a variety of incomes. Green building techniques have been incorporated into building plans.

The City of Grand Rapids has approved a brownfield plan amendment to help pay for other environmental costs, and site and public improvements associated with the redevelopment.

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

Partnerships between MDEQ and communities have created $4 billion in private investment and 29,000 new jobs over the life of the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. Each grant and loan dollar invested by the MDEQ in 2017 to protect residents and the environment is expected to return an average of $32 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 www.michigan.gov/deqbrownfields.