The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy awarded nearly $8 million in brownfield redevelopment funding to eight projects across the state expected to create 687 new housing units and as many as 447 new jobs.
The projects include mixed-use developments with housing and commercial space, an apartment building, a retail plaza, an industrial building expansion, and a homeless shelter. Most include affordable housing provisions for tenants making less than 80 percent of the area median income.
In Grand Rapids, Factory Yards received $1 million to redevelop 13.4 acres of contaminated former industrial space into as many as 450 new housing units, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, and 200 jobs, with the first phase opening in summer 2028. In Jonesville, Klein Tools received a $2 million grant for a $20 million project converting a contaminated site into 44 housing units, 25,000 square feet of restaurant space, and 33 jobs by January 2029.
Kalamazoo Plating Works received $700,000 to expand an industrial building, creating nine jobs by fall 2027 with an additional $6 million in private investment. In Pontiac, Hope Shelters received $460,000 to redevelop a former drycleaning and railroad site into a homeless shelter providing beds, meals, and wraparound services with 32 new jobs expected by winter 2028.
Two Detroit projects will add affordable housing to the Corktown neighborhood. The Bridge Apartments received $820,000 to create 71 units priced for people making up to 80 percent of the area median income on a former Tiger Stadium parking lot by spring 2029. Spaulding Lofts received $1 million to convert a long-vacant industrial building into 18 housing units, 3,582 square feet of commercial space, and 23 jobs by late 2028.
In southwest Detroit, Shops at Vernor received $1 million to develop a 71,500 square foot retail plaza creating 125 jobs by fall 2028. The 20th and Michigan project received $1 million to build 104 housing units, with 68 units priced for people making 60 to 80 percent of the area median income, plus commercial space near a new soccer stadium with openings by March 2029.