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MIDWESTERN REGIONAL REPORT
In 2000, Michigan allowed greater access to brownfield redevelopment’s
traditional tools to help rebuild sites that don’t quite qualify under
the old rules. The state created two new classifications — “Blighted”
and “Functionally Obsolete” — to encourage the redevelopment
of properties that pose many of the same economic challenges as intensely polluted
sites.
Blighted properties are generally considered public safety nuisances. They have chronic code violations, pose fire hazards or can be dangerously attractive to children because of their physical condition. Blighted properties are frequently adjacent to traditional brownfields, which were often the impetus for their abandonment or decline.
Michigan’s industrial heritage has left the state’s urban core cities with a variety of property challenges due to changes in technology or significant inadequacies in design. Functionally obsolete properties, such as abandoned production facilities and warehouses, can depress redevelopment efforts in the neighborhood as a whole.
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