State Grants Fund Brownfield Redevelopment
Illinois Revitalization Partnership Success
Green Mall in Michigan

State Grants Fund Brownfield Redevelopment

Illinois
Illinois’ Opportunity Returns program has given 114 Illinois communities more than $14.5 million for environmental assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites. The program began July 1, 1998.

One recent grant recipient is the Village of DePue, which received $119,995 to assist in its long-term redevelopment efforts. The grant will be used to provide village officials the technical support and counsel they need as they monitor cleanup activities of the former New Jersey Zinc Superfund site. The Superfund site was operated as a zinc smelter in the early 1900s. What remained was soils contaminated with metals, as well as contaminated sediments in Lake DePue.

Michigan
Several announcements about funding for Michigan projects were made recently. The projects include:

• Morgan Development will use state and local tax capture valued at more than $7.5 million and a brownfield Single Business Tax credit valued at more than $3.9 million to help redevelop the former Laro Coal site in southeast Detroit. The 44-acre riverfront property will be redeveloped to accommodate 43 single-family homes and 92 attached low-rise condominiums. The developer will invest $45 million in the project.
• The City of Taylor will use state and local tax capture valued at more than $3.7 million to help redevelop tax-reverted vacant property in its Midtown district. The 82-acre, long-vacant site will be redeveloped with 199 single-family homes. The development will also include abundant green space and a walking path. Developer WHRJ, LLC will invest more than $57 million in the project. BFN

Illinois Revitalization Partnership Success

A unique partnership between Illinois EPA, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and local municipalities was praised by Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott in a tour of brownfield sites south of Chicago.

With a total of $400,000 in federal demonstration pilot project grant funding from the U.S EPA, the South Suburban Chicago Brownfields Coalition has pooled resources to inventory, assess and select sites for brownfield cleanup and redevelopment in seven pilot communities --- Chicago Heights, Lansing, Riverdale, South Chicago Heights, Posen, Burnham, Markham and Robbins.
The project has also been a catalyst for action on other sites in neighboring suburbs. So far, nearly $2.5 million in state funding has been provided for cleanups at 48 sites covering 221 acres in 15 “Southland” (south suburban Cook County) communities, as well as an additional $1 million in leveraged funds.

“This project is meeting its goal of achieving collectively what individual small communities with limited technical and financial resources could not do on their own,” said Director Scott. BFN

Green Mall in Michigan

Archon Group, a real estate investment management and support services company, has purchased and is currently developing Phase I of Fairlane Green, a potential one-million-square-foot green retail and recreational center built on top of an industrial landfill in Allen Park, Michigan.

Ford Land, the real estate arm of Ford Motor Company, owns the landfill and developed the site plan. They sold Phase I to Archon but own additional phases of the project including a 43-acre park. Redevelopment of the site was made possible through a master deed that allows Ford to maintain ownership of the subsurface land (the original landfill), while selling rights to develop the surface to third parties.

Ford Land obtained approval for up to $30 million in tax increment financing (TIF) from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the City of Allen Park to reduce settlement, protect the landfill cap, reinforce slopes and construct utilities.

The property was originally a clay quarry until it was converted to a landfill in the mid-1950s. The geology of the site, including the artesian conditions and a natural 90-foot clay layer, made it an ideal location for Ford’s industrial waste disposal. Because industrial waste is inorganic, producing limited settlement, odor or methane gas, the site was a prime candidate for redevelopment. A lightweight fill material called Geofoam is being used in foundation construction in many parts of the development to prevent settlement.

Phase I calls for approximately 404,040 square feet of retail businesses on 105 acres with confirmed national retailers including Target, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, and T.J. Maxx. Subsequent phases owned by Ford Land include a park, 3.5 miles of trails and approximately 600,000 square feet of additional retail.
Fairlane Green will seek certification as a “green” site through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell pilot program for developers.

Overall, approximately two-thirds of the 243-acre site will be open space — not covered by parking, roads or rooftops. This is significantly more open space than a typical shopping center.

The project is expected to add approximately 2,000 jobs. BFN