GAYLORD – Today the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy announced the award of a $52,300 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant to Otsego County. The grant will help Otsego County conduct an investigation at a vacant, blighted former motel and gas station located at 803 South Otsego Avenue in Gaylord.
Otsego County will evaluate existing pollution in soil and groundwater, and lead, asbestos and mold inside the motel buildings. This evaluation will help the county determine how to address the environmental concerns. Once environmental site conditions are known, the county plans to market the property to a new developer.
EGLE partners with communities to protect public health and the environment and revitalize contaminated property. EGLE grants and loans pay for environmental investigation and cleanup on brownfields, which are vacant or abandoned properties with known or suspected environmental contamination.
More than half of EGLE’s budget each year flows into Michigan communities in the form of grants, loans and other spending that supports local projects that protect public health and the environment, while spurring economic growth and creating jobs for Michigan workers in the process.
Partnerships between EGLE and communities have created more than $4.7 billion in private investment and 24,000 new jobs over the life of the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. Each grant and loan dollar invested by EGLE in 2018 to protect residents and the environment is expected to return an average of $42 to the state’s economy. When brownfields are redeveloped, property values increase both on the revitalized site and on other nearby properties. Learn more atMichigan.gov/EGLEBrownfields.
