WEST BRANCH – The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has awarded $820,000 in brownfield grants for redevelopment of contaminated properties in Mid-Michigan. Overall, in 2022 EGLE will provide $20.7 million in brownfield funding to 67 projects statewide.
The plans include a new pharmacy in West Branch.
EGLE’s Remediation and Redevelopment Division provides financial and technical assistance including grants, loans, tax increment financing and free site assessments to facilitate the redevelopment of brownfield properties.
The city of West Branch plans to use a $150,000 brownfield redevelopment grant from EGLE to address environmental contamination at a former gas station located at 508 E. Houghton Ave. The existing structure will be repurposed to create a new pharmacy within walking distance of downtown.
“The city of West Branch is excited to partner with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy on a Brownfield Redevelopment Program grant,” said West Branch City Manager John Dantzer, “The grant will allow for the redevelopment of a long time vacant and abandoned property which will help foster economic development within the city.
“The collaboration will help our Brownfield Redevelopment Authority accomplish its goal of making our community safer, more beautiful and more economically viable,”
The site has remained vacant since about 2004, and previously operated as Little Reds filling station and convenience store from the 1970s to 2004. Contamination remaining at the property is the result of historic underground storage tank leaks associated with the former gas station.
The EGLE brownfield grant will pay for environmental costs to help facilitate redevelopment and ensure the property is safe for reuse. It will be used to perform environmental assessment, remove contaminated soil and install a vapor mitigation system beneath the existing building to prevent potential exposure to any residual contamination.
West Branch Pharmacy LLC will renovate the former filling station and convenience store, resulting in a pharmacy that will feature individualized and personalized care for elderly and low-income residents, and increased access to immunizations. The development will create two full-time and four part-time jobs.
Redevelopment activities are expected to be completed in spring 2023.
