Another recent example, Cullen says, was a rehabilitation of a portion of a functionally obsolete metal casting facility in Saginaw.
"Urban settings provide market opportunities, possess a skilled source of workers and thanks to innovative tools and incentives, can reduce or eliminate the cost gaps between developing in a greenfield site versus redeveloping in our urban centers," Cullen says.
NTH Consultants has been one of the major experts in brownfield redevelopment in Michigan. The firm, based in Farmington Hills,has been making reclamation its business for 27 years.
According to Brian Smits, head of redevelopment and environmental service practice at NTH, easy access to existing infrastructure is a big advantage for brownfield redevelopment projects.
"Brownfields exist in Michigan's rural areas and small towns, as well as in big cities," he notes.
Michigan has at least 30 brownfields either currently developed or in development, according to the MEDC. For example, NTH redeveloped a major cement plant in Petoskey and turned it into the Bay Harbor Golf Course and Resort.
"When you think about Petoskey, it's sort of a resort town. You don't think of brownfields," Smits says. "Right along the shoreline of Traverse Bay was a major cement plant that had a lot of metal contamination on the surface."
The plant sat vacant for more than 10 years, and Smits said it took some creative cleanup to convert the vacant factory into something usable. He said his company helped in the conversion.
"It's no longer an ugly scar on the shoreline," Smits says. "It's a beautiful resort.
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