Brownfield meets for first time in six years

Flat River Outreach Ministries Executive Director, Wendie Preiss, shares the nonprofit’s need for Brownfield funding for its affordable housing initiative.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority met to discuss creating a policy to give developers incentives to build in Lowell

“If you don’t provide them, the city next to you will, and they will benefit, and you won’t.”

Mike Burns

Lowell City Manager

By Justin Tiemeyer - Contributing Writer 

4 Dec. 2024

On Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority met at City Hall.

“We only meet every six years,” joked chair Jim Reagan. The authority was originally established by Lowell’s city council in July of 2018 and held its last meeting in October of the same year. “We’ll be meeting a lot more now,” City Manager Mike Burns retorted.

Michigan Act 381 of 1996 authorizes municipalities to create a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for the management of Brownfield land, which includes previously developed but currently underutilized land, including land with pollution or pollution risk from previous industrial use. This may seem like a small subsection of the city to justify an entire board with regular meetings, but Burns explained that it has broader applications than those that are initially apparent. “The entire city is a Brownfield,” Burns said.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority is comprised of Jim Reagan, as mentioned above, Brian Doyle, Charlie Jeffrey, Rick Seese, Beryl Bartkus, Laurie Chambers, and Lisa Plank. Those familiar with civics in the City of Lowell will recognize these folks as the Downtown Development Authority, and that is no mistake. The DDA serves as the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority in much the same way as the City Council has served as the Zoning Board of Approval.

Burns explained two benefits of having a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority: (1) Brownfield Redevelopments offer financial incentives for developers to establish businesses and housing in Lowell, and (2) the city manager is already in talks with three separate entities looking to take advantage of this program. “We are in the very beginning stages of this,” Burns explained.

What Burns wishes from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, in the coming weeks, is to agree upon a policy that the city council can ratify and the two entities can use to review applicants for the program. Burns spoke with a sense of urgency, as if he feared an opportunity might pass the city by, which appeared warranted, because the group also entertained its first application in local nonprofit Flat River Outreach Ministries (FROM).

Wendie Preiss took to the podium to represent FROM, in support of a housing project that she has been working on for months involving a couple of properties downtown, near Frosty Boy of Lowell. FROM already has a number of one-bedroom and studio apartments in the area, and they have been working on creating additional housing with two- and three-bedroom options as well. “This is really exciting to be able to offer some housing for families,” Preiss said.

Preiss noted that their partner, ICCF Community Homes, has already funded multimillion-dollar projects, using Brownfield funding, but not without paying tens of thousands of dollars to lawyers and consultants to navigate the various Brownfield requirements. She expressed concerns about navigating this new set of rules while keeping the costs down.

Ultimately, both Burns’ and Preiss’ presentations were but a prelude to the work that needs to be done, but they highlighted what can be done by the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. “This is a perfect Brownfield project,” Burns said.

A couple of members of the authority expressed concerns that the school and the city might be robbed tax money from Brownfield projects, but many of the properties associated with Brownfield funding may be too expensive to develop otherwise, and, moreover, Brownfield opportunities would have an effect of drawing developers to Lowell. “If you don’t provide them,” Burns explained, “the city next to you will, and they will benefit, and you won’t.”

Reagan joked that the next Brownfield Redevelopment Authority meeting was scheduled for 2030, but Burns reiterated the need for a policy much sooner so the three current projects, and any future projects down the road, can benefit from Brownfield funds.