Communities in the Western Upper Peninsula will have new resources to ready underused properties for redevelopment, thanks to a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant awarded to InvestUP, in partnership with the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR), Houghton County Land Bank, and Gogebic County Land Bank.
The selection was announced by the EPA as part of more than $3.1 million in Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) grants awarded across Michigan.
According to the EPA, InvestUP was one of only five recipients in the state and was the largest award in Michigan.
Through the grant, InvestUP will lead a coalition that will support environmental assessment work on brownfield sites as well as community engagement activities. The award is expected to provide new tools and resources to help communities address blighted and underutilized site challenges and improve readiness for future investment and redevelopment, which is especially timely in light of the present growth opportunities in front of the region.
This grant is consistent with the work that InvestUP has been doing across the U.P. to help move development projects ahead by connecting communities with resources and technical support that can unlock redevelopment opportunities.
This type of funding is especially important in the U.P. where many communities have promising sites with strong redevelopment potential that sit in limbo because additional environmental due diligence and site work needs to be resolved before projects can proceed. As a result, this funding will help Western Upper Peninsula communities access the necessary support to create a real chance to put those properties back to use at the most opportune of times.
InvestUP CEO Marty Fittante explains, “The Western U.P. has an abundance of sites with potential. What these communities often lack is the resources needed to do the upfront work that makes redevelopment possible. This grant helps create that path and puts local partners in a stronger position to compete for investment, support jobs, and bring problem properties back into use that is timely with the industrial opportunities before the region. We are grateful to the EPA for the support.”
The coalition approach will allow InvestUP to work alongside regional and local partners, including WUPPDR, Houghton County Land Bank, and Gogebic County Land Bank to identify strategic sites, support redevelopment planning, and help communities compete for future public and private investment. By helping cover the cost of assessments and cleanup planning, the grant will remove barriers that stand in the way of local redevelopment.
Anne Giroux, InvestUP’s Director of Development and Investment Services, will lead the work associated with the grant. Giroux currently works with developers, lenders, and communities throughout the U.P. to provide technical development assistance to these stakeholders, as well as to help them access incentives and employ tools that support project development.
“Pre-development assessment work is often one of the first and best opportunities to get a redevelopment project moving. This funding will help Western U.P. communities with important early steps that are often too expensive or complex to tackle on their own. It gives us the ability to help answer key questions, support local planning, and prepare sites for development,” Giroux states.
According to the EPA, brownfield grants are designed to help communities accelerate the cleanup of polluted sites to redevelop those underutilized properties while protecting public health and the environment. The selection of InvestUP’s coalition proposal represents an important opportunity for the region to help these Western U.P. communities prepare sites for productive reuse and long-term economic growth in a moment that is positioned for growth.
Speaking of accelerating local opportunity, Lisa Hewitt, Gogebic County Treasurer and Chair of the County Land Bank Authority, adds, “Land banks are focused on bringing properties back into productive use, and this grant gives us additional tools to do that. Many properties have potential, but communities often need information and resources upfront before redevelopment can move forward. Working together as a regional coalition gives communities access to the support they might not otherwise have, helping move projects forward sooner, and bring properties back into productive use.”
For more information about InvestUP and its development tools and initiatives, visit www.investupmi.com.
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