PETOSKEY — A historic piece of Petoskey’s industrial past was vacant for years but has been repurposed to better accommodate the growing community.
The Michigan Maple Block property, once a contaminated brownfield site, was transformed into a new workforce housing development that will bring more than 200 affordable housing units to the Petoskey community.
On Wednesday afternoon, local leaders and members of the community gathered at the site to celebrate the project’s completion and the first residents moving in.
The redevelopment was made possible through a 2.3-million-dollar investment from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s Brownfield Program (EGLE).
The organization provided a mix of grants, loans, and brownfield tax increment financing to clean up contamination and make the land safe for reuse.
EGLE plays a large part in supporting projects across the state that return polluted or abandoned properties to productive use.
In this case, the transformation will help address northern Michigan’s affordable workforce housing shortage.
Representatives from EGLE say the project is proof of what can happen when environmental cleanup and community development come together, turning a former factory site into a safe and vibrant neighborhood.