Commission approves Brenton Ravines brownfield plan to extend Bretton Avenue and add more than 200 homes

The Kentwood City Commission on Sept. 16 approved a brownfield plan for the Brenton Ravines development, a multi-parcel project at properties along Second Street and Wing Avenue that the city says will allow Bretton Avenue to be extended to 60th Street and support more than 200 homes.

City planning staff opened the public hearing and the commission closed it after no public testimony. Developers and their consultants told the commission the brownfield approval is an early, necessary step that would let them apply for state tax-capture support and move forward with required state environmental and site approvals.

The project covers parcels near the Paul Henry Trail and includes retention ponds and utility work on city-owned property that will require intersection upgrades at 50 Second and Bretton. Joe Agostinelli, managing director with Michigan Growth Advisors, told commissioners the next brownfield step is preparing a NAC 3(d)(1) work plan for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for state tax capture; MSHDA has up to 60 days to act by statute. Dan Larabell of Allen Edwin Homes said the team expects to submit an EGLE (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) application and the final planned unit development application to the city, with a goal of filing the EGLE application by Oct. 1.

Developers and staff described utility costs for portions of the extension that are currently without neighbors to share those costs; the city noted roughly $3,300,000 of utilities will serve areas that currently lack homes and that tax-increment or brownfield financing changes at the state level enabled moving forward. City staff and developers also said shared stormwater infrastructure and a reconfiguration of park-adjacent parking and fields were part of the site planning discussions.

The commission voted unanimously to approve the brownfield plan. Commissioners voting yes on the roll call included Morgan, Moseley, Tyson, Parks, Coughlin, Moore and Mayor Kepley.

What happens next: staff and the developer said they will prepare the NAC 3(d)(1) submittal for MSHDA, pursue the EGLE environmental approvals, and file a final PUD application with the city. The developers indicated mass-grading and infrastructure work are being designed concurrently so they can return to the commission with construction-stage approvals.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the meeting record and include city staff and the developer team. No binding state approvals were granted at the Sept. 16 hearing; the commission’s action authorizes the brownfield plan to proceed through the next regulatory steps.

For context, brownfield tax-capture plans typically allow public and private partners to recoup certain eligible environmental and demolition costs through incremental tax capture; developers and staff said state program participation is required to capture state taxes for the project.