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Commission approves Brownfield amendment to redevelop former General Hospital into 44 workforce apartments
Summary
The Muskegon City Commission approved a Brownfield plan amendment for Muskegon Central Park LLC/Crimson Exploratory Fund LLC to redevelop the vacant former General Hospital at 1700 Oak Avenue into six three‑story buildings with 44 workforce housing units using tax‑increment financing to reimburse eligible environmental and site costs.
The City of Muskegon on Feb. 25 approved a Brownfield plan amendment to allow Muskegon Central Park LLC (Crimson Exploratory Fund LLC) to demolish the vacant former General Hospital at 1700 Oak Avenue and construct six three‑story multifamily buildings containing 44 workforce housing units.
The plan uses tax increment financing (TIF) through the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to reimburse the developer for eligible environmental remediation and site redevelopment work; the amendment was described to commissioners as the first local use of an amended Act 381 provision that permits TIF for housing development. Vice Mayor St. Clair moved the resolution; Commissioner German supported the motion and it passed on a roll‑call vote.
City development analyst Contessa Alexander told the commission the site is a 13.89‑acre parcel that was occupied by the hospital from about 1960 until 2020 and has been vacant and blighted since. Alexander said eligible reimbursable activities under the Brownfield plan include demolition, specialist abatement, site preparation, certain public infrastructure work, gap financing assistance and plan preparation and implementation. She said the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority approved the amendment at its Feb. 10 meeting and recommended final approval by the commission. "This is the Brownfield plan amendment that will help facilitate the redevelopment of the former General Hospital site," Alexander said.
Alexander and staff gave a project timeline: the developer expects project preconstruction work to begin in early 2025, construction to start mid‑2025 and construction completion in late 2026. The reimbursement period for captured tax increment revenue was described as running through 2048, with collection of TIF revenues anticipated to begin in 2026. Alexander said Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) will set the control rents for the income‑restricted units and that the developer intends to apply for a PA 210 commercial rehabilitation exemption certificate.
Developer Steve Calverley, CEO of Crimson LLC, confirmed Crimson will both develop and manage the property and said the company currently owns and manages roughly 2,000 units and is adding another 600. Calverley described the project amenity package as modeled on a recent Greenville development and said units will include in‑unit laundry and community features around a central park. "We will be managing the property for the guidance of MSHDA's requirements," Calverley said.
Commissioners and staff said the project is intended to create affordable workforce housing—units set for households earning roughly 69 to 77 percent of Muskegon County area median income. Alexander described this as part of the state’s expanded eligible activities under the July 2023 amendment to Act 381, which explicitly allowed use of Brownfield TIF for housing construction and rehabilitation of income‑qualified units.
Some numeric amounts in the staff presentation were garbled in the meeting transcript; the staff record cited an authority administrative cost estimate of $674,440 and described the site as 13.89 acres with 44 new units. Other dollar figures referenced in the spoken presentation were unclear in the live transcript and are listed in staff records as not specified in the public hearing remarks.
What happened: the commission voted to approve the Brownfield plan amendment and authorized the mayor and city clerk to sign the related resolution. Roll call recorded "yes" votes from Commissioner German, Commissioner Gorman, Vice Mayor St. Clair, Mayor Johnson and Commissioner Kilgore; the motion passed.
Next steps: the developer will pursue required building permits and the PA 210 certificate with MSHDA, and the city will begin collection of TIF revenue as outlined in the plan. The Brownfield authority and city staff will administer the reimbursement schedule and oversight of eligible activities.
Votes at the hearing: motion to close the public hearing and approve the Brownfield plan amendment (mover: Vice Mayor St. Clair; supporter: Commissioner German) — outcome: approved (roll call: German: yes; Gorman: yes; St. Clair: yes; Mayor Johnson: yes; Kilgore: yes).
