Shaw Walker redevelopment: staff outline affordable‑housing agreement and community benefits tied to transformational brownfield plan

Jay Ekholm, director of development services for the City of Muskegon, walked commissioners through two companion documents negotiated for the Shaw Walker redevelopment project: an affordable‑housing agreement required for transformational brownfield designation under Michigan law and a voluntary community benefits agreement (CBA) staff requested the developer consider.

Ekholm told commissioners the affordable‑housing agreement responds to an amendment to Public Act 381 (the Michigan Brownfield Act) that makes state income‑tax capture available for transformational brownfield projects only when the municipality and developer agree on local affordable‑housing commitments. He said the key terms include a 20‑year affordability period that begins once the rental portion of the project is leased up (the staff draft anticipates commencement in 2028) and a rolling annual average requirement that the developer maintain an annualized average of 20 rental units at or below a percentage of area median income (AMI) as defined by MSHDA; the transcript does not specify the numeric AMI threshold in the draft agreement.

Ekholm described enforcement language the city negotiated: the agreement requires annual reporting and five‑year audits, gives the city cure periods for deficiencies, and allows liquidated…