Berrien County holds public hearing on River’s Edge Brownfield plan for former golf course

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners paused its regular meeting to hold a public hearing on the River’s Edge Brownfield plan, a proposed mixed-use redevelopment of the former Berrien Hills Golf Course in Saint Joseph Charter Township.

County community development staff told commissioners the project’s Phase 1 would include 180 residential units — described as 120 apartments (including studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments), 20 cottages and 40 condominiums — and about 19,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space along Napier Avenue. Of the 180 units, staff said 60 would be income-restricted for households at or below the developer’s stated AMI threshold.

The presentation, which the community development director anchored as a review under Act 381, described eligible brownfield activities that could be paid from captured tax increment revenues: demolition and abatement (including lead/asbestos/mold work), site preparation, infrastructure (estimated in the presentation at roughly $8.2 million or more), incidental planning costs, and a housing financing gap that would subsidize the difference between HUD-based rents and the fixed rents for income‑restricted units. Staff said the developer would advance all plan costs and that no public debt or county advances were proposed. The presentation estimated total eligible costs including interest and contingency at about $44 million and a tax-increment capture period of 30 years, with rental subsidies calculated over 25 years.

Staff walked the board through site constraints and phasing. The plan’s Phase 1 footprint avoids portions of the former course now shown by FEMA floodway maps as excluded from development; staff said if FEMA revises those maps in the future the project’s Phase 2 (nearer the river) could move forward. The presentation referenced local approvals: Saint Joseph Township’s planning commission and township board previously approved the PUD and site plan, the township board unanimously passed a brownfield resolution in October, and the Berrien County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority offered a recommendation.

Representatives of the developer and consultant — Grant Deaton of TRG (Ridge Construction/Ridge Development) and a Michigan Growth Advisors consultant — introduced themselves and answered public questions. Deaton said Phase 1 would not include docks or marina access but said a marina is intended in later phases if FEMA mapping allows. He confirmed unit sizes and bathroom counts: studios roughly 600 sq ft with one bath, one-bedrooms roughly 700–750 sq ft with one bath, two-bedrooms roughly 1,000 sq ft with two baths; cottages will generally have two or three bedrooms and two baths. He said the income-restricted units will be mixed into the market-rate fabric and “will be physically indistinguishable” from market-rate units.

During public comment residents asked about traffic and the condition of nearby township roads. County staff explained interior PUD roads would be private and maintained by the project owner or homeowners association, while existing side roads remain township roads maintained according to the township’s capital maintenance schedule.

After public comment, a motion to close the hearing and return to regular session passed on roll call. Staff noted the brownfield plan is listed on the meeting’s consent calendar (resolution ending in 344) and said the item will be called later in the meeting; no final county action on adoption was recorded in the public-hearing segment.

The county presentation and developer materials shown during the hearing referenced Act 381 eligibility, the programmatic need for workforce/missing-middle housing in the region, the developer’s financing plan and projected tax-increment capture. Commissioners said they would accept questions from township officials and the developers as needed.

The county’s presentation materials and the developer’s representatives were available to answer follow-up questions; township officials present voiced support for the project as a source of housing for local workers and hospital employees.