Oak Park board backs $1 million EGLE brownfield grant and recommends Brownfield plan for Barton Mallow redevelopment

The Oak Park Brownfield Redevelopment Authority voted on Jan. 14 to recommend that the city apply for the maximum $1 million EGLE brownfield grant to support demolition and initial cleanup work for Barton Mallow's planned redevelopment along the 8-mile corridor, and separately approved recommending a Brownfield plan that would enable reimbursement of eligible redevelopment costs over time.

City staff told the board the city will be the formal applicant to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) on behalf of Barton Mallow and that, if city council approves the board's recommendation, the application will be submitted directly to EGLE. "We are asking for the full million dollars," staff said during the discussion.

Troy Helmick, an environmental consultant working on the project, described the eligible environmental remediation work as distinct from nonenvironmental costs and said contaminants found at the site include metals beyond naturally occurring background levels, chlorinated solvents and semi-volatile organic compounds in soil and groundwater. "There's the environmental side and non environmental side," Helmick said, explaining the need to address soil and groundwater to meet due-care obligations for future site use.

Staff said the proposed development is estimated at roughly $30 million and that Barton Mallow is seeking approximately $10.1 million in reimbursable costs under the Brownfield plan. The plan, as described, would capture incremental tax revenue under a tax-increment financing (TIF) arrangement to reimburse the developer over an anticipated 26-year capture period and would include a 5% administrative fee that staff said would add about $516,000 over the life of the plan. Staff also said the reimbursement structure would use yearly submissions of eligible expenses subject to audit before payment; unused funds, if reimbursed early, would roll into the Brownfield Authority's revolving loan fund.

Board members pressed staff and the consultant on liability and cost uncertainty. Helmick said Barton Mallow is a non-liable party that inherited historic contamination and that due-care obligations and remediation needs drive much of the estimated cost. He told the board that prior assessment work had produced many samples across the approximately 9.75-acre site and that the current estimates are conservative and based on bids and experience; he cautioned the board that final costs will fluctuate based on in-field findings.

The authority approved a motion to recommend the city apply to EGLE for the $1 million grant (roll-call result recorded in the meeting: Elliot Endig — approve; Aaron Schwartz — approve; Eric Tongate — yes; Clarence Johns — approve; Eric Love — nay; Ian Cochran — approve; Joe Brown — approved). The board later moved and approved recommending the Brownfield plan to city council by roll call.

Staff said the recommendation for the grant will be presented to city council (staff referenced a December 18 council meeting date in the record); the Brownfield plan similarly will go to a city-council public hearing after public notice was issued and neighborhood mailings to properties within 300 feet of the site.

The board also reviewed the Brownfield Authority's current fund balance and other city-owned properties that may be considered in future incentive discussions. The meeting adjourned with staff indicating follow-up and potential future meetings as the project advances.