Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Brownfield Terminations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee recommends terminating two stalled brownfield plans including Global Cold Storage and River Bend 3
Summary
Staff told the committee that the Global Cold Storage and River Bend 3 brownfield plans are being terminated because the developers never completed projects and prior tax-credit programs have expired; the committee voted to send both items to formal with a recommendation to approve termination and administrative cleanup.
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation brownfield staff recommended termination of two long-dormant brownfield plans, telling the committee the developers never completed the proposed projects and no tax incentives were distributed.
Brian Boskwerg, senior director of brownfield redevelopment for DEG and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, said the Global Cold Storage plan never reached a start point and the developer has informed the city it will not pursue the project. "This project, unfortunately, didn't, you know, end up reaching a starting point," Boskwerg said, and he added the plan never triggered a tax incentive because performance steps were never met.
Staff also described River Bend 3 as a project proposed in the early 2000s that stalled after the 2008 market crash; an earlier state credit program that supported the plan has since expired, removing the financial basis for that brownfield plan. Boskwerg said terminating the plans "cleans up the books" administratively, and he emphasized termination would not prevent developers from applying for future TIF or brownfield assistance in the area.
Pro Tem Coleman Young asked whether the termination could send a discouraging signal in areas that need remediation, especially after a recent 100-year flood; staff responded that the Riverbend termination concerns a narrowly defined parcel and that incentives and TIF remain available for new applications. The committee moved to send both terminations to formal with a recommendation to approve; the motion passed by voice vote with no objections.
