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Authority approves Brownfield Plan amendment to add JR Automation at 800 E. Riley; TIF estimates and reimbursements outlined
Summary
The Zeeland Brownfield Redevelopment Authority approved amending the City’s Brownfield Plan to include JR Automation at 800 E. Riley. The developer seeks $4,101,975 in eligible activity reimbursements; city infrastructure requests include $4,531,000 for Phase I and up to $4,000,000 for a potential Phase II roundabout. The Authority voted unanimously to adopt the amendment and will forward it to City Council.
The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority on March 31 approved a resolution to amend the City’s Brownfield Plan to include JR Automation’s proposed project at 800 E. Riley.
Consultant Samantha Mariuz of Fleis & VandenBrink provided the Authority with a site-specific Brownfield Plan amendment and estimated eligible reimbursements. The developer plans to seek $4,101,975 in eligible activity reimbursements. In addition, the city (through the Board of Public Works) intends to seek $4,531,000 for Phase I infrastructure improvements adjacent to the site and is exploring up to $4,000,000 of Phase II improvements, which could include a roundabout at Main and Fairview.
Staff said the municipality may bond for a portion of the infrastructure and use tax increment financing from the project to pay bond obligations. Including a 5% local brownfield administration fee, staff presented an estimated $13.7 million in total collections through the TIF; roughly $6.2 million (about 46%) of that amount would be city tax dollars, with remaining revenues coming from other local tax sources. Staff noted that no state education or school operating taxes are included in the capture shown in the plan.
Staff also outlined projected incentive levels to JR Automation: combined estimated incentives were presented as roughly 20% (IFT) and 5.63% for Brownfield incentives, with an estimated incentive of $50.54 per square foot (compared with an average of $50.99 per square foot among four recent projects cited by staff).
Member Tim Maday, who also serves on the Ottawa County Landbank Authority, stated the property qualifies for Brownfield status and tax capture because the Landbank took temporary controlling interest in the parcel. Support for the proposal was noted from Roman Wilson (Fishbeck consultant), Joel Cooper (JR Automation owner’s representative) and Ryan Ferrier (Lakeshore Advantage).
A motion by Andy Boatright, seconded by Jeff Roon, to adopt the resolution amending the City’s Brownfield Plan to include the 800 E. Riley project carried with all voting aye. The approved amendment will go to Zeeland City Council; staff said Council is anticipated to consider a resolution at its April 6, 2026 meeting to set a public hearing for the Brownfield Plan Amendment at the May 4, 2026 meeting. A reimbursement agreement between the city/Authority and the developer will be required before any tax reimbursements are made.
