A $6 million redevelopment plan aims to return a deteriorating industrial building in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to fuller use, with state funding supporting environmental safeguards needed for the property’s rehabilitation.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced a $700,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant on Oct. 8, 2026. The funding will support work at properties spanning 436 West Williard Street, 522 and 528 North Westnedge Street, and 439 and 443 West Ransom Street.
The approximately 100,000-square-foot building has a history of residential, warehousing, trucking, machining, electroplating and industrial fan manufacturing uses. It currently operates as a warehouse and paper-converting facility. The redevelopment plan seeks to make the building safe for an additional tenant and increase its use.
Environmental assessments conducted in 2022 identified chlorinated solvents in soil, along with metals in soil and groundwater.
The EGLE grant will cover the design, installation and commissioning of a vapor venting system for the rehabilitated building. The system is intended to address risks associated with subsurface contamination as the property is prepared for expanded occupancy.
The property owner expects to invest $6 million in the project and create nine jobs. According to EGLE, the site is located in a census tract where unemployment is 15%, underscoring the potential local economic impact of bringing the building back into fuller use.
Redevelopment is expected to be completed in fall 2027. The announcement did not identify the prospective tenant or specify the construction schedule.
The project illustrates how environmental remediation funding can help make older industrial properties suitable for renewed commercial use. Vapor mitigation and contamination management can be important considerations when rehabilitating buildings with legacy industrial operations.
For developers and contractors, brownfield projects require coordination between environmental assessment, remediation design and building rehabilitation. Public incentives can help fund certain site-related costs, potentially supporting investment in properties that might otherwise be difficult to redevelop.
EGLE reported that its brownfield program provided more than $23 million in incentives to 76 projects across 52 Michigan communities in 2025. Those projects were projected to generate more than 440 housing units, 600 jobs and over $675 million in capital investment
Source: Michigan Government.
