Michigan's Largest Utility Company
Relocates to Brownfields
JACKSON COUNTYMI
S
ix adjacent brownfields in the City of Jackson, within
Jackson County, Michigan, will soon be home to Michigan's
largest utility company. Consumers Energy is relocating its
headquarters to these brownfields in a $ 113 million brownfields
redevelopment project. The Jackson County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority (BRA) Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot spent $60,000 of its $200,000 EPA grant
for environmental assessments on the six properties, which
include a former gas station and auto repair shop, a machine
shop, and an iron scrap yard. The City of Jackson is contrib-
uting $43 million in infrastructure improvements, and Con-
sumers Energy is investing $70 million in the construction of
its new headquarters. In addition, more than $11 million in
other funding has been leveraged for this project, which is
working in partnership with the City of Jackson's "Grand New
Vision" community revitalization efforts.
Jackson County (population 155,000) is located in south-cen-
tral Michigan about 80 miles west of Detroit. The City of
Jackson began as an agricultural town and quickly developed
into an industrial and manufacturing community focusing on
the automotive industry. When the nation's economy changed
during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the city's and county's
industrial base fell apart as plants closed, resulting in job loss,
population decline, and hundreds of vacant and abandoned
industrial and commercial properties. The Jackson County
BRA estimates that there are more than 2,000 brownfields
countywide. The Jackson County Pilot targets 20 of these
properties, including several commercial or industrial sites in
the City of Jackson's industrial corridor, for assessment and
redevelopment. The Grand River bisects the targeted area
in the city and offers opportunities for riverfront redevelop-
ment.
The $113 million Consumers Energy headquarters is relocat-
ing along the Grand River. Consumers Energy has been head-
quartered in Jackson since its founding in 1886, and when the
continued ^
JUSTTHE FACTS:
• The Jackson County Pilot targets 20 commer-
cial and industrial sites, including several
within the City of Jackson's industrial corri-
dor for assessment and redevelopment.
• Relocation of Consumers Energy's headquar-
ters onto six adjacent brownfields will retain
1,400 jobs in the City of Jackson.
• The Brownfields Pilot also played a role in
the redevelopment of a 100-acre, former tire
manufacturing plant, now being redeveloped
as a $300 million power plant.
The Jackson County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority spent $60,000 of its
$200,000 EPA grant for environmental
assessments on six brownfields. The City of
Jackson is contributing $43 million in
infrastructure improvements, and Consumers
Energy is investing $70 million in the
construction of a new headquarters.
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CONTACTS:
Jackson County Brownfields
Redevelopment Authority
(517)788-4455
U.S. EPA-Region 5
(312) 886-7257
Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
lease on its current headquarters location was ending, the company decided to
look for a new location. The City of Jackson invited Consumers Energy to
move its headquarters to the six adjacent brownfields that make up a
three-block area downtown. As an incentive for Consumers Energy to
locate there rather than on an undeveloped greenfield, the city is invest- M
ing $43 million in infrastructure improvements—including roads, a sewer,
and a parking garage that will serve the new headquarters. The com-
pany agreed to this proposal, and part of Consumers Energy's $70 mil-
lion investment includes renovating and restoring an old U.S. post of-
fice occupying one of the brownfields. The post office is a national
historic site and will serve as the formal entryway into the new head-
quarters building. Ground was broken for the new headquarters on April
10, 2001, and this project is on the fast-track, with construction to be com-
pleted in 18 months. Relocation to the downtown area will retain 1,400 j obs in
the City of Jackson.
In addition to the funds provided by the city for infrastructure improvements and the investment by
Consumers Energy, the project has leveraged financial support totaling more than $11 million,
including a $465,000 Senate appropriation for Jackson to purchase the post office building; a 10-
year, zero-interest $ 1 million Urban Land Assembly Loan from the Michigan Economic Develop-
ment Corporation to the city to finance the project; an $8.6 million Single Business Tax credit from
the state to Consumers Energy; and a $1 million Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund grant
and a $150,000 Brownfields Supplemental Assistance grant from EPA.
Construction of the new Consumers Energy headquarters is part of Jackson County's Grand New
Vision. The headquarters campus will include a grand plaza in front of the old post office, an
outdoor theater located on the grounds along the Grand River, and additional parking on the site,
which will allow the city to schedule a variety of community events downtown—the parking lots
being built by the city will be used by Consumers Energy during the work day and will be available
to visitors in the evenings and on weekends. In addition to this redevelopment project, the Grand
New Vision includes community initiatives in education, recreation, and beautification. Carol
Konieczki of the City of Jackson reports that there has been a "resurgence in interest in the
downtown area" with new businesses relocating downtown and current businesses renovating the
facades of their downtown locations.
The Jackson County BRA is involved with other Pilot activities in the county, including leveraging
assessment and cleanup at the Michigan Industrial Holdings, Inc., site. This 106,000-square-foot
facility was abandoned in 1994 along with several 5 5-gallon drums and 27 pits containing various
unknown substances. The Pilot leveraged assessment and cleanup of the property from EPA,
which estimates the approximate cost of assessment and removal to be between $600,000 and
$900,000. Once the cleanup is completed, the BRA will use a $721,000 grant from the State of
Michigan to demolish and remove the building. The adjacent property owner, Edscha North
America, plans to build a 100,000-square-foot expansion on this site, a $10 million investment that
will create 125 new jobs. The Pilot has also played a role in the redevelopment of a brownfield
that was once the home of a Goodyear tire manufacturing plant. This 100-acre site is being
redeveloped as a $3 00 million power plant that is scheduled to be completed in June 2003.
Brownfields Success Story
Jackson County, Michigan
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA-500-F-02-033
April 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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