State awards $4.75M loan to Grand Haven residential development at ‘underutilized’ site

GRAND HAVEN, MI – A plan to develop a long-vacant property in Grand Haven received a $4.75 million loan from the state of Michigan.

The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) approved a Michigan Community Revitalization Program loan to support the Peerless Flats residential development at the former site of Stanco Metal Products.

Four residential buildings with 124 market-rate units will be built on 4.66 acres at 105 Fulton Ave. by Lansing-based development group River Caddis, LLC. Peerless Flats will also include a community amenity building with an outdoor pool, fire pits, a fitness center and a conference room.

The Stanco site has been vacant since the late 1980s, and the state funding awarded Tuesday will go toward cleaning the former industrial property. Peerless Flats will be within walking distance of Lake Michigan, Grand River and the farmers market.

“It was necessary to plug the gap because of extensive contamination at the site,” said River Caddis President Kevin McGraw.

Four existing buildings on the property will be demolished, and the development will also make public infrastructure improvements to sidewalks, parking and roads in the area.

River Caddis will be required to pay back the MEDC loan.

The project has been in the works for the past three years, McGraw said, and it received final approval from the Grand Haven Planning Commission on Jan. 12.

Construction is expected to begin in April.

Related: New market, small shops, homes part of proposal to redevelop Grand Haven riverfront

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) said the project will redevelop a “long underutilized site” in downtown Grand Haven and will bring new residents to the area. The state also expects it to boost economic activity in the area.

The estimated capital investment in Peerless Flats is $24.7 million.

City Manager Pat McGinnis said in a statement the project “will trigger many other such developments around our downtown.”

The Grand Haven Brownfield Redevelopment Authority also received approval from MSF Tuesday for a work plan that includes $1,378,865 in state tax capture, a news release said.

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