EGLE grants fund new housing and business revitalization

What’s happening: Across small-town Michigan, quiet Main Streets are getting a second chance. State grants are scrubbing away decades of industrial pollution to make room for local housing, fresh dining, and new jobs.

About the grants: The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is awarding $3.9 million in brownfield funding to seven projects–including four in rural Michigan–that will create at least 68 new housing units and 66 new full-time equivalent jobs. The EGLE grants will be used to remove or address contamination so the properties can be safely reused and redeveloped into mixed-use housing and commercial space, single-family housing, light industrial, and a new restaurant.

The rural communities: 

East Jordan

• Grant Amount: $805,000 EGLE grant
• Project Cost: $8.6 million
• Details: Turning a former hotel and Charlevoix County Road Commission storage site into a mixed-use facility with 17 for-sale condos and for-rent apartments (8 reserved for 60%–120% AMI). Creates 12 new jobs, targeting occupancy by early 2028.

Ubly

• Project Cost: Not specified
• Details: Environmental remediation of a historic commercial site (blacksmith, gas station, auto repair dating to 1901) into a café. Expected to create 4.5 FTE jobs with construction completion set for January 2029.

Roscommon

• Grant Amount: $400,000 EGLE grant
• Project Cost: Not specified
• Details: Remediation of soil and groundwater contamination (petroleum and metals) at a key village intersection to construct a new restaurant. Scheduled to open in 2028 to generate local tax revenue and jobs.

Saugatuck

• Grant Amount: $1,000,000 EGLE grant
• Project Cost: $1.5 million
• Details: Transforming a contaminated waterfront former bait shop and boat charter site into a 2.5-story, 4,229-square-foot building with commercial space and 3 rental apartments. Creates 3.5 FTE jobs, finishing in mid-2027