Market Van Buren has been awarded a state grant to help prepare a potential industrial site in Hartford Township.
Market Van Buren Director Zach Morris tells us the $467,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Strategic Site Readiness Program will enable the group to do an analysis of about 800 acres spread out across several parcels north of I-94 and south of the CSX Railroad tracks.
“This particular site has been discussed for decades as a potential industrial site,” Marris said. “It’s zoned in the township’s master plan as a industrial zoned area. And basically one of the challenges we’ve had, we didn’t know just what we had.”
Morris says the land could be ideal for an industrial park or one really large industrial operation. The problem is that not enough is known about what’s underground there. There are other questions that need to be answered.
“Things like threatened and endangered species, wetlands, preliminary engineering and surveying, boundary maps, site topography, among others. So there’s just a lot of questions you’ve got to have answered that take time to get answers to.”
Morris says the land, if developed, could lead to billions of dollars in investment in Van Buren County.
Market Van Buren was one of just 18 applicants selected for the Strategic Site Readiness Program grants statewide.
