Benton Harbor City Commissioners have approved a Brownfield redevelopment plan for Project T, the mixed use housing and commercial development being planned for the site of the former Mercy Hospital.
At their regular meeting Monday, commissioners heard from Jill Ferrari of developer Renovare. It’s been working with Harbor Habitat for Humanity to construct duplexes and commercial space at 807 Weld and 960 Agard. However, Ferrari said Monday the project hit a slight snag when contamination was found at the site. So, the Agard and Weld parcels were separated and Project T was turned into two phases.
“In the process of a EGLE grant that was awarded to the city, some contaminants were identified on 807 Wells that were present on the site at levels that need to be addressed before development can move forward,” Ferrari said.
Phase One of Project T is only looking at 960 Agard and will include 24 duplexes, or 28 units. There are also plans for space that could potentially used for childcare.
Mayor Pro Tem Duane Seats said despite some changes to Project T, he’s pleased to see at least half of the original vision moving forward.
“Basically, this has been something that’s been going on for about four or five years,” Seats said.” Now we’re getting to the finish line. I do want to say that any development right now is a good development in the city of Benton Harbor. That property has been there and it’s been costing us money for a long time.”
The Brownfield plan approved by commissioners Monday only covers Phase One of the project and will enable taxes to be captured for cleanup at 960 Agard. The tax capture for cleanup could be as much as $2.1 million. Another Brownfield plan may be sought for Phase Two of Project T, on Weld Street.
Ferrari said with the commission’s approval Monday, the developers will get to work on assessment of the site and then remediation work.
The contaminant found on the site was a petroleum product that City Manager Alex Little said could have come from a variety of sources.
