Brownfield Development Program

The Brownfield Program uses tax increment financing (TIF) to reimburse brownfield-related costs incurred while redeveloping contaminated, functionally obsolete, blighted, or historic properties. The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) with assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), administers the reimbursement of costs using state school taxes (School Operating and State Education Tax) for non-environmental eligible activities that support redevelopment, revitalization, and reuse of the eligible property.

The Michigan Department of Environmental, Great Lakes and Energy (“EGLE”) administers the reimbursement of environmental response costs using state school taxes for environmental activities, and local units of government sometimes use only local taxes to reimburse for eligible activities (i.e., “local-only” plans). The state statutory authority for the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act program is Act 381 of 1996, as amended (Act 381).

Eligible activities include preparation and infrastructure improvements. The non-environmental program generally targets industrial site reuse, and urban development with mixed-use components.

The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is the local jurisdiction entity that manages the development of brownfield plans. After approval of a brownfield plan by the local governing body, the BRA may request capture of state school taxes via a work plan submitted to the MEDC and/or MDEQ.

Windward Pointe has a Brownfield Development plan which has been approved with the Muskegon Brownfield Development Authority. More information on the amount of TIF is available upon request.