Developer plans $9.8M industrial project

Developer plans $9.8M industrial project

Vehicles fill up an auto scrap yard. Photo via wikimedia.org

A local developer is asking for $1.7 million in tax breaks for a $9.8-million industrial development in the city.

DEG Development Co., an affiliate of Grand Rapids-based Visser Brothers and Visser Development, has filed a request with the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to redevelop an auto salvage yard, at 1810 and 1922 Turner Ave. NW, and a limousine rental service, at 331 Ann St. NW.

The auto scrap yard has been the primary use of the site since about 1930, according to the city.

The project would remove the inoperable vehicles and raze a pair of existing structures on the property to make way for two industrial buildings, measuring 136,500 square feet and 68,250 square feet. On-site surface parking for both buildings is also included in the project.

After the site is cleared for construction, the developer would remove contaminated soil and bring in about three feet of uncontaminated soil to provide a cap over remaining contamination and raise the site an additional two feet to accommodate for the site’s proximity to the Grand River.

Though tenants for the buildings have yet to be secured, Visser estimates between 140 and 190 new jobs could be located at the site, based on comparable properties. Average wages for those jobs is expected to be about $24 an hour.

Visser is asking the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for incentives totaling $1,729,525, including tax increment financing, millages for brownfield-eligible activities and preparation of a Brownfield Plan Amendment and Act 381 Work Plan.

Reimbursement would occur over a period of 14 years after the project’s completion, with five more years of capture for the Local Site Remediation Revolving Fund.

The board will vote on the project at its monthly meeting on Thursday.