At the January 5, 2016 Meridian Township Board meeting, a development company called Campus Village Communities presented a Brownfield Proposal to pay for environmental cleanup of the property where they plan to build a mixed-use project called “The Square on Grand River”. The land in question is currently undeveloped or part of the parking lot immediately east of the building that houses Foods for Living and the Salvation Army. The request is for $4.6 million dollars to be repaid to the developer over 15-35 years using the projected taxes that the developer estimates will be due to the township if the project is built.
The Township Board will be considering Brownfield Plan at their next regular meeting on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 and may vote on whether or not to commit the township to paying for the environmental cleanup. If you would like to express your opinion on this matter you can attend the meeting (it starts at 6 PM) and speak directly to the Township Board during the Public Remarks section of their meeting or you can send them an e-mail at: board@meridian.mi.us
The size and scope of this environmental cleanup request makes it important for the Township Board to hear from the citizens who could be paying for it.
Further details about the Brownfield request are on pages 136-141 in the Township Board packet from the January 5, 2016 meeting:(http://www.meridian.mi.us/vertical/sites/%7B1800D46E-0900-43BD-B3FA-A5660870B1%7D/uploads/January_5_2016_Board_Packet%281%29.pdf)
A letter from LINC (Liaison for Inter-neighborhood Cooperation) summarizing a number or questions about the Brownfield proposal is also included in the same packet on page 4.
The actual Brownfield Plan is also available on the Meridian Township website at:
(http://www.meridian.mi.us/vertical/sites/%7B1800D46E-0900-43BD-B3FA-10A5660870B1%7D/uploads/Brownfield_Plan_The_Square_Meridian_2015.Nov.23_FINAL_Comp.pdf)