EGLE brownfield grant to help bring downtown Ypsilanti alive with the sound of music
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is awarding a grant that will help bring a vacant and contaminated property back to life in Ypsilanti. Developer Jamie Taralunga plans to turn 2 West Michigan Avenue into a musical ecosystem for musicians with spaces to teach, create, collaborate, record, sell, perform and rest all in one location.
The building is on the banks of the Huron River and backs up to Riverside Park in downtown Ypsilanti. Going back to 1927 it’s been a car dealership, tire dealer, auto repair shop, ballroom club, Moose Lodge, and an antique store. Site assessments found solvents and metals from the property’s historical uses as well as contamination migrating from a neighboring dry cleaner. EGLE has spent more than $800,000 dealing with the contamination from that dry cleaner, which has spread to multiple properties in the area.
The $477,500 EGLE Brownfield Redevelopment Grant will pay for lead, asbestos, mold, and hazardous materials surveys as well as interior and exterior demolition and abatement. The Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Downriver Community Conference paid for site assessments.
When finished, the $7 million redevelopment is expected to have studios for recording music and podcasts, retail, a live performance venue, rooms for artists to stay in temporarily, and outdoor patio space with room for seating. The city of Ypsilanti has long considered the site a high priority for redevelopment. The city and owners predict it will bring more energy to the community and extend the walkability of downtown Ypsilanti. The work is expected to be finished in late 2025.
More than half of EGLE’s annual budget supports local projects, protects public health and the environment, and helps create economic growth and jobs for Michigan workers. Redevelopment increases the value of brownfield sites and other nearby properties. In 2023 EGLE awarded $31.3 million in brownfield incentives to 88 projects around Michigan.
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