Houghton County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Revolving Loan Fund

The Houghton County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority now has revolving fund loans available to support the redevelopment of contaminated, tax reverted, blighted, or functionally obsolete property in Houghton County. These are locally governed loan funds that can be used to pay for baseline environmental assessments, preparation of brownfield plans and work plans, remediation costs, demolition costs and lead and asbestos abatement. If it is an eligible activity under Michigan’s Brownfield Redevelopment Act, it is eligible to be covered by the local loan fund.

This is a source of local funding for costs that a project would incur that would not be encountered if the property were not in an adverse condition. The loan payments are made through the annual payment of property taxes. This converts a normal real estate operating expense back into the additional financing needed to make a project work. Rate and term are based on the specific project, its taxable value at completion, estimated taxes paid, and financing needed. If only local property taxes are needed to handle loan repayment, then the approval process only requires local approval.