Muskegon OKs major redevelopment plan for former paper mill site

The Muskegon City Commission unanimously approved a major plan to redevelop a former paper mill on Muskegon Lake after hours of discussion and public comment about environmental contamination on the 122-acre site.

The city commission on Tuesday signed off on Parkland Properties’ planned unit development for Windward Pointe, which calls for up to 2,314 residential units, nearly 43,000 square feet of retail/office space and public amenities including a fishing pier and playground. The site also would include 252 private boat slips and 1,400 linear feet of transient spaces in the marina.

Muskegon-based Parkland Properties for the past six months has been under contract to purchase the property at 2400 and 2850 Lakeshore Drive on Muskegon Lake.

The city commission’s approval marks a critical step forward for the plan, which still needs approval from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“The project is viable,” Parkland Properties President Jon Rooks said during the commission meeting. “It’s a large site and has a high cost of development. We’ve successfully completed every project we’ve started over 35 years, and we have a history of not overpromising what we’ll be able to deliver, and not creating unrealistic expectations.”

Environmental concerns

If Parkland Properties goes on to purchase and develop the property as proposed, the company would be obligated to prevent the exacerbation of existing contamination on site and ensure the property is safe for its intended use, said Chris Miron, vice president and senior chemical engineer for Barr Engineering. 

Parkland Properties is working with EGLE to put together a due care plan for the property. Such plans typically do not include continued monitoring of contamination, Miron said, though he noted the proposed development should lower the risk of PFAS leaching into the lake.

As the due care plan is developed, an impermeable cover will be used to cap contamination of the site, he said. 

“We’re not just going to do the bare minimum,” Rooks said. “We’re here doing a project that we want to do. … We’re from here and live here and wouldn’t be buying the property if we didn’t think it was feasible.”

Officials from three environmental firms — Barr Engineering, Fishbeck and Environmental Resources Group — stated in writing that they believe the site could be safely redeveloped into a mixed-use community with residential uses. 

Rooks and city officials explained during Tuesday’s meeting that in 2022 a $15 million state grant was allocated to mitigate PFAS on the property. State lawmakers on Nov. 2 moved to expand the use of the grant to environmental mitigation and cleanup activities on the site beyond PFAS. 

The state absolved the former property owners of PFAS mitigation because PFAS was not well-understood until more recently, Jacob Eckholm, the city of Muskegon’s director of development services, said during the meeting. Because of that, the state is effectively subsidizing the site’s cleanup with the $15 million grant, Eckholm said. 

He also noted that there is no definitive evidence of PFAS leaching into the lake from the property.

Similar to Johnson, City Commissioner Rebecca St. Clair shares the public’s environmental concerns but is still supportive of the development. 

“There are not a lot of people lining up to fix this problem,” St. Clair said. “While we can and should be very concerned about the potential impact of this, we also need to be very concerned about the potential of waiting. … I don’t see a way forward but to do this.”

Pending the EGLE and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approvals, Rooks hopes to close on the property acquisition before the end of the year and start construction in 2024.