The Chelsea City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution of support for the brownfield redevelopment plan from Chelsea Milling Company for the Buchanan Street building and property.
The brownfield plan for the about 77,700 square-foot building and about 4 acres at 140 Buchanan St. is part of a more than $4 million plan to improve the site and expand the company’s operations.
This approval is the third step of five steps in the redevelopment process for the former city-owned property that Jiffy Mix plans to redevelop into a site for food storage and shipping.
The Brownfield plans allow tax increment financing (TIF) to clean up the contaminated site for redevelopment, according to a memo from City Manager John Hanifan to the City Council.
Chelsea Milling is working with the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority on the plan that must eventually go to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners for final adoption.
In May, the Chelsea Planning Commission approved an application by Chelsea Milling for an amended final site plan for a flour transfer building and nine new silos at 201 W. North St. which is part of an about $35-million expansion project.
Chelsea Milling Company bought the Buchanan building and 4.4-acres it sits on, which is adjacent to the Jiffy plant, for about $175,000 in August, 2012.
According to the resolution approved Tuesday night by the City Council, the redevelopment plan includes environmental assessments, asbestos abatement, demolition, debris removal, removal of incidental soils and Brownfield plan costs.
The tax increment financing is proposed to begin in 2014 and be completed in 2029 in an amount not to exceed about $580,700. By definition, TIF is a method to use future gains in taxes to subsidize current improvements.
The property is located on the north side of Buchanan Street, west of Main Street and is currently zoned for industrial use.
According to the redevelopment plan, at least three new full-time jobs are expected to be created through the project and the developer plans to use local companies whenever possible for the design, engineering and construction of the project.
