LANSING – Ecorse is one of ten industrial sites submitted by communities and local partners around Michigan that have been awarded $728,500 in site readiness grants, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced today. Awarded through the competitive Michigan Build Ready Sites program, the targeted grant program of the Site Readiness Improvement program, the grants are aimed at boosting Michigan’s inventory of available properties ready to compete for business attraction projects. “These site-ready projects underscore Michigan’s continued commitment to working with our local partners and communities to foster business growth and developing our inventory of shovel ready sites across the state,” said MEDC Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President Josh Hundt. “With the innovative projects our partners have brought forth, we are positioning the state to grow a more resilient economy that will have meaningful impact on our business attraction efforts, and ultimately bring good jobs for Michiganders.”

The Michigan Build Ready Sites program is intended to assist with the development or enhancement of industrial sites to help them get closer to having Vetted Site Standards and make them more competitive during the site selection process. Local and regional economic development or community partners submitted applications that demonstrated a plan and pathway to a vetted site. Grant funds under the program could be used for activities including site development studies or site material development, site implementation or land assembly activities, and more.

“The city of Ecorse is very pleased to be a recipient of a 2020 MEDC Site Readiness Grant. This funding will help us evaluate and address environmental contamination that has long been an impediment to productive redevelopment of the city-owned Mill Street site, a former steel mill. A 2019 Site Readiness grant supported the creation of basic information about the site, essential for marketing and understanding site needs and assets, and the 2020 grant picks up from there,” said Ecorse City Administrator Richard Marsh. “MEDC has been a great partner in this process and we are very optimistic that the end result will be new, high-quality industrial development that creates significant tax base and jobs for the city and region.”