The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is being asked to approve a Brownfield reimbursement request for a new apartment development planned in Benton Township. Speaking to the board Thursday, Berrien County Community Development Director Dan Fette said M-63 Investment is planning ten buildings with a total of 40 units at M-63 and Enterprise Way, north of Klock Road on a 33 acre site.
“In the 1800s and the early 1900s, it was used for farming purposes,” Fette said. “As a result of that, it has some arsenic contamination on it, which is not uncommon when you see vacant property that was previously used for agricultural purposes in the early part of the 20th century.”
Brownfield reimbursement would help the developers clean up that arsenic.
“The developers is ready to break ground immediately, and my understanding is that they hope to have it entirely completed within 18 months, and they hope to have all of the units leased within 36 months.”
The apartments would eventually be bought by their renters and treated as condos. Fette said the overall project is $5 million, and the developer is seeking about $1.1 million in Brownfield assistance. Berrien County and Benton Township are both being asked to sign off on the project.
