FLINT, MI -- A brownfield redevelopment plan for the former Riverview Industrial Park has been approved by the city, a project that will grant owners a tax break of roughly $2.5 million in exchange for an investment of more than $14 million at the property on James P. Cole Boulevard.
The brownfield plan for James P Cole Venture LLC was recently approved by the City Council, about eight months after an initial public hearing on the project, which calls for the renovation of approximately 110,000 square feet of existing space and the construction of 190,000 square feet of new industrial space.
Council members questioned developers about their project and the investors behind the limited liability company before unanimously approving the brownfield plan.
The property in question is the same industrial park that was also home to C3 Ventures Flint LLC, a privately held company that received a $5.7-million performance-based loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in 2016.
That company had said it planned to turn used water bottles from Flint to make plastic car parts for Tesla -- a plan that never materialized.
Nicholas G. Maloof, a representative of James P Cole Venture, said the new park ownership includes only one official who was involved in that 2016 project -- Bob Waun, who briefly served as president and chief executive officer of C3.
Other partners in James P Cole Venture are based in the Detroit and Chicago areas, Maloof said.
“This is a totally different group (and) they only get the money if they spend the money” redeveloping the property, he said.
Waun said earlier this year that the property, which was most recently called Riverview Industrial Park and once was home to a DuPont manufacturing facility, would be renamed, potentially by a new company that would purchase the naming rights.
The project still requires site plan and zoning review approvals from the city, according to paperwork presented to the City Council.
Developers said past contamination at the park qualified it for a brownfield tax credit.
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