What’s happening: It’s good news for those following the “Big Albion Plan” in downtown Albion. It was recently announced that the ambitious strategy for revitalizing the rural college town in south-central Michigan has received new financial support from the state and city in bolstering the project.
What it is: The Big Albion Plan is a downtown revitalization strategy that calls for the redevelopment of more than 20 buildings throughout the historic downtown district, the first phase of which should begin soon with the recent announcement of it having received financial support by way of grants, loans, and more.
Phase One: Phase one of the Big Albion Plan will have the Albion Redevelopment Corporation and OZB Phase I, LLC, redevelop nine functionally obsolete properties in downtown Albion, creating 20 residential units and more than 10,000 square feet of commercial space. That’s nearly 29,000 square feet of long-vacant space that should (relatively) soon become active mixed-use properties, a project which includes the historic rehabilitation of the buildings themselves.
Past success: Though this recent announcement marks a big step forward for phase one of the larger plan, the Big Albion Plan has scored smaller wins in recent years. Previously, the Albion Reinvestment Corporation rehabilitated a historic downtown building first built in 1884, which reopened in late 2021 as the downtown market Superior Street Mercantile.
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Related: Read “Albion’s new market focuses on fresh and local” on Rural Innovation Exchange.]
State and city: Gov. Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation recently announced that the Michigan Strategic Fund has approved for the project a $1.5 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program (MCRP) performance-based grant and a $2.38 million MCRP performance-based loan, while also approving $806,580 in state tax capture for the reimbursement of brownfield activities at the site. The city of Albion will also support the project with a 12-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act tax abatement valued at $793,672 and the local portion of the brownfield work plan valued at $697,300.
Why it’s important: “This project will rehabilitate an area of our downtown that has desperately needed repairs and remodeling. This will, in turn, afford us the opportunity to attract new business along with offering much-needed housing options,” Albion Mayor Victoria Garcia Snyder says in a statement. “I want to express my appreciation to the stakeholders that have invested in this plan and our state and local partners that have supported this vision and see value in restoring our downtown for improved quality of life for all our residents.”
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