Food company, ReConserve, to redevelop industrial space on Angell Street

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, December 18, 2014

Food company ReConserve

ReConserve takes bakery, cereal grain, snack food and similar food byproducts and recycles it into livestock feed.

The company has operations in Battle Creek and Grand Rapids, and was considering pulling out of Michigan.

Instead, ReConserve now plans to repair and modify two 100-year-old processing buildings and an office building at 170 Angell Street in Battle Creek.

The property will be a Brownfield Redevelopment and will undergo more than $8 million in capital investment. The project will bring back into active use approximately 45,000 feet of industrial space and nearly 2 acres of green space. It was approved for redevelopment by the Michigan Strategic Fund Board.

Working closely with The Right Place in Grand Rapids, Battle Creek Unlimited, Battle Creek's economic development organization, says it was able to collaborate for the region and keep the company in West Michigan.

ReConserve will install processing equipment, grain bins and a rail spur that will go directly into a specially designed building to accommodate loading and unloading of rail cars utilizing the Grand Trunk Railroad. The company also will be eligible for reimbursement for environmental and specific non-environmental activities it undertakes to reactivate the former industrial site.

ReConserve, which had its beginnings in California, was the first to design, build and install bulk loading systems helping the company become the largest recycler of bakery and cereal grain by-products and a recognized specialist in food waste removal.

In addition to the redevelopment, the project will put tax dollars into the City of Battle Creek and into the school district. The project's taxable value is expected to be approximately $2.15 million within one year of project completion

“The project will result in the rehabilitation of a blighted and underutilized property near downtown, provide and create employment, and increase the taxable value of the property,” says Cheryl Beard, Battle Creek Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Administrator.

Source: Battle Creek Unlimited