Moving forward to redevelop the site of an old paper mill

PARCHMENT, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – While Michigan's budget troubles have been caused by a steady stream of job losses over the last decade, on Tuesday several businesses say they're hiring thanks to big tax breaks.

One of the projects will help the City of Parchment to redevelop the property that was the site of the former Crown Vantage Paper Mill. That company declared bankruptcy in 2000, closed the mill and cut 250 jobs.

Since then, acres of real estate along the Kalamazoo River has sat vacant.

Now, the State Economic Development Corporation has approved about $50 million in state and local tax credits to redevelop that 100 acres along the Kalamazoo River.

Developers from Denver, Colorado and Kansas City want to build 50,000 square feet of new retail space, rehabilitate about 30,000 feet of office space, and build as many as 350 condos, apartments and homes. Those investments would total $100 million.

Currently, the former Crown Vantage Paper Mill isn't generating any tax money for Parchment, but on Tuesday, the state approved for the city to capture some of the future tax revenues and use them to fund demolition, cleanup, and construction on the site.

“We saw the ability to come in and impact some change and redevelop that property,” said Jeff Kroll of Frontier Renewall LLC, “turn a negative into a positive. The mill site's a blighted property, it's been abandoned and vacant for almost a decade.”

“Now I think we are seeing the economy starting to improve slightly, the developers have taken a greater interest, we're having a lot more of those meetings, and the promise of them signing up is starting to grow,” said Parchment City Manager Dennis Durham.

Durham says demolition on the site should begin in December, with construction on the new development starting in early 2011.