One building will be 100,000 sf, one will be 70,000 sf and one will be 50,000 sf, says Bruce Brickman, co-owner of the company.
He said his firm's decision to reuse the land came from necessity.
"In Auburn Hills, there's no more available land to build on," he says.
The city is home to many automotive and industrial manufacturers and suppliers, including the Daimler-Chrysler North American headquarters. Brickman says the cost to construct the buildings will be between $15 million and $18 million. The facilities will be used for light industrial/high tech space, he says. He did not reveal possible lease rates.
The land had been a farm until 1954, when it was used for an asphalt plant until 1984. Underground storage tanks and various caustic chemicals and substances were found on the site by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
By completing what's called a baseline environmental assessment that will record the level of current contamination, the company will not be held liable for any lawsuits that result from the previous use, says Patrick Grieve, a brownfield consultant to the city.
"The benefit for General Development is that their costs to make it safe for use will be reimbursed by the city's brownfield authority. The property tax from the land will go to pay the cleanup, essentially," Grieve tells GlobeSt.com.
It will cost about $800,000 to cover up the contaminants with clean soil, he says. The company opted against spending $3 million to remove the contaminants and put down fresh earth, Grieve says. He adds the plan has been approved by the MDEQ.
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