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Summit module to focus on rejuvenation
by Gary Gosselin, The News Herald (MI)

The following story is the second of four weekly reports covering the four areas of discussion at the upcoming Downriver 2000 strategic planning session set for April 19 at Crystal Gardens in Southgate. The daylong session is being spearheaded by U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-16th District) in partnership with tile Southern Wayne  County Chamber of Commerce, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and the Downriver Community Conference. Keynote speakers at the forum will include William Clay Ford Jr., Ford Motor Co. chairman of the board, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce William Daley.

Downriver 2000 is designed to bring together business and community leaders to discuss and prioritize the issues that are important to Downriver going into the new century. This summit is expected to be the first of an annual event, with future summits looking not only to the future, but also to the accomplishments made since the last year.

Look in The News-Herald Newspapers next week for a report on workforce development and on April 14 for our final installment on waterfront development. This second report will focus on development, brownfields and redevelopment Downriver, which will be covered in the "Tools for Rejuvenating our Communities" module.

"The focus is going to be on more than brownfield redevelopment," said Lauri Elbing, a spokeswoman for Dingell. "They're going to be talking about the Southeast Michigan Greenways Initiative and planned growth as well as brownfields."

Brownfield redevelopment has been at the forefront of local initiatives lately, and one of the main elements of a $650 million statewide Clean Michigan Initiative. Brownfield redevelopment is described as the reuse of abandoned and/or contaminated industrial or commercial sites.

The greenways portion of the "rejuvenation" presentation will focus on establishing grassy areas, possibly along the riverfront, that will connect the communities and provide recreation and green space.

This is an emerging movement and ties in closely with the federal American Heritage Rivers designation granted to the Detroit River last year.

The planned growth section is pretty self-explanatory. It will focus not only on new development in the growing southern Downriver communities, Elbing said, but also on initiatives in older communities, like revitalizing downtown areas and backfill housing, which is the practice of building new homes where old houses have been torn down.

Downriver, like many established, older communities, has its share of' old commercial and industrial sites. In all fairness, however, Downriver also could be held out in some respects as a model for redeveloping brownfields.

From the Wyandotte Shores and Lakes of Taylor golf courses to the former Marx Manufacturing site in Taylor, Downriver communities are finding ways to reuse old, often contaminated industrial and commercial sites.

The city of Wyandotte worked closely with BASF Corp. to transform 84 acres of highly polluted soil into a premier golf course while Taylor saved millions by burying site contaminants in a landfill and turning it into part of the Lakes of Taylor course.

And the Marx site, an old manufacturing building, has been torn down. It will be turned into a retail strip mall.

Randy Hicks of BASF will be a panelist and will touch on the partnership between his company and Wyandotte, explaining the business side of the equation.

Fred Zorn, community development director for Taylor, will be one of the panelists in the "rejuvenation" segment. He said he will use the Marx site and others as examples of how Taylor has extended its hand to the private sector.

There is a fear of government by some developers because we are the regulating body," Zorn said. "But we're working to change that paradigm.

"With our history of cooperation and the use of new state and federal programs, we'll be at the forefront of redevelopment nationally."

Edward Clemente, president of the SWCCC, said his office regularly receives calls from developers asking about brownfields with the potential for reuse.

He said the sites have utilities and infrastructure, and with state and federal grant programs in place, brownfield redevelopment soon may rival development of green fields.

"This area has had a rich industrial background and that has left a legacy of brownfields in various stages," Clemente said. "That will be addressed at the summit, and we'll be able to prompt more interaction between the communities and private business."

Norm Cox of the Southeast Michigan Greenways Initiative and Barbara Nelson-Jameson of the National Parks Service will discuss how Downriver communities can work together and take advantage of the Heritage River designation to create a riverfront greenway.

The idea is to coordinate land and possibly have a link or series of links along the river from Ecorse to Gibraltar using federal grant money and/or taking advantage of money and resources available through the Heritage Rivers designation.

Ann Goode of the Northeast-Midwest Institute will outline "smart growth" strategies, helping define a proper mix between residential, retail, commercial and parks in growing communities.

She also will discuss strategies on how to keep older communities prospering and how to reuse brownfields.

"We're trying to introduce people who may never have had the chance to talk," Elbing said. "This will be a good forum to get them all in a room together and exchange ideas."

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