■ Redevelopment of a shuttered factory in Monroe underscores the potential for reusing vacant commercial or industrial buildings in the region, developer says.

BY CHARLES SLAT

ctslat@monroenews.com

It appeared destined to become a white elephant — a sprawling, empty factory with an unhappy past and an uncertain future.

But Roger L. Homrich says he saw poten­tial when he looked at the vacant, former IKO manufacturing plant at 1151 W. Elm Ave. on the fringe of a Monroe neighbor­hood.

The complex closed in 2000 after residents and city officials raised objections to the smells and environmental impacts of the shingle-paper manufacturing operations there.

Vacant and abandoned, it had all the signs of becoming a Rust Belt relic, an artifact of a time when factories commonly churned near the doorsteps of modest middle-class neighborhoods.

Now Mr. Homrich says he hopes his redevelopment of the property will symbol­ize the potential for abandoned industrial hulks that litter Southeast Michigan in the wake of the worst recession in generations.

Mr. Homrich is the son of Roger I. Hom­rich, president of Carleton-based Homrich Inc.

“We have a lot of great buildings out there — some only a few years old — that are empty all over Southeast Michigan,” Mr.Homrich observes. “That’s going to be big in our future — repurposing these struc­tures from an era gone by.”

The 200,000-square-foot facility operated for decades as a paper-making plant under various owners. The last was IKO, which brought jobs to the area, but began being viewed by nearby residents as an undesir­able neighbor that generated odors, noise, illness and complaints.

After being cited for violations of air pollution laws and hit with a class-action lawsuit, the plant left town.

In stepped Arbor-Vale, Mr. Homrich’s Dundee-based property redevelopment company, which bought the property about a year ago.

“I told people my goal was to take this from controversy to cupcakes,” Mr. Hom­rich says.

He appears to have achieved that, quite literally.

Instead of continued decay, the former IKO plant now is warehousing for Quality Food Brands Inc., a Monroe-based firm that has seen a growth spurt. It’s using much of the building for storage of its cake and cookie mixes and other food products. The most decrepit sections of the old plant were recently razed.

“They had an opportunity to develop outside of Monroe and, fortunately, we were able to find a solution with that property so they could expand their business and invest further in the community,” Mr. Homrich explained. “They were willing to invest in Monroe, but really didn’t have a lot of options in Monroe,” he says. “There were significant challenges to repurpose these facilities but fortunately we were able to do it.”

“It really couldn’t have worked better because when you decide you’re going to in­vest in a property of that size and with the economic climate that we had a little over a year ago, it can be a daunting situation,” Mr. Homrich says.

It also couldn’t have worked out better for Linda Compora, a neighborhood resident whose opposition to IKO operations led to her election to city council. No longer on council, she’s happy with the re-use of the building.

Mr. Homrich has done everything that he said he would,” Ms. Compora said. “We couldn’t be more pleased.”

She said the warehousing operation hasn’t impacted the neighborhood. “We don’t even know they’re there and I’m glad to see part of the factory coming down.

Finally, we have some good neighbors.”

Mr. Homrich recently razed a northern section of the building where the old paper mill line once operated, and he figures Qual­ity is occupying about 75 percent of the remaining useable space.

“It will improve the viewscape,” he said of the demolition. “If you let those build­ings fall into further disrepair you’ll have a situation similar to what we have to the north of us where it just sits around.

They don’t have redevelopment potential, so I want to prevent any safety hazard or anything that brings down the value of the whole property.”

Among the largest challenges to such re-use is environmental hazards that might exist on the old properties and ridding sites of obsolete structures, he says. But in many cases, reusing buildings can be less costly than building anew.

“We have quite a surplus in Monroe Coun­ty or Southeastern Michigan of just about every classification of real estate,” he says.

“My goal with this is that there are other properties, even in Monroe County, that could benefit from this similar process.”

“I guess it’s trying to change the public opinion of what’s possible with these facili­ties. A lot of people tend to just write them off. We hope people will understand there’s a lot of potential with these buildings.”

Making waves
by Charles Slat , last modified January 16. 2010 11:17PM
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ShareMichigan touts the Great Lakes as an economic asset, crucial to both transportation and recreation.
But some port and coastal Great Lakes communities in the state figure they’re being left high and dry when it comes to funding to support those roles.
Among them are the cities of Monroe and Luna Pier, which have joined a group hoping to make some waves on behalf of Michigan’s coastal towns.
They are part of the Michigan Port Collaborative, a relatively new organization formed to advocate for Michigan’s port communities and coastal cities.
“Our whole marketing campaign at the state level talks about how fortunate we are to have the Great Lakes, but there’s no policy or funding for it,” said Pam Stanley, economic development director for the Port of Monroe. “There’s no funding you can go after for infrastructure improvements or anything like that at the state level.”
Both she and Greg Stewart, Luna Pier administrator, are among the collaborative’s 19-member interim steering committee, helping to set up the parameters of the new group. Its goal is to get better recognition for Michigan ports and harbors at the state and federal level.
“We’re trying to put together a strong organization for this collaborative to seek funding and policies that would enhance our ports and harbors,” Ms. Stanley said.
The Port of Monroe has been able to get dredging done over the past three years, thanks to Congressional earmark legislation pushed through by U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn. But this year, no dredging money appears on the horizon. Nor is there money for infrastructure projects to support economic development projects, such as the wind turbine tower manufacturing company that is planning a plant at the Port of Monroe.
Ms. Stanley said the port will have to invest in heavy concrete pads to support cranes, dock and rail improvements to serve the new manufacturer because transport of the towers is most efficient via water.
“We’re faced with trying to provide financing for that infrastructure and that’s very difficult,” she said. A financing plan is being developed, but no formal state program exists for enhancing the water transportation that the state views as so critical to its commerce.
She said one of the goals of the group is for advocacy on behalf of ports and coastal towns that will result in policy that provides money for infrastructure improvements. “Several states have done this and have been able to provide policy at the state level that provides them with dollars for their infrastructure,” she said.
Mr. Stewart said his community is hoping its involvement in the group will have multiple benefits.
“What we’re looking for is, first of all, ideas,” said Mr. Stewart. “I think a number of port cities in Michigan have gotten their acts together. We’re looking for best practices of what’s been done, but we’re also looking at ways to collaborate to either find grant money or influence what’s going on with the Great Lakes.
He said the town also hopes to get info on grant opportunities that other communities have used in the past. “There seems to be a lot of activity in the Great Lakes and I don’t know that Lake Erie, especially its west side, has gotten its share,” he said.
“The federal government and state have been doing grants for docks and piers and that’s exactly one of the areas were looking at,” he said. “How do we find those grants and be able to make this whole thing happen.”
Luna Pier has been interested in making the town an access point for ferry service to the Lake Erie islands. Army Corps funding normally is available only for improvements at commercial ports, not recreational venues such as Luna Pier.
Mr. Stewart said hundreds of people representing more than 50 ports and coastal towns showed up for a summit of the collaborative in October, including many from private industry, tourism and shipping businesses. “A lot of people are interested in what’s going on on the shoreline,” Mr. Stewart said.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity for Monroe County communities on Lake Erie, such as Luna Pier and Monroe,” said Chris Heid, a Luna Pier city councilman. “We can learn from the western and northern Michigan port communities, find out what works, and what doesn’t. They can help us identify funding opportunities and speak as an effective voice in Lansing as well as Washington.”
Mr. Stewart said he and Ms. Stanley, along with John Kerr of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, are the three Southeast Michigan representatives on the group’s steering committee. He said the Detroit officials expressed keen interest in the ideas Luna Pier is exploring.
Water transportation remains among the most efficient methods for moving bulk commodities and other products, Monroe port officials said. “A lake barge can move one ton of cargo 514 miles on a gallon of fuel,” said Thomas Krzyston, chairman of the Monroe Port Commission. “Michigan ports are an intricate part of our state’s multi-modal transportation network.”

Article published Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Brownfield experts laud work done on 2 Monroe projects
BLADE STAFF
MONROE - A pair of projects that were once abandoned and contaminated industrial sites have received accolades from experts in brownfield redevelopment. 

The Mason Run housing development and the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, which are turn-of-the century urban paper mills that were cleaned up, won prestigious national awards at last month’s Brownfields 2009 Conference in New Orleans. 

Soil and Materials Engineers Inc. was recognized for the work on the projects. According to the Plymouth firm, the projects were among four selected from dozens that were submitted. 

Mason Run is a multiphase new urbanism residential redevelopment. The city began cleaning up the 45-acre site of the former Consolidated Packaging Corp.’s north side plant on Elm Street to reclaim the land years ago. The city was awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the project. The reclaimed land was developed into housing by Crosswinds Communities, of Farmington Hills, Mich. 

The River Raisin battlefield, site of a bloody War of 1812 skirmish, was once a paper mill. The city acquired and demolished the former Jefferson Smurfit Corp. plant at the corner of North Dixie Highway and East Elm Avenue in the 1990s. 

The EPA also provided millions of dollars in grants to clear contaminated soil from the 35-acre site.The land is part of land to be donated to the federal government for inclusion into a national park.

A law signed by President Obama in March designated the River Raisin battlefield as a unit of the national park system. 

DUNDEE — Chrysler Group LLC plans to invest $179 million and create 155 jobs at its Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance plant in Dundee over the next five years.

It plans to build its advanced 1.4-liter engines there for the automaker’s line of small vehicles.

Michigan officials approved $4.6 million worth of incentives yesterday to assist the opening of the southern half of the facility, which has been effectively mothballed since the northern half began manufacturing engines in 2005.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation estimates increased economic activity from the project will create another 420 indirect jobs.

In a written statement, the automaker, now being managed by Italian automaker Fiat SpA, didn’t commit to ramping up production at the Dundee facility, although officials at the plant said work has begun on the project.

“Chrysler Group LLC appreciates the actions of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority in support of the company’s efforts to bring new business and jobs to Michigan. Several steps remain in the process, however, and we look forward to working with state and local officials to make this project a reality,” the automaker said.

The state-approved tax credit was to encourage the firm to locate the engine jobs in Dundee instead of a competing site in Mexico. The Dundee village council will consider a local abatement in support of the project at its meeting Dec. 8.

The Dundee plant has been named the most productive engine plant in North America by the prestigious Harbour Report for two straight years. The plant — which builds four-cylinder engines ranging in displacement from 1.8 to 2.4 liters — took 1.79 hours to produce each engine in 2008.

State officials said the opening of the southern half of the facility would increase production by up to 250,000 engines annually.

It has the capacity to build as many as 450,000 engines annually for the Chrysler Sebring and Sebring convertible, Dodge Avenger, Caliber, and Journey, and Jeep Compass and Patriot.

State officials said average weekly wages for the new jobs will be $916. The majority of the 250 current employees are represented by United Auto Workers Local 723. Hourly workers at the plant must hold either a technical associate’s degree, a journeyman’s card in a skilled trade, or five years of machining experience.

On Sept. 4, 2008, the Dundee facility produced its 1 millionth engine, just three years after it opened.

“We’ve got a small contingent of launch people over there already working,” said Tommy Zimmerman, plant unit chairman of Local 723. The added jobs would about double his membership.

Short term, he said, is getting 46 of his members now on layoff back to work, which he said could take place next spring.

“To get these guys back to work is just going to be a godsend,” Mr. Zimmerman said.

When Chrysler senior management outlined this month its five-year business plan, its powertrain division leader spoke extensively about plans to downsize the automaker’s range and size of engines, to increase both profitability and efficiency.

One of the keys to that strategy revolves around using Fiat engine designs, specifically its 1.4-liter Fully Integrated Robotized Engine to boost power ratings and increase the automaker’s fleet fuel efficiency rating while reducing emissions.

The engine’s first use domestically will be in the Fiat 500 minicar that is to be built in Mexico and sold by Chrysler dealers in the United States late next year, Chrysler officials said.

Kim Korth, an auto industry analyst with IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., said that if Chrysler goes through with plans to consolidate its small engine manufacturing in Dundee, the plant would be poised to power Chrysler’s revival.

“As we heard during the presentation of their business plan earlier this month, engines are a big part of their future, and the fact that they’re going to build them in that plant bodes very well for the future.”

During bankruptcy hearings this year, Chrysler executives indicated that the automaker, with Fiat, would focus its future small-engine production at the 900,000-square-foot Dundee plant.

In August, Chrysler dissolved its former Global Engine alliance with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. The three automakers had shared engine component designs, though each of the three maintained engine manufacturing in their own nations.

Dundee Village Administrator Patrick Burtch said the village council will consider a 12-year, 50-percent abatement on personal and real property for new equipment at the plant next month.

“If they decide to come here, the effect for the village would be substantial,” he said.

“The village had sold bonds for the first facility, and when the economy went down, Chrysler couldn’t continue with the investment.”

The additional investment would ease that financial burden on the community’s 4,500 residents, he said.

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at: lvellequette@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.

—–

To see more of The Blade, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.toledoblade.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Second Scrubber Continues Downward Emissions Trend at Detroit Edison’s Monroe Power Plant

MONROE, Mich., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ — For the second time this year, Detroit Edison’s Monroe Power Plant has achieved a major reduction in emissions. The second flue gas desulfurization system - or scrubber - began operation today at the coal-fired power plant.

With today’s startup of the second scrubber, sulfur dioxide emissions are reduced by about 97 percent and mercury emissions are reduced by 80 to 90 percent from the plant’s No. 3 generating unit. Similar reductions were achieved in June on Unit 4 when the first FGD began operation. The Monroe Power Plant consists of four individual generating units.

This is the latest milestone in a decade-long program to install state-of-the-art control equipment and dramatically reduce emissions at the Monroe Power Plant.

“The startup of the second scrubber is another major achievement in an emissions control construction program that began 10 years ago and has cost $1.7 billion,” said Ron May, DTE Energy senior vice president, major enterprise projects. “This investment makes a significant improvement to air quality in the region and supports the long-term operation of the Monroe Power Plant, which is a cornerstone of Detroit Edison’s generating fleet.”

In addition to construction of the two scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems have been installed on three of the plant’s generating units. The SCRs provide 90 percent nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction per unit.

On Units 3 and 4, where both SCRs and scrubbers are operating, mercury emissions are reduced by 80 to 90 percent due to the interaction of the two systems. The Monroe Power Plant is the first power plant in Michigan with both SCRs and scrubbers.

The systems will help the Monroe Power Plant meet current and expected reductions in federal and state emissions limits said Skiles Boyd, DTE Energy vice president, environmental management and resources. “Even though we didn’t know exactly what the emissions limits would be when we began construction 10 years ago, we felt it was in the best interest of our company, our customers and the environment to install state-of-the-art emissions control systems at this important plant,” he said.

Boyd said engineering work is under way for construction of the third and fourth scrubbers and the fourth SCR for the Monroe plant. Some site work for those systems is expected to begin next year.

Detroit Edison is an investor-owned electric utility serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a subsidiary of DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Information about DTE Energy is available at www.dteenergy.com.

SOURCE Detroit Edison

Michigan incentive produces lights, cameras, jobs
Movie industry spending millions in state

Clint Eastwood films ‘Gran Torino’ in Grosse Pointe Park. The film was rewritten to be set in the Detroit area to take advantage of Michigan’s incentives. ( DETROIT NEWS/BRANDY BAKER ) Zoom | Photo Reprints

By LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
From makeup-wearing armed insurgents roaming metro Detroit to a $146 million studio being built 50 miles north of Toledo, motion pictures are recasting Michigan’s devastated economic landscape.  

And in doing so, an industry that once made its home almost exclusively in sunny Southern California is now bringing hundreds of well-paying - although often temporary - jobs to a state mired deeply in the recession. 

“I think Michigan is putting out the welcome mat,” said Jean
Prewitt, president and chief executive officer of the Independent Film and Television Alliance. 

In April, 2008, Michigan enacted a 40 percent refundable or transferable tax credit on money spent on film and TV productions in the state. Producers get an extra 2 percent back if the expense occurs in one of 103 communities statewide. The credit also applies to wages paid to workers who are Michigan residents. 

The credit is in the form of a rebate check on all production expenses in the state and is issued regardless of whether the movie is shown at theaters or on television. For example, if expenses in the state amount to $10 million, the production company would get approximately $4 million back from the state. 

The credit is granted to almost every expense, including actors’ salaries, but has a $2 million cap per individual. Producers also can get a 25 percent credit against taxes on industry infrastructure - such as studios and sound stages - and 50 percent back on money they spend to train workers on the job.”Right now, there are 28 films either in preproduction, postproduction, or that have wrapped. Last year, we had 35 films completed,” said Ken Droz, communications manager for the Michigan Film Office, which oversees the incentive program.

Two films were shot in Michigan during all of 2007, before the incentives were enacted.

Jamie Vick, an independent film producer and an instructor at Monroe County Community College, is teaching a class on movie-equipment setup. ( THE BLADE/LORI KING ) Zoom | Photo Reprints

“We’re giving them a huge financial incentive to come, but this is an extremely mobile industry,” Mr. Droz said. For Michigan residents, moving into the movie business can provide not only a new skill set, but also work that - unlike heavy manufacturing - “is versatile, it’s mobile, and it’s not geographic-dependent.” 

The incentives have sprouted fledgling studio production facilities in southeast Michigan. Unity Studios is developing a $146 million production facility in Allen Park, about 30 miles north of Monroe, on the site of a former Montgomery Ward warehouse complex. 

In Detroit itself, the former temporary casino owned by MGM Grand is to become home to the Detroit Center Studios; about 20 miles north, in Pontiac, Motown Motion Pictures LLC plans to invest about $70 million in a 600,000-square-foot development with nine sound stages. 

Ohio’s efforts at luring filmmakers haven’t been as successful as those of its neighbor to the north, but Ohio’s incentives - which recently were upgraded - aren’t nearly as lucrative as Michigan’s. 

Ohio offers a 25 percent tax credit, up to a maximum of $5 million per production. The state also sets a limit on how much can be credited overall; next year that amount is $10 million. For filmmakers, the difference can be tens of millions of dollars - which can make or break a film financially before it ever gets to the screen. 

“The type of credit [Michigan] put in place is considered the dream credit,” said Ms. Prewitt of the Independent Film group. 

“For an independent filmmaker, it’s the type that you can turn to a bank or investor and monetize that credit. You know what it’s worth, and you know that you’ll get it in cash.” 

The incentive, which went active just as the credit markets were freezing up, helps get projects, she said. 

Michigan’s incentive package had an almost immediate impact: The script of the Clint Eastwood film Gran Torino was rewritten, moving the setting from Minneapolis to Detroit, to take advantage of the incentives. 

A study this year by the Center for Economic Analysis at Michigan State University found that, in the first eight months that Michigan’s incentive package was in place, 32 productions spent $65.4 million that qualified for the credit. 

Of that number, $25.1 million was wages and salaries and $40.3 million was spent on local goods and services, the study found. 

The production companies had 927 days of filming in the state and employed 2,763 Michigan residents, the study found. 

Using economic multipliers, the industry added an estimated 1,102 full-time year-round jobs and $53.8 million in wages and salaries to the state’s economy in 2008. 

Steven Miller, one of the study’s co-authors, estimated that if current trends continue, total production expenditures will climb to almost $188 million annually by 2012 and produce 2,922 jobs with annual income of almost $190 million. 

The total addition to the state’s annual economy, with multipliers, is estimated at almost $336 million. 

Despite the excitement of having big film stars such as Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, and Hillary Swank running around the state, the economic impact represents less than 0.1 percent of Michigan’s nearly $383 billion overall economy. 

Yet for those who have struggled among Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation 15.2 percent unemployment rate, the influx of movie, television, and digital media production represents new employment avenues. 

“This is a perfect opportunity,” argues Monroe resident Jamie Vick, an independent film producer who this fall is helping others break into the business with a class at Monroe County Community College. 

The $1,700 class will teach students how to be a “grip” - a member of the crew on a movie set who are responsible for lighting, scaffolds, ladders, and other heavy equipment. 

Mr. Vick said working as a grip, although an entry-level job that might start at $17 an hour, can lead to a career with pay as high as $120,000 a year. 

“Michigan has been so far down on the employment ladder, and there have been so few opportunities for skilled tradesmen to work in anything other than what they’ve done,” Mr. Vick said. “I would hope there would be a lot of interest in it given how rapidly [the industry] is moving in Michigan.” 

And that move is already producing opportunities. 

Metro Detroit this month is host to production of the first big-budget blockbuster to be made in Michigan since the new tax incentives passed. Wolverine Productions Delaware LLC is shooting a remake of Red Dawn, the 1984 jingoistic cult classic in which a group of teenagers leads an armed insurgency against Cuban and Russian forces that have invaded the United States. 

In the current production, the invaders are Chinese and Russian, and the high school mascot that the insurgents invoke when they attack - “Wolverine!” - carries a special relevance in the Wolverine state. The cast includes Toledoan Adrianne Palicki, a Whitmer High School graduate who has the lead female role in the film. 

Peter Silbermann, a spokesman for the production company shooting Red Dawn, said that about 150 Michigan residents are working on the project, including a number of Michigan actors. Hundreds more local residents will appear as paid extras in the film. Shooting is expected to continue through early December on what is expected to be a $40 million film. 

“This is an ideal location for this film, with or without the tax credit,” Mr. Silbermann said. “Regardless of the incentive, it was a place we were very seriously looking at; the incentive just made it that much more ideal.”