Emerging developer grant dollars can be used for predevelopment expenses that the City of Grand Rapids deems necessary for obtaining site plan approval. Think of surveying, environmental assessments and engineering that are essential for future projects.
But during a recent Grand Rapids’ Brownfield Redevelopment Authority meeting, it was revealed the money had been distributed.
“So, as of right now, the projects that we have approved have utilized the majority of our funding for the remainder of this fiscal year, which is ultimately why our team has chosen to take a pause for a second.”
That’s Economic Development Coordinator Mackenzie Miller. She explained the department paused its emerging developer grant program in December after the brownfield board allocated all available grant funds during its first six months of the 2026 fiscal year.
“Given the amount of that has been requested to date and what we have to work with for the remainder of the fiscal year, our goal would be to retain existing applications and ultimately evaluate the best methods to achieve goals of equitable access.”
The authority has granted 22 awards totaling more than $3.1 million, mostly for housing projects across three city wards since its inception in October 2023. Almost half of that total was allocated in the past six months.
There remains $2.4 million worth of funding requests in the application queue. The pause is in effect through June 30th.
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