Berrien County holds public hearing on Oakfield Brownfield plan proposing 34 homes

The Berrien County Board of Commissioners convened a public hearing on the Oakfield Brownfield plan, a proposal to develop 34 single-family homes on about 36 county-owned acres in the Village of 3 Oaks. Greg Burt, who identified himself in the hearing as "program manager workforce housing for Alan," said the project represents roughly a $39,000,000 private investment and that the developer would acquire about 20 acres of the parcel.

Burt said eight of the units would be reserved for families at or below 120% of area median income and explained the financing approach: the plan would use tax-increment financing (TIF) under the statutory brownfield framework to reimburse eligible development costs. "This brownfield plan calls for the development of 34 single family homes in the village Of 3 Oaks," Burt said, and he described eligible development costs of about $7,200,000, approximately $2,500,000 in on-site infrastructure work, and a rent-loss subsidy totaling about $1,800,000 over a 10-year term to support affordability for the reserved units.

Burt described reimbursement and tax-impact projections, saying the plan anticipates a roughly 26-year reimbursement period and estimated collections and eligible-cost reimbursements across affected taxing jurisdictions. He also told commissioners that the Brownfield Authority recommended approval in April, the village approved the site plan in July, and the village council concurred in August. Commissioners thanked staff and the developer; the board closed the hearing and resumed its regular session without taking a final vote on the Brownfield plan during this meeting.

Next steps: the hearing record was closed and the board returned to regular business; no final county-level approval or vote on the Brownfield plan was recorded in the transcript for this session.