Local officials are hopeful that Michigan Department of Environmental Quality funds will help clean up a blighted site primed for an ambitious redevelopment project. The county Board of Commissioners authorized its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to apply for a $1.25 million DEQ loan and $100,000 grant to mitigate contamination of a former Vicksburg paper mill. Paper City Development LLC. plans redevelop the long-vacant mill complex into an $50 million brewery and mixed-use space. Plans include 42 apartments, a beer garden, restaurant, retail center, craft food and beverage production facility, offices, arts community, museum, and events space. Entities involved in the project include the DEQ, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Southwest Michigan First, Local Initiative Support Coalition, the Kalamazoo County Land Bank and Village of Vicksburg. See full article here.