LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan’s manufacturing legacy didn’t end when factories shut down: it left behind tens of thousands of polluted properties, known as brownfields, waiting for cleanup.

That’s where the state comes in.

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Michigan is offering developers grants of up to $2 million to help clean up contaminated land through RenewMI, a remediation program backed by $77 million in state funding. The goal: make risky sites less risky and coax private investment back onto land most developers would otherwise avoid.

“Because we have a lot of these sites around the state, we need to de-risk it,” Phil Roos, director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), said.

Over the last several years, Michigan has helped redevelop hundreds of contaminated sites across roughly 50 communities, pairing public incentives with private investment, according to EGLE. The projects have produced new housing, commercial space, and high-profile redevelopments like Jackson Field, now home to the Lansing Lugnuts.

Not every site can support housing. Mike Witkowski of the Michigan Manufacturers Association told Bridge Michigan that heavily contaminated locations are better suited for industrial use.

With thousands of sites statewide, Michigan’s cleanup strategy depends on one thing: making brownfields worth the risk.