Plans Detailed For GM Plant Site To Become Park
FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Plans are moving forward for the site of a former General Motors manufacturing complex in Flint known as "Chevy in the Hole" to be transformed into park land, officials said.
A design for the site, which is being called Chevy Commons, is being presented to the public on Thursday by the city and the Genesee County Land Bank. Officials are reviewing the plans for the site, which has been the focus of an environmental cleanup for years.
"The plan calls for the site to be capped with an attractive low-maintenance natural landscape intended to minimize maintenance and storm water management costs," officials said in a statement.
The design plan provides a "blueprint" to convert about 60 acres of the city-owned, former manufacturing site along the Flint River into a natural area, officials said. The site will be redeveloped in phases to include open grasslands, woodlands and wetlands as funding permits.
Plans also call for trails that will connect with neighborhoods and a regional trail network.
Manufacturing began at the "Chevy in the Hole" site in 1904 and, at its peak, the factories employed thousands. The last factory buildings were demolished a decade ago by auto parts supplier Delphi, and work has been taking place for years to prepare the site.
Plans for a park at the site, which was covered by a massive concrete slab, were announced in 2009 as part of the brownfield reclamation project. The design work is funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfield grant managed by the Genesee County Land Bank.
© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
