Trust provides update on former Buick City site

FLINT, Mich. (WNEM) - The Trust overseeing the former Buick City site offered an update on where cleanup efforts stand after years of manufacturing left behind chemicals in the area.

“The contamination that’s here based on our investigation thus far has not reached the river. So, what we’re trying to do is address it where it is now and prevent it from getting to the river,” said Grant Trigger, a Racer Trust Cleanup Manager.

Racer Trust says it’s 30 days away from completing the cleanup of the lagoon at the old Buick City site where PFAs contamination in the surface water, soil and sediment was detected. The company says it has drained and filtered water out of the lagoon and is working on absorbing the chemicals from the ground and preventing the PFAs from entering the sewer system from storm runoff and ultimately ending up in the river.

“The lagoon sits in a thick clay, heavy clay deposit. So not only are we treating the soils, the sediment and the Phragmites for PFAs, but it also sits in a clay basin basically. So it provides another barrier to migration,” said Chris Peters, Vice President of Arcadis.

The Trust has a dual mission to clean the site and to foster and support redevelopment. It will continue to test the property for PFAs and provide the data to Ashley Capital, one of the largest privately-owned real estate investment companies in the U.S., so it can develop the property.

“They know when they move forward to develop the site. The trust is appropriately managing the environmental issues,” Trigger said.

In 2015, Ashley Capital worked with Racer Trust to buy and redevelop the site of a former GM plant in Livonia. That site is now home to Amazon and the Republic National Distribution Company. The trust has signed an agreement with Ashley Capital to buy 352 acres of Buick City.

“We’re working hard to provide information to Ashley Capital to help their analysis of this opportunity,” Trigger said.

If all goes to plan, the Racer Trust is hopeful for a closing in the coming months.

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