Governor Doyle Announces $409,500 Brownfield Grant to Silverstone Partners, Inc.

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle announced today that Silverstone Partners, Inc. will receive a $409,500 Blight Elimination and Brownfield Redevelopment (BEBR) grant from the Department of Commerce (Commerce) to help redevelop an unoccupied and underutilized property in Kenosha County.

“Brownfield grants help renew damaged or vacant land and provide communities with opportunities for additional reinvestment,” Governor Doyle said. “I’m pleased that we could help Silverstone Partners, Inc. improve the local supply of rental units, particularly for senior citizens.”

Silverstone Partners, Inc. plans to construct a four-story apartment building containing 89 units on a one-acre parcel located at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 51st Place in Kenosha. It will use the BEBR funds to address soil contamination on a site formerly occupied by a tannery. An estimated 80 of the 89 living units will be priced as affordable housing targeted for seniors. The total project cost is $8.5 million.

Commerce’s BEBR Program provides grant funds to municipalities, local development corporations, and the private sector to support assessment, remediation and return of contaminated lands to productive use. Brownfields are abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived contamination.

For more information about the BEBR Program, contact Al Rabin, Commerce, at 608/267-8926.