Getting the Site Ready:
What's Happening Now

Before the Holt Economic Opportunity Park can attract the right kind of investment, it has to be physically ready to compete. That's the purpose of LEAP’s site readiness work: preparing the land now, before a specific project is identified, so it's market-ready the moment opportunity comes. Here's why this work matters, what's happening now and what you can expect to see:

What “Site Readiness” Means

Preparing the Land to Compete

LEAP has controlled the site since 2023 and is responsible for making sure the property is ready, competitive and positioned for the kind of investment Delhi Township's Master Plan calls for.

At the direction of the Delhi Township Board, LEAP pursued and secured $6.5 million in state funding through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)’s MI Sites Program to prepare the HEOP for the market. This money is being used to lower risk for developers by reducing the cost, uncertainty and time it would otherwise take a future user to build here. LEAP is doing this through infrastructure improvements and the environmental, engineering and utility studies needed to bring the site to market safely and competitively.

Readiness Activities:
What You'll See

While much has already been done in recent years, LEAP is now in the early stages of work that must be completed at the site itself before development can move forward. As LEAP and its partners are on site more often, the goal is that work will become visible over the coming months, including:

  • Community impact studies

  • Environmental studies of the land

  • Surveys for plants, animals and historical artifacts

  • Improvements at the entrance, like new signs, grading and paved roads

  • Detailed engineering and cost studies to plan utilities and site layout for different possible uses

Process & Timeline

Here’s how the site got to this point and what’s ahead:

  1. 2018

    The State of Michigan identifies the site as a priority economic development opportunity

  2. 2023

    LEAP secures the option via MEDC to buy the property and begins work to advance readiness

  3. 2024

    $6.5 million in state funding secured to advance readiness activities

  4. 2026

    Environmental checks, engineering and infrastructure planning underway.

  5. 2026

    LEAP selects Lighthouse Sustainability as its development partner following a competitive selection process.

  6. Next

    Community education and engagement and continued site readiness work. A formal proposal would come forward only after community engagement and once the township’s moratorium allows.

Since 2022, LEAP has completed several site readiness projects to improve the competitiveness of the HEOP. Work completed to date includes:

  • Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

  • Desktop Threatened & Endangered Species Study

  • Desktop Cultural Resources Report

  • Wetland Delineation & EGLE WIP Permit

  • Traffic Study

  • Geodynamic Evaluation Services

  • ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey

  • Preliminary Geotechnical Survey

  • Drain Relocation Study with Hydrologics Data and Conceptual Plan