Ionia City Manager Precia Garland said the State Land Bank Authority already has possession of the vacant Deerfield Correctional Facility land and the project will include the demolition of both to create a 164-acre site for redevelopment.

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“If we stay on schedule, we’re anticipating that the site will be clear by the end of this calendar year,” Garland said.

Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity spokesperson Jason Moon said the land was transferred to the State Land Bank Authority because they are experts at managing major demolition projects and coordinate with local authorities to prepare those sites for redevelopment.

Moon said it would help reduce blight in the city.

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz said the prisons have been closed for more than a decade.

“Since the MDOC had no plans on returning to either site operationally, we’re supportive of this move,” Gautz said.

The Legislature secured $20 million in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget to demolish the sites and make sure they can be redeveloped.

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Garland said they would have to be checked to see if there is lead paint or asbestos contamination at the site before they could proceed.

She said the city would be putting the call out for potential developers in the next few months and the land would remain with the State Land Bank Authority until purchased by the developer.

Garland said the city would be meeting next month to discuss what they are looking for in the redevelopment of the property.

Some of the ideas posited were a high-tech industrial park and a housing development.

“We’re really at the very beginning of this project as far as development goes,” Garland said.