Bill to transfer Muskegon prison property heads to governor

Bill to transfer Muskegon prison property heads to governor

MUSKEGON — A bill to transfer a lakeshore prison property to the state’s land bank is heading to the governor.

The Michigan Legislature gave final approval on Thursday to the bill that enables the city to use former West Shoreline Correctional Facility property in Muskegon for industrial purposes. It was sponsored by Sen. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart.

The prison, located at 2500 South Sheridan Drive, closed in March.

Senate Bill 1118 authorizes the Department of Technology, Management and Budget to transfer part of the property to the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority. The authority would then transfer the property to the city.

“Like many urban communities across Michigan, the city of Muskegon has lacked readily available land to meet the needs of today’s industrial end users,” Hansen said in a statement. “The city has been working very hard for more than five years to attract new industry to the community, so this is great news for the city.”

Hansen added the site will help attract new investment and jobs to Muskegon.

MiBiz was first to report in September that the city planned to expand its existing Port City Industrial Park with the addition of the 66.5-acre site. They had identified an interested, unspecified end user for the property that could take up to 40-50 acres.

The state first announced the closure of the facility in January, citing a “significant decline” in the statewide prison population, as MiBiz previously reported. At the time of the announcement, the prison employed 174 people.