GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The clean up of Harbor Island is beginning to reach its final stages with officials indicating that discussions on what could come to the site next are right around the corner.
Crews have spent the past five years working to clean up and remove potentially harmful sediment from the old power plant and landfill that once stood on Harbor Island in Grand Haven.
WATCH: Grand Haven's Harbor Island cleanup enters final stages, future development discussions to begin
The State Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy approved a new plan in early July which will allow crews to move the project forward, verifying where the highest levels of contamination are located then using that data to determine what kind of development could work at the site.
"That plan is to get a few more pieces of data that we need to find the edges where all the contamination is, but it's also to investigate how we are going to remediate this island," explained Derek Gajdos, Grand Haven Project Management Director.
Officials could start having discussions to determine the island's future as soon as March of 2026.
"We had some open houses, we had surveys, and the vast majority of them wanted it to be natural. Whether it's a nature park or a developed park, something recreational, something the public can enjoy," Gajdos said.
While the open houses and surveys conducted in early 2024 showed most respondents leaning towards turning the space into a new park and recreational space, one Grand Haven resident, Jim Hagen, has been urging city officials to include solar panels in the plan.
"What was presented was community solar with native perennials, and the reason I would like to see it is it's such a great opportunity for that plot to share between nature and energy," said Hagen.
Remediating the island could cost the city anywhere between $40 million and $80 million.
Hagen says taking advantage of federal incentives tied to solar projects that are soon set to expire will save the city money on the project.
"The incentives are very attractive. It varies from 30% to 50% on this project," Hagen said.
Gajdos says the city is working with federal leaders to secure funding for the project and will be working with the public soon to determine what comes next.
"Are we still at the worst case? Maybe not, but we don't know that until we start getting into what the real options and that's going to happen over the next nine months," Gajdos said.
Click here for more information on the project and to see renderings of potential plans for the site.
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