U.S. EPA Highlights RACER Trust Redevelopment Successes

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has highlighted the redevelopment of three former RACER Trust properties as part of the series “EPA Redevelopment Success Stories.”

Each of the highlighted real estate development projects is in Michigan and under the jurisdiction of EPA’s Region 5 office, based in Chicago.

The series focuses on projects in Livonia, Pontiac and Ypsilanti Township, which together resulted in more than $250 million in private investment and more than 1,200 new jobs at former GM manufacturing locations. RACER Trust took title to the properties as a result of the General Motors Corp. bankruptcy and positioned them for sale and reuse.

“Our redevelopment and remediation teams work seamlessly to prepare our properties for reuse with the goal of helping the communities that were hurt by the GM bankruptcy,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “We derive our greatest satisfaction from knowing our efforts are creating new opportunities and investment in our communities, and we are honored and grateful that the U.S. EPA has put a spotlight on these thriving reuses. We thank EPA not only for the recognition, but for the important leadership and programmatic support the agency has provided over the years. EPA has resources available for prospective investors in abandoned or underutilized properties, and we encourage anyone considering the purchase of such a property to become familiar with what the EPA can offer.”

“EPA and RACER Trust both value innovation and partnership and are committed to a clean and safe environment,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede. “This administration has prioritized redevelopment, and EPA is proud to have been a part of these projects and honored to have been able to serve the people of Michigan.”

To date, RACER Trust has completed 81 property sales transactions, resulting in buyer commitments for $3.8 billion in private investment and more than 14,000 jobs.

About RACER Trust: RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. When it was formed in 2011, RACER was one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. Its initial property holdings were at 80 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.