ZEELAND — A modernization and expansion project totaling $836 million from Mead Johnson received the first of a litany of required approvals June 25, when the Zeeland Planning Commission gave preliminary approval for the rezoning of 633 and 605 E. Main Ave.
The rezoning, which would change the properties from Residential R-2 and R-3 to Industrial I-2, will need to be approved again, expected during a meeting July 10.
The vote was unanimous for 633 E. Main, though officials Amanda Cooper and Robert Blanton recused themselves from both motions due to connections with Lakeshore Advantage, an economic development corporation that has supported the project.
The vote for 605 E. Main faced one opposing vote from Commissioner Glenn Kass. The plot currently contains eight townhomes and has been marked for future land use as residential, while 633 E. Main contains one single-family home and has been marked for future land use as industrial.
“I’ve long been a critic of losing housing in this community for 20 plus years,” Kass said. “I think protecting housing is very important. However, I also have the duty and the responsibility as a city councilman to provide for the financial future of this community.”
Kass said he’d prefer to find a way for Mead Johnson to expand and modernize while also protecting housing.
“The townhome property … is a completely different story,” Kass said. “That is, and has been, the future land use as multi-family residential for 15 years.”
Commissioner Dan Klompmaker pointed to the preliminary site plan for Mead Johnson, under which the current townhome property would become employee parking.
“Just to be clear, all the property that we’ve purchased is required to meet the objectives of the project,” said project representative Aaron Holder. “We are committed, though, to being a good neighbor.”
According to a statement from Mead Johnson to The Sentinel, seven of the eight leases at the townhomes were set to expire before the end of 2025, and residents are relocating based on the dates of their individual lease agreements.
Mead Johnson has also provided each renter with a full deposit refund, the company said, and a $2,000 stipend to assist with relocation expenses. For the remaining unit with a lease ending in 2026, an additional payment has been offered, should the resident choose to end their lease early.
Mayor Kevin Klynstra shared his support of the rezoning June 25, citing multiple places in the city where industry and residential are intertwined. He said industry has strongly supported the city.
“If this is approved, what (Mead Johnson) will be paying in tax will be equivalent to what 1,800 houses pay in taxes when abatements are done,” Klynstra said.
Why is Mead Johnson expanding in Zeeland?
Mead Johnson hasn’t pegged the project as an expansion, but rather a necessity to make the modernization of the company’s current facility possible without disrupting operations and the supply of infant formula.
“Repurposing nearby residential land for commercial use allows us to establish an essential facility to prevent disruption, avoid supply shortages and ensure families across the country continue to receive the formula they depend on,” an initial community presentation, supplied to The Sentinel by Mead Johnson, read.
The new facility would have employee-focused spaces, including a new front office, an employee center, breakrooms, locker rooms, a hot food cafeteria, a mothers’ room and collaborative workspaces. The plan would also include a new community park on the corner of East Main Avenue and Carlton Street, as well as an upgraded Veldhof Playground, currently located at Bethel Christian Reformed Church. According to the presentation, the location of the upgraded playground has yet to be determined.
The project won’t necessarily add jobs.
“(The project) really is to secure the approximate 500 employees that we currently have at Mead Johnson,” Art Pike form Mead Johnson told The Sentinel. “There are another 100 to 200 contractors on-site on any given day.”
The company has purchased at least six properties, officials confirmed: 126 N. Fairview, 107 and 109 N. Carlton, 640 E. Washington, and 549, 605 and 633 E. Main Ave. Only three of those properties, those along Main Avenue, are currently zoned residential.
Pike said the request for rezoning is I-2, not I-1, because the rest of Mead Johnson’s facilities are already zoned I-2. He said nearly 90% of the property between East Washington Avenue, East Main Avenue, Fairview Street and Carlton Street is zoned I-2, and none is zoned I-1.
The plant in Zeeland is Mead Johnson’s global hub for Nutramigen, a specialized infant formula for babies who can’t fully digest cow milk.
How do residents feel about the expansion of Mead Johnson?
Residents have offered mixed reviews of the project, with neighbors citing concerns about noise, smell and permanent change to the neighborhood. Meanwhile, some of the property owners who chose to sell to Mead Johnson to make the project possible, as well as current employees, have voiced their support of the company, and their belief in the intention of Mead Johnson to be good community stewards.
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Mead Johnson expansion, modernization in Zeeland receives first of many required approvals
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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