DTE Energy sells historic Marysville Power Plant to Commercial Development Company

MARYSVILLE, Mich., Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) has reached an agreement to sell the historic Marysville Power Plant to Commercial Development Company.

Commercial Development Co., a St. Louis-based firm specializing in industrial brownfield work, will prepare the site for future development. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The Marysville Power Plant - also known as the "Mighty Marysville" - operated from 1922 until 2001, employing as many 250 people at its peak. It was released for decommissioning in 2011. The plant, which sits on a 20-acre site along the St. Clair River, generated about 167 megawatts of electricity when operations ceased.

"DTE Energy has worked very closely with the city leadership of Marysville regarding the sale of our Marysville Power Plant property," said Dave Meador, DTE Energy executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Through our partnership with city leaders, we have a greater understanding of the community's needs and the region's vision for our property. We are very pleased and excited for the Marysville community and the entire state about the potential development opportunities our plant property will bring."

Commercial Development Company (CDC) has a track record of successfully preparing industrial brownfields for redevelopment.

Since the company was founded in 1990, it has purchased, remediated and redeveloped dozens of properties, including former Chrysler and General Motors plants. As a condition of the CDC's contract with DTE, it must complete its work on the Marysville property within two years.

"A lot of work needs to be done on the Marysville Power Plant site," said Randall Jostes, CEO of Environmental Liability Transfer, an affiliated company of CDC.  "We are confident that we can lay the foundation for a future development that will suit the community's needs, and we will work closely with Marysville leaders to ensure we meet their expectations."

The demolition will take place in phases, starting on the inside of the buildings. About 30 contractors, who are expected to be hired locally, will be on site at any given time working on the project.

"This is a happy day for the city of Marysville. We envision this site becoming a destination stop in Southeast Michigan, and anticipate it will provide good jobs and a strong tax base in the region," said Randall Fernandez, assistant city manager. "Our partnership with both DTE and Commercial Development Company has been a positive model for businesses and local governments working together."

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include DTE Electric, an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, DTE Gas, a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan and other non-utility, energy businesses focused on gas storage and pipelines, power and industrial projects, and energy trading. Information about DTE Energy is available at dteenergy.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.

Commercial Development Company, Inc. (CDC) a leading North American redevelopment firm with an acquisition portfolio exceeding 30 million square feet targets, acquires, repurposes and redevelops challenged and underutilized corporate real estate by blending a unique combination of real estate, environmental, legal, financial and insurance expertise within one firm capable of acquisition, remediation, retrofitting, demolition and redevelopment of environmentally challenged, distressed, unique or otherwise impaired corporate real estate assets. Information is available at http://www.cdcco.com/.

SOURCE DTE Energy