RACER Trust, Rivore Metals reach agreement on sale of Michigan property

RACER Trust (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) has reached an agreement with Rivore Metals LLC,Troy, Michigan, to sell a 41.9-acre industrial property in Pontiac, Michigan. Once the remediation is complete, Rivore Metals plans to build a 40,000-square-foot metals sorting facility on the site and employee up to 35 people. According to RACER Trust, Rivore Metals plans to process nonferrous scrap metal at the location.

Rivore is a metals trading and project management company with offices in the United States and Canada. The company provides full-service trading operations to international specialized markets for ferrous and nonferrous materials. It plans to store, sort and ship reclaimed metal from the Pontiac location. The company operates two scrap metal recycling facilities in Detroit.

Environmental remediation work at this site, which is zoned for heavy industry, is being performed through the RCRA Corrective Action program under the oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) has been identified at the site, and soil with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) is present along the site’s southern border and needs to be capped. Previous work on the site involved removing several hundred tons of soil contaminated by arsenic.

Anticipated future work at the site includes additional characterization of the LNAPL, identifying and evaluating remedial alternatives for the LNAPL, maintenance of the future cap for PCB-impacted soil and groundwater monitoring. Deed restrictions likely will include prohibiting use of groundwater, protecting the cap for PCB-impacted soil, managing potential vapor intrusion and limiting movement of soil in some areas.

“Rivore Metals is establishing a substantial presence in Pontiac, returning underutilized properties to productive use and providing jobs and a new tax base,” says Elliott Laws of EPLET LLC, the administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “Redevelopment that leads to new jobs and other community benefits is central to RACER’s mission, and I’m pleased to say we have worked with several buyers, with support from the community, who are helping us to fulfill our mission in Pontiac.”

“Our company is proud to be making significant investments in Pontiac, and to bring new jobs and other benefits to the community as a result,” says Kosta Marselis, Rivore president. “We send our products all over the world, but Southeast Michigan is home, and it’s important to me that we create opportunities here. We’re looking forward to completing the purchase and setting up our operations as quickly as possible.”

RACER Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. When it was formed, RACER, one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States, owned GM properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast.