ZEELAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 21, 2025) – It may be last call for those wishing to block Reckett Zeeland’s attempt to expand its Enfamil baby formula manufacturing facilities.
The Zeeland City Council, during its biweekly business meeting on Monday, will consider a request by the subsidiary of Mead Johnson to rezone two parcels of land it had acquired off of East Main Avenue from residential to general industrial. This would accommodate a planned $836 million modernization of the site where baby formula has been made for about a century.
The matter has generated some concern from nearby residents who fear of increased traffic, noise and odor, along with perceived decreased values of their property. Others say that Mead Johnson, the city’s third largest employer behind Gentex and MillerKnoll, could pull up stakes, taking about 500 jobs with it, should this rezoning request be denied and the planned renovation is foiled. The city’s planning commission has already recommended approving this request.
In addition, the city council will hold a public hearing ahead of an application by the Koele Godfrey Investment Group to establish a Commercial Rehabilitation District at its current site off of East Main Avenue. The firm is seeking an Act 210 Commercial Rehabilitation property tax exemption over a 10-year period to accommodate the building of a new, two-story building of around 6,350 square feet, with an investment of about $2 million.
Due to what is expected to be an increased public presence over the Reckett Zeeland matter, the Zeeland City Council will move proceedings into the Howard Miller Library & Community Center (14 S. Church St.), with a 6 PM work session ahead of the 7 PM business meeting. An online link to the agenda and supporting documents is here.
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