An architect’s rendering depicts the main front office entrance for the new Mead Johnson Nutrition six-story, 501,477-square-foot building that is planned to be built west of the current ZSP plant building. The site plan will be discussed by the Planning Commission at a special meeting May 11.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Mead Johnson Nutrition has submitted a site plan to the city of Zeeland for a planned expansion and modernization project that would more than triple the size of its current plant on the city’s east side.
According to the site plan application posted on the city’s website, the company is proposing construction of a new six-story, 501,477-square-foot building directly west of the current ZSP plant building and a 117,928-square-foot addition to be built on the north end of the current ZIPP building to the north. Mead Johnson currently has 255,400 square feet of existing building space, city Community Development Director Tim Maday said.
The city’s Planning Commission has called a special meeting for Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at the Howard Miller Community Center for Mead Johnson to further detail its plan to modernize the infant formula manufacturing plant that has been in existence since 1924. Commissioners will consider both the site plan and special land use request for the company at that meeting.
“This project is a major modernization of both the manufacturing and packaging operations, as well as employee amenities areas,” Mead Johnson senior engineering manager Allan Barron wrote in a memo that was part of the site plan packet presented to the city.
The new standalone facility will be built on land acquired by Mead Johnson over the past couple of years to the west and north of the current plant, and subsequently rezoned I-2 general industrial by the city last year.
“This new building will include manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, supporting utilities, and a new building housing office, laboratory, and employee amenities,” Barron wrote.
Meanwhile, the addition to the current plant will house a new packaging line, Barron wrote.
If approved, the project is expected to accommodate a total of 501 employees - 165 manufacturing workers for each of the plant’s two shifts (6 a.m. and 6 p.m.) and 171 office employees, according to the site plan application. The company is asking for 377 parking spaces to accommodate the expected workforce numbers, Barron wrote.
“Because this lot will be controlled-access and reserved exclusively for employees, we are confident that this capacity will sufficiently support current operations as well as known future growth,” Barron wrote.
The Planning Commission is just one of several bodies that will have to sign off on the Mead Johnson project. The Zoning Board of Appeals will be asked to approve height variances for the project because several areas of the new facility will exceed the current city ordinance that limits the height of buildings in the I-2 district to 40 feet. The company submitted a zoning variance request concurrently with the site plan approval application, Barron wrote.
“Much of the process equipment required to support our manufacturing requires this height with towers required for the spray dryer and blender,” Barron wrote.
One of the top concerns voiced by nearby residents last year when Mead Johnson was going through the process of having properties rezoned as part of the modernization project was over noise. The company says it’s taken steps to address those concerns, increasing setbacks to a minimum of 225 feet from the property line – far exceeding the city’s standard of a 50-foot setback. This move would cut general facility noise by about 13 decibels, Barron wrote.
In addition, the plant’s central utility building and cooling towers are being relocated from the originally planned area near North Carlton Street to a more central location on the property, where they would be “naturally screened” by other buildings.
“The (central utility building) has shifted from roughly 200 feet to approximately 850 feet from (North) Carlton Street, and the cooling tower from around 50 feet to approximately 850 feet. This relocation results in an estimated 24 dB noise reduction at the (North) Carlton lot line,” Barron wrote.
Landscaping is likely to be a major discussion point in the site plan review. Barron wrote that current Food and Drug Administration regulations limit the placement of large trees and shrubs immediately adjacent to buildings.
“Such plantings can create harborage areas for pests, support bird nesting, and interfere with proper drainage - each of which presents a potential risk to food safety,” Barron wrote.
To offset those FDA restrictions, Barron wrote, Mead Johnson plans to increase the number of trees and landscape plantings along the perimeter of the site.
Contractors that would be involved in construction of the new Mead Johnson facilities would park at the former site of Highpoint Finishing Solutions at 640 E. Washington Ave., north of the plant. Mead Johnson purchased the site in late May of last year for $6.5 million, according to Ottawa County property records. Highpoint has since relocated to 541 E. Roosevelt Ave.
On a related note, Mead Johnson has a request pending before the city asking that the section of North Division north of Main Avenue be vacated. Approval of the vacation of North Division would give Mead Johnson contiguous property along Main, allowing for plant expansion to move ahead.
The Planning Commission on April 16 directed City Attorney Jim Donkersloot to draw up a resolution recommending approval of vacating North Division, which is expected to be voted on at the commission’s next regular meeting on May 7. The City Council would then have to approve the vacation.
Based in Evansville, Ind., Mead Johnson is a division of Reckitt Benckiser, a UK-based multinational consumer goods company. Reckitt purchased Mead Johnson in 2017 for $16.6 billion.
Zeeland Record
Mead Johnson Nutrition has submitted a site plan to the city of Zeeland for a planned expansion and modernization project that would more than triple the size of its current plant on the city’s east side.
According to the site plan application posted on the city’s website, the company is proposing construction of a new six-story, 501,477-square-foot building directly west of the current ZSP plant building and a 117,928-square-foot addition to be built on the north end of the current ZIPP building to the north. Mead Johnson currently has 255,400 square feet of existing building space, city Community Development Director Tim Maday said.
The city’s Planning Commission has called a special meeting for Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at the Howard Miller Community Center for Mead Johnson to further detail its plan to modernize the infant formula manufacturing plant that has been in existence since 1924. Commissioners will consider both the site plan and special land use request for the company at that meeting.
“This project is a major modernization of both the manufacturing and packaging operations, as well as employee amenities areas,” Mead Johnson senior engineering manager Allan Barron wrote in a memo that was part of the site plan packet presented to the city.
The new standalone facility will be built on land acquired by Mead Johnson over the past couple of years to the west and north of the current plant, and subsequently rezoned I-2 general industrial by the city last year.
“This new building will include manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, supporting utilities, and a new building housing office, laboratory, and employee amenities,” Barron wrote.
Meanwhile, the addition to the current plant will house a new packaging line, Barron wrote.
If approved, the project is expected to accommodate a total of 501 employees - 165 manufacturing workers for each of the plant’s two shifts (6 a.m. and 6 p.m.) and 171 office employees, according to the site plan application. The company is asking for 377 parking spaces to accommodate the expected workforce numbers, Barron wrote.
“Because this lot will be controlled-access and reserved exclusively for employees, we are confident that this capacity will sufficiently support current operations as well as known future growth,” Barron wrote.
The Planning Commission is just one of several bodies that will have to sign off on the Mead Johnson project. The Zoning Board of Appeals will be asked to approve height variances for the project because several areas of the new facility will exceed the current city ordinance that limits the height of buildings in the I-2 district to 40 feet. The company submitted a zoning variance request concurrently with the site plan approval application, Barron wrote.
“Much of the process equipment required to support our manufacturing requires this height with towers required for the spray dryer and blender,” Barron wrote.
One of the top concerns voiced by nearby residents last year when Mead Johnson was going through the process of having properties rezoned as part of the modernization project was over noise. The company says it’s taken steps to address those concerns, increasing setbacks to a minimum of 225 feet from the property line – far exceeding the city’s standard of a 50-foot setback. This move would cut general facility noise by about 13 decibels, Barron wrote.
In addition, the plant’s central utility building and cooling towers are being relocated from the originally planned area near North Carlton Street to a more central location on the property, where they would be “naturally screened” by other buildings.
“The (central utility building) has shifted from roughly 200 feet to approximately 850 feet from (North) Carlton Street, and the cooling tower from around 50 feet to approximately 850 feet. This relocation results in an estimated 24 dB noise reduction at the (North) Carlton lot line,” Barron wrote.
Landscaping is likely to be a major discussion point in the site plan review. Barron wrote that current Food and Drug Administration regulations limit the placement of large trees and shrubs immediately adjacent to buildings.
“Such plantings can create harborage areas for pests, support bird nesting, and interfere with proper drainage - each of which presents a potential risk to food safety,” Barron wrote.
To offset those FDA restrictions, Barron wrote, Mead Johnson plans to increase the number of trees and landscape plantings along the perimeter of the site.
Contractors that would be involved in construction of the new Mead Johnson facilities would park at the former site of Highpoint Finishing Solutions at 640 E. Washington Ave., north of the plant. Mead Johnson purchased the site in late May of last year for $6.5 million, according to Ottawa County property records. Highpoint has since relocated to 541 E. Roosevelt Ave.
On a related note, Mead Johnson has a request pending before the city asking that the section of North Division north of Main Avenue be vacated. Approval of the vacation of North Division would give Mead Johnson contiguous property along Main, allowing for plant expansion to move ahead.
The Planning Commission on April 16 directed City Attorney Jim Donkersloot to draw up a resolution recommending approval of vacating North Division, which is expected to be voted on at the commission’s next regular meeting on May 7. The City Council would then have to approve the vacation.
Based in Evansville, Ind., Mead Johnson is a division of Reckitt Benckiser, a UK-based multinational consumer goods company. Reckitt purchased Mead Johnson in 2017 for $16.6 billion.
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