United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-136
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Wilmington, NC
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Wilmington for a
Brownfields Pilot. Wilmington (population 55,530) is
located along the Cape Fear River on the eastern
coast of North Carolina. The city used to be a busy
international port exporting cotton, and was supported
by the textile industry and small beach communities.
As the textile mills relocated, the economy became
service-based, supporting tourists, the movie industry,
retirees, and students. Residents in the project area,
where most of the mills were located, lost their jobs
after the relocations. The project area (population
13,325) is 74 percent African American, and 42
percent of the residents currently live below the
poverty line. The city as a whole has an unemployment
rate of 6 percent, but the proj ect area's unemployment
rate is 12 percent.
The Pilot targets seven neighborhoods that once
supported the textile industry. Northside, North 4th
Street, Hemmenway, Bottom, Castle Street, Dry
Pond, and Dawson-Greenfield were once vibrant
communities where mills, warehouses, and factories
operated. Residents owned homes in the downtown
area near their workplaces, many of which are now
located near abandoned or underused buildings or
vacant lots. When the industries relocated, they left
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Wilmington, North Carolina
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
seven former textile mill-
neighborhoods located near
the Cape Fear River and the
Wilmington downtown area.
Contacts:
City of Wilmington
Assistant City Manager
(910)341-5854
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 4
(404) 562-8661
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.htm
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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behind the factory buildings and mills that have now
become blighted, unsafe eyesores. While the rest of
city and the region experience an economicresurgence
from the new service-sector and tourism-driven
economy, the project area has been decimated
economically and environmentally by the exodus of
industry. Now these neighborhoods are adjacent to
more than 70 acres of brownfields sites and little is
known about their environmental condition.
OBJECTIVES
The City of Wilmington is planning for its future by
creating its Vision 2020 Plan. The plan outlines the
city's goals of redeveloping the downtown area and
creating an urban environment that retains historical
character and is linked to the surrounding
neighborhoods. This revitalization plan also addresses
redevelopmentinthe seven neighborhoods surrounding
the downtown area and situated near the river, and
seeks to lessen their feeling of isolation. The Pilot will
further these city goals by developing an inventory
and identifying brownfields sites within the
neighborhoods that may be candidates for
redevelopment activities.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing a brownfields site inventory and ranking
the sites according to economic development potential
and community priorities;
• Conducting Phase I and II site assessments at the
highest-priority sites;
• Developing cleanup and redevelopment plans for
the assessed sites; and
• Performing community outreach activities and
engaging the community in decision-making.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Wilmington, North Carolina
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-136
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