United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-017
May 1997
xvEPA
National
Assessment Pilot
Knoxville, TN
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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots 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 selected the City of Knoxville for a
Brownfields Pilot. In the Fall of 1992, the City of
Knoxville? s Department of Economic Development
requested assistance from the Tennessee Valley
Authority in evaluating the feasibility of alternatives
for the redevelopment of Knoxville's Center City
Business Park. The study area comprises 566
acres in the center of the City, including many
acres of abandoned or under used commercial and
industrial property. Approximately ISOacreshave
been identified as potentially suitable for
redevelopment.
Over the past two years, citizens, businesses and
community groups, local and State economic
development organizations, and academic
institutions have assisted the City and the Tennessee
Valley Authority in the formulation and
development of the Knoxville Center City Business
Park Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative. The
Brownfields Pilot funds are being used to move
forward with their redevelopmentplan. Successful
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of this
critical area not only has the potential to affect the
economic well-being of a large segment of inner-
city residents, but also to have a significant impact
on the quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Knoxville, Tennessee
Date of Award:
September 1995
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets 566 acres in the
center of Knoxville, 150 of
which have been identified
as potentially suitable for
redevelopment.
Contacts:
Scott Goodrich
City of Knoxville
(423)215-2174
sgoodric@esper.com
Barbara Dick
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404) 562-8923
dick.barbara@
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
Through this brownfields effort, Knoxville will rees-
tablish the inner city as the vibrant center of Knox-
ville by joining residents, community agencies, and
the private sector in a coordinated partnership to
revitalize the area. The Pilot plans to accomplish this
by planning to develop a portion of the Center City
Business Park with a "green" theme including at-
tracting businesses in the recycling, reuse, andmanu-
facturing industries. The strategy includes identify-
ing and assessing environmental contamination, ex-
ploring options for businesses to redevelop vacant
properties, and working with lenders to provide low
interest loans to environmentally friendly compa-
nies. The strategy will be developed through an
ongoing dialogue between the private sector and
local, State, and Federal regulatory agencies on
brownfields issues, including establishing criteria to
determine when a property is "clean" and what types
of use can be permitted on contaminated sites.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Prioritized different areas within the target area,
Center City, for ongoing work;
• Set up the Knoxville Brownfields World Wide Web
Homepage (http://www.korrnet.org/Knoxville/
brownfields.html). This site includes information
on the study area, development events, and links to
other resources, including the City's and EPA's
homepage; and
• Conducted a neighborhood tour of West View to
identify concerns of the community as related to
brownfields sites and design issues. The findings
were brought to the redevelopment team for
incorporation in a design team concept.
The Pilot is:
• Investigating sites that are believed to be
contaminated, and determining the most appropriate
and cost-effective methods of remediation;
• Expanding and improving the City's community
involvement plan by developing a community
outreach program on Brownfields;
• Developing a redevelopment plan that includes a
land acquisition, assemblage, relocation, and
clearance program for the City Center area;
• Developing programs to identify ways to assist
prospective purchasers with environmental and le-
gal issues, identifying additional funding sources
for redevelopment, and attracting private invest-
ment in the brownfields study area;
• Meeting with current property owners, realtors,
prospective buyers, and lending institutions to de-
termine how to expedite environmental revitaliza-
tion; and
• Developing an implementation plan to identify ways
to ensure thatthe cleanup activities do not aggravate
existing environmental threats and to determine the
potentially responsible parties.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the Knoxville Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities including the following.
• Local educational institutions and community
development groups are working together to develop
a skilled workforce within neighboring inner-city
communities as an employment base for current and
future businesses in the project area.
• East Tennessee Design Center and the University of
Tennessee are developing design guidelines forthe
Center City area. The Urban Site Design class from
the University of Tennessee's Graduate Planning
program is focusing on Center City redevelopment
to produce a coordinated approach to development
through the use of Urban Site design criteria.
• The City is receiving assistance from the Tennessee
Valley Authority to assess the feasibility of a small
business incubator in the Center City area.
• Working with the business community on the
identification of specific property needs to encourage
relocation in the brownfields areas.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot
May 1997
Knoxville, Tennessee
EPA500-F-97-017
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