United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA500-F-97-111 April 1997 National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Hartford, CT 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. OVERVIEW EPA has selected the City of Hartford as a Brownfields Pilot. Of the more than 1,100 acres in the city that were once in productive use, 30 percent have been abandoned since 1986. More than 750 buildings, presenting unknown environmental hazards, are vacant as the result of industrial migration from the city. The industrial exodus has presented serious economic and social problems for the city. In 1995, 62 percent of the city's population of 125,100 was identified as living below federal low-to-moderate income guidelines. Between 1989 and 1995, the number of jobs fell by 22 percent. The city believes that to reverse this decline it must be able to offer inner city sites of comparable acreage and accessibility as those offered by suburban locations for redevelopment. The pilot will target blighted and deteriorated sites in three Hartford neighborhoods—Sheldon/Charter Oak, Upper Albany, and Clay Arsenal. Unemployment rates in these target areas range from 15 to 24 percent, and minority population rates range from 80 to 99 percent. Although each of these neighborhoods has attempted to address economic problems through community-based efforts, the perception of environmental contamination has impeded PILOT SNAPSHOT Hartford, Connecticut Date of Award: April 1997 Amount: $200,000 Site Profile: The pilot will target blighted and deteriorated sites in three Hartford neighborhoods— Sheldon/Charter Oaks, Upper Albany and Clay Arsenal. Contacts: Madelyn Colon Hartford Redevelopment Agency (860) 543-8655 John Podgurski U.S. EPA Region 1 (617)573-9681 podgurski.john@ epamail.epa.gov Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- redevelopment. The city believes that, without site investigations, potential purchasers will continue to avoid the unknown environmental risks at these brownfields. OBJECTIVES Hartford's goal is to attract manufacturing and commercial industries to brownfields sites. Pilot objectives are to select three brownfields sites for redevelopment, conduct environmental assessments at the three sites, develop site-specific redevelopment strategies, and conduct community outreach. ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this pilot include: • Prioritizing and evaluating brownfields sites to determine their redevelopment potential, and selecting three target sites; • Conducting preliminary environmental assessments at the three target sites; • Developing site-specific redevelopment strategies for these sites; • Developing a model for community residents participating in brownfields redevelopment planning; and • Educating the community about barriers to redevelopment. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Hartford, Connecticut April 1997 EPA500-F-97-111 ------- |