&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-223
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Cedar Rapids, IA
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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 has selected the City of Cedar Rapids for a
Brownfields Pilot. Cedar Rapids (population 108,751)
is the largest community in eastern Iowa. There are
several areas in the City, including the targeted south-
side neighborhood, with disproportionately high
numbers of elderly, low-income, and minority residents.
Unemployment in the targeted area is 13 %, and 30%
of the area's population lives in poverty. Nearly 38%
of the area's residents are elderly and 28% of the
residents are minority.
The targeted area, consisting of approximately 177
acres of mixed-use property—commercial, industrial,
and a long-established Eastern European residential
neighborhood—is in decline and transition.
Approximately 70 acres of this property is considered
to be brownfields. The residential cohesiveness
within the area has eroded, and buildings have been
abandoned and neglected. Three sites—a former
meat-processing facility, abuilding that housed a steel
fabricating business, and an abandoned iron foundry—
will be targeted by the Pilot.
OBJECTIVES
As part of the City's comprehensive and sustainable
planning effort, the Pilot plans to help transform the
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
three properties on the
City's south side nearthe
Cedar River.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Contacts:
Department of
Development
City of Cedar Rapids
(319)398-5041
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 7
(913)551-7786
Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region07/specinit/brown/brownfields.htm
Forfurtherinformation, 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/
-------
targeted area into a year-round recreational complex
with parkways and trails. The project seeks to
accentuate the positive and unique attributes of the
area (e.g., Cedar River, the Eastern European
neighborhood, and cultural buildings) while overcoming
the blighted conditions, enhancing environmental
quality, and creating j obs. To help accomplish these
larger objectives, the Pilot will focus on environmental
assessment, cleanup planning, and community
engagement at the three priority brownfields in the
area. In addition, the City will work to leverage other
public and private sector funds to help complete this
project.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting Phase I and II environmental
assessments at the three targeted properties;
• Analyzing cleanup strategies and developing cleanup
cost estimates for the properties;
• Developing a risk-based cleanup plan for the
properties that considers alternate redevelopment
plans and emphasizes compatibility with the
surrounding area;
• Identifying cleanup funding sources; and
• Working with community stakeholders in the planning
efforts.
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 Cedar Rapids, Iowa
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-223
------- |