United States
                   Environmental
                   Protection Agency
                   Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
 EPA 500-F-99-006
 March 1999
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
          PA   Brownfields  Assessment
                   Demonstration   Pilot
                                                             Fort Myers, FL
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 Fort Myers for a
Brownfields Pilot. Historically, the city (population
46,522) has been the population, government, business,
and financial center of Lee  County. Fort Myers'
earliest industries revolved around coastal shipping
and cattle and produce distribution.  There are an
estimated 440 potential brownfields sites in the city
that are found in several commercial and industrial
areas; these properties have  not been redeveloped
due to environmental liability concerns.  The city is
in the process of designating these areas as community
redevelopment districts. The poverty rate for the city,
20.7 percent, is more than double the and regional
average. The unemployment rate has been estimated
to be more than 50 percent higher than that of the rest
of the county.

The Pilot will target five areas in the city that contain
the highest concentrations of brownfields (Dunbar,
Downtown and Central Fort Myers, the U.S. 41
Corridor, the Fowler/Evans Corridor, and the Palm
Beach Corridor). At least half of the Pilot activities
will be focused on the Dunbar area, which is home to
a large  segment of the city's African American
population  and  is  characterized by junkyards,
recycling centers, auto repair shops, and abandoned
gas stations. The Dunbar area is located in a state
Enterprise Zone.
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
                     Date of Announcement:
                     March 1999

                     Amount: $169,000

                     Profile: The Pilot targets five
                     neighborhoods, with special
                     emphasis on the Dunbar area.
    FortMyers, Florida
 Contacts:

 City of Fort Myers
 (941)332-6781
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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OBJECTIVES

Fort Myers' objective is to eliminate the brownfields
impediments in the city's designated and proposed
community  redevelopment districts, directing the
majority of time  and effort toward the Dunbar
community. The city hopes to stem the tide of urban
decay and blight which has resulted in job  loss,
deterioration of physical structures, and continued
environmental degradation. To help accomplish these
objectives, the city will hire a brownfields coordinator
who will complement existing city planning efforts by
focusing on environmental issues related to cleanup
and redevelopment.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned  as part of this Pilot include:

• Reviewing and creating an inventory of historical
 data for the targeted areas;

• Identifying and analyzing a minimum of five sites in
 each of the five target areas and  prioritizing these
 sites based on redevelopment potential;

• Performing Phase I environmental assessments on
 the prioritized  sites, and performing at least ten
 Phase  II  environmental assessments, five of which
 will be in the Dunbar area and five in the other four
 areas;  and

• Implementing a community involvement program
 to ensure that affected neighborhoods participate in
 the planning processes associated with brownfields
 target  areas.

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                                                Fort Myers, Florida
March 1999                                                                         EPA 500-F-99-006

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