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A Vision of Liberty
is Realized
Liberty Lands, Pennsylvania
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pon founding and designing Philadelphia in 1680, William
Penn specified that 10,000 acres of land north and west of the town
be set aside for "Liberty Lands." More than 320 years later, using an
EPA Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TEA) grant, the community of
Northern Liberties followed Penn's vision and created Liberty Lands
Park on a site with a history of contamination.
Northern Liberties, a residential community in North Philadelphia,
thrived both as a blue collar neighborhood and an industrial center
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Breweries, factories, and
leather tanneries provided gainful employment for the residents of
Philadelphia and the promise of a new life for many immigrants.
In the mid-2Oth century, industry in the area began to decline. The
sites of once-thriving businesses became filled with weeds and were
abandoned. A former tannery, which closed in 1962, was left with real
and perceived contamination and considered a serious health threat
to the neighborhood. In 1987, EPA's Superfund Removal Program
removed 1,000 drums and chemical containers from the building
and site. Three years later, EPA returned to clean up poly chlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) that were leaking into adjacent streets from discarded
electrical transformers on the site.
Following these cleanup activities, plans were made by developers to
remodel the existing building into loft style housing. When the project
fell through due to financial problems, the property was donated
to the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association (NLNA), which
planned to build senior housing for neighborhood residents. However,
damage within the existing structure caused the City of Philadelphia to
demolish the building, placing the $500,000 cost of demolition as a lien
on the property. The NLNA's plans were put on hold and the site was
left vacant for more than a year. After much deliberation, the NLNA
decided to implement a short term plan and turn the site into a park.
EPA Region 3 provided a $15,000 TEA to perform assessments, which
indicated that the property was clear of contamination and suitable
for greenspace redevelopment. TBAs are provided through EPA's
Brownfields Program and are intended to finance site characterization
services for brownfields with redevelopment potential. These
continued
The completed Liberty Lands playground in Winter.
JUST THE FACTS:
• A former tannery in the Northern
Liberties neighborhood of North
Philadelphia was the site of an EPA-led
cleanup effort in the late 1980s.
With local developers interested in the
property, EPA Targeted Brownfields
Assessment funds were used to confirm
that the site was still safe and suitable
for redevelopment into recreational
greenspace.
• The new Liberty Lands park is now
a place of pride and appreciation for
local residents—a place where people
can "just eat lunch and watch the
greenery."
In 2002, this project was used as an
example of innovative brownfields
redevelopment in a PBS program titled,
"What's Up in the Environment."
The community used
innovative and environmentally
sustainable approaches in redevelopment,
biosolids, solid materials generated from
waste water treatment, were used as
fertilizer and topsoil. Today, Liberty Lands
Park includes a community garden, a
playground, picnic benches, a Native
American herb garden, a butterfly garden,
more than 100 trees, and a screen for
showing outdoor movies.
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assessments give cities, municipalities, states, and potential developers an idea of the contamination
present and how much cleanup will be necessary.
After assessments were completed, the NLNA turned its attention to removing the liens, estimates
for which had reached nearly $750,000. First District Councilman Frank DiCicco was instrumental
in convincing the city to absolve the costs of demolition and other debts attached to the land. The
NLNA and DiCicco celebrated the success of this effort by holding a lien burning at the park, which
was attended by hundreds of local residents. The site's transformation into a park created pride and
appreciation within the neighborhood, and the NLNA ultimately decided to keep the park as the site's
permanent use.
In 1997, after receiving $69,000 from a Philadelphia Urban Resources Partnership (PURP) grant, the
NLNA was able to move forward with its greenspace development plan. The PURP grant required that
the local community provide a match to the grant in either community volunteer hours or financing, and
the NLNA more than doubled this requirement. Philadelphia Green, part of the
Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, made the project part of its Keystone
Gardens program from which the NLNA leveraged $8,000 for various
projects and countless hours of in-kind support, tools, and materials.
Later, the NLNA received $35,000 in a second PURP grant that was
used for drainage cleanup in the park. To date, the
community has contributed approximately
$200,000 in volunteer hours and $100,000 of
funding in small donations for the park.
CONTACTS:
The new park.
For more information contact
U.S. EPA REGION 3
(215)814-5000
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
The community used innovative and
environmentally sustainable approaches to
redevelopment. Biosolids, solid materials generated from waste water
treatment, were used as fertilizer and topsoil. The community used both
the funding from the PURP grants and funds generated by the community
to provide amenities for the park that include a community garden,
picnic benches, a Native American herb garden, a playground, a butterfly
garden, a composting area, stone retaining walls, more than 100 trees,
and a screen for showing outdoor movies. Northern Liberties Neighbors
Association Member Janet Finegar remarked, "A lot of people just eat lunch
and watch the greenery. It is the only park in our neighborhood, the only place
to just go and sit."
Liberty Lands Park is a tribute to the success of EPA's regional TEA programs. In 2002, the project was
used as an example of innovative brownfields redevelopment in a PBS program titled, "What's Up in the
Environment." Targeted Brownfields Assessments have and continue to be great tools for communities
to use in the efforts to return their brownfields to productive use.
Brownfields Success Story
A Vision of Liberty is Realized
Liberty Lands, Pennsylvania
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA-560-F-08-300
September 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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