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              A Vision  of  Liberty
               is  Realized
     Liberty Lands,  Pennsylvania
u,
        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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