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Revitalizing Mothballed Properties
Challenges, Success Stories, & Solutions
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Prepared by:
Environmental Management Support, Inc.
(Contract No. EP-W-07-054)
8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.emsus.com
The Ferguson Group
1130 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
www.fergusongroup.us
The Horinko Group
2300 N St. NW, Suite 2130
Washington, DC 20037
www.thehorinkogroup.org
Prepared for:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
Washington, DC 20460
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES I Mi
CONTENTS
Challenges & Opportunities atMothballed Properties
10 Contributors to Success at Mothballed Properties
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization 5
Corporate Strategies 7
Car Company Revs Up Old Manufacturing Sites
for Revitalization 7
Ohio Development Team Overcomes Barriers to Reuse of
Mothballed Waterfront Property 9
Manufacturer Takes a Prevention Approach to
Mothballed Properties 11
Chemical Company Ranks Sites and Reaches out to
Regulators for Reuse of Underutilized Properties 13
Pennsylvania Buyer-Seller Agreement Facilitates Reuse of
Old Manufacturing Site 15
Local Leadership 17
Vacant Site to Become Rochester Sports Complex 17
Milwaukee Master Plan Renews Old Industrial Valley 19
Environmental Extension Center Helps Seattle Small
Businesses on Contaminated Properties 21
West Virginia Small Cities Create A Commerce Corridor . . . . 23
Colorado Brownfields Foundation Helps Mom & Pops
with Environmental Stewardship Program 25
Innovative Building Reuse Program Spurs Revitalization
of North Carolina Small Towns. .27
X
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Challenges & Opportunities at Mothballed Properties
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES AT MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
Amothballed property is a property where
the owner is unwilling or unable to transfer
the property or put it into productive reuse.
Mothballed properties cause blight to neighborhoods
inhibit economic development and revitalization
threaten public health and the environment, discour-
age productive reuse of infill areas, and contribute to
urban sprawl. Whether these properties are controlled
by large corporations or mom & pop owners, whether
they involve parties striving for a cooperative outcome or
are owned by disengaged or absentee landowners, moth-
balled properties can hinder productive reuse and vitality
in communities across America.
The United States Conference of Mayors reports that
mothballed brownfields remain the toughest brownfields
barrier facing local leaders. The National Brownfield
Association study, "Bringing Corporate Brownfield
Properties to Market,"concludes that many property
owners are seeking additional comfort and redevelop-
ment assistance before transferring these properties.
A study by the National Center for Neighborhood and
Brownfields Redevelopment at Rutgers University on
the impact of mothballed industrial properties on urban
redevelopment, finds that 40 percent of cities in its study
have at least one mothballed brownfield. The study also
concludes that about half of the municipalities with
mothballed properties consider these properties to be
a barrier to urban redevelopment. The Rutgers study
found that the revitalization of mothballed properties
is particularly important for communities dealing with
potentially contaminated properties located in prime
downtown redevelopment areas, along waterfronts, and
near important public facilities such as schools.
A number of factors and challenges confront property
owners, local communities, and other parties striving to
deal with mothballed properties. These challenges can
include: the need for expertise and information; sites
where cleanup costs outweigh property values; slow
real estate markets; concerns about long term envi-
ronmental and legal liability; lack of confidence in the
monitoring and enforcement of institutional controls
at remediated sites; insufficient coordination between
state and federal regulatory programs; questions about
the proper accounting and reporting of environmental
financial liabilities; and, at times, uncooperative prop-
erty owners.
Despite these challenges, success stories are emerg-
ing. These stories show property owners working
in collaboration with local communities, regula-
tors, redevelopers, and other stakeholders that can
overcome barriers to reusing properties preventing
mothballing or transforming properties that were
previously mothballed.
General Motors is entering into new partner-
ships with local governments, redevelopers, and
regulatory agencies to move previously moth-
balled properties into revitalization on a more
expedited timeframe.
Hemisphere Development is partnering with
local governments and the Ohio EPA to rede-
velop an old, 1,100 acre chemical manufacturing
facility mired in litigation for 24 years into a
mixed use waterfront redevelopment and sports
center on the coast of Lake Erie.
The State of Wisconsin established a compre-
hensive, streamlined "Remediation and Rede-
velopment" program that consolidates cleanup
authorities under one state program with a single
point of contact, resulting in time and cost savings
during the cleanup and redevelopment process,
effectively reducing the extent to which properties
are mothballed.
The DuPont Corporation is working with the
City of Rochester, New York to convert a 100
year old chemical manufacturing plant, fenced
and vacant for 13 years, into a sports and recre-
ational complex.
The Colorado Brownfields Foundation is pro-
viding technical assistance to help small busi-
nesses and individual property owners understand
and address issues needed to facilitate the transfer
and reuse of contaminated properties.
This report showcases a few of the many examples
of projects where stakeholders are establishing ef-
fective partnerships to bring sites that were previ-
ously mothballed back into productive use. The
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES 2
report also identifies "10 Contributors to Success"
for the revitalization of mothballed properties.
These success stories show that the cleanup and
revitalization of mothballed properties can benefit
all parties - overcoming liabilities and producing
value for property owners, creating redevelopment
opportunities for buyers, and bringing new vitality
for local communities and the economy.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched
an effort to foster the revitalization of mothballed
properties at the EPA National Brownfields
Conference in Boston, Massachusetts in 2006. In
October 2007, EPA convened more than 75 prop-
erty owners, redevelopers, community leaders, and
federal, state, and local officials in Washington, DC
to discuss tools and resources needed for successful
mothball revitalization.
This report builds on the ongoing EPA effort to pro-
vide assistance on this important issue. This report
highlights innovative approaches and real success
stories in the revitalization of mothballed properties.
The highlighted projects include just a few of the
many examples of successful revitalization projects
underway across the country.
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10 Contributors to Success at Mothballed Properties
10 CONTRIBUTORS TO SUCCESS AT MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
/4 t contaminated properties in communities
Z_m across America, certain tools and approaches
JL JLoften contribute to the successful revitalization of
mothballed properties:
1. Reuse First Revitalization of contaminated prop-
erties often is more successful when the property
owner works upfront with potential buyers, rede-
velopers, the local community and other interested
parties to identify a potential reuse, rather than
focus solely on the remediation and regulatory chal-
lenges.
2. RecruitRedevelopers - Redevelopers who get
involved or obtain the property at the front end of
the process can help overcome challenges at moth-
balled properties.
potential buyers and redevelopers early in the pro-
cess, and the formation of partnerships with state
federal, and local government authorities.
5. Take Advantage of State Tools & Resources State
environmental and economic development officials
are essential partners with effective tools in the
revitalization of mothballed properties. These tools
include voluntary cleanup programs; state fund-
ing; buyer-seller agreements for site transfer and
liability clarification.
6. Coordinate Cleanups - Using a team tactic to co-
ordinate and integrate state and federal cleanup
requirements into a "One Cleanup" approach can
expedite the cleanup and redevelopment process
by avoiding bureaucratic duplication, conflicting
requirements, and delays that can thwart action
at contaminated properties.
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3. Local Leadership The leadership of local govern-
ment officials is critical to moving mothballed sites
where the owner is unable or unwilling to sell or re-
use the property. Local tools include reuse planning,
market catalyzation, deal facilitation, support in at-
tracting public and private funding, and acquisition
and assembly of properties.
4. Craft Creative Corporate Strategies - Increasingly,
many companies are engaging in strategies that
consider idled sites to be potential assets that can
be moved into appropriate reuse to the benefit of
both the company and the community. Innovative
corporate strategies include the integration of en-
vironmental and real estate teams to move stagnant
properties, the outsourcing of site revitalization to
7. Leverage Federal Funding & Support
Together with local, state, and private resources
the federal agencies support the revitalization of
potentially contaminated properties with funding
outreach, training, and technical assistance. Federal
tools include EPA assessment and cleanup grants.
Other federal funding resources available to address
redevelopment include Brownfields Economic De-
velopment Initiative (BEDI) and Section 108 fund-
ing from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Public Works and Economic Devel-
opment Facilities Grants from the Department of
Commerce's Economic Development Administra-
tion, and the federal brownfields tax incentive.
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES 4
8. Assist the Mom & Pops - Mothballed properties
owned by individuals and small entities exist in
nearly every community in America. Coopera-
tive outreach and education, reuse plans that
spark market opportunities, and the leveraging
of public funding can overcome the challenges at
these properties. Nonprofit organizations, busi-
ness assistance centers, local and regional support
agencies, business associations, and other nongov-
ernmental entities often are well suited to assist
mom &pop owners of potentially contaminated
properties.
9. Reduce Risks The public and private sectors are
using a variety of institutional control mainte-
nance and assurance tools, environmental insur-
ance protections, and liability transfer strategies
to reduce risks for hesitant sellers of mothballed
properties.
10.Create Comfort - While not needed in the major-
ity of contaminated property transactions, state
and federal authorities can provide a number
of policy, legal, and enforcement tools to help
prospective purchasers of contaminated properties
reach a level of comfort regarding potential li-
ability at these properties, therefore increasing the
likelihood that the properties will be redeveloped.
These tools include the bona fide prospective pur-
chaser protections of federal law, state voluntary
cleanup programs, prospective purchaser agree-
ments, liability status clarifications, comfort let-
ters, "Ready for Anticipated Use" determinations,
and federal settlements and state agreements for
cooperative sellers.
For more information on tools and approaches for
potentially contaminated properties, see www.epa.
gov/brownfields.
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Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization
PROFILES OF SUCCESSFUL MOTHBALLED PROPERTY REVITALIZATION
The tools and approaches that contribute to the
revitalization of mothballed properties emerge
from the tales of success stories from across
America. This section showcases examples of cases
in which previously mothballed properties were
converted into new vitality and opportunity. The
first series of case studies highlights Corporate
Strategies for redevelopment and prevention of
mothballed properties. The second series describes
situations where Local Leadership, from both
governments and nonprofits, drove redevelopment
of underutilized sites.
CORPORATE STRATEGIES
1. Car Company Revs Up Old Manufacturing Sites
for Revitalization
2. Ohio Development Team Overcomes Barriers to
Reuse of Mothballed Waterfront Property
3. Manufacturer Takes Prevention
Approach to Mothballed Properties
4. Chemical Company Ranks Sites and Reaches out to
Regulators for Reuse of Underutilized Properties
5. Pennsylvania Buyer-Seller Agreement Facilitates
Reuse of Old Manufacturing Site
LOCAL LEADERSHIP
1. Vacant Site to Become Rochester Sports
Complex
2. Milwaukee Master Plan Renews Old Industrial
Valley
3. Environmental Extension Center Helps Seattle
Small Businesses on Contaminated Properties
4. West Virginia Small Cities Create A Commerce
Corridor
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES I 6
5. Colorado Brownfields Foundation Help Mom
& Pops with Environmental Stewardship Pro-
gram
6. Innovative Building Reuse Program Spurs
Revitalization of North Carolina Small Towns
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Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Corporate Strategies
CAR COMPANY REVS UP
OLD MANUFACTURING SITES FOR REVITALIZATION
General Motors (GM) has large manufacturing
properties throughout the United States. As the
industry has changed over past decades, many of
its properties ceased operating, and some are sitting idle
and contaminated. While traditionally the GM approach
at these sites was to conduct remediation with in-house
technical staff while a separate real estate staff worked
later to sell the sites, GM is adopting a new approach
in which GM partners with local governments and the
private sector to move these sites toward revitalization
on more expedited timeframes at the beginning of the
process. Success stories are beginning to emerge, including
the revitalization of former GM sites in two cities
Anderson, Indiana and Baltimore, Maryland.
ANDERSON, INDIANA
For most of the 20th Century, Anderson, Indiana was a
booming economic and industrial area. In 1918, GM head-
quartered its Delco Remy division in Anderson and the
City became a leading electromechanical technology center.
GM and automotive parts manufacturing in the City
reached its peak in the early 1970s providing more than
27,000 jobs. Today, however, GM has divested nearly all of
its interests in Anderson. GM is selling operating business-
es, shuttering, and in some cases completely demolishing its
former manufacturing facilities. Key properties in the center
of Anderson are idle. The final GM plant closed in 1996.
Given the extent of GM's pullout from Anderson, the
City's future may depend in large part on its ability to
revitalize the former GM properties. Local leadership is
contributing to a collaborative partnership with GM that
includes a commitment to moving properties toward revi-
talization. GM's commitment is encouraging the devotion
of City staff and resources to these challenges.
An example of this collaborative partnership is the efforts
made to revitalize the plant that GM closed in November
2006. GM agreed to transfer 300 acres in the downtown
area to the City of Anderson. This property was subject
The redevelopment represents a
new way of thinking about unused
properties for General Motors.
to a RCRA corrective action remedy that was completed,
thereby preparing the area for potential reuse. The sale and
transfer agreement creates an arrangement under which the
risk of contamination is allocated between GM, the City,
and the redevelopers. Residential reuse is prohibited under
institutional controls, and GM is granted the ability to
review and consent to redevelopment plans to ensure that
reuse is consistent with the Agency approved remediation.
In August 2007, the City of Anderson entered into an
agreement with a redevelopment firm, P&L Investments
and its partner the Value Recovery Group, to redevelop the
property for new commercial and light industrial economic
investment. The redevelopment agreement includes an
innovative approach under which the developer will share
profit revenues with the City on a scale determined by how
many local jobs are created- the more jobs, the more profit
the developer retains.
Anderson credits ERAs Brownfields Program with con-
tributing to its emerging success by offering the City an
opportunity to leverage public dollars to attract private in-
vestment. The City used EPA Brownfields assessment grant
funding to build the capacity to manage its challenges and
leverage private funding sources. EPA funding was used to
conduct outreach to community stakeholders and to attract
additional investment. Anderson officials also point to
their participation in the EPA Brownfields Conference as
instrumental in introducing City officials to federal, private
sector, and finance partners that are now investing in the
revitalization effort.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Recruit Redevelopers - Anderson entered into
an innovative agreement where the redevelopers
profits are dependent on job creation, providing
incentives for job growth in the community.
2. Leverage Federal Grant Dollars Anderson
leveraged EPA Brownfields funding and assis-
tance, using these resources to open opportunities
to work with local stakeholders, finance partners,
and regulatory agencies.
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
CHESAPEAKE COMMERCE CENTER IN
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
GM formed a partnership with redevelopers and local,
state, and federal officials to convert an old auto assembly
plant in Baltimore into a $140 million business park in an
expedited time frame.
GM owned and operated an assembly plant in Baltimore
for 68 years. When GM shut down the plant in 2005, the
company met with EPA Region 3 and Maryland Depart-
ment of Environment (MDE) representatives to ensure
them that GM would retain a developer who would take
on responsibility for the cleanup of the site as part of the
redevelopment. GM officials also assured regulators that
GM would stay involved in the cleanup process to ensure
the developer met all remedy commitments. EPA Region
3 s Facility Lead Program and MDE's Voluntary Cleanup
Program provided a favorable framework to facilitate this
revitalization project.
GM focused initially on finding a developer with experi-
ence in redevelopment of potentially contaminated proper-
ties. In January 2006, GM selected Duke Realty Corpo-
ration as the developer for the Baltimore property. GM
and Duke Realty focused on establishing a collaborative
approach to property cleanup with EPA and MDE. Duke
proposed a comprehensive cleanup matrix and master
schedule as part of a facility lead RCRA cleanup approach.
The state and EPA Region 3 regulators responded by set-
ting up an intergovernmental team to develop a streamlined
cleanup process that met both federal and state program
goals. This collaborative group focused on the cleanup
matrix, the master schedule, and the commercial reuse
scenario to drive decisions on the remedy and institutional
and engineering controls.
The developer and its partners also committed to conduct-
ing early and substantial community outreach on the site
redevelopment vision. As described by EPA Region 3
Administrator Donald Welsh, "Although it may require
more effort at the outset, by working collaboratively with
the owners, developers, and the impacted neighborhoods,
EPA can streamline the environmental cleanup process so
redevelopment takes less time to complete, but still ensure
the highest environmental standards."
The groundbreaking for the Chesapeake Commerce Cen-
ter took place in the summer of 2006. Duke Realty plans
to invest more than $140 million in the redevelopment of
the site. When the redevelopment is complete, there will
be 16 buildings encompassing 2.8 million square feet. The
project is expected to create thousands of newjobs over
the next 10 years.
The redevelopment of its Baltimore property represents a
new way of thinking about unused properties for General
Motors. Historically, GM held onto unused properties and
typically conducted remediation with in-house resources
during and after site transfer. In this case, GM worked
collaboratively with outside parties to allow a redeveloper
to take on cleanup and redevelopment responsibilities. GM
retains certain responsibilities and remains liable under
CERCLA and RCRA as a responsible party. However,
allowing the developer to conduct the remediation with
Agency oversight reduced GM's future liability risks to an
acceptable level.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Coordinated Cleanups A coordinated cleanup
plan, meeting both federal and state program
goals, significantly expedited redevelopment.
2. Recruit Redevelopers - The redeveloper assumed
many remediation responsibilities and collabo-
rated with federal and state regulatory agencies in
order to reduce decision times on the remedy and
institutional and engineering controls.
For more information, contact: Fred Zehnder at
(313) 665-6616 or frederick.j.zehnder@gm.com.
www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/
environment/plants/brownfield redev/index.jsp
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Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Corporate Strategies
OHIO DEVELOPMENT TEAM OVERCOMES BARRIERS TO REUSE
OF MOTHBALLED WATERFRONT PROPERTY
The Diamond Shamrock Painesville Works
property in Lake County, Ohio was mothballed
and mired in litigation from 1977 until 2001.
In 2001, Hemisphere Development entered into
a partnership with area municipalities, the Ohio
EPA, Lake Metroparks, and other public stakehold-
ers to create a plan for addressing the liability and
cleanup issues and transforming the old industrial
property into a mixed use and recreational facility.
Located on 1,100 acres on the coast of Lake Erie
and the Grand River, the former chemical plant op-
erated from 1912 through 1977, where it produced a
variety of products including soda ash, baking soda,
chromium compounds, carbon tetrachloride, hydro-
chloric and sulfuric acids, chlorinated wax, and coke.
The land was the site of various activities over the
years, including a 500 acre settling pond, a chro-
mium production facility and a landfill.
The site spans three separate municipalities with
overlapping jurisdiction over regional development
issues. In 1980, U.S. EPA initiated action to remedy
chromium contamination at the site, resulting in
One critical aspect in freeing the
site from its mothballed status
was to change the direction of
the cleanup and reuse plans.
the construction of a 120 acre clay cap over the im-
pacted area. The Ohio EPA began enforcement ac-
tivities for the rest of the site in 1989. The site was
proposed for inclusion on the Superfund National
Priorities List, which guides EPA in determining
which sites containing hazardous substances war-
rant further Superfund investigation and remedia-
tion. Parties responsible for hazardous substance
releases at the site were embroiled in years of litiga-
tion that prevented movement at the site.
One critical aspect in freeing the site from its
mothballed status was to change the direction of
the cleanup and reuse plans. The original plans
were initially focused on achieving an industrial
reuse in a region that is not expecting any signifi-
cant additions to the manufacturing sector. Instead,
Hemisphere and its partners envisioned the site for
a prime, mixed use, waterfront revitalization that
could command a substantial increase in property
value, thereby providing an incentive to the prop-
erty owners and other liable parties to move toward
site transfer. This potential increase in property
value - contrasted with the years of litigation cost
and controversy - motivated the parties to get the
property into the redeveloper's hands.
Under this arrangement, the former owners and other
responsible parties will be responsible for cleanup
costs to levels required for industrial use. The redevel-
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
10
oper will handle the incremental costs associated with
bringing the cleanup to residential reuse standards. In
addition, because the previous site owners had concerns
about their degree of control over the property during
remediation and redevelopment, the arrangement is
based on the redeveloper entering into a 99 year lease
that gives the previous owners a degree of comfort and
control due to their retention of ownership. Under the
terms of the lease, the redeveloper has the right to pur-
chase the property once redevelopment is completed
and site users and development tenants are established.
The deal is backed with negotiated indemnity and envi-
ronmental insurance instruments.
Another key to the successful transfer of the property
was the collaboration among the redeveloper, the site
owners, and regulatory authorities. The State of Ohio
assumed lead enforcement authority with the support
of EPA Region 5. The remedy was planned to fulfill
both state and federal regulatory obligations, as well as
prepare the site to participate in the Ohio Voluntary
Action Program as soon as the enforcement remedy is
completed. Participation in the Ohio Voluntary Clean-
up Program is critical, because it ensures that the rede-
veloper is eligible to obtain substantial funding from
the "Clean Ohio Fund" to cover the incremental costs
associated with cleaning up the property to residential
cleanup standards.
Hemisphere's development plan was the catalyst to
settling this costly and complex multiparty Superfund
case, as well as a long standing regulatory enforcement
action, in an expedited fashion. The redeveloper will
complete the majority of required remedial activities
in 2008. Completion of these activities will lead to the
implementation of one of the largest shoreline redevel-
opment projects on the Great Lakes and the construc-
tion of significant recreational amenities.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Reuse First - The developer changed the focus
of redevelopment from unrealistic industrial
use to a profitable mixed use development,
causing previously litigious owners to recognize
the value in cooperation.
2. State Tools and Resources The developer
is working closely with the state of Ohio to
expedite the clean up process and obtain much-
needed remediation funds for the project.
For more information, contact: Todd Davis,
Hemisphere Development at (216) 464-4105 or
tdavis@hemispheredev.com.
www. hemispheredev. com/case/lakeview. html
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11
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Corporate Strategies
MANUFACTURER TAKES A PREVENTION APPROACH
TO MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
The Honeywell company initiated a proactive
approach to the redevelopment of its closed
facilities. Given historical operations, some
formerly operated facilities require remediation.
Rather than mothball these properties, Honeywell
is actively working to bring them into constructive
reuse. Honeywell's contributions to the successful
reuse of its properties include working with local
communities and businesses to identify a new use
before cleanup begins, and treating remediation and
re-use as linked objectives.
When evaluating a closed facility, Honeywell inte-
grates its remediation, real estate, communications,
and government relations teams to engage the sur-
rounding community and identify redevelopment
opportunities that can resolve the challenges such
properties typically face: achieving regulatory environ-
mental closure while revitalizing the property in line
with community objectives as soon as practicable. This
is different from the traditional cleanup model where
remediation of the site is often done without consid-
eration of an end use. Under that approach, the goal
is to complete remediation and then to identify a new
end use for the cleaned up, but vacant, property. This
traditional model ignores the fact that cleanup stan-
dards and approaches can vary depending on the new
The company is able to create
a flexible remediation and re-
development plan that considers
the needs of the community and
identifies a viable end use for
the property.
end use. Failure to integrate remediation with redevel-
opment can unnecessarily delay the remediation of a
site and may ultimately increase remediation costs. By
integrating the remediation, real estate, government
relations, and communications functions, Honeywell
is able to create a flexible remediation and redevel-
opment plan for its closed properties. This approach
considers the needs of the community and identifies a
viable end use for the property thereby lessening the
likelihood that properties will be mothballed.
A project in El Segundo, California is representa-
tive of Honeywell's mothball prevention approach.
Honeywell owned a 56 acre chemical facility on
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
12
a South Bay location only a few miles from the
Pacific Ocean and Los Angeles International
Airport. The facility began operation in the 1920s
and ceased operation in 2003. The main industrial
activities at the site included sulfuric acid produc-
tion, pesticide packaging and distribution, phthal-
ic anhydride production, solvents packaging, and
refrigerants production. The more than 70 years
of operation resulted in both groundwater and soil
contamination with volatile organic compounds.
Honeywell's remediation, real estate, communica-
tions, and government relations teams worked in
partnership with a developer and local govern-
ment officials to identify potential end uses for
the property. The real estate group set an ambi-
tious time table to redevelop the property. With
the time line for redevelopment set to drive the
remediation, Honeywell and its partners identi-
fied several key technical elements essential to the
success of the redevelopment, including achieving
expedited site characterization using a dynamic
work plan (known as the TRIAD approach) and
the use of real time measurement technologies to
accelerate and improve the cleanup process. The
planning resulted in a two phase development
strategy. Phase I consisted of redeveloping 43
acres to feature a retail and restaurant center that
opened in 2006. Phase II included the remaining
13 acres, which is targeted to be developed into an
industrial/commercial center at a later time.
As a result of the coordination and close coop-
eration among the entire project team, including
Honeywell, the developer, and regulatory agencies,
Phase I of the project met its ambitious remedia-
tion and redevelopment schedule. The remediation
of the Phase I areas was completed and approved
by the regulatory agencies by the end of 2005,
only two years after the factory was closed in
2003. The newly constructed retail center opened
for business in November of 2006.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Creative Corporate Strategies - Honeywell
views idle properties as assets to be moved into
appropriate reuse to the benefit of the commu-
nity and the company.
2. Reuse First Honeywell works upfront with
the local community and other allies to identify
reuse opportunities for company properties.
For further information, contact Evan Van Hook,
Honeywell at (973) 455-4132 or
evan.vanhook@honeywell.com.
www.honeywell.com/hser/environmental-
remediation-program.html
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Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Corporate Strategies
CHEMICAL COMPANY RANKS SITES AND REACHES OUT TO REGULATORS FOR
REUSE OF UNDERUTILIZED PROPERTIES
The Dow Chemical Company is working
jointly with EPA Region 5 on a project to
encourage reuse of Dow's underutilized
properties. The Dow Brownfields Reuse Project
seeks to engage government regulatory officials
in a pro-active process to strategically direct
Dow's contaminated sites into tailored regulatory
programs to allow the implementation of timely
remedies that match reuse goals.
To promote the productive reuse of contaminated
properties, Dow approached EPA's Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response and EPA Region
5 in November 2006 with a proposal to remediate
and make their sites available for reuse in a way
that is sustainable, protective of human health and
the environment, creates assets for communities,
and is cost effective for the company.
EPA and Dow held several formal meetings and
conference calls to move forward on the initiative.
A prime objective of the collaboration is to deter-
mine a strategy under which Dow can voluntarily
bring idled and contaminated facilities into the
cleanup program that is the most optimal for a
Site strategies integrate
remediation and reuse goals
for each of the facilities.
given property. Some properties may be best ad-
dressed by a RCRA facility-lead corrective action.
Other properties, if not subject to RCRA or state
permitting requirements, may be easily entered
into a state-led voluntary cleanup program. The
effort is designed to seek consensus on the most
optimum regulatory approach, convene appro-
priate personnel and resources from the regula-
tory agencies and Dow to conduct the regulatory
process, and seek expedited timeframes for remedy
and reuse.
Dow and EPA agreed on three Dow facilities
located in EPA Region 5 to use as pilots for the
project. Dow is evaluating potential site strate-
gies that integrate remediation and reuse goals for
each of the facilities. In addition, Dow is working
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
14
with EPA to outline a process to document the
"life cycle" of steps and decisions associated with
closing and revitalizing a facility. The decision
process is intended as a tool for use in determin-
ing a range of factors, such as reuse potential and
environmental issues to sort other Dow facilities
for reuse potential.
Dow's use of this decision process is leading to
progress with reuse plans under development by
Dow at their Bay City, Michigan and Crest Hill,
Illinois facilities.
The Bay City site is a RCRA facility-lead cor-
rective action project that has progressed to the
remedy selection phase. The reuse plan will likely
include multiple land uses including recreational,
residential, environmental habitat, and light in-
dustrial. Dow also is looking at ways to provide
access to a historic lighthouse, which is an im-
portant cultural resource to the community. EPA's
RCRA corrective action project manager is work-
ing closely on this project to ensure that all re-
quirements are met, while providing the flexibility
for the proposed reuse of the property.
The Crest Hill facility is a small facility with a
landfill as the primary environmental concern.
The facility is subject to RCRA corrective action
and will become a facility lead voluntary cleanup.
Dow and EPA Region 5 are in discussions with
the Mayor of Crest Hill, who is excited about the
potential redevelopment of this facility, which is
located on the main road into town. The parties
believe that the issues related to the Crest Hill fa-
cility are manageable and a final remedy decision
could come in 2008.
Dow and EPA Region 5 are discussing the use
of the company's ranking and regulatory tool to
expand the company's sustainability project to
include one or more additional facilities.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Coordinated Cleanups - Dow is working
with EPA regional offices to voluntarily
bring facilities into the most appropriate
regulatory programs in order to build con-
sensus on cleanup approaches and minimize
delays while cleaning up properties to ap-
proved levels.
2. Creative Corporate Strategies Dow is
actively engaged in a corporate initiative
to proactively remediate contaminated and
underutilized properties.
For more information, contact Vicki Rupp at
Dow at (989) 636-1000 or VRupp2@Dow.com.
www.dow.com/commitments/sustain.htm
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15
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Corporate Strategies
PENNSYLVANIA BUYER-SELLER AGREEMENT FACILITATES REUSE
OF OLD MANUFACTURING SITE
The Pennsylvania Department of Environment
(PADEP) uses a successful approach at po-
tentially contaminated sites when the owner
is hesitant and uncertain about the risks of selling:
Buyer-Seller Agreements with liability protections.
In January 2006, PADEP entered into a Buyer-Seller
agreement with Murata Electronics North America,
Inc. (Murata Electronics), a Japanese firm considering
the sale of a contaminated property in State College,
Pennsylvania, and a Pennsylvania-based firm, Spectrum
Control, Inc., a company interested in buying the prop-
erty. The transfer of cleanup responsibility and future
environmental liability in a manner satisfactory to all
involved parties was the key to completing a transac-
tion that resulted in a robust cleanup effort as well as
the creation and retention of hundreds of jobs.
Murata Electronics owned and operated a ceramic
manufacturing facility on the 54 acre site since 1956.
At the peak of operations, the 250,000 square-foot
facility employed 1,200 people. Manufacturing opera-
tions at the facility were shut down in 2004 and the
final 300 employees were laid off. Murata Electronics
retained ownership, but they vacated the building and
fenced off the property.
Murata Electronics is the Responsible Party of record
relative to the contamination and cleanup obligation.
Remediation of the site was ongoing since 1988.
Groundwater is contaminated with PCE and TCE
that was used in manufacturing processes at the site
from 1958 to 1980. At the time of the Buyer-Seller
agreement, PADEP estimated the remaining cost
of cleanup for the known contamination at approxi-
mately $1,500,000.
Spectrum Control, a ceramics and electronics manu-
facturing firm, was looking to relocate their Louisiana
manufacturing operations that had been destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina. The idle facility owned by
Murata Electronics was a solution for Spectrum
Control - the location was ideal since they were
already operating in other Pennsylvania locations
and they could reuse most of the equipment Mu-
rata Electronics left onsite. Time was of the essence
because Spectrum Control had to be back in opera-
tion as soon as possible to meet production obliga-
tions - including deliveries that would keep its other
Pennsylvania facilities in operation. Because over
100 new jobs would be created and hundreds of
existing jobs would be retained by the relocation of
Spectrum Control's Louisiana operations, a success-
ful and timely transaction was of high importance to
the Pennsylvania Governor's office.
However, Murata Electronics was a reluctant seller
given its ongoing environmental liabilities. To sell the
property, Murata Electronics needed assurances that
it would be released of all environmental cleanup and
third party liability. As the buyer, Spectrum Control
was willing to buy the property "as is," assume the
environmental liability obligations and complete the
remediation.
Early in the transaction negotiations, insurers were
unwilling to underwrite the types of environmental
insurance policy needed to satisfy the seller's require-
ments. Potential insurers felt there was not enough
technical information available to adequately under-
write a policy. The insurance companies also were
uncertain that PADEP would be willing to forego the
typical liability transfer mechanism of putting cleanup
funds in an escrow account that PADEP controlled
and instead rely on a traditional environmental insur-
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
16
ance instrument. Without the appropriate insurance
coverage, the deal could not happen.
After a complex negotiation process involving
PADEP, Murata Electronics, Spectrum Control, and
the insurer, a Buyer-Seller agreement was established
and agreed upon. Murata Electronics was allowed to
end its remediation obligations at the facility. Spec-
trum Control was allowed to assume liability, and to
continue working to remediate the site to achieve a
release of liability under Pennsylvania's Act 2 brown-
fields statute and program. After the insurer agreed to
underwrite the transaction, PADEP agreed to accept
the insurer's risk management structure rather than
requiring that remediation funds be secured in an
escrow account.
Under the Buyer-Seller agreement, Spectrum Con-
trol's liability was capped by PADEP at $4 million
for previously identified contamination and related
ongoing remedial obligations. Spectrum Control also
purchased a Cost Cap and Pollution Legal Liability
insurance policy to address risks that went beyond
cleanup obligations and other sources of potential en-
vironmental liability, such as cleanup costs associated
with unknown contamination and third party claims.
Murata Electronics and PADEP were listed as addi-
tionally insured parties under the policy. The insurer's
ability to extend coverage to both the regulatory
agency as well as to the seller was a critical part of the
transaction. By being afforded status as an insured
party on the policy, PADEP was satisfied that reme-
dial obligations would be met by privately secured
funding. Should the new owner fail, however, to
execute its remedial obligations or become financially
insolvent, the Commonwealth can invoke its rights
under the policy to receive insurance coverage for the
cleanup of the site, thereby removing the possibility
that PADEP is left with financial obligations related
to cleanup.
By extending coverage to Murata Electronics, the
transaction could proceed because third party liabil-
ity concerns were addressed. Protection from third
party claims was essential to the transaction because
the seller would not sell the property without this
protection. In this case, the environmental insur-
ance policy provided an additional level of liability
protection not afforded under the Commonwealth's
Act 2 release of liability.
The funds to purchase the insurance policy came from
the private parties engaged in the transaction. The
liability transfer allowed the transaction to proceed
while satisfying the regulatory authority that the
cleanup would be completed without the use of tax-
payer dollars.
Today, site remediation is moving along as planned.
In fact, cleanup efforts were greatly expedited fol-
lowing the transfer of ownership. The manufacturing
facility is operating in full swing, employing over 100
Pennsylvanians, and saving hundreds of other jobs.
Moreover, the revitalized operation is back on the tax
rolls for the community of State College.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Create Comfort - PADEP's buyer-seller
agreement with liability protection provided
assurances the owner needed to transfer the
contaminated property.
2. Reduce the Risks By being listed as an
insured party on the environmental insurance
policy, PADEP was satisfied that remedial
obligations would be met.
For more information, contact Tracey Vernon,
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Pro-
tection at (717) 772-5906 or tvernon@state.pa.us.
www. depweb. state.pa.us/dep/site/default. asp
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17
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
VACANT SITE TO BECOME
ROCHESTER SPORTS CENTER
As a result of local government leadership,
and the use of risk management tools and
institutional controls, a DuPont owned
property that was closed for 13 years is on the
verge of being redeveloped as a public recreational
complex. DuPont is the owner of a 9.9 acre site in
northwestern Rochester, New York. The site began
as a fairground in the 1870s and was purchased by
the Defender Photo Supply Company, a photo-
graphic film and paper manufacturing firm. Du-
Pont purchased the business and property in 1945
and continued production at the property until
1995. The manufacturing plant was demolished in
1996 and the site remains vacant.
For almost 10 years there was little interest from
entities in the community to redevelop the site, and
it remained fenced off. In 2006, local youth sports
organizations began expressing a desire to use the
site as public athletic fields. The City of Rochester
School District started to discuss the possibility of
turning the site into athletic fields and a parking
lot. The renewed community interest encouraged
the City of Rochester to approach DuPont to begin
redevelopment negotiations.
The institutional controls provided
the framework for an agreement
that will alleviate concerns about
losing control of the site and
dramatically reduce the risk
associated with property transfer.
The prior use of the site presented an impediment to
redevelopment during initial negotiations. The soil at
the property was contaminated with the byproducts of
photographic film production - a process that pre-
dominantly uses silver and small levels of cadmium,
lead, and mercury. Given these challenges, the reuse
of the property hinged on DuPont's ability to reach
an acceptable redevelopment agreement with the City.
In response to DuPont's concerns regarding potential
environmental risks at the property, the local gov-
ernment explored whether the City could take over
ownership or liability to provide the certainty DuPont
sought. Because both DuPont and the City are long
established and stable entities, the parties are more
confident about negotiating to reduce risks and liabil-
ity concerns at this long idled property.
The City will implement institutional controls as part
of the remedy to provide the level of certainty regard-
ing future risks and liability sought by DuPont. By
instituting deed restrictions and environmental ease-
ments that run with the land, DuPont and Rochester
can address long term concerns not always covered by
indemnification agreements. Institutional controls most
often are not dependent on the continued involvement
of the party who owned the property at the time of
remediation. The responsibility to monitor institutional
controls generally is transferred upon land sale. In-
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
18
damnification agreements generally are not affected by
the property sale. The City of Rochester, being a local
government, can provide an additional layer of protec-
tion in the case of institutional controls because the
local government has the internal structure to oversee
land use permits and can restrict what happens to the
property, adding additional certainty to any future use.
DuPont and the City reached an agreement in prin-
ciple where DuPont will clean up the site and then
donate the property to the City of Rochester. In addi-
tion, DuPont executed a Brownfield Cleanup Agree-
ment on May 17,2007 with the State of New York.
The remedy and land transfer agreement will provide
for institutional controls, such as a deed notice restric-
tion requiring restricted residential reuse (to limit the
number of parties responsible for monitoring compli-
ance with institutional controls) and environmental
easements. DuPont will indemnify the City for envi-
ronmental costs provided the City accepts the prop-
erty donation, determines appropriate recreational use
and ensures all property restrictions are enforced. The
indemnification by DuPont will be reduced, if not ter-
minated, if the City transfers the property to another
party in the future. This reflects DuPont's concerns
with regard to indemnifying parties that may have
uncertain financial futures.
The institutional controls provided the framework for
an agreement that will alleviate DuPont's concerns
about losing control of how the site is used in the fu-
ture. Further, Rochester's local leadership in creatively
working to structure a negotiation that satisfies the
interests of both parties was important in moving the
negotiation process forward. Remedial selection for
the site is expected in late 2008 or 2009, construction
in 2009-2010, and property transfer expected in 2010.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Local Leadership The City approached
DuPont to develop a plan for reuse of the
property to meet community needs.
2. Reduce Risk-The land transfer agreement
utilizes institutional controls to limit end uses
to reduce DuPont's risk of liability.
For more information, contact Mark Gregor,
City of Rochester at (585) 428-5978 or
mgregor@cityofrochester.gov.
www.ci.rochester.nv.us/des/index.cfm
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19
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
MILWAUKEE MASTER PLAN RENEWS
OLD INDUSTRIAL VALLEY
The City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's 1,500 acre
Menomonee Valley experienced rapid growth
from the 1920s to the early 1950s, serving as a
major industrial center for the area. Surrounding the
numerous industrial facilities, neighborhoods sprang up
allowing many of the workers to live near their places of
employment. As is the case in many Midwestern areas,
the decline of United States manufacturing forced the
businesses of the once thriving area to close, leaving
contaminated properties within walking distance of the
city center.
In the 1990s, the City of Milwaukee expressed inter-
est in revitalizing the Menomonee Valley and returning
jobs to the community. In 1998, the City of Milwaukee
completed a master plan to redevelop the five-mile long
and half mile wide valley. The City partnered with the
Menomonee Valley Business Improvement District, the
Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation, the
Menomonee Valley Business Association, and numerous
other local entities to form the nonprofit Menomonee
Valley Partners, Inc. to implement the land use plan.
The land use plan relies upon, and uses, federal, local,
and state tools for cleanup. Federal tools include Com-
munity Development Block Grants, HUD Economic
Development Initiative grants, CongressionaUy directed
spending, and Environmental Protection Agency re-
sources including Brownfields grants. Local leadership,
private investment, tax foreclosure, and the use of eminent
domain were identified as important tools and used when
necessary. Since the implementation of the land use plan,
two additional local tools assisted in the redevelopment.
First, the establishment of an overall Valley land use plan
created momentum toward redevelopment and resulted in
increasing property values in the Valley. Property owners
in the Valley, including several mom & pop businesses,
are taking advantage of the rise in property value and are
becoming willing to sell now that there is a market, thus
speeding up redevelopment. A second local tool is the
use of the Menomonee Valley Partners organization as
an acquirer of property, as some owners may look more
favorably on transferring their property to an entity other
than the government.
The State of Wisconsin has a number of tools to re-
develop potentially contaminated properties that are
contributing to the development of the master land use
plan and ongoing cleanup of mothballed properties in
the Menomonee Valley. Tax increment financing (TIF)
is used on sites to fund site acquisition and cleanup. TIFs
allow for a local government to credit property owners
for the expected rise in property value from redevelop-
ment. That expected credit enables the owner to receive
a bond to pay for redevelopment up front. Menomonee
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
20
Valley projects also took advantage of Wisconsin De-
partment of Natural Resources (DNR) programs and
expertise. The DNR's Brownfields Environmental As-
sessment Program awarded funds for site assessment and
cleanup. DNR's Sustainable Urban Development Zone
funds assisted with investigation as well. DNR continues
to provide extensive technical assistance to complete all
environmental work in advance of development. As a
result, when the City finds an interested purchaser for
a parcel, the parties need to work only with the DNR
on the appropriate placement of the buildings (to act as
a barrier to residual contamination on site) and request
an exemption to build on the historic fill. This strategy
saves new businesses thousands of dollars in direct
and indirect costs, since most of these businesses have
very short windows in which to finance, purchase, and
build. A further tool available to local government in
Wisconsin is a State-established liability exemption for
local governments who acquire property through use of
eminent domain or tax receipt foreclosure. This enabled
Milwaukee to acquire property without becoming a po-
tentially responsible party for cleanup.
Many of the above tools assisted in the redevelopment
of the largest mothballed properties in the Menomonee
Valley - the 130 acre former Milwaukee Road Railyards.
The rail yards were vacant for over 20 years before the
redevelopment plan was instituted. The City faced owners
unwilling to sell the property that was contaminated with
asbestos, oil, and PCBs. Eventually an agreement was
reached. City grants, EPA grants, HUD grants, CDBG
funds, DNR grants and technical assistance, $16 mil-
lion in TIFs, and $39 million in private investment came
together to purchase and redevelop the property. Cur-
rently, there is a business park for light industrial users on
approximately half of the site that is projected to create
over 1.2 million square feet of building space and 1,200
jobs. The other half of the property will be greenspace.
Redevelopment in the Menomonee Valley is still ongo-
ing. Successful projects include the construction of
Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Valley
is also the site of the 12 mile Hank Aaron State Trail
along the Menomonee River. Over the next 10 years the
Menomonee Valley Partners are projecting three mil-
lion square feet of new construction in the once blighted
Menomonee Valley. At this time, 18 redevelopment
projects are underway including a unique Harley-Da-
vidson museum, trails, greenspaces, and light manufac-
turing. The Harley-Davidson museum is a $60 million,
110,000 sq. ft. project located on a former Morton Salt
industrial site that houses the museum, a retail store,
banquet space, and a restaurant. Phase II will include
space for the Harley-Davidson corporate archives, a
restoration shop and additional museum exhibits. Phase
III plans include office space and other growth needs.
Harley-Davidson incorporated the Menomonee Valley
Sustainable Design Guidelines in their development.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Reuse First-The City of Milwaukee and
the Menomonee Valley Partners developed
a comprehensive land reuse plan to spur
redevelopment.
2. State Tools & Resources Wisconsin pro-
vides technical assistance, grants, tax increment
financing, and limited governmental liability to
aid redevelopment.
For more information, contact David Misky,
Milwaukee Department of City Development at
(414) 286-8682 or David.Misky@milwaukee.gov.
www. renewthevallev.org/
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21
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
ENVIRONMENTAL EXTENSION CENTER HELPS SEATTLE
SMALL BUSINESSES ON CONTAMINATED PROPERTIES
/^ n innovative nonprofit environmental as-
/-* sistance center in King County, Washington
JL jLis helping small businesses and mom & pop
owners make their potentially contaminated prop-
erties available for sale and revitalization.
The Environmental Coalition of South Seattle
(ECOSS) is a nonprofit educational organization
designed to assist businesses and the community
with environmental and economic development
issues. ECOSS established an Environmental
Extension Service that works cooperatively with
government, businesses, and community and envi-
ronmental interests in the Puget Sound Region.
The Environmental Extension Service helps small
businesses understand and address issues related to
contaminated properties. It helps small businesses
navigate the road to property cleanup, which can be
confusing and may seem to be unnecessarily expen-
sive and time consuming. Moreover, the Extension
Service helps businesses understand that by finding
and eliminating contamination, they can reduce
their legal liability and preserve the value of their
real estate.
ECOSS has established an
En vironmental Extension
Service that works cooperatively
with the government, businesses,
and community and environ-
mental interests in the Puget
Sound Region.
The Extension Service provides free consultations
and assistance. The assistance tailored individually
for each business includes research and assessments
on a property's contamination history, referrals
to environmental consultants, interpretation of
consultant reports, recommendations on cleanup
strategies, recruitment of tenants for newly cleaned
properties, help in developing and implementing
stormwater management plans, assistance with en-
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
22
vironmental compliance, and help accessing public
sector grants and technical assistance.
The King County/Seattle Brownfields Showcase Initia-
tive, supported by the EPA Brownfields Program and
assessment grants, helped launch the Environmental
Extension Service's brownfields assistance work.
Since ECOSS started helping small businesses deal with
problem properties, the center developed an inventory of
potentially contaminated properties in King County, con-
ducted initial inspections of more than 170 sites, started
96 environmental site assessments, completed 50 assess-
ments totaling 250 acres of properties, saved businesses
more than $250,000 in costs, and leveraged more than
$11 million in Brownfields cleanup grants and revitaliza-
tion funding.
ECOSS helped mom &pop owners of potentially con-
taminated properties on numerous successful revitaliza-
tion projects. When Jun and Susan Despi immigrated
from the Philippines to Seattle, they started the Delite
Bakery. Their bakery was so successful that the business
needed to expand. But plans went awry when they un-
wittingly bought the contaminated Kwik Cleaners dry
cleaning site and were unable to address the contami-
nation issues with their family lawyer. ECOSS assisted
by finding the family a good environmental attorney,
helped find and hire a cleanup consultant, and obtained
cleanup funding through an old insurance policy. To-
day, the family is proud that "Despi's Delite Bakery" is
a popular and thriving bakery for the neighborhood.
At the North Coast Chemical site located in a low
rent, depressed industrial area in the County, the out
of state landlord heard about ECOSS and met with
ECOSS officials at a community presentation. The
landowner worked with ECOSS to address problems
at the site, removing the polluting tenant, establishing
a work plan for cleanup, and helping find and hire a
trustworthy cleanup contractor.
Through community based efforts, environmental assis-
tance centers, such as ECOSS are making a difference
for mom & pop owners of contaminated sites across
the nation.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Assist the Mom & Pops - ECOSS assists mom
& pop owners navigate the road to cleanup by
providing information on the tools available for
remediation and redevelopment.
2. Federal Grants EPA Brownfields Program
assessment grants provided the seed money
to begin the program and continue to support
ECOSS assistance to small businesses.
For more information, contact Emery Bailey,
Environmental Coalition of South Seattle at
(206) 767-0432 or emery@ecoss.org.
http://ecoss.org/about/index.htm
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23
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
WEST VIRGINIA SMALL CITIES CREATE
A COMMERCE CORRIDOR
The cities of Charles Town and Ranson, West
Virginia are revitalizing a blighted corridor
in the center of their adjacent downtowns
into a new "Commerce Corridor" of mixed use de-
velopment. Technical assistance from private sector
organizations, supported with EPA Brownfields re-
sources, are critical to this success. These resources
are helping small owners of mothballed properties
and redevelopers realize the potential for transfer
and redevelopment of their properties.
Two key parcels at the center of the corridor were
mothballed for decades, held by families unable and
uninterested in sale or redevelopment. One site is a
century old industrial scrapyard that was tainted with
lead, petroleum, and other metals. The second is a
granary complex subject to state emergency removal
actions due to petroleum and pesticides contamination.
The family and individual owners of these sites were
reluctant to revitalize based in part on lack of experi-
ence in real estate and development of contaminated
properties, lack of collaboration with the local govern-
ment, and a listless downtown market for reuse.
The cities of Charles Town and Ranson engaged
these property owners, local developers, and the
broader community in a process to create a reuse
The cities used EPA and other
resources to create a plan for
matching the highest and best
market uses for these sites to the
physical conditions of the sites
and the surrounding develop-
ment context.
vision for this corridor, to educate stakeholders on
opportunities, and to prime the market for reuse.
Charles Town and Ranson sought and obtained U. S.
EPA assessment grant funding to support the endeavor.
The cities worked with property owners to convince
them of the value of conducting environmental assess-
ments on the properties to understand and manage the
risks at the sites. The localities also worked with a local
developer on strategies to overcome challenges at these
properties. The site owners and interested redevelopers
agreed to allow the performance of Phase I and Phase
II assessments on these properties.
The cities used EPA and other resources to create a
plan for matching the highest and best market uses for
these sites to the physical conditions of the sites and
the surrounding development context. The community
conducted planning charettes, highest and best use
analyses, market feasibility studies, and reuse planning.
The owners of the properties and other stakehold-
ers were invited to participate in all of these activities,
helping them realize the potential opportunities for
revitalization.
A key step was securing assistance from the Urban
Land Institute (ULI), a nonprofit research and
education institute focused on urban revitalization.
ULI convened a "technical assistance panel" (TAP)
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
24
of 10 experts in the fields of development, finance,
real estate, and contaminated properties from the
mid Atlantic region. The ULI TAP engaged the
cities and community stakeholders to define a
set of issues and objectives for analysis. The TAP
convened in the community for three days, met
with stakeholders, debated reuse prospects, and
established a set of reuse recommendations. Several
weeks after the onsite forum, ULI provided a com-
prehensive 25 page report with reuse recommenda-
tions. The report confirmed and enhanced the reuse
planning already conducted by the community.
At the beginning of the localities' efforts, one com-
munity official asked a local developer whether
he would work with the owners of the mothballed
properties to seek redevelopment. The local de-
veloper replied, "those sites are contaminated and
worthless. Why would I want to get involved in
another Love Canal?" At the conclusion of the ULI
forum, that same developer, who attended all of the
reuse planning activities in the community together
with the site owners, remarked "I am convinced
that this project holds the future to the Charles
Town community. I am investing and moving for-
ward." He formed a dynamic development team for
the reuse of the former industrial scrapyard, created
a remedial plan in cooperation with state officials,
and prepared the site for redevelopment. In August
2007, the City of Charles Town approved final site
development plans for a "Gateway Center" that
will house high tech commercial office tenants. A
groundbreaking is planned for 2008. This developer
also purchased a vacant lumber yard in the corridor
and converted it into a 35,000 square feet com-
mercial office and warehousing operation. In the
meantime, other redevelopers who see progress in
Charles Town are engaging in talks with the family
that owns the granary about expanding the com-
mercial redevelopment in the area.
In this case, small property owners, an inexperi-
enced local government, and reluctant investors
who had given up on this downtown corridor came
together to create a reuse vision that is now being
implemented. This transformation in thinking was
fueled by U.S. EPA Brownfields grant resources
enabling private sector organizations like the Urban
Land Institute to conduct reuse planning, outreach,
education, and environmental assessments to cre-
ate a market for revitalization and give parties the
confidence to move forward.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Reuse First Creation of a reuse plan
convinced site owners and developers there
would be a market for the redeveloped prop-
erty and provided the certainty the parties
were seeking.
2. Federal Grants - Charles Town and Ranson
used EPA Brownfields assessment funding to
reach out to the site owners and the broader
community to conduct assessments and edu-
cate stakeholders on opportunities for reuse.
For more information, contact Charles Town
Councilwoman Ann Paonessa at (304) 728-2887
or annpwv@frontiernet.net.
www.charlestownwv.us/section.aspPsection id=44
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25
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
COLORADO BROWNFIELDS FOUNDATION HELPS MOM & POPS
WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
The Colorado Brownfields Foundation (CBF)
is a nonprofit organization servicing urban,
suburban, and rural Colorado to promote
the cleanup and reuse of environmentally impaired
sites, including mothballed properties. CBF assists
in finding solutions to mothballed properties by
providing technical assistance to owners, buyers,
and local governments seeking to revitalize these
properties.
CBF's Environmental Stewardship Program assists
communities and property owners facing critical
issues related to potentially contaminated prop-
erties but lacking the specialized expertise and
financial resources to address them. CBF can loan
a brownfields coordinator to a project to inven-
tory redevelopment opportunities, provide strate-
gic information on land reuse models, coordinate
environmental related services, identify funding
options, and act as an intergovernmental liaison.
CBF's Environmental Due Diligence Grants pro-
vide environmental services to local governments to
support public-private real estate transactions and
support redevelopment for public benefits. CBF
brings seminars, workshops, and conferences to
communities to educate stakeholders and project
managers on strategic approaches to redeveloping
potentially contaminated properties.
Additionally, CBF administers several specialized
programs including the Colorado Historic Byways
Initiative, an interagency state program that pro-
vides environmental assessment and cleanup ser-
vices to local economic development projects along
Colorado's Scenic Byways and Historic Districts.
CBF also works to help clean up environmental
contamination associated with clandestine meth-
amphetamine labs, focusing on homes that are
abandoned, in foreclosure, or otherwise veiled to
potential occupants.
CBF coordinated a public-private partnership to
clean up and reuse the Former Buckshot Indus-
tries property in Crowley County, Colorado (pop-
ulation 6,000). The eight acre site is the former
location of a family owned highway construction
business and was blighted by a combination of
illegal dumping, diesel fuel spills, and clandestine
methamphetamine production.
Buckshot Industries ceased operation in the mid
1990s when the owner's two sons inherited the
family business. In place of the road construction
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
26
business, the brothers started a methamphetamine
production lab a process with hazardous byproducts.
In addition to the toxic methamphetamine chemi-
cals, the site also contained rusty drums leaking
diesel fuel left over from previous road construc-
tion. Asbestos debris accumulated on the property
due to the brothers operating an illegal dump in
addition to their methamphetamine laboratory.
The site eventually became subject to tax liens by
the County Treasurer. At the tax sale there were no
potential purchasers and the county itself declined to
convert the Treasurer's liens into title, citing the envi-
ronmental issues. It appeared that the property could
remain mothballed for some time into the future.
In 2007, CBF assisted in encouraging a local manufac-
turer of hand-crafted cabinetry to consider using this
property for an expansion of its operations. The manu-
facturer contemplated relocating out of the County, but
after discussions with Crowley County Commissioners,
it decided to take possession of the Treasurer's liens with
full title after cleanup was complete.
CBF was instrumental in putting this agreement into
place and saving the property from continued status as
a mothballed property. First, CBF coordinated with
the Colorado Department of Public Health & En-
vironment to characterize site conditions. CBF also
developed the terms of the agreement. In addition to
transferring fee title following cleanup, it delegated
cleanup responsibilities for contaminated diesel soils
to the County. The cabinetry company agreed to
clean up the dump site and asbestos debris. CBF
itself will clean up the methamphetamine laboratory.
The County waived all entitlement fees for the prop-
erty and offered to provide earth moving equipment
and operators for cleanup activities. As a side benefit
and cost savings measure, the local Voluntary Fire
Department will receive free training from the State
in assaying and disposing of unknown containerized
liquids as part of the methamphetamine lab cleanup.
The agreement also specifies that jobs will be kept
on the site for three years or the business will incur
financial penalties.
The retention and expansion of this local business is
economically significant because it entails the creation
of jobs and puts the property back on the tax rolls.
CBF estimates reuse of this once tax delinquent and
vacant site would add about $250,000 in payroll to the
community, contribute almost $6,000 annually to the
County's tax rolls, and over $1,000 in annual taxes to
the local school district. Unfortunately, at the time that
this report was being published, a Colorado wildfire
destroyed this revitalized property, and the community
will need to work again to redevelop.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Assist Mom & Pops CBF provided the
expertise to the cabinetry company and local
government to understand the human health
impacts of environmental conditions and to
develop a strategy to clean up and reuse this
site.
2. Local Leadership - The local government,
through the use of assuming cleanup costs
and waiving fees, committed to developing
an agreement whereby the cabinetry com-
pany would remain in the community.
For more information, contact Jesse Silverstein,
Colorado Brownfields Foundation at
(303) 962-0942 or jesse@ColoradoBrownfields-
Foundation.org.
www.coloradobrownfieldsfoundation.org/
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27
Profiles of Successful Mothballed Property Revitalization - Local Leadership
INNOVATIVE BUILDING REUSE PROGRAM SPURS REVITALIZATION
OF NORTH CAROLINA SMALL TOWNS
North Carolina is in the midst of a 30 year
economic restructuring as a result of man-
ufacturing closures and job losses. Many
communities lost their economic base as manu-
facturing plants closed, the number of small farms
declined and locally owned businesses, including
main street stores, disappeared. The hardest hit
small towns saw their tax bases erode, making it
difficult to provide basic services and nearly im-
possible to plan for new growth and development.
Whether an empty storefront on Main Street or a
shuttered factory out on the highway, vacant build-
ings serve as daily reminders of the economic hard-
ships being pressed upon small towns throughout
North Carolina. They are a source of discourage-
ment to local residents and to anyone considering
starting a new business. But these buildings also
represent a town's potential. Restored, renovated,
and equipped, they can once again become thriv-
ing centers of commerce, creating jobs and adding
much-needed tax base for struggling communities.
A nonprofit center based in Raleigh called the
North Carolina Rural Economic Development
Center (Rural Center) helps create economic
revitalization in the state's 85 rural counties by
conducting research into rural issues; advocating
for policy and program innovations; and building
the productive capacity of rural leaders, entrepre-
neurs, and community organizations. The Rural
Center operates a "Building Reuse and Restoration
Program" that assists communities and small busi-
nesses in transforming the potential these buildings
represent into economic reality. Grants provided by
the Rural Center help local governments prepare
the buildings for reuse by new and expanding busi-
nesses. The Rural Center oversees the program that
received $40 million in funding from the North
Carolina General Assembly.
+
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MOTHBALLED PROPERTIES
28
The Building Reuse program provides predevel-
opment grants of $25,000 to cover the costs of
studies and other activity necessary to secure
commitments from a business or investors for the
reuse of vacant and blighted buildings. Develop-
ment grants of up to $400,000 are awarded to
projects ready for reuse and must be matched by
at least an equal amount of private and public
funds. Awards are limited to local governments
in rural counties or the most economically dis-
tressed urban areas, with priority given to towns
with fewer than 5,000 people.
For example, a Rural Center grant is helping the
City of Albemarle, North Carolina reuse a 42,000
square feet manufacturing facility that closed in the
early 1970s into a mix of offices, retail, and living
space. The Rural Center also provided $250,000 to
the Town of Forest City for the reuse of the Cone
Mills/Florence textile plant as a mixed use develop-
ment with a total investment of $20 million. The
complex, with a restaurant, bookstore, movie the-
ater, meeting facilities, hotel, museum, and housing,
will create 50 jobs and spur the redevelopment of
other historic buildings near the former mill.
An important role of the North Carolina Rural
Center's programs with respect to mothballed
properties is that the Building Reuse effort helps
create "market pull" in localities that struggle with
economic stagnancy. The predevelopment and res-
toration grants help create community consensus
on reuse plans, identify highest and best uses for
particular sites, and create interest by potential in-
vestors and redevelopers in reuse. These issues are
typically more complex for contaminated proper-
ties. Such economic development momentum can
be critical in providing confidence to the individu-
als and businesses who own these long vacant sites
that there is value in taking on the challenges of
cleanup and restoration. With hope for real estate
and market opportunities created by the proactive
efforts that are enabled with Rural Center grants,
property owners often become less reluctant to
discuss site transfer.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUCCESS:
1. Assist Mom & Pops - The Rural Center pro-
vides assistance to small businesses for building
reuse and revitalization.
2. State Tools and Resources State funds pro-
vide grants for predevelopment and develop-
ment projects for communities to identify reuse
opportunities.
For more information, contact Billy Ray Hall,
North Carolina Rural Center at (919) 250-4314
or brhall@ncruralcenter.org.
www.ncruralcenter.org/
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a
Mothballedproperties are a challenge in communities across America. America is up to the challenge of
revitalizing these sites through new innovative approaches and public-private collaboration.
Stephen Johnson, EPA Administrator
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-R-08-003
October 2008
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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