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  Brownfields  2005

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

  Community Partners

for Affordable Housing,


          Portland,  OR


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Community Partners for Affordable Housing was
selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The
Bertha Triangle target site is located in the Hillsdale
neighborhood in southwest Portland (population
529,121). The target community consists of low-
income seniors living in or near the Hillsdale neighbor-
hood. Twenty percent of Bertha Triangle area resi-
dents are over 55 years old.  Although almost half of all
renter households over the age of 55 are rent bur-
dened, paying more than 30 percent of their monthly
income for rent and utilities, there are no subsidized
senior housing developments in the market area.
                                   Cleanup Grant
                                   $180,000 for petroleum

                                   EPA has selected the Community Partners for
                                   Affordable Housing for a brownfields cleanup
                                   grant. Grant funds will be used to decommission
                                   existing groundwater monitoring wells, prepare a
                                   cleanup plan, and remove and dispose of contami-
                                   nated soils at the Bertha Triangle site in Hillsdale
                                   Town Center, Portland, Oregon. Funds also will
                                   be used to dispose of contaminated groundwater
                                   encountered during excavation. A targeted
                                   assessment completed at the site revealed the
                                   presence of petroleum contamination consistent
                                   with the former use of the property as an automo-
                                   bile wrecking yard and fueling station.
                                   Contacts
                                   For further information, including specific grant
                                   contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                                   news and events, and publications and links, visit
                                   the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
                                   brownfields.

                                   EPA Region 10 Brownfields Team
                                   206-553-2100
                                   http://www.epa.gov/rlOearth, click on
                                   "Superfund", scroll down and click on
                                   "Brownfields"

                                   Grant Recipient: Community Partners for Afford-
                                   able Housing, OR
                                   503-968-2724

                                   The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                                   yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
                                   in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                 Cleanup of the Bertha Triangle site will enable the
                                 redevelopment of the property into a 51-unit affordable
                                 senior housing facility, with eight units set aside for
                                 formerly homeless veterans. The development also will
                                 include ground floor commercial space, parking, and a
                                 community center.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                                                        EPA560-F-05-155
                                                        May 2005
                                                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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