1U o Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet Kansas City, MO 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 City of Kansas City was selected to receive a cleanup grant. Kansas City, a federally designated Enhanced Enterprise Community, has a population of 441,545. The Beacon Hill project is part of a larger, continuing effort to revitalize the Troost Corridor. It targets one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in the city, with a 65 percent minority population and a 22 percent poverty rate. In the early 20th Cen- tury, this area emerged as one of the city's largest commercial districts. Initially, minorities were prohibited from owning or renting properties south of 27th Street. In the postwar era, neighborhoods east of Troost Avenue became predominantly minority, while those to the west were only marginally integrated. Today, Troost Avenue remains a racial and socioeconomic V. Cleanup Grant $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the City of Kansas City for a brownfields cleanup grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct community outreach, prepare a remedial design, and clean up petroleum contamination at 2639 and 2701 Troost Avenue in the Beacon Hill project area. The two vacant properties were the locations of filling stations from 1937 to the mid-1960s and are listed as State of Missouri Underground Storage Tank sites. 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 7 Brownfields Team 913-551-7646 http://www.epa.gov/Region7/citizens/brownfields/ index.htm Grant Recipient: City of Kansas City, MO 816-513-3002 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. dividing line for the city. With suburban development and sprawl, this commercial area, which includes a high concentration of brownfield properties, has declined economically. Cleanup of the brownfields sites in the neighborhood will allow the city to move forward with its Master Plan to develop the Beacon Hill project that will feature 400 new and rehabilitated housing units. This will be the city's largest single-family residential redevelopment project. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-05-204 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |