SERA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-222
June 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Brownfields Success Stories
Par for the Course: Brownfields
Pilots Provide Communities
with More Greens
GOLFCOURSESSTORY
A
cross the U.S., brownfields are being turned into greens:
more specifically, golf course greens. Restoring brownfields
into golf courses is a fast-growing trend, and several ofEPA's
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots offer prime ex-
amples. Currently, three Assessment Pilots include golf courses
in their site redevelopment plans; these Pilots' efforts will help
leverage more than $33 million to transform approximately 600
acres of vacant and abandoned sites into new, pristine golf courses
and create more than 35 jobs.
Usually part of a larger-scale recreational development project,
golf courses created on urban brownfields sites tend to be tar-
geted toward low-income residents residing in those brownfields
communities, who may have few available recreational options.
These golf courses can provide area residents with an outdoor,
scenic activity that brings the community together in a positive
atmosphere, as well as beautifying and enhancing the landscape
of the area. Garry Waldeck of the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management stated that "these urban recreational
areas, including golf courses, provide additional recreational al-
ternatives and can increase community pride."
continued ^
JUSTTHE FACTS:
• Brownfields Pilot assessments on the
former Button Hole site in Providence,
Rhode Island, led to a $90,000 cleanup effort
and a $3 million golf course redevelopment.
• A $19 million cleanup and golf course
redevelopment effort in Houston, Texas is
expected to create 35 full-time jobs and
generate $22,000 per year in property taxes.
• Using leveraged funding from local
government and private sources, a
brownfield in Hammond, Indiana will be
redeveloped into a 120-acre, 18-hole adult
golf course and clubhouse.
Currently, three ofEPA's Brownfields
Assessment Pilots include golf
courses in their site redevelopment
plans; these Pilots' efforts will help
leverage more than $33 million to
transform approximately 600 acres
of vacant and abandoned sites into
new, pristine golf courses.
ERA'S Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic
redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is
a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding:
assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup
and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of
communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans for
the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities
with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental
cleanup, and redevelopment.
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In the spring of 1999, the Golf Foundation of Rhode Island ap-
proached the state regarding its desire to redevelop the 25-
acre Button Hole site, a state-owned brownfield, into an
affordable golf course for nearby residents and youths.
The state accepted this proposal and included the project
in its State of Rhode Island Brownfields Assessment
Pilot. A former gravel pit, the Button Hole site is
located in Providence and lies adjacent to the
Woonasquatucket River, a metals recycling plant with
numerous environmental violations, and several mul-
tifamily housing complexes. Because of its proxim-
ity to the metals recycling plant, the site was thought
to have environmental contamination. The Pilot funded
$30,000 site assessments that revealed low levels of lead
and arsenic at a small portion of the site. As a result,
10,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated
and encapsulated onsite in accordance with state regulations.
CONTACTS:
(For Providence, Rhode Island):
EPA Region 1
(617)918-1209
(For Hammond, Indiana):
EPA Region 5
(312)353-3161
(For Houston, Texas):
EPA Region 6
(214)665-7382
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Leasing the site to the Golf Foundation for one dollar per year, the
State of Rhode Island agreed to fund the approximately $90,000 cleanup
effort. The Pilot also assisted the Golf Foundation in creating the golf course development plan.
Through private donations, the Golf Foundation is funding the $3 million redevelopment. The
driving range and training center opened to the public in August 2000, and is already tremendously
popular with local residents. Remaining portions of the site, including a 9-hole golf course and
clubhouse, are currently being developed. The golf course is also part of the $13 million
Woonasquatucket Greenway Project, which includes develop-
ment of an adjacent park and bike trail that will connect
the area to downtown Providence. The Brownfields
Pilot will focus on additional sites included in
the Greenway Project.
In Houston, Texas, a former municipal
landfill unused since 1979 has similar po-
tential for recreational use. Located in a
disadvantaged area of the city, the 450-
acre 1110 Holmes Street site lies within
the City of Houston Brownfields Pilot tar-
get area. In 1997, prior to the Pilot's in-
volvement, the owner of 422 acres of the site
selected En Cap Golf LLC (EnCap) to redevelop
the site into two 18-hole golf courses. As part of the
arrangement, the owner leased the site to EnCap for 99
years and agreed to finance cleanup activities, while EnCap
agreed to fund environmental assessments and redevelopment activities.
EnCap conducted site assessments in 1997 and 1998 that found low levels of a methane gas
mixture created by the breakdown of the former landfill. In 1998, the property owner and EnCap
continued ^
Brownfields Success Story
June 2001
Golf Courses Story
EPA 500-F-01-222
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enlisted the Houston Pilot to help coordinate with inter-
governmental agencies to secure various permits and
assist with community outreach. The Pilot acted
as a liaison for the $77,000 purchase of an adja-
cent city-owned brownfields property to include
as part of the redevelopment project. The Pilot
continues to assist the project by updating and re-
questing support from the stakeholders involved,
as appropriate. The property owner funded the
installation of a $1.5 million landfill gas extraction
system in Summer 2001, while EnCap anticipates the
completion of both golf courses by July 2001. In addi-
tion to the golf courses, the site will include a clubhouse, a
practice and training facility, a pitch-and-putt course, mainte-
nance facilities, cart paths, and access roads. It is expected that as-
sessment, cleanup, and redevelopment activities will total approximately $19 million. Further, it is
estimated that approximately 35 full-time operations and maintenance jobs will be created and that
the city will receive $22,000 per year in property taxes.
Similarly, the City of Hammond, Indiana's Bairstow site, a 97-acre abandoned brownfield previously
used to dump steel mill slag waste, has been targeted for redevelopment into two separate golf
courses. As part of the city's overall George Lake Watershed Restoration Project, the Bairstow
project is generally referred to as the "Diamond in the Rough" and is considered a catalyst for the
development of the entire surrounding area. Abandoned in 1972, the property was secured by Lake
County in 1978 because of delinquent taxes, and donated (under a conditional deed to redevelop the
site into a golf course) to the City of Hammond in 1998. Priortothe Pilot's award, the city began the
first phases of activity, including conducting site assessments and cleanup, and redeveloping a 36-
acre portion of the site into a driving range, which opened October 1999, and a 9-hole youth golf
course and clubhouse, which opened April 2000.
The Hammond Brownfields Pilot was awarded to conduct site assessments and community outreach
activities during the second phase of this redevelopment project. Approximately $175,000 of
Hammond's $200,000 Pilot grant will be used to conduct site assessments of the remaining property,
with the remainder dedicated to community outreach. Using leveraged funding from local govern-
ment and private sources, the remaining property, as well as a portion of the adjacent South Basin
area, will be redeveloped into a 120-acre, 18-hole adult golf course and clubhouse. The Pilot also
plans to facilitate activities to protect and enhance the surrounding sensitive wooded and lakefront
areas. Following site assessments, cleanup and redevelopment activities are scheduled to begin
simultaneously in 2001; all of these activities are expected to total more than $11.5 million. The
second course is tentatively scheduled to open to the public in the spring of 2003.
For more information regarding these Pilots contact the appropriate EPA Region, EPA Region 1 at
617-918-1209; EPA Region 5 at 312-353-3161; or EPA Region 6 at 214-665-7382.
Brownfields Success Story Golf Courses Story
June 2001 EPA 500-F-01-222
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