Providence is Turning
Abandoned Mills
Into a Green way
Providence, Rl
T
JLi»
he City of Providence, Rhode Island is looking forward to a new
4.4-mile greenway along the Woonasquatucket River. With help from
federal, state, and local partners, the Woonasquatucket River Greenway
Project (WRGP) is producing a series of linear parks joined together by
a 6.6-mile bike loop that extends from downtown Providence to the
Johnston City border. The WRGP begins behind the Providence Place
Mall (a brownfields site that was once an abandoned railyard) and ends
at the Button Hole Golf Course (another former brownfield). The park
redevelopment project includes the cleanup of two remaining
brownfields, the former Lincoln Lace & Braid and Riverside Mills mill
complexes, and the restoration of two abandoned parks. While overall
completion is at least a year away, the Greenway project has already
provided new recreational opportunities for local residents.
It was during the initial WRGP planning stages that a non-profit, The
Providence Plan, along with the City of Providence and the Rhode
Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), formed a
partnership. This partnership, designed to clean up the Riverside Mills
and Lincoln Lace & Braid brownfields sites and create the greenway,
led to a Brownfields Showcase Community designation by the
Brownfields National Partnership in September 1998.
Showcase Communities are selected by the Brownfields National
Partnership to demonstrate that through cooperation, federal, state,
local, and private efforts can be concentrated around brownfields to
restore these sites, stimulate economic development, and revitalize
communities. Showcase Communities serve as models for broad-based
cooperative efforts to support locally based initiatives. Showcases
receive up to $400,000 from EPA for both environmental assessments
and to support the loan of a federal employee to the Showcase for up to
three years. Showcases receive additional financial and technical
support from more than 20 federal partners, depending on the
community need and program eligibility.
The efforts of the city, the assistance of many partners, and the addition
of Showcase Community staff have ensured the success of the WRGP.
Prior to the Showcase designation, the WRGP had $3.1 million in
funding secured from a U.S. Department of Transportation TEA-21 bill
for the design and construction of the bikepath. This investment was
continued f
The site of a former gravel pit,
redeveloped into a golf course.
JUST THE FACTS:
• The Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management (RIDEM)
provided a total of $483,000 at two
brownfields to remove underground
storage tanks and contaminated soil.
• The state provided $550,000 for park
and trail improvements at one property,
and EPA funding allowed RIDEM to
support the development of a cleanup
plan for a second site.
• An earlier EPA Brownfields
Assessment Pilot grant funded initial
assessments on both mill sites, and
$180,000 in EPA funds paid for the
cleanup plan for the Riverside Mills site.
Cleanup and construction costs for
the planned park and playground
will be nearly $2.8 million, $1 million
of which has been provided through
a U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development Neighborhood
Initiative grant In addition to a bike
path, the park will feature a play area,
a water park, a skateboarding park, a
stage with electricity, a canoe dock,
and a sheltered picnic area.
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subsequently matched by $800,000 in state Transportation Improvement Projects (TIP) funds.
The City of Providence then passed a $2.9 million bond initiative to fund the
project. Approximately $1.5 million of those bond funds were used to dredge
the Woonasquatucket River downtown and to reconstruct and reopen both
parks, much to the delight of local residents.
Key resources that helped to move the WRGP forward came from
both the State of Rhode Island and EPA. RIDEM provided a total of
$483,000 for the two brownfields sites to remove underground storage
tanks/vaults and contaminated soil between December 1998 and June
2000. The state has also provided $550,000 for park and trail
improvements at the Riverside Mills property, and EPA Showcase
Community funding allowed RIDEM to support the development of a
cleanup plan for the Lincoln Lace & Braid site. An earlier EPA
Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant funded the initial assessments on
both mill sites, and $180,000 in EPA funds paid for the cleanup plan for the
Riverside Mills site.
CONTACTS:
For more information on EPA's Showcase
Communities, contact Tony Raia of OSWER's
Office of Brownfields Cleanup and
Redevelopment at (202) 566-2758
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Cleanup and construction costs for the planned park and playground at the
Riverside Mills site will be nearly $2.8 million, $1 million of which has been provided through a U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Initiative grant. Scheduled for
completion by the end of 2004, this park will be considered the premiere recreational site in the area.
In addition to a bikepath, the park will feature a play area, a water park, a skateboarding park, a stage
with electricity, a canoe dock, and a sheltered picnic area. The Button Hole golf course, a 9-hole
course with a driving range, opened in the summer of 2001, providing many neighborhood youths with
their first-ever opportunity to play the sport. By the end of 2002, local residents will be able to travel
to the Button Hole Golf Course along the new bikepath, on which the Rhode Island Department of
Transportation has started construction. The Lincoln Lace & Braid site is now undergoing a three-
phase cleanup, and will eventually become home to a youth soccer field.
Keeping the community involved through outreach efforts has always been a priority for the city as
part of the Providence Plan. The Showcase Community provided $100,000 toward
those outreach efforts. Community leaders from the neighborhood had the
opportunity to review and comment on technical drawings for the park's
design at Riverside Mills. At community meetings, residents
acknowledged that the WRGP will drastically improve their quality of
life. The community is anticipating that this project will spawn
additional reinvestment beyond the project area.
Removal of an underground storage
tank from one of Providence's
brownfields.
Brownfields Success Story
Providence, Rl
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-02-163
December 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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