Removing the Stigma of
Contamination and Repairing
Blighted Areas
T
A h
No Cleanup Required
hroughout the country, brownfields properties are plagued with the
stigma of environmental contamination. Many of these properties are lo-
cated in low-income urban areas with existing infrastructure, a desperate
need for economic stimulation, and community support for their redevelop-
ment. However, they remain abandoned or idle because of perceived con-
tamination left over from centuries of manufacturing and industry that be-
came obsolete or moved elsewhere. Often, the communities surrounding
these brownfields suffer from high unemployment and poorly performing
local economies. Returning these properties to productive use is a key goal
of EPA's Brownfields Assessment Pilot program. Approximately one-third
of brownfields assessed to date under the Pilot program are found to have
no significant contamination or low enough levels that no cleanup is re-
quired. Once the stigma of contamination is removed, these sites typically
become irresistible to purchasers and developers, who quickly return them
to use. Examples of these transformations follow below.
Complementing the city's goal of increasing middle-income housing, the
Galveston, Texas Assessment Pilot is facilitating redevelopment of the 73rd
and N 1A property into single-family middle-income homes, a scarce
commodity on this Gulf of Mexico island with little available land for
redevelopment. While the Galveston Housing Finance Corporation (GHFC)
was interested in purchasing and redeveloping the 6.58-acre site, it had
been concerned about environmental contamination due to past light
agricultural use and an unknown fill material used to raise the site to the
level of the flood plain (an expensive investment that enhanced the site's
attractiveness). To facilitate purchase and redevelopment of the site, the
Galveston Pilot conducted an assessment that revealed no cleanup was
necessary. GHFC subsequently purchased the property and began
construction of Barton Square, a residential community of 40 homes with a
maximum selling price of $ 125,000, which will be completed by July 2003.
Currently, construction of the roads and infrastructure is complete, several
homes have been sold and are occupied, several houses are nearing
continued ^
A new home built on a former brownfield
in the Twin Cities area, Minnesota.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Following assessments by the Tulsa,
Oklahoma Brownfields Assessment
Pilot and the property owner's
participation in the state Voluntary
Cleanup Program, the former Flint Steel
Building was determined to require no
cleanup prior to redevelopment.
• The Englewood, Colorado Brownfields
Assessment Pilot oversaw assessments
on a 9-acre former steel manufacturing
site, paid for by a $17,500 line of credit
through the city's Revolving Loan Fund;
the assessments determined that no
cleanup was necessary.
• A former dry cleaning property in New
Britain, Connecticut is being redeveloped
into a portion of an 8.5-acre urban park.
Once it was determined that no cleanup
was necessary, the state transferred
ownership of the property to the city.
Approximately one-third of
brownfields assessed to date
under the Pilot program are found
to have no significant contamina-
tion or low enough levels that no
cleanup is required. Once the
stigma of contamination is re-
moved, these sites typically
become irresistible to purchasers
and developers, who quickly
return them to use.
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completion, and most of the lots have been sold. Jan Coggeshall, chairwoman of GHFC, stated that first-
time homebuyers, such as police officers and teachers that work on the island, are the target residents
of this community. " [Barton Square] will be the first new subdivision built on the island in a long
time," says Coggeshall. "It also will put a significant amount on the tax rolls."
A site in Galveston, Texas that was
determined to require no cleanup.
In partnership with the Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI) and Twin
Cities Habitat for Humanity, the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council
Brownfields Assessment Pilot conducted assessments of several targeted
sites. Once these assessments were completed, Twin Cities Habitat for
Humanity purchased and began redevelopment on two sites requiring no cleanup.
Using approximately $415,000 in funding and in-kind services from Habitat of
Humanity and its partners, three homes were built during the Spring and Summer
of 2001 and another in Fall 2001. The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Pilot and
its partners hope to create a model that will allow other affordable housing builders to expand their
capabilities and options. Stephen Seidel, executive director of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, stated
that "As we at Twin Cities Habitat strive to meet the ever-increasing need for affordable housing in our
community, it is essential that we have the capacity to consider every location that has the possibility of
providing housing that is affordable to low- to moderate-income people. Thanks to this collaboration
[with the Brownfields Pilot and MEI], generously supported by the Environmental Protection Agency,
we are able to do just that." On February 13, 2002, EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
Habitat for Humanity International to work in partnership to build energy-efficient homes on former
brownfields throughout the country.
Following assessments by the Tulsa, Oklahoma Brownfields Assessment Pilot and the property owner's
participation in the state Voluntary Cleanup Program, the former Flint Steel Building site received a
Certificate of No Further Action (NFA) from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality
Brownfields Program once it was determined that no cleanup of the site was required. The NFA
releases the owner and any investors in the site from state and EPA liability. The former steel manufacturing
site, owned by Flintco Companies, will be redeveloped into a $ 1 .4 million warehouse,
and an industrial build-to-suit building for manufacturing or warehouse companies
looking for space. As stated by Tom Maxwell, president of Flintco Companies,
"This is a win-win for Tulsa. We have a strong commitment to Tulsa, and we
feel the redevelopment of this site will help to create jobs and attract capital
investments." Another Pilot-targeted site determined to require no cleanup
is being redeveloped into a new 80,000-square-foot City of Tulsa Housing
Authority warehouse and job training center.
The Englewood, Colorado Brownfields Assessment Pilot oversaw assessments on
A brownfield in
a 9-acre former steel manufacturing site, paid for by a $17,500 line of credit through the Tulsa, Oklahoma
city's Revolving Loan Fund; the assessments determined that no cleanup was necessary.
This site was purchased for $1.25 million by Keogh & Company, a national printing company that
continued ^
Brownfields Success Story
No Cleanup Required
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-010
May 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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expanded onto the site from an adjacent facility. After conducting minimal rehabilitation of the existing
60,000-square-foot building, the printing company now produces large-scale posters and banners
at the property. This redevelopment allowed forthe creation of 25 new jobs and the
retention of 90 existing jobs, as the company may have had to move its operation
elsewhere had expansion been unavailable. Although this site was not selected
based solely on its no cleanup determination, it certainly made this proj ect
more lucrative and timely.
For more information contact
U.S. EPA-Region 1 (617) 918-1424
U.S. EPA-Region 5 (312) 353-2513
U.S. EPA-Region 6 (214) 665-6736
U.S. EPA-Region 8 (303) 312-6803
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
As part of a community-wide revitalization project, a former dry cleaning
property in New Britain, Connecticut, is being redeveloped into a portion
of an 8.5-acre urban park that will include a community center and
residential units. The New Britain Brownfields Assessment Pilot conducted
assessments that determined that no cleanup was necessary, which led to
the City of New Britain accepting the transfer of ownership of the property
from the State of Connecticut. Located in one of the city's most poverty-
stricken and crime-ridden neighborhoods, the community center will include a Head
Start Program for kids and a computer lab, while the residential area will include up to
eight moderate-income homes. At the opposite end of the planned urban park, another Pilot-targeted
site is being redeveloped into an urban organic farm in which greenhouses are being constructed on
uncontaminated portions of the site, as well as on adjacent property. The Pilot has helped to leverage
more than $1.3 million in redevelopment funding for this project from various sources that include the
city, state, and private companies. Construction of the urban park will be completed in 2003.
These are just a few examples of successful redevelopment at brownfields sites across the country
that had formerly lain idle for too long. After the fear of environmental contamination is laid to rest
with environmental assessments, developers, cities, and citizens alike can reap the financial rewards of
reusing lands once thought to be untouchable.
Brownfields Success Story
No Cleanup Required
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-010
May 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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