United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-98-257 November 1998 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA Brownfields Showcase Community Eastward Ho!, FL Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) Quick Reference Fact Sheet Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated manner. This multi-agency partnership has pledged support to 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. The designated Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on the particular needs of each Showcase Community. BACKGROUND The Brownfields National Partnership has selected southeast Florida's Eastward Ho! Brownfields Part- nership as a Brownfields Showcase Community. The Partnership comprises local, state, regional, and fed- eral government agencies, as well as public, private, and non-profit community organizations in southeast Florida. The Eastward Ho! Initiative was established in 1995 to direct future growth to the region's urban core and away from the threatened Everglades eco- system to the west. Because contaminated lands are a significant barrier to redevelopment in the East- ward Ho! corridor, the identification, assess- ment, cleanup, revital- ization, and redevelop- ment of brownfields on a regional scale is essential to the East- ward Ho! strategy. Community Profile some of the most severe poverty in the country. The corridor, which developed along two railroad tracks, contains more than 2,100 known contaminated sites. Bade and Broward Counties have completed data- bases of known contaminated lands; Palm Beach County is developing similar information. CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS More than $300 million in brownfields redevelopment, loan guarantees, infrastructure improvement, and eco- nomic revitalization has been invested in the East- ward Ho! corridor since 1993. The Florida legislature's Brownfields Redevelopment Act of- fers financial and other incentives, as well as li- ability relief for cleanup and redevelopment of properties designated as brownfields throughout Eastward Ho!, Florida The Eastward Ho! corridor spans approxi- mately 115 miles along the eastern portions of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Bade Counties, with a combined population of more than 2 million. While the entire corridor is not characterized by poverty, it contains pockets of The Eastward Ho! Brownfields Partnership is a regional collaboration focusing on shared environmental restoration and urban revitalization efforts. The new Partnership will workto revitalize southeast Florida's historicurban core, thereby alleviating pressures on the imperiled Everglades. the state. State brownfields grants awarded under this pro- gram total $1.12 million. More than $6 million from a variety of public and private sources has been dedicated specifically to the Eastward Ho! Partnership. Highlights of brownfields redevelopment in the region include: ------- • Receiving a developer's commitment to create economically viable businesses in the Wynwood neighborhood, the target area of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot in Miami. Once redeveloped, 70-80 new jobs are expected for this low-income community; • Investing of more than $10 million in the cleanup and redevelopment of the 30-acre Poinciana Industrial Center; • Establishing aBrownfields TaskForceto determine types of financial incentives and procedures needed to encourage private sector brownfields redevelopment; and • Ensuring involvement of community members in brownfields redevelopment by Advisory Councils. The Eastward Ho! corridor contains: EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots for the City of Miami and Dade County; one Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Enterprise Community and numerous Community Development Block Grant target areas; a Depart- ment of Commerce Economic Development Dis- trict for southeast Florida and a Redevelopment Area for Palm Beach County; a national urban Re- gional Partnership Pilot; four state brownfields pilot projects; three state-designated Enterprise Zones; and one state-designated Sustainable Community. Partnerships for community involvement and brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelop- ment also exist with many federal agencies, private companies, and non-profit organizations. SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The Eastward Ho! Partnership offers a model of how a regional coalition can accomplish environmen- tal restoration and urban revitalization in a highly frag- mented administrative structure. A three-pronged approach of collaboration, strategy, and action will allow the Partnership to address regional brownfields issues. During the next two years, the Eastward Ho! Partnership expects to complete a regional in- ventory of potential brownfields, integrated with socio-economic, health, and transportation data. Re- habilitation and redevelopment projects will feature sustainable reuse, including mixed-income housing, sound urban design principles, and bicycle, transit, and pedestrian friendly development. Establishing replicability, and taking advantage of existing finan- cial tools (including the federal Brownfields Tax In- centive, a brownfields assessment revolving loan fund, and streamlined governmental processes for brownfields redevelopment) are priorities for the Partnership. The Eastward Ho! Initiative will continue the part- nerships it has already created with more than fifty community organizations, as well as foster new re- lationships. Because of the regional nature of the Eastward Ho! Initiative, there are also potential roles for many federal partners in the area's brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment. Contacts Eastward Ho! Brownfields Partnership (954)985-4416 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 4 (404)562-8923 For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm Brownfields Showcase Community November 1998 Eastward Ho!, Florida EPA 500-F-98-257 ------- |