United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-00-226
October 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
oEPA Brownfields Showcase
Community
Denver, CO
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
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. In 1998, this multi-agency partnership designated 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating the
benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. In October 2000, the partnership selected 12 additional "Brownfields Showcase
Communities" to continue the success of the initiative. The 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
Denver, Colorado, as a Brownfields Showcase
Community. Denver has targeted three brownfields
neighborhoods—Globeville, Elyria/Swansea, and
Northeast Parkhill—which are heavily impacted by
industrial uses and have not benefitted from Denver's
growing economy. Compared with the rest of
Denver, the targeted neighborhoods have at least
twice the minority population, earn as much as one-
third less, and average approximately 10 percent
more persons living below poverty level. Denver has
been designated an
Enterprise Commu-
nity. More than one-
third of the 3,979
acres in these
neighborhoods is
zoned industrial,
including two auto
salvage yards.
Denver is currently
redeveloping a 22.5 -
acre Globeville
industrial site with
Community Profile
Denver, Colorado
heavy metals contamination, and has identified a 5-
acre auto salvage site for environmental assessment in
Elyria/Swansea adjacent to 8.5 acres of industrial land
that the city plans to redevelop.
Denver began to focus on cleaning up the Central
Platte Valley (CPV) in the 1980s. The CPV was
contaminated with landfill byproducts, radioactive
material from radium processing sites, and residue
from railroad yard maintenance facilities. The end
result of these cleanup efforts includes the Six Flags
Elitch Gardens Amusement Park, the Colorado
Oceans Journey Aquarium, Coors Field (home of the
Colorado Rockies), the
Pepsi Center Arena
(home of the Colorado
Avalanche and Denver
Nuggets), the REI
Denver Flagship Store (a
large outdoor sports
equipment retailer), and
Commons Park
(Denver's newest public
events and recreation
facility).
The City of Denver has been highly
successful in undertaking brownfields
redevelopment efforts in the Central
Platte Valley. The area is now expanding
its efforts to focus on implementing a
similarstrategy to identify, clean up, and
redevelop inner-city brownfields sites in
three low-income neighborhoods—
Globeville, Elyria/Swansea, and
Northeast Parkhill—which have large
minority populations and are heavily
impacted by industrial uses.
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CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Denver has formed partnerships with federal, state,
and local entities to address brownfields issues.
Partnerships include:
• EPA, whose assistance includes two Targeted
Brownfields Assessments and an Assessment
Demonstration Pilot to address a groundwater
plume at the former Stapleton International
Airport. Denver also participates as a coalition
partner with the Colorado Revolving Loan Fund
to assist with neighborhood brownfields projects
and a Job Training Pilot to train Denver
residents for environmental cleanups.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, which provided $40 million in
grants and loan guarantees for Denver
brownfields projects.
• U.S. Department of Commerce-Economic
Development Administration, which provided a
number of inner-city redevelopment grants,
including one for $800,000 for the Northside
Treatment Plant project.
• U.S. Department of Energy, which helped
Denver research the concept of eco-industrial
parks and sustainable development for the
Northside Treatment Plant.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which worked
with Denver to revitalize the South Platte River
Corridor. The project has identified 16 potential
brownfields sites along the South Platte River
for potential remediation and development.
• Small Business Administration, which has helped
Denver provide loans to small businesses, some
with contaminated properties.
Colorado Department
of Public Health and
Environment, which
manages three
programs, including a
brownfields
assessment program
Contacts
Mayor's Office of Economic
Developments International Trade
(720)913-1609
(concentrating on sites with strong public benefit),
a voluntary cleanup program, and the Colorado
Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund ($500,000 of
loan money to clean up sites).
• Downtown Denver Partnership, a property
owners association for downtown Denver that
was instrumental in coordinating development
efforts in the LoDo area.
• South Platte River Commission, which is
responsible for redeveloping Denver's urban river
corridors, many of which have areas of significant
contamination.
• At the regional level, Denver will begin working
with the Denver Regional Council of
Governments on their brownfields research
program. This effort is being coordinated with the
state's smart growth program to demonstrate the
potential that brownfields have for reducing
sprawl and conserving energy sources.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Denver has been very successful in managing
brownfields projects in the Central Platte Valley and is
now eager to implement a strategy as a Showcase
Community to identify, cleanup, and redevelop inner-
city brownfields sites in low-income neighborhoods.
This strategy includes an effort to mobilize local, state,
and federal resources to cooperatively address the
serious environmental and economic problems that
exist in these areas. Funds and technical assistance
available underthe Showcase Community designation
will assist Denver in a number of ways, including site
assessment and pre-cleanup activities, as well as
coordinating all resource providers participating in
Denver's Brownfields Program. Denver's innovative
approach to developing a
geocode mapping system
to identify brownfields
sites will serve as a
national model for other
cities.
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303)312-6083
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
Denver, Colorado
EPA 500-F-00-226
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