United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-255
November 1998
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Dallas.TX
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.
Community Profile
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
the City of Dallas as a Brownfields Showcase Com-
munity. Dallas has been involved in brownfields as-
sessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment for more
than two years, and has
identified more than 200
brownfields within the
city. The city targets the
area of West Dallas for
brownfields redevelop-
ment. West Dallas is an
11.45-square-mile, low-
income, minority popu-
lated section of Dallas
greatly affected by the presence of a Superfund site,
a large public housing development, and industrial land
use of approximately 26% of the area. The city is
also targeting the 280-square-mile Southern Sector,
which consists of 38% vacant land, to both address
community need and take advantage of growth po-
tential. Both targeted areas fall within Dallas' fed-
eral Enterprise Community (EC).
Dallas combines private, state, and federal resources
to maximize the benefits of brownfields cleanup and
redevelopment. The city is dedicated to community
Dallas, Texas
involvement and empowerment as part of the rede-
velopment process before cleanup begins. The
Brownfields Forum, citizen advisory focus groups, and
brownfields site redevelopment meetings ensure the
public has access to in-
formation regarding
brownfields redevelop-
ment. Additional part-
nerships with neighbor-
hood associations,
academic institutions,
and non-profit associa-
tions encourage stake-
holder involvement in
Dallas' brownfields re-
development.
In just over two years, the Dallas
Brownfields Program has leveraged
more than $109 million in private
investments and $1.9 million in
federal funds to facilitate brownfields
redevelopment. The program has
helped reclaim more than 1,200
acres of brownfields and anticipates
the creation of more than 1,700 jobs.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Since the inception of Dallas' brownfields program
two years ago, the city has cleaned up and redevel-
oped 1,244 acres of brownfields, leveraged more than
$109 million in private investments, and assisted in
the creation of more than 1,700 jobs. Highlights of
Dallas' brownfields redevelopment program include:
• Building a $34 million multi-family/restaurant
development on a property that was contaminated
and abandoned for more than 9 years;
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• Reclaiming a22.5-acre contaminated property that
was abandoned for more than 8 years;
• Maintaining 60 jobs, and creating an additional 30
j ob opportunities when American Pallet Recyclers
developed a 26.4-acre property located in an
economically-stressed area. This former concrete
pipe manufacturing facility had been abandoned
for more than 8 years;
• Opening the Larry Johnson Recreation Center on
a 2.6-acre property after the city removed
contamination left by aprevious apartment complex
on the property;
• Developing an Occupational Training Institute.
When complete, the Institute will assist community
residents in developing job skills and obtaining
employment;
• Securing more than $1.6 million in Economic
Development Administration (EDA) and
Community Development Block Grant funding
toward the 90-acre McComma's Bluff eco-business
park and research center project; and
• Serving as a model for brownfields management;
for example, the bi-lingual brownfields guidance
manual and other reports have been requested
across the country.
Dallas has leveraged $1.9 million in federal funds to
facilitate brownfields redevelopment. Dallas has
been designated as: an Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Demon-
stration Pilot and a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Pilot; a Department of Housing and Ur-
ban Development EC; a Department of Com-
merce—EDA Special Impact Area; and a General
Services Administration Federal Pilot City. Dallas
has also partnered with the U.S. Corps of Engineers,
the National Historic Register, the the Texas Depart-
ments of Transportation and Parks and Wildlife, and
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
for brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelop-
ment.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Dallas plans to use the Showcase Communities
project to continue the strong partnerships it has al-
ready created, and to foster new ones. The city's
objectives in brownfields redevelopment are to: link
job training with forecasted jobs and life skill train-
ing; provide tax incentives to businesses; maximize
job growth potential of existing facilities; and develop
new industrial parks. Dallas will continue to be a
model for other cities in brownfields redevelopment
process management.
The city anticipates a full-time federal employee to
join the Dallas Brownfields Program staff as a Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act (CERCLA) expert. Additional re-
sources available through national partnerships will
expand opportunities for development of innovative
technical and managerial methods to enhance Dal-
las' brownfields program. The processes and part-
nerships developed may then be documented and
shared with other cities interested in brownfields
cleanup and redevelopment.
Contacts
Economic Development
Department
City of Dallas
(214)670-1686
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 6
(214)665-6736
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
Dallas, Texas
EPA 500-F-98-255
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