Historic Trolley Barn Site Will House
the Kentucky Center for African
American Heritage
Louisville, Kentucky
he Russell neighborhood was once the vibrant heart of the African
American community in the City of Louisville, Kentucky, and this
neighborhood will soon be home to a museum and cultural center
highlighting and honoring the contributions of African Americans to the
city's and the state's history. The Kentucky Center for African American
Heritage will be established in the city's historic trolley barns and three
other buildings that make up the complex, with the main trolley barn
building serving as the primary exhibit hall. The trolley barn was used for
transportation-related purposes beginning in 1879, when it housed mule-
drawn trolleys. Later, mechanized trolleys were serviced there.
Because of its history, the trolley barn site was once thought to be
unusable because of prohibitive cleanup costs associated with the site's
perceived contamination. However, an EPA Assessment Pilot grant has
given this property new life-an environmental assessment conducted on
the site using Pilot funds revealed minimal contamination that required
only minor cleanup, and the museum project is now underway. The
groundbreaking for the heritage center took place in February 2003, and
it will open to the public early in 2005.
The trolley barn site lies within one of Louisville's old industrial corridors,
part of which is littered with abandoned and underutilized properties that
cost the city $8.7 million annually in lost property tax revenues. The two-
acre trolley barn property is a prime example of a site where the stigma
of major environmental contamination discouraged any redevelopment
interests-an earlier environmental assessment indicated that it would cost
$30 million for cleanup. To help address the barriers to redevelopment in
this 5,401-acre area, which is designated an Empowerment Zone, EPA
awarded the city a $200,000 Brownfields Pilot Assessment grant in
September 1995.
Thanks to this EPA funding, Louisville was able to target the trolley barn
site for a new environmental assessment, the results of which
contradicted the previous $30 million cleanup estimate (which would have
required soil removal and possible groundwater cleanup). The initial high
estimate was based on the site's history, which most recently included a
janitorial cleaning supply house where various pesticides and herbicides
were blended. Based on the new assessment, the city was able to move
forward with soil cleanup at a cost of only $80,000, while remaining fully
protective of the health and safety of local residents. Additional costs
were incurred for lead abatement and building stabilization.
The old trolley barn property,
prior to restoration
JUST THE FACTS:
• The trolley barn site lies within one of
Louisville's old industrial corridors, part of
which is littered with abandoned and
underutilized properties that cost the city
$8.7 millionannually inlost property tax
revenues.
• EPA's Brownfields Pilottargetedthe trolley
barn site for an environmental assessment,
the results of which contradicted a previous,
$30 millioncleanup estimate.
• Based on the updated assessment, the city
was able to move forward with soil cleanup
at a cost of only $80,000, while remaining
fully protective of the health and safety of
local residents.
Because of its history,
the trolley bam site was once thought
to be unusable because of prohibitive cleanup
costs associated with the site's perceived
contamination. However, an EPA Assessment
Pilot grant has given this property new life—an
environmental assessment conducted on the sik
with Pilot funds revealed minimal contamination
that required only minor cleanup. The site will
soon be home to an African American
museum and cultural center.
continuec
-------
The trolley barn property is now on its way to becoming home to the Kentucky
Center for African American Heritage. The complex's 40,000-square-foot main
barn features an elegant clerestory and will house the primary exhibit hall.
The idea for this museum/cultural center was submitted to the City Housing
and Urban Development Department by the Louisville and Jefferson
County African American Heritage Committee. According to Lora
Bradshaw, chairperson for the committee, the museum will "be
something that's significant to the entire community. It won't just be
African Americans-everybody will be proud of what the museum can
be." Exhibits in the museum will tell the stories of African Americans
in Kentucky from the pioneer days through the civil rights movement,
including such well-known figures as York, a slave who made a
significant contribution to the Lewis and Clark expedition.
The African American Heritage Foundation partners in the heritage
center, including federal, state, and city governments, financed a $2.5 million
project to stabilize the four buildings of the trolley barn complex. The buildings
are owned by the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and are to be
leased to the foundation for $1 a year. The $7.8 million needed to renovate the main
trolley barn building and ready it for exhibits will be paid for with additional state, city, and private
funding. An additional $2.5 million will need to be raised to finance the creation of the exhibits. The
Heritage Foundation will seek private donations and will likely receive some funding from the metro
government.
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404)562-8661
Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Success Story
Louisville, Kentucky
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-00-254
March 2004
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
------- |