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Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund
Pilot
State of Washington Department of Community,
Trade and Economic Development (Coalition with
Department of Ecology, King County, the Cities of
Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane)
BACKGROUND
The City of Spokane will join an existing BCRLF coalition
led by the Washington Department of Community, Trade
and Economic Development, which includes the
Washington Department of Ecology, King County, the
City of Seattle, and the City of Tacoma. EPA previously
awarded the coalition$1.5 millionfortheBCRLF. Spokane
is the state's second largest city. It is located in eastern
Washington and is the leading regional city in the inter-
mountain corridor that lies between the Rocky Mountains
and the Sierra-Nevada and Cascade Mountain. Spokane
is an agricultural, manufacturing, and rail center for the
region. The development of greenfields in the Spokane
Valley has drawn growth away from the inner city core
and infrastructure, leaving many abandoned buildings,
blighted neighborhoods, and untaxed properties in the
downtown area.
The downtown core and surrounding areas cover 13
square miles. One third of the city's residents live within
this area, which has been designated a Community
Empowerment Zone by the state. Unemployment in the
Community Empowerment Zone is 10%, and is as high as
22% in some neighborhoods. Annual incomes are half of
the state average. The city has assembled a team of civic
officials, business organizations, and community leaders
who already are showing success in their brownfields
redevelopment efforts. Through an extensive community
involvement process, the city has developed a Centers and
Corridors Comprehensive Plan for revitalization of its
downtown core. Several blocks of the core business
district have been redeveloped through public and private
investments, but much remains to be done.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The city will use the BCRLF pilot funds as a catalyst for
public and private sector brownfields cleanup and
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 2002
Amount: $800,000
BCRLF Target Area:
Downtown Spokane and
surrounding areas
City of Spokane, WA
Contacts:
Washington Departmentof
Community, Trade and
Economic Development
(360)725-4033
Reg ion 10 Brownfields
Coordinator
(206)553-2100
Visit the E PA Region 10 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/r10earth, click on "Superfund"
scroll down and click on "Brownfields"
Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/brownfields
redevelopment by providing a source of funds for proj ects
that would otherwise have difficulty finding financing. The
targeted Brownfields Redevelopment Pilot Area is the
downtown core and surrounding neighborhoods. The city
will focus on small businesses and property owners as
potential borrowers in order to maximize the tax and other
incentives available in the area. Loans will be used to fund
relatively small cleanup projects andleverage other public
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and private sector funds. Site-specific community
involvement plans will be prepared for each site selected
to ensure that residents are involved in cleanup and reuse
decisions.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The Washington Department of Community, Trade and
Economic Development is the cooperative agreement
recipient and will serve as the lead agency and fund
manager. The Washington Department of Ecology will
serve as the site manager.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
The city will work with the state and local developers to
maximize the effect of the pilot, using the city's knowledge
of arealenders, developers with a track record in cleanups,
and any additional programs or incentives to initiate projects.
Tax increment financing, Community Empowerment Zone
incentives, Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs, and
the Northwest Business Development Association will be
leveraged to provide funds and incentives to attract
businesses. Where eligible, state funding sources will be
accessed.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with CERCLA, and all
CERCLA restrictions on use of funding also apply to BCRLF funds.
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-02-008
May 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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