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Using "Green" Buildings on
Brownfields: Using Innovative
Architecture to Improve Performance
EPA's Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to
work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a property,
the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA's Brownfields Program provides financial and technical assistance for brownfield
revitalization, including grants for environmental assessment, cleanup, and job training.
Green Buildings
Green buildings complement EPA's philosophy that brownfields
redevelopment projects should be environmentally friendly, energy-efficient,
long-lasting, and safe for the local community. Green buildings represent
resource-efficient models of construction and operation that are designed
to use fewer resources and generate less pollution. As part of its Green
Buildings on Brownfields Initiative, EPA selected eight communities for
Green Buildings on Brownfields Pilot projects. Through these Pilots, EPA
has been working with communities to incorporate environmental
considerations into the planning, design, and implementation of their
brownfields redevelopment projects.
Some of the design considerations associated with green buildings include:
• use of environmentally safe and/or recycled construction materials in
design;
• landscaping that reduces runoff and shades the structure;
• designs that reduce the amount of water and energy consumption by
occupants; and
• green roofs (roofs with plant covering to reduce direct heating and
improve a building's appearance).
EPA's initial eight Green Buildings on Brownfields Pilot projects are now
underway, and it is hoped that their progress and accomplishments will
serve as models for similar projects to follow. Assistance from EPA for
these Pilots comes in the form of technical, financial, planning, and outreach
services; design expertise; and/or other needed expertise as identified by
the community. The Pilots are described below.
The Community Center Building, Springfield,
Massachusetts
With assistance from EPA and the local government, the New North
Citizen's Council (NNCC), a non-profit social service organization, plans
to build a two-story, 25,000-square-foot building to replace its cramped
and deteriorated offices. The project site is located on 1.2 acres, which
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The new Montgomery Park Business Center
in Baltimore, Maryland.
JUST THE FACTS:
Sustainable development ensuring
that property reuses are
environmentally sound, safe, and
beneficial to the community has
always been one of the most
important aspects of EPA's
Brownfields Program.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the city's
Brownfields Assessment Pilot
helped facilitate redevelopment of
an historic catalogue distribution
center into a model green building
for office and technology uses.
Baltimore's new facility offers low-
energy heating, cooling, and lighting
systems; use of recycled materials;
insulated windows; a green roof
that incorporates soil planting for
added insulation; abundant natural
light; and bike lockers and showers
for employees who ride to work.
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includes NNCC's current offices and other city-owned brownfields. The Pilot project aims to meet the criteria and
gain the certification of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
program and the Energy Star for Buildings program.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore's Center for Aquatic Life and Conservation,
Baltimore, Maryland
To meet the needs of a rapidly growing collection of current and future exhibits, as well as expanding programs in
research, husbandry, and conservation, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is building a new aquatic animal care
center. A seven-acre brownfield located near major highways and bus routes in Baltimore City is the planned location
for the new facility. The Aquarium will seek a Gold or Silver LEED rating for the center.
Community Culture and Commercial Center, Kauai, Hawaii
This project is located on the island of Kauai, in Anahola, on a property that has frequently been used for the illegal
disposal of automobiles, tires, appliances, batteries, and other items. Reuse plans for the state-owned property
include a senior care living center, an elderly independent living facility, a charter school, retail stores, office space,
and other facilities. The state plans to design the buildings and landscape to be energy- and resource-efficient, using
local building materials wherever possible, and to attain LEED certification. Some of the sustainable design measures
being considered include alternative energy generation, natural ventilation and day-lighting, the use of recycled building
materials, and the use of non-toxic finishes and materials.
World Headquarters for Heifer International, Little Rock, Arkansas
Heifer International, a non-profit organization devoted to ending world hunger, is developing its new world headquarters
and an education center on a 28-acre brownfield in a former industrial area in downtown Little Rock. Heifer will seek
a Gold LEED rating for the 100,000-square-foot building. Sustainable, environmentally sound features of the building
will be highlighted in public education programs to illustrate environmentally responsible building practices.
Volcanic Legacy Discovery Center, Mt. Shasta, California
The redevelopment plan for this 127-acre former lumber mill property includes 10 acres for the Volcanic Legacy
Center. The center will be the centerpiece of a scenic byway stretching from Crater Lake in Oregon to Lassen Peak
in California, and is expected to receive thousands of visitors each year. The center will include a 20,000-square-foot
building with an auditorium, exhibit spaces with interactive and educational displays (including a section to demonstrate
green building materials), a gift shop, other auxiliary spaces, and parking. Sustainable landscape design features may
be incorporated into the reuse plan, with an area for shrubs and plants, a vegetative filter area, a wildlife pond, and a
stormwater retention basin among the possibilities.
ReGenesis Medical Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina
ReGenesis, Inc., a community non-profit corporation, is purchasing a 33-acre brownfield for redevelopment as a
health and wellness park. The property will include a community medical center providing integrated healthcare.
Using green building technologies, the center will be designed to protect indoor air quality, reduce operation and
maintenance costs, and protect the watershed of a nearby creek.
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Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste October 2003
EPA-500-F-03-249 and Emergency Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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The Trailhead Building, St. Louis, Missouri
Trailnet, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop a system of trails, known as the Greenway, in the
greater St. Louis metropolitan area, is converting a former power plant into an environmentally friendly building for
office space. The building will also serve as a public place for people to meet, eat, get directions and information on
the Greenway, and learn about the planet's third-largest watershed. Trailnet, working with local stakeholders and
partners, aims to achieve a Gold LEED rating for the building.
Marina District Redevelopment, Toledo, Ohio
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is in the process of redeveloping the 120-acre Marina District brownfield on
the east bank of the Maumee River, directly across from downtown Toledo. The redeveloped area will include
residential, commercial, recreational, and entertainment facilities. The Port Authority intends to use expert services
provided through the Pilot to identify opportunities to employ green building technologies such as energy conservation
measures, natural landscaping, natural stormwater management, and pedestrian-friendly site designs.
Green Building Practices on Existing EPA Brownfields Pilots
Sustainable development ensuring that property reuses are environmentally sound, safe, and beneficial to the community
has always been one of the most important aspects of EPA's Brownfields Program. Incorporating green building
designs into redevelopment plans has already proven successful for a number of EPA Brownfields Pilot projects.
Washington, D.C.
In southwest Washington, B.C., a former pumphouse along the Anacostia
River has taken on a new life. Once the city's Brownfields
Redevelopment Action Team (BRAT) had identified the pumphouse
as having redevelopment potential, the Brownfields Pilot leveraged
$600,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) funds for cleanup and infrastructure improvements.
The Earth Conservation Corps (ECC), a District-based non-profit
group, helped redevelop the site and opened the Matthew Henson
Earth Conservation Center there in 2001. ECC partnered with
Sustainable DC, a nonprofit organization focusing on best practices
in sustainable development, to determine the design of the facility by
involving the community and obtaining feedback through several design
charrettes. A green roof for the building was constructed that filters
stormwater before it runs into the river and reduces the building's heating
and cooling costs.
A former pumphouse property in Washington, DC
has been redeveloped into a conservation center
with a green roof.
In addition to the new Conservation Center, the former pumphouse site is now a place for community members to
picnic and relax. Two fishing piers, constructed on either side of the center, provide the community access to the
river. James Willie, Program Manager for ECC put it this way: "To take a part of DC that has been completely
industrial and to make greenspace out of it; to make it an ecological example of what kinds of things can be done in
continued
Brownfields Success Story
EPA-500-F-03-249
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (5105)
October 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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a greenhouse space...not just a post-industrial space, but utilizing green roofs and making other innovative projects
work here, it has really become a great example unto itself."
Baltimore, MD
In Baltimore, Maryland, the city's Brownfields Assessment Pilot helped facilitate redevelopment of the historic
Montgomery Ward catalogue distribution center into a model green building for office and technology uses, called the
Montgomery Park Business Center. The Montgomery Ward warehouse was built from 1925 to 1927 and at that time
was the largest mercantile building in Baltimore. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places,
making its redevelopment into a green facility an historic event as well.
The business closed its doors in 1985, and in 1995 the Baltimore Brownfields Pilot targeted the site for assessment,
cleanup, and redevelopment. The developer put the site through Maryland's Voluntary Cleanup Program and proceeded
with a $3 million cleanup, which included removal of lead paint, asbestos, petroleum, and PCBs. Now the 1.3-million-
square-foot Montgomery Park Business Center offers low-energy heating, cooling, and lighting systems; innovative
uses of stormwater in toilet water; use of recycled materials; windows with insulated "Low-E" glazing; a green roof
that incorporates soil planting for added insulation; abundant natural light; and bike lockers and showers for employees
who ride their bikes to work. When fully occupied, the Business Center, which is located in an Empowerment Zone,
will employ 3,500 to 5,000 people. Total private and public investment will reach $ 100 million, including $9 million in
grants and loans from HUD and $2 million from Maryland's Brownfields Revitalization Incentive Program for lead
abatement.
Cape Charles, VA
In August 1994, the President's Council on Sustainable Development selected
Cape Charles, Virginia, as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park
demonstration project, to showcase advanced facilities in resource efficiency
and pollution prevention. An EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot and an EPA
Brownfields Showcase Community grant added to a growing commitment of
private, state, and federal funding for this project.
EPA's Brownfields grants funded environmental assessments on an abandoned
25-acre dump as the center of a new 200-acre eco-industrial park. The eco-industrial
, , _ , ., ,. „ , , . , ,,,,, - .„. , , „„ n^n r The first building available for lease in Cape
park s first building, funded with a $2.5 million county bond, was a 30,930-square-foot Charles> Virginia's eco.hldustrM park.
facility that included a solar electric roof system. The largest of its kind in North
America, this roof is capable of generating 42 kilowatts of power
for the building's tenants.
Serving as Examples for Future Green Building
Projects
As more and more brownfields redevelopment projects utilize green building
practices, EPA expects that they will serve as models for future projects. EPA
hopes that eventually, most developers will recognize the environmental and
economic benefits of green buildings, and that such designs will proliferate. By
conserving resources and lessening the usual environmental impact of new
construction, green buildings have the potential to improve the environment one
structure at a time.
To find out more about EPA's
Brownfields Pilots and the Green
Buildings on Brownfields Initiative,
visit EPA's Brownfields web site at
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
or call EPA's Office of Brownfields
Cleanup and Redevelopment at
(202) 566-2777.
I
Brownfields Success Story
EPA-500-F-03-249
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (5105)
October 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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