For EPA's Brownfields Program,
"Green" Refers to More than the
Environment
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.
Restoring Local Economies Along with the
Brownfields That Had Hindered Them
Brownfields across the country are being redeveloped into productive
properties, providing their surrounding, often disadvantaged communities
with economic stability and renewed pride. This site-by-site urban renewal
is due in large part to the EPA Brownfields Program's Pilots and grants,
which provide assistance and generate the leveraged funding needed to
initiate and complete cleanup and redevelopment efforts.
Transforming abandoned and underused properties into productive
contributors to the local economy causes a chain reaction of positive events.
Often, brownfields redevelopment projects act as a catalyst for large-
scale community revitalization efforts. Ridding neighborhoods of abandoned
and blighted properties can reduce crime and bolster community pride,
and create new opportunities for commerce, employment, and property
tax revenue.
Sparking Area-wide Revitalization
In Springfield, Missouri's industrial corridor, where factories and used-
car dealerships once stood blocks away from the city center, there is now
a 12-acre public park, an exposition center, an ice-skating arena, and an
arts center, with additional projects underway throughout the corridor.
In an effort to address Springfield's vacant industrial corridor, community
members and the City Council set out to draft "Vision 20/20: Creating the
Future," a plan committed to the city's revitalization. During focus group
and town meetings about this project, community members expressed a
desire for a new community park. The project found its footing in 1999
when EPA announced Springfield as a Brownfields Assessment Pilot
recipient. By funding environmental assessments on some of the 28
properties acquired for the first phase of the Jordan Valley Park
redevelopment project, the Springfield Pilot facilitated the redevelopment
of this area, which served as the starting point for revitalization of the
continued ^
Opening-day festivities at the Jordan Valley Park
in Springfield, Missouri.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Ridding neighborhoods of
abandoned and blighted properties
can reduce crime and bolster
community pride, and create new
opportunities for commerce,
employment, and property tax
revenue.
• Omaha, Nebraska's EPA
Brownfields Pilot, in partnership
with Omaha's "Back to the River"
initiative, has leveraged more than
$140 million to transform the city's
riverfront into a sustainable and
thriving area.
• The City of Lewiston, Maine,
leveraged nearly $40 million to
clean up and redevelop a former
mill site into a new business park
that created 1,200 jobs for local
residents.
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entire corridor. In May 2002, the city celebrated the grand opening of the first part of the Jordan Valley Park, including
a civic park, amphitheater, and arts center. That fall, the city opened the Jordan Valley Ice Park, a two-rink skating
arena. And September 2003 saw the opening of the park's "economic engine," as it is known to those involved with
the project: a new, $12 million exposition center. The tremendous success of the Jordan Valley Park has bolstered the
community's economy and pride. Benjamin Alexander, Project Manager for the park, said, "[The City of Springfield]
had a vision and a plan for the Park, but I don't think we would have been as successful, as quickly, without [EPA's]
Brownfields Program."
Omaha, Nebraska's waterfront is being brought back to life through the redevelopment of three brownfields. Having
leveraged more than $140 million toward restoration of the riverfront, the Omaha Brownfields Assessment Pilot, in
partnership with Omaha's "Back to the River" initiative, is facilitating the transformation of Omaha's waterfront into
a sustainable and thriving area. The National Park service recently completed a new office facility on one site.
Another property has been redeveloped into the Gallup Corporation's headquarters and corporate campus, creating
nearly 750 jobs. Through the waterfront revitalization project, Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey envisioned a timeless
symbol for downtown Omaha, stating, "We ought to be thinking about having something that lasts forever." As part of
the area's transformation, a $23 million pedestrian bridge will be constructed over the Missouri River using contributions
from federal, state, and local partners. Sixty-four miles of recreational trails will also be constructed throughout the
area. Funded by a 1998 federal transportation bill that authorized $4.8 million for the project, these trails will provide
an alternative for commuter traffic, a path to recreational greenspace, and improved accessability to the water.
Creating Employment Opportunities
In Lewiston, Maine, redevelopment of a former mill site is transforming a vital section of the city's neglected downtown
into a multi-use business park where history is preserved, investment is stimulated, and jobs are created. Once the
largest employer in the state, the mill's closing caused the area's unemployment to spike to nearly 50 percent. An EPA
Brownfields Assessment Pilot awarded to Lewiston facilitated the property's redevelopment
by funding assessments that identified areas of contamination that needed to be addressed.
EPA subsequently provided Lewiston with additional funding to assess nearby properties
and awarded the city a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) Pilot.
The city itself leveraged nearly $40 million to clean up and redevelop the historic
mill site. One existing structure was renovated for office and light industrial space,
while another portion of the site was redeveloped into a small park that offers
outdoor gathering space in the center of the complex. The new business park has
already created 1,200 jobs for local residents. Additional redevelopment at the
site is planned, including an area for arts and entertainment venues along the
adjacent canal, apedestrian walkway to the nearby river and park, and a convention
center.
In Houston, Texas, nearly 500 new jobs resulted from a project that began with
environmental assessments enabled by EPA's Brownfields Assessment Pilot and
Showcase Community awards. With the Pilot's help, a former 450-acre municipal
landfill became two state-of-the-art, 18-hole golf courses, creating 60 new jobs.
The transformation of a 38-acre cluster of brownfields into a 42,000-seat baseball
stadium and areas for cafes, retail shops, and a theater created nearly 230 more jobs.
Additionally, the redevelopment of a city brownfield into a new performing arts complex
created nearly 200 more jobs. The cleanup and redevelopment efforts initiated by Pilot
assessments have stimulated a large-scale revitalization of downtown Houston.
A renovated mitt site in
Lewiston, Maine.
continued
Brownfields Success Story
EPA-500-F-03-250
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (5105)
October2003
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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Increasing Tax Revenues
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, two adjacent brownfields were transformed into a mixed-use gold mine. The project
began with EPA's award of a $500,000 BCRLF Pilot grant to Hennepin County, followed by two $500,000 supplemental
funding grants, for a total of $ 1.5 million. The Hennepin County BCRLF Pilot authorized two loans, totaling $875,000,
for cleanup of an area located in downtown Minneapolis along the Mississippi River. The contaminated area had once
been home to a car dealership and an associated automotive services facility, various commercial and
residential facilities, a stone quarry, various manufacturing operations, a taxi garaee. and
a trucking facility. With community support and the Pilot's innovative use of a 1
escalation clause to cover unexpected costs in its loan agreement, the area i
now home to the Village at St. Anthony Falls. This residential and commercial
complex consists of 177 housing units, including 48 town homes, 12 three-
story brownstones, 84 loft-style condominiums, and 30 affordable apartments,
as well as 1,500 square feet of retail and 3,000 square feet of office space.
It is expected that operation of the complex will return the redevelopment
investment of more than $92 million, increase the city's tax base by $2.6
million, and create as many as 150 permanent jobs. The BCRLF Pilot
executed a third loan for $450,000 for cleanup of an industrial property just
south of the Village of St. Anthony Falls that will also be redeveloped into
residential community, a reuse for which the community has indicated a preference. A brownfieid in Hennepin County, Minnesota,
prior to its redevelopment into a
residential and commercial complex.
Since 1996, the Emeryville, California Brownfields Assessment Pilot has leveraged
hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. Thus far,
the redevelopment of brownfield properties formerly used for heavy industrial purposes into office buildings and retail
stores has resulted in $3 million in property tax revenue and $1.5 million in sales tax every year. The Brownfields Pilot
established strong working relationships among the city's regulatory agencies, which facilitated a plan between the
city and Catellus Development Corporation to redevelop an abandoned former railyard site. Catellus constructed
more than 200 units of mixed-income housing on the site; this new development also includes an 1,800-square-foot
community room and 7,500 square feet of retail space, and has won several awards for its design. Approximately 100
construction workers were hired to build these housing units, which are now fully occupied. Chiron Corporation, the
second-largest biotechnology firm in the country, built its new headquarters on one of Emeryville's brownfields.
Chiron plans to construct 12 additional buildings in the area, totaling 2.2 million square feet and employing as many as
4,200 people in the next 20 years. Overall, construction of retail, hotel, and office complexes on Emeryville's former
industrial sites is expected to create as many as 10,600 jobs and nearly four million square feet of new facilities within
the next five years, and provide an additional $6.4 million in annual property tax revenues. The project has already
leveraged $644 million in private investment and $6.3 million in public sector funding.
Stimulating Local Economies by Returning Value to Brownfields
These are just a few examples of how brownfields cleanup and redevelopment has, with the
assistance of the EPA Brownfields Program, helped to boost local economies and improve
communities around the nation. Collectively, EPA's Brownfields Pilots and grants have
leveraged more than $5 billion from an initial investment of less than $700 million. For the
most part, this $5 billion is going into disadvantaged, minority communities that are often
overlooked or avoided by developers. In addition, Pilots and grants have trained more
than 1,700 community members living around brownfields in environmental assessment
and cleanup technologies, so they can benefit from the approximately 25,000 cleanup and
redevelopment jobs leveraged by the Brownfields Program. Through brownfields
redevelopment, these communities are now showing millions of dollars in increased tax
revenue, which is invested back into the communities by way of infrastructure
improvements. Brownfields redevelopment has proven to be key to revitalizing communities,
through lasting changes that provide sustainable economic growth.
how EPA's
Brownfields Program tools
can work for you, visit EPA's
Brownfields web site at
http://www.epa.gov/
brownfields
or call 202-566-2777.
Brownfields Success Story
EPA-500-F-03-250
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response (5105)
October2003
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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