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The Union of
Revolving Loan Funds
Colorado Coalition, Colorado
A,
.major component of EPA's Brownfields Program is the award of
cooperative agreements to states, political subdivisions, and tribes to
capitalize Brownfields Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs). These entities use
RLF funds to make low interest loans for cleanup activities at
brownfields properties. Seven Colorado local governments have joined
the state to form a coalition to create the first RLF collaborative effort in
EPA's Brownfields Program. The Coalition is comprised of Commerce
City, Denver, El Paso County, Englewood, Lakewood, Loveland,
Westminster, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment (CDPHE) and includes a partnership with the Colorado
Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA). CDPHE is the grant recipient
and lead agency responsible for assisting coalition communities in
carrying out site management responsibilities and CHFA serves as the
fund manager responsible for allocating the $5.1 million in cumulative
RLF funds.
All cleanups financed through the cumulative fund must have previous
approval from CDPHE's Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). In addition
to CDPHE and CHFA, the Colorado Coalition RLF is run by a Board of
Directors comprised of representatives from each of the local
government partners. The Board provides policy direction for the RLF
communities and reviews all loan applications received by the Coalition.
This equation has achieved great success providing loan funds across the
state.
The Colorado Coalition made one of the largest RLF loans under EPA's
Brownfields Program, to clean up a "greyfield." The term "greyfield"
was coined in a recent study to refer to the sites composed of derelict
shopping centers, or so-called "dead malls," often characterized by the
vast empty asphalt parking lots that surround them.
In 2002, the Coalition issued a $ 1.95 million loan to Continuum Partners
LLC, a private developer, for the cleanup of the former Villa Italia Mall
property in the City of Lakewood. This brownfield was a former indoor
shopping mall in a blighted neighborhood approximately ten minutes from
downtown Denver. Continuum Partners demolished the Villa Italia Mall,
removed contaminated soil, and are currently using in-situ groundwater
remediation to clean up perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination left
behind from two dry cleaning companies that previously occupied a
portion of the property. The new redevelopment is called Belmar, which
was the historic name for this area.
Revolving Loan Funds helped make this
Colorado shopping center possible.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Seven Colorado local governments and
the state formed the first RLF
collaborative effort in the Brownfields
Program. The Coalition comprises the
cities of Commerce City, Denver, El
Paso County, Englewood, Lakewood,
Loveland, Westminster, and the
Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment (CDPHE) and
includes a partnership with the
Colorado Housing and Finance
Authority (CHFA).
• The first loan, issued to the City of
Englewood, was used to clean up a
9.4-acre former landfill and transform it
into a community park with an all-star
baseball field and new trail connections.
• A $1.95 million loan was made to a
private developer for the cleanup of the
Villa Italia Mall property in the City of
Lakewood the 19-block project will
create a city center concentrated
around the city's municipal buildings.
With assistance from EPA's
Brownfields Program, the Colorado
Coalition is working collaboratively
with many partners to clean up
blighted areas in Colorado and
return them to productive use. The
Coalition's projects represent
collaborative efforts and
coordination at the federal, state,
and local levels.
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In-situ remediation involves injecting nutrients and a carbon source into the groundwater
via wells to facilitate the biological breakdown of PCE. Currently, all injection wells
have been installed and the property is in the monitoring phase, with additional
injections of nutrients occurring as needed. The groundwater treatment has been
completed and the site will be monitored to assure that the treatment was
successful.
CONTACTS:
Once completed, the phased Belmar redevelopment project will give Lakewood
its first downtown area; a mixed-use space that will include a public plaza, a park,
an outside shopping area, offices, and residential living. The 19-block project will
create a city center concentrated around the city's municipal buildings. The city is
estimating the project to cost of approximately $500 million. As
of fall 2005, Phases 1 and 2 of the three-phase redevelopment
have been completed.
In addition to the Belmar project, the Coalition has been able to utilize
innovative partnerships to cleanup a property and create a
community park that includes two new athletic fields. The
Coalition's first loan was issued to the City of Englewood in 1998,
for the development of Centennial Park. The $705,041 loan was
used to clean up a 9.4-acre former landfill and transform it into a
community park that comprises an all-star baseball field and new
trail connections. Site investigations identified elevated
concentrations of heavy metals in groundwater and high levels of
methane.
Originally, the property owner planned to convert the land into a
waste transfer station; however, the city opposed this use, and
together with the community, initiated park expansion activities. One
of the highlights of this project was the addition of new athletic
fields to the city's park system, one of which was funded through
the Colorado Rockies' Field of Dreams program. Former Colorado Rockies' catcher Brent Mayne
donated $70,000 in seed money for the construction of a baseball field (Brent Mayne Field) at
Centennial Park. The park project also created new trail connections to the South Platte River Trail
system, providing kayakers access to the South Platte boat chutes and Mary Carter Greenway
Whitewater boating facilities. This project is significant to the communities of Englewood, Sheridan,
and Littleton because it provides regional recreational amenities to residents of all three cities.
These projects exemplify a collaborative effort to remove regulatory barriers without sacrificing
protection of human health and the environment, and coordination of environmental cleanup efforts at
the federal, state, and local levels. The Colorado Coalition RLF has approved seven loans for $4.9
million and one subgrant since its inception. Through the creation and use of the Colorado Coalition
RLF, the communities in Colorado are successfully cleaning up blighted areas and returning them to
productive use.
For more information contact:
Dan Scheppers, CDPHE, (303) 692-3398
Tom Pike, U.S. ERA-REGION 8, (303) 312-6982
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.qov/brownfields/
The completed Phase 1 and 2 of the
Belmar redevelopment project.
Brownfields Success Story
Colorado Coalition, Colorado
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-245
October 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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