&EPA
5301  OLD  MIDLOTHIAN TURNPIKE
                                                                                               EPA 560-F-10-222
                                                                                                      July 2010
                                                                        Richmond, Virginia
                                                                          Assessment Grant
Rehabilitated Site Provides New Opportunity for Small Business Owner
     ADDRESS:

     PROPERTY SIZE:
     FORMER USE:
     CURRENT USE:
5301 Old Midlothian Turnpike,
Richmond, VA 23224
0.6 Acres
Gas station, Church
Limousine Service
     EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
     The City of Richmond,
     Virginia received a $200,000
     EPA Petroleum Brownfields
     Assessment grant in 2004.
           PROJECT PARTNERS:
           Virginia Department of
           Environmental Quality;
           City of Richmond; Property
           owner Randy Throckmorton
                         Richmond

            VIRGINIA
For additional data and geographic information for this and other Brownfields
      Grants, please visit EPA's Cleanups in My Community:
            http://iaspub.epa.gov/Cleanups/
   PROJECT BACKGROUND:
   The rehabilitation of the property at 5301 Old Midlothian Turnpike was key to the revitalization of the Midlothian
   Corridor in Richmond, Virginia, as it represented the Corridor's last vacant building. The property was formerly used
   by a church that vacated the property in 2002 after they were unable to keep up with current building codes. The City
   of Richmond, Virginia conducted a Phase I Assessment of the property in December 2007, which raised concerns about
   four above ground storage tanks (ASTs) and petroleum in the property's soil. Next door neighbor Randy Throckmorton
   expressed interest in the property as the potential location for his limousine business, which he had been operating
   out of his home for the past 22 years. In order to receive a loan from the bank for this new business venture, he was
   first required to resolve the site's contamination uncertainties. Throckmorton removed the ASTs and funded a Phase II
   Assessment, which revealed that soil removal was not necessary. Upon the site's inspection by the Virginia Department
   of Environmental Quality in 2008, Throckmorton received a No Further Action Letter that allowed him to secure a loan
   from the bank and purchase the property.
   KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

   •   Property owner leveraged $ 1,600 in assistance from Richmond's Enterprise
       Zone Program, and expects to receive $9,000 from the city's Commercial
       Area Revitalization Effort.

   •   Allowed the expansion of a small business that employs six people.

   •   Created a new storefront that has attracted additional business to the area.
   OUTCOME:
                                                                           Commercial activity is restored on the Midlothian Corridor.
   The property's existing building has been renovated in order to bring it up
   to code. In purchasing the site and making these renovations, Throckmorton
   has invested approximately $280,000 in the property, providing a critical piece in the Corridor's revitalization and
   helping to improve this commercial zone of the city. The 12,000-square-foot building is now used for Throckmorton's
   limousine service, operating as a new storefront and a warehouse for the company's limousines. The new storefront has
   helped to advertise the  business, which has allowed it to expand to include a reception hall that will host weddings and
   birthday parties. In addition to growing his small business, Throckmorton was able to clean up his neighborhood; the
   transformation of the Midlothian Corridor has led to a noticeable reduction in blight and crime within the neighborhood.
  FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 3 at (215) 814-3 129

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