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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

      Kansas  City,  MO


EPA  Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. Abrownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed
into law the  Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under this law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants
through four competitive grant programs: assessment
grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and
job training grants. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Kansas City was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Kansas City (population
441,545) is a federally designated Enhanced Enterprise
Community. The target community consists of the
eastern portion of downtown Kansas City and the
West Paseo neighborhood. From the late 19th to the
mid-20th Century, the downtown district was among
the most densely developed areas of the city with
apartments, hotels, and small commercial and retail
businesses. The  area's decline was hastened by the
construction of an interstate loop in the 1960s that
divided the community. The area today is one of the
most economically disadvantaged in the city. It has a
36.5 percent poverty rate, and 66.2 percent of area
residents are minorities. The city plans to redevelop the
target site as part of the East Village Project, a $360
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Kansas City for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
 grant funds will be used to clean up the East
 Village Project—Greyhound Bus Terminal site at
 1111 Holmes Street in downtown Kansas City. For
 more than a century, the site was used for a variety
 of commercial operations including a laundry
 facility, paint store, machine shop, and bus terminal.
 Site soil and groundwater are contaminated with
 metals, volatile organic hydrocarbons, and inorganic
 compounds. Grant funds also will be used to
 support community outreach activities.
 Contacts
 For further information, including specific grant
 contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
 news and events, and publications and links, visit
 the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
 brownfields.

 EPA Region 7 Brownfields Team
 800-223-0425
 http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: City of Kansas City, MO
 816-513-3002

 The information presented in this fact sheet comes
 from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
 accuracy of this information. The cooperative
 agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
million project that is expected to bring housing, jobs,
and services to the community. Cleanup of the site
will help reduce potential exposure to environmental
contaminants and is expected to remove a critical
barrier to redevelopment.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-08-171
                         April 2008
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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