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Brownfields Redevelopment
Efforts Are  Big  in the  Heart
of Dallas
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                                      Dallas, TX
     hey do things bigger in Texas...or so they say. Through its
brownfields restoration efforts, Dallas is proving this adage to be true.
The city has been the recipient of multiple awards under EPA's
Brownfields Initiative, including Assessment Demonstration Pilot,
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot, and Job Training
Demonstration Pilot grants. In addition to having leveraged more
redevelopment funding from the private and public sectors than any
other Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot, Dallas is one of
only three cities selected as a Clean Air/Brownfields Pilot in conjunction
with EPA, the Economic Development Administration, and the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.
Showcase Communities are selected by the Brownfields National
Partnership to demonstrate that through cooperation, federal, state,
local, and private efforts can be concentrated around brownfields to
restore these sites, stimulate economic development, and revitalize
communities.  Showcase Communities serve as models for broad-based
cooperative efforts to support locally based initiatives. Showcases
receive up to $400,000 from EPA for both environmental assessments
and to support the loan of a federal employee to the Showcase for up to
three years. Showcase Communities receive additional financial and
technical support from the Partnership's more than 20 federal partners,
depending on the community need and program eligibility.
The Dallas brownfields program has leveraged more than $840 million
for brownfields cleanup and redevelopment in the city. Additional grants
from EPA include $40,000 to Texas A&M University Engineering
Extension Service to conduct an efficiency pilot study of mixed-use,
multistory buildings using EPA's EnergyStar model, and $50,000 for
Phase I and II environmental site assessments (ESAs) on the future site
of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
In addition to public and private sector funding, Dallas has leveraged
community support and awareness of brownfields through its promotion
and outreach efforts.  When a site targeted for redevelopment lies  close
to a residential neighborhood, Dallas requires the developer to meet with
the community to discuss the project's impact and determine cleanup
strategies. The "Dallas Brownfields Forum" includes more than 100
representatives from all parts of the stakeholder community, including
business, banking, and private citizens, and continues to meet every six
weeks.  Dallas also hosted the Brownfields National Conference in
December 1999, which reported 2,400 attendees—at that time a record
for a Brownfields Conference.                                  i,
                                                   continued rr
                                             This brownfield became home to a pallet
                                            recycling facility that created 35 jobs while
                                                   retaining 60 others.
                                                                  JUST  THE  FACTS:

                                                                  • The Dallas brownfields program has
                                                                    leveraged more than $840 million for
                                                                    brownfields cleanup and
                                                                    redevelopment in the city.
                                                                  • To further spur brownfields
                                                                    restoration, Dallas created a public-
                                                                    private partnership that offers
                                                                    developers an array of economic
                                                                    tools and incentives.
                                                                  • When a brownfield targeted for
                                                                    redevelopment lies close to a
                                                                    residential neighborhood, Dallas
                                                                    requires the developer to meet with
                                                                    the community to determine cleanup
                                                                    strategies.
                                                                     In addition to having leveraged
                                                                    more redevelopment funding from
                                                                    the private and public sectors than
                                                                    any other Brownfields Assessment
                                                                   Demonstration Pilot, Dallas is one of
                                                                   only three cities selected as a Clean
                                                                   Air/Brownfields Pilot in conjunction
                                                                         with EPA, the Economic
                                                                    Development Administration, and
                                                                     the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

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   To further spur brownfields restoration, Dallas created a public-private partnership that offers
   developers an array of economic tools and incentives. Tax abatement on value
   added to property is available upon approval of the city council.  Dallas also
   may partially or fully fund any city infrastructure required to make a
   brownfield operational; eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis.
   Further, the city uses any taxes collected from brownfields developers
   within a tax increment financing district to fund public improvements
   within that district.  Taxes assessed to these developers are based
   on the property's value prior to  any site restorations.
   Dallas' Showcase Community has also focused its efforts on West
   Dallas and the city's southern sector, areas known for their
   disadvantaged communities with high minority populations.  One of
   the Showcase Community's earliest successes was the transformation
   of a former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers soil testing facility into a
   homeless shelter.  Showcase Community staff worked with the U.S.
   General Services Administration to designate the site as a brownfield and
   with the state Department of Health and Human Safety to handle  requests from
   potential purchasers and developers.  Once a nonprofit organization showed interest, the Texas Natural
   Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) performed site assessments that revealed minimal
   cleanup requirements. The new shelter opened in Fall 2001.
   Additional brownfields restoration successes within Dallas include a former pipe manufacturing plant
   that became a pallet recycling facility, creating 35 jobs while retaining 60 others, and a former municipal
   landfill that was redeveloped into a 15-acre plaza for restaurant, hotel, and office/warehouse use.
                       CONTACTS:
                       For more information on EPA's Showcase
                       Communities, contact Tony Raia of OSWER's
                       Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevel-
                       opment at (202) 566-2758
                       Or visit EPA's Brownfields Website at:
                       http://www.epa.aov/brownfields/
Brownfields Success Story
Dallas, TX
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
       EPA 500-F-02-155
         December 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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