Houston, Texas Hits a Grand-Slam
for Brownf ields Redevelopment
T
Lhe
Houston, TX
.he Houston Brownfields Assessment Pilot is leading the nation in
brownfields reuse, playing a key role in the assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment of more than 986 acres of brownfields and leveraging more
than $500 million in redevelopment funding. The Houston Pilot focuses on
the inner-city and downtown areas that were neglected as the city experienced
an economic boom in the 1970s and 1980s that pulled businesses and residents
out of the urban core to the expanding development of outlying greenfields.
Abandoned and idle properties downtown were left with the perception of
environmental contamination that for years stymied redevelopment. The
efforts of the City of Houston's Brownfields Redevelopment Program have
led to these inner-city brownfields being assessed, cleaned up, and
redeveloped for such uses as a major league baseball park, a 450-acre golf
course, a performing arts center, an aquarium and entertainment complex,
and nearly 1,000 new housing units. The city's Brownfields Redevelopment
Program has been aided by funding from EPA with a $200,000 Brownfields
Assessment grant and $600,000 in Showcase Community awards.
On March 30, 2000, the Houston Astros got a new home—Astros Field
(formerly Enron Field)—a 42,000-seat baseball stadium built on a 38-acre
former brownfield. The Pilot-targeted site historically contained a railroad
station, an industrial facility, and a number of corrugated-metal buildings.
The site's owner, Harris County Sports Authority, funded environmental
assessments at the site, entered the property into the Texas Voluntary Cleanup
Program, and funded the site's cleanup. Astros fans are now enjoying an
open-air ballpark that features a retractable roof that can be closed on hot
summer days or during bad weather. Located on the east side of downtown
Houston, the air-conditioned ballpark offers spectators a spectacular view
of the Houston skyline. The Astros Field property also includes the renovated
Union Station, which houses cafes, retail shops, and a tour theater. The
$310 million redevelopment project has created 223 new jobs and is a leading
force behind the revitalization of downtown Houston.
Another recreational reuse project has been completed in the southern area
of Houston. In the summer of 2002, two championship 18-hole golf courses
opened to the public on a 450-acre site that served as the city's primary
landfill until its closure in 1979. The landfill has been sealed with state-
approved capping materials, and a landfill gas extraction system has been
installed to address the relatively small amounts of landfill gas that are emitted.
The site has been and will continue to be monitored. In 1997, prior to the
Pilot's involvement, the owner of 422 acres of the site, Browning Ferris
continued D
Housing for senior citizens,
built on a former Brownfield.
JUST THE FACTS:
• At the request of the property owner
and developer, the Brownfields Pilot
acted as a liaison for the $77,000
purchase of a city-owned brownfield
to be included as part of a $23 million
golf course redevelopment project.
• Another of Houston's former
brownfields has been transformed
into a world-class aquatic
entertainment, dining, and meeting
complex, using more than $873,000 in
cleanup funding and $ 18 million in
redevelopment funding leveraged by
the Brownfields Pilot.
• Houston has also redeveloped
brownfields for residential reuses,
including a 64-unit affordable housing
development for seniors and a 74-unit,
mixed-income apartment building.
The efforts of the City of
Houston's Brownfields
Redevelopment Program have led
to many inner-city brownfields
being assessed, cleaned up, and
redeveloped for such uses as a
major league baseball park, a 450-
acre golf course, a performing
arts center, an aquarium and
entertainment complex, and
nearly 1,000 new housing units.
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Industries, selected EnCap Golf LLC to redevelop the site into two 18-hole golf courses. In 1998, the
property owner and EnCap enlisted the Houston Pilot to help coordinate with government
agencies to secure various permits and assist with community outreach. The Pilot
acted as a liaison for the $77,000 purchase of an adjacent city-owned brownfield
to include as part of the redevelopment project. The Pilot also assisted with the
project by updating and requesting support from the stakeholders involved, as
appropriate. In addition to the golf courses, the $23 million redevelopment
project includes a clubhouse, apractice and training facility, a pitch-and-putt
course, maintenance facilities, cart paths, and access roads. It is estimated
that the city will receive $22,000 per year in property taxes.
CONTACTS
For more information contact
U.S. EPA-Region 6 (214) 665-6736
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
At another cleaned up brownfield in downtown Houston stands the $92 million
Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. This site was the former location of
the Houston Coliseum, whose aging structure proved to be beyond a cost-
effective renovation. The City of Houston razed
the old coliseum, and the Houston Music Hall
Foundation acquired the site to build the Hobby
Center in Houston's Theatre District. The property
owner funded assessments and cleanup of the site, which
included removal of lead- and asbestos-contaminated soil. The
three-year redevelopment project has been completed, and the
new performing arts center opened in May 2002. The Center
includes a 2,650-seat hall designed for a broad range of
performances, such as Houston's Broadway Series, and a 500-
seat theater with a full orchestra pit. This public/private, nonprofit
endeavor has created more than 200 new jobs.
One of Houston's brownfields,
just prior to redevelopment.
On February 15, 2003, the Downtown Aquarium held its grand
opening on a former brownfield, a 7-acre city-owned property that
was previously home to Houston's Fire Station No. 1 and the nearby Central Waterworks plant. The
property has been transformed into a world-class aquatic entertainment, dining, and meeting complex
offering a 400-seat seafood restaurant; a 6,000-square-foot a ballroom; a cafe, lounge, and gift shop; and
a plaza with fountains, a 90-foot Ferris wheel, and a gas-powered scale model train. The centerpiece of
the complex is a public aquarium with more than 500,000 gallons of water in underwater tanks and 200
species of domestic and international marine life. The Pilot helped leverage more than $873,000 in cleanup
funding and $ 18 million in redevelopment funding for the site.
The Houston Pilot has also been instrumental in the transformation of brownfields for residential reuse.
In a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Houston's East End, the Pilot performed environmental
assessments at a 2.7-acre site that the Latino Learning Center (LLC) redeveloped as a 64-unit affordable
housing development for seniors. The LLC used a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development to build the housing complex on half of the property, while the other
half will house a Seniors' Day and Health Care Center and a 5,500-square-foot multi-service community
center. Other residential reuse projects include a 74-unit, mixed-income apartment building known as
Washington Courtyards. This brownfields redevelopment project is part of a larger revitalization plan for
the Washington Avenue Corridor, which includes a charming traffic circle, a tree-lined entertainment
plaza, a village center, and a civic plaza.
The redevelopment projects described here represent only a sampling of what the Houston Brownfields
Pilot has accomplished in assisting the City of Houston to assess, clean up, and redevelop its brownfield
properties.
Brownfields Success Story
Houston, Texas
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-016
May2003
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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