Sustainable Redevelopment of
Brownfields—Fostering Economic
Development and Protecting the
Environment
Sustainable Redevelopment
s,
'ustainable development is one the primary goals of EPA's Brownfields
Program. In the context of restoring brownfields, sustainable development
does not refer solely to removing potentially hazardous contamination and
getting a new business located on the property. Ultimately, sustainable
development means finding an approach to brownfields reuse that offers
the most significant long-term benefits to the local community—using
resources efficiently and reducing waste while encouraging local economic
growth. Among the many reuse plans that emphasize sustainable
development, "green" buildings and eco-industrial parks are recurring themes.
Eco-industrial parks are based, in part, on the design of natural systems and
include features such as energy exchange and conversion of waste output
from one industry into input for production in another industry. In August
1994, the President's Council on Sustainable Development selected Cape
Charles as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park demonstration
project, to showcase advanced facilities in resource efficiency and pollution
prevention. A $200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot award in 1995
and a $460,000 Showcase Community grant awarded in August 2001 added
to a growing commitment of private, state, and federal funding, which also
included a $200,000 Showcase Finalist award and a $100,000 Brownfields
Supplemental Assistance grant. The Cape Charles Sustainable Technology
Park is in the Virginia Enterprise Zone, which has provided additional
incentives to companies locating in the park. The Brownfields Assessment
grant funded environmental assessments on an abandoned 25-acre town
dump located in the middle of the 200-acre eco-park. The Sustainable
Technology Park Authority will use this site, along with some adjacent land,
as a conference and training facility for the park. Approximately one-half
of the land in the park is natural habitat, including the 30-acre Coastal Dune
Natural Area Preserve and approximately 60 acres of other natural areas.
The entire park is open to the public and features walkways and trails—
including a Chesapeake Bay overlook. Building One, a 31,000-square-foot
solar-powered "green" facility, was completed in 1999. Companies that
have leased space in the building thus far include Hauge Technology, a
manufacturer of pressure exchangers, and Delisheries, a gourmet baking
mixes company. The most recent company to commit to the Park is the
German-based ProVento America, Inc., which develops and markets wind
farms that produce electricity. ProVento will invest $7.5 million in its U.S.
headquarters at the Cape Charles Park and in six wind turbines that will
create enough energy to power more than 3,000 homes.
continued ^
A boardwalk winds through natural habitat
on Cape Charles' eco-industrial park.
JUST THE FACTS:
• A $7.5 million wind farm project
planned for Cape Charles, Virginia's
eco-industrial park includes six wind
turbines that will create enough energy
to power more than 3,000 homes.
• In Baltimore, Maryland, a former
brownfield is now a model "green"
building that offers low-energy heating,
cooling, and lighting systems among its
other energy-efficient designs.
• In Knoxville, Tennessee, a company
that produces mulch for city projects
and for retail sale signed a lease to
conduct operations on a brownfield that
had sat unoccupied for nearly 15 years.
Ultimately, sustainable
development means finding an
approach to brownfields reuse
that offers the most significant
long-term benefits to the local
community—using resources
efficiently and reducing waste
while encouraging local
economic growth. Among the
many reuse plans that
emphasize sustainable
development, "green" buildings
and eco-industrial parks are
recurring themes.
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CONTACTS:
For more information contact
US EPA Region 3 (215) 814-3132
US EPA Region 4 (404) 562-8923
Or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
In Baltimore, Maryland, the city's Brownfields Assessment Pilot helped facilitate redevelopment
of the historic Montgomery Ward catalog distribution center into a model "green" building
for office and technology uses—the Montgomery Park Business Center. The
Montgomery Ward warehouse was built from 1925 to 1927, and at that time was
the largest mercantile building in Baltimore. The building is listed in the National
Register of Historic Places, making its redevelopment into a "green" facility
an historic event as well. The business closed its doors in 1985, and in 1995
the Baltimore Brownfields Pilot targeted the site for assessment, cleanup,
and redevelopment. The developer put the site through Maryland's Voluntary
Cleanup Program and proceeded with a $3 million cleanup, which included
removal of lead paint, asbestos, petroleum, and PCBs. Now the 1.3 million-
square-foot Montgomery Park Business Center offers low-energy heating,
cooling, and lighting systems; innovative uses of storm water in toilet water; use
of recycled materials; windows with insulated "Low-E" glazing; a "green" roof
that incorporates soil planting for added insulation; abundant natural light; and bike
lockers and showers for employees who ride their bikes to work. So far, 260,000
square feet of office space has been leased to the Maryland Department of the Environment; 60,000
square feet is leased to the Maryland Lottery; and another 80,000 square feet has been leased to NCO,
a check- processing/payment center. Currently, total occupancy is at 33
percent and 1,500 people are employed at the Montgomery Park
Business Center. When fully occupied, the Business Center,
which is located in an Empowerment Zone, will employ 3,500
to 5,000 people. Total private and public investment will
reach $ 100 million, including $9 million in grants and loans
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development and $2 million from Maryland's Brownfields
Revitalization Incentive Program for lead abatement.
The Knoxville, Tennessee, Brownfields Pilot has worked
with citizens, local businesses, community groups, academic
institutions, state and local economic development
organizations, and the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop
the Center City Business Neighborhood on brownfield sites in
the city center. The city has developed a portion of the Business
A former brownfield in Baltimore,
prior to redevelopment.
Neighborhood with a "green" theme, which includes attracting businesses in the recycling and reuse
industries. The strategy involves working with lenders to provide low-interest loans to environmentally
friendly companies. One such company is Knoxville Recycled Fibers, which performs one stage of its
newsprint recycling process at the Business Neighborhood. The company has spent $1.8 million toward
redevelopment activities while creating three new jobs. Another "green" business locating in the
Neighborhood, Shamrock Organics, produces mulch for the city and for retail sale. Shamrock Organics
has signed a lease on an 8.5-acre property that has not been in use for approximately 15 years.
As the Brownfields Program builds sustainable redevelopment models, future projects have examples to
follow. The Program promotes a model of environmental protection that creates economically viable,
environmentally sound, self-sustaining communities. By ensuring that reuses are environmentally sound
while providing local residents with the greatest possible benefit, the Brownfields Program will continue
to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods across the country and prevent the creation of future
brownfields.
Brownfields Success Story
Sustainable Redevelopment
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-03-031
May 2003
www. epa.gov/brownfields/
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