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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