&EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-98-222 July 1998 Assessment Demonstration Pilot Coralville, IA Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) Quick Reference Fact Sheet EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment. BACKGROUND EPA has selected the City of Coralville for a Brownfields Pilot. Coralville is located on the west bank of the Iowa River in east-central Iowa. The City began as amill town in 1843 and industrial land use in the area grew throughout the 195 Os. Since the future growth of the City is limited by a lack of annexable, developable land, Coralville is seeking to restore and reuse existing industrial properties. Within this City of 10,347 residents, 11.2% of families are below the poverty level. In 1995, a Coralville Community Plan identified 10 blighted urban areas within the City. The Pilot targets two of these properties—the Coral Industrial Park and the Iowa River Power Plant—which comprise 200 acres along the First Avenue industrial corridor. Currently, the target area is occupied by a concrete mixing operation, a lumber company, railroad storage facilities, an electrical substation, and an old municipal dump. A variety of mixed-use properties, including residential areas, light industrial businesses, and vacant buildings and land also comprise the area. While the extent of environmental contamination on these properties is unknown, redevelopment of the Pilot area is hindered by the perception of contamination. The City considers the redevelopment and revitalization PILOT SNAPSHOT Coralville, Iowa Contacts: City of Coralville (319)351-9069 Date of Announcement: July 1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets 200 acres along the First Avenue industrial corridor in east Coralville that serves as a gateway to the City. Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 7 (913)551-7786 Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region07/specinit/brown/brownfields.htm Forfurtherinformation, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- of the First Avenue corridor essential to the future growth and prosperity of the community. OBJECTIVES The City' s overall obj ective is to create the opportunity for economic revitalization along First Avenue, which will improve transportation flow, aesthetic appearance, and services. The Pilot is the first step in this larger community planning effortto develop amore sustainable community. To this end, the Pilot will identify and assess brownfields properties along 200 acres of the First Avenue corridor area. The City then plans to acquire, clean up, and redevelop several of these properties along the industrial corridor in order to attract commercial and retail businesses to the area. Other properties along the Iowa River are also being considered by the City for future redevelopment and revitalization. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Identifying brownfields properties in the targeted area; • Conducting Phase I environmental assessments on identified properties and proceeding with Phase II environmental site investigations on those properties where environmental contamination is discovered; • Leveraging funding to acquire brownfields properties with redevelopment potential through the City's urban renewal program; • Developing cleanup and redevelopment financing plans for priority sites; and • Conducting community outreach and involvement activities. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Coralville, Iowa July 1998 EPA500-F-98-222 ------- |