&EFK
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA Region 9 Brownfields Program Success Stories
Kwikset Housing • Anaheim, CA
Anaheim Residents Get New Homes in Colony Park
Project Description
Property Address: 516 East Santa Ana Street
Anaheim, CA 92805
Property Size: 16.0 acres
Former Uses: Metal plating and
manufacturing
Contaminants Found: Petroleum, volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), lead,
polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Current Use: Residential complex;
recreational park
Current Owner: Anaheim Housing Authority
Project Partners
• Anaheim Redevelopment Agency (ARA)
• City of Anaheim
• U.S. EPA
• Kwikset
• Brookfield Homes
Property History
From 1948 through 1998, the 16-acre site at the
focus of this redevelopment project contained a
manufacturing facility with a metal-plating operation,
which produced residential hardware for the Kwikset
Corporation. In 2001, with operations ceased and
the site idle, Kwikset sold the property to an interim
owner, a private corporation. While the ARA hoped
to purchase and use the property as a catalyst for a
planned, 40-acre residential development project
in downtown Anaheim, the interim purchase
contract stipulated that if residential development
was determined to be infeasible, the ARA would
be able to buy the site at a lower price, while the
private corporation could use the site for industrial
Colony Park in Anaheim
Highlights
• One of the first successful projects under the ARA's
Affordable Housing Strategic Plan
• The ARA combined idle properties with contamination
issues into a cleaned, residential complex, in a city
where space for residential development is limited
• Utilized a variety of federal and state resources to
provide the funding needed for redevelopment
development. Prior to the ARA's acquisition, the ARA
initiated environmental assessments that confirmed
the presence of petroleum, lead, VOCs and PAHs in
the soil. The ARA knew that this property would have
to be cleaned up to residential standards before this
redevelopment effort could proceed.
Drivers for Redevelopment
The reuse of idle land for residential development
has been a priority for the City of Anaheim in recent
years, with an expanding population and very little
undeveloped land remaining. While this project was
considered an essential part of Anaheim's residential
redevelopment goals, the city recognized that it
had many complex hurdles to overcome given the
property's industrial past and known contamination
issues. Though the ARA had received a $1,450,000
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Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
grant from EPA in 2003, estimated cleanup costs
were much higher, and the city knew that it would
need financial assistance and cooperation from
a number of sources, including the site's former
owner.
Project Results
With areas of contamination defined through its
environmental assessments, the ARA loaned itself
$600,000 from EPAs RLF grant to initiate cleanup
of the property. As expected, cleanup costs were
significant—approximately $11 million. The ARA
contributed an additional $3 million (paid for in part
by tax increment financing), while the remainder
was funded by the former landowner. Cleanup
involved the removal of approximately 86,000 tons
of contaminated soil. Remediation took almost six
years, during which time a 16-acre, adjacent parcel
unexpectedly became available; the ARA partnered
with developer Brookfield Homes to purchase
this property. Now known as the "Colony Park"
project, this redevelopment effort grew far beyond
the city's original expectations—with a total of
444 residential units planned across 40 acres. More
than 230 homes have already been built, with the
remainder either in the construction or design stage.
Colony Park also features a new public park, as
well as substantial improvements to the area's roads
and utility infrastructure. A $200,000 Brownfields
Assessment grant awarded to the ARA in 2007 is
being used to define any contamination issues on as-
yet undeveloped areas. In addition to transforming
an idle, blighted region of Anaheim into beautified,
residential space, the Colony Park project is a
significant boon to the city's tax base; its impact is
not only positive, but permanent.
Funding Information
$200,000 Assessments, from EPA's 2007 Brownfields
Assessment grant
$480,000 Assessments from the ARA
$600,000 Cleanup, as a loan from EPA's 2003
Brownfields Cleanup RLF grant
$3,000,000 Cleanup from the Anaheim Redevelopment
Agency, paid with tax increment funds
$7,400,000 Cleanup from the former landowner
$14,300,000 For purchase of the 16-acre site by ARA,
using tax increment funds
In addition, the ARA continues to contribute funding
to this project for both public space improvements and
homebuyer assistance
Project Timeline
2001 The ARA enters into a 5-year escrow period
with Kwikset; assessments of the property
begin
2005-2009 The rest of the 40 acres that make up the 40-
acre Colony Park were acquired by the ARA
and its project partners
2006 The ARA takes ownership of the site
2007 Construction begins on the Colony Park
development
For additional information, please contact:
Clare Fletcher • Community Development Manager • Anaheim Redevelopment Agency • (714) 765-4337
cfletcher@anaheim.net
Brownfields Region 9 Success Story
Anaheim Redevelopment Agency, Anaheim, CA
April 2011
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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