&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-203
July 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Ypsilanti, Ml
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 Ypsilanti for a
Brownfields Pilot. Ypsilanti is an historic urban
community with apopulation of nearly 25,000, located
20 minutes west of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The City, four square miles in area, has limited land
for development and is seeking to redevelop idle
industrial sites located in the City's 34-acre Water
Street District. Industrial, residential, and park
properties characterize the Water Street area. The
City believes contamination exists due to automobile
manufacturing and associated industries. Ypsilanti is
faced with a declining population, a high poverty rate
(18%), limited opportunities for tax base expansion, a
deteriorating infrastructure, and a higher
unemployment rate than surrounding communities.
Eight targeted redevelopment areas are identified in
the City's Master Plan, but the Pilot will primarily
focus on the Water Street Redevelopment Area.
OBJECTIVES
Ypsilanti plans to redevelop the Water Street area
with a mix of commercial and residential land uses,
capitalizing on the area's proximity to the Huron River
and the City's central business district. The Water
Street proj ect will provide a model process for future
brownfields redevelopment in Ypsilanti.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Date of Announcement:
July 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the City's 34-acre Water
Street district, where
abandoned and idle
industrial lands provide the
best opportunities for
redevelopment in a
community that has limited
land for expansion.
Contacts:
Community and Regional Brownfields Team
Economic Development U.S. EPA- Regions
Department (312)353-3161
CityofYpsilanti
(734) 483-9646
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields
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/
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An Environmental Real Estate Assessment (EREA)
of the target area revealed probable contamination
and recommended further environmental investigation.
Pilot funding will be used for conducting Phase I and
Phase II assessments, collecting parcel information
to update the EREA, and conducting public outreach
activities to involve property owners and developers.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I environmental assessments on
15 to 20 parcels;
• Performing Phase II environmental assessments on
8 to 10 parcels;
• Updating the EREA with the results from
environmental assessments so that parcels can be
prioritized based on their redevelopment potential;
and
• Conducting public information meetings where
targeted neighborhoods are provided updates of
Pilot activities and are encouraged to offer their
input in planning redevelopmentin their communities.
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 Ypsilanti, Michigan
July 1998 EPA500-F-98-203
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