United States
                   Environmental
                   Protection Agency
                   Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
 EPA 500-F-99-024
 March 1999
 www.epa.gov/brownfields/
          PA   Brownfields  Assessment
                   Demonstration  Pilot
                                                              Worcester,  MA
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 Worcester for a
Brownfields Pilot.   Worcester's  Main  South
neighborhood is one of the poorest and most ethnically
diverse areas in the city, with 11,000 residents living
in its one-square-mile area. More than 25 percent of
the neighborhood residents live at or near the poverty
level, and unemployment rates are twice the national
average.  The neighborhood, and the city itself,
thrived until  the  1950s, when  many local
manufacturers abandoned Worcester for other parts
of the country. Preliminary assessments on the Pilot-
targeted properties indicate contamination  resulting
from past uses as foundries and  wire-fabrication
facilities.

In an attempt to reverse this decline, Clark University
in 1996 partnered with the Main South Community
Development Corporation (CDC) to restore a 100-
acre area within the Main South neighborhood,
encompassing the university's campus. Their efforts
led to a spin-off project also involving the Main
South CDC and Clark University, as well as the Boys
& Girls Club of Central Massachusetts and the City
of Worcester, to restore a six-block, 30-acre area
within the Main South neighborhood. Critical to the
success of this spin-off effort—known as the Gardner-
Kilby-Hammond (GKH)  Street  Neighborhood
Revitalization Project—is an "L"-shaped, 10-acre
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
  Worcester, Massachusetts
                      Date of Announcement:
                      March 1999

                      Amount: $161,500

                      Profile: The Pilot targets a 10-
                      acre strip of four former industrial
                      properties in the heart of the
                      Main South neighborhood.
 Contacts:

 City of Worcester
 Office of Planning and
 Community Development
 (508)752-6161
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 1
(617)918-1209
       Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
       http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/

    For further information, 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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strip of four former industrial propertie s, which will be
the focus of the Pilot.

OBJECTIVES

The Pilot's objective is to complement and expedite
the GKH project by performing site assessments and
developing cleanup  strategies for the targeted 10-
acre strip. The Pilot will also assist the Main South
CDC in coordinating community outreach efforts and
developing risk assessments.  As part of the GKH
project, Pilot activities will eventually contribute to a
new Boys & Girls Club facility; shared athletic fields
available for community use; owner-occupied housing;
and affordable rental housing to be managed by the
Main South CDC.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting Phase  II environmental assessments
  and risk assessments on properties within the target
  area;

• Selecting cleanup alternatives and designing cleanup
  plans; and

• Conducting  community  outreach  regarding the
  project.
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                                           Worcester, Massachusetts
March 1999                                                                           EPA 500-F-99-024

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