United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5105)
EPA 500-F-00-223
October 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
oEPA Brownfields Showcase
Community
St. Louis, MO/East St. Louis, IL
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated
manner. In 1998, this multi-agency partnership designated 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating
the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. In October 2000, the partnership selected 12 additional "Brownfields
Showcase Communities" to continue the success of the initiative. The Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed
across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on
the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois,
together as a Brownfields Showcase Community.
The cities (population 437,629) are undertaking the
Mississippi River Corridor Brownfields Initiative,
which will extend along both sides of the river—for
4 miles in East St. Louis and more than 12 miles in
St. Louis. The targeted corridor encompasses
riverfront recreational areas, business districts,
industrial areas, and residential neighborhoods.
The cities will target
three brownfield
areas located within
the federally desig-
nated Empowerment
Zone (EZ): (1) the
Central Core Area,
which encompasses
766 acres on the East
St. Louis riverfront
and in the St. Louis
central business
district; (2) the North Riverfront site in St. Louis,
Community Profile
St. Louis, Missoouri
East St. Louis, Illinois
which is a 4-mile long industrial corridor located
immediately north of downtown St. Louis; and (3) the
Rivers South site, which is a 123-acre site along the
river in the Carondelet area located just south of
downtown. Specific project sites within these target
areas will be selected through community involve-
ment efforts and an area-wide study.
This project area encompasses some of the most
disadvantaged neighborhoods in the entire region.
The areas are marked by rapid population decline, a
high percentage of minority residents, pervasive
household poverty rates,
and comparatively high
unemployment rates. The
residents in these areas
face significant environ-
mental and related health
challenges. In addition,
the East St. Louis area
has one of the largest
remaining viable urban
wetlands in the nation,
which is home to several
endangered species.
The Cities of St. Louis and East St.
Louis will target three brownfield
areas in the federally designated
Empowerment Zone. The cities will
develop a regional approach to
cleaning up and redeveloping
brownfields in a healthy and
sustainable way.
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CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The cities have planned or undertaken brownfield
redevelopment projects in the bistate area that have
an estimated investment of $747 million and are
estimated to create more than 7,000 jobs. For
example, the cleanup and redevelopment of the
Martin Luther King Business Park in St. Louis is
bringing a commitment of $16 million and 220 new
jobs to the neighborhood. The relocation of the
Union Bank of Illinois to a cleaned up site in
downtown East St. Louis has resulted in a $ 1
million investment and 14 new jobs.
Other highlights of the region's brownfields and
related economic development efforts include:
• Helping to develop and pass the Missouri
Brownfields Redevelopment Act, which
facilitates the identification, cleanup, and reuse
of urban brownfields;
• Providing assistance to the creation of cleanup
guidance for the State of Missouri;
• Using St. Louis' Sustainable Neighborhoods
Initiative to funnel needed resources to several
disadvantaged neighborhoods in the targeted
areas;
• Opening the initial leg of the Gateway
Recreational Trail, with plans to complete this
trail along the entire river corridor, including
cleanup and redevelopment of a brownfield to
serve as the trail head
facility; and
Using EPA's
Targeted Brownfields
Assessment funds to
assess several sites in
St. Louis.
Contacts
St. Louis Development Corporation
(314)622-3400
The Mississippi River Corridor of St. Louis and East
St. Louis have already partnered with several federal
agencies, including U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development programs such as an Empower-
ment Zone, the Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) program, and a Hope VI project
community; EPA as Brownfields Assessment Dem-
onstration Pilots with a supplemental award to the St.
Louis Pilot, a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan
Fund Pilot, a Brownfields Job Training Pilot, and an
EMPACT grant; U.S. Small Business Administration
as a HubZone; and the federal Council on Environ-
mental Quality as an American Heritage River.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
As a Showcase Community, the Mississippi River
Corridor partnership will build on the experiences
from St. Louis to help focus further cleanup and
redevelopment in East St. Louis to improve the
standard of living for local residents and businesses,
with job opportunities, access to clean and efficient
transportation, and revitalized neighborhoods. The
cleanup and reuse of brownfields remains the key to
unlocking this vision. This project—a partnership of
the St. Louis Development Corporation and the East
St. Louis CDBG Operations Corporation—will
develop and implement a regional approach to help
eliminate the barriers posed by brownfields. The goal
of this approach is to develop solutions with ongoing
input from the local community that permit redevel-
opment in a healthy and sustainable way. The
Showcase Community
project will also serve as
a model to address
wetlands preservation as
an essential component of
local and regional
strategic planning.
U.S. EPA-Region 7
(913)551-7286
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase
Communities, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
St. Louis, Missouri/East St. Louis, Illinois
EPA 500-F-00-223
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