Restoring Brownfields for Residential
Reuse Puts EPA
Right at Home
RESIDEM1ALREUSES
The value of EPA's Brownfields Program reaches beyond
the restoration of former commercial and industrial sites for the
same—though more environmentally conscious—end uses. The
Program is also enjoying considerable success in facilitating
brownfields restoration for residential reuse. Typically, the public
or private sector developer works with the state—often as part of a
state voluntary cleanup program—to ensure that sites do not ex-
ceed certain contamination levels deemed acceptable by the state
for residential reuse. This can be done either through active cleanup
or by confirming that the site is not contaminated according to state
rules.
Using brownfields as new residential space complements a recent
trend in site development, spurred by a nationwide shift toward ur-
ban relocation. The country's "reverse suburbanization" is based
on a desire for convenience as traffic becomes an increasing bur-
den in major cities. People understandably want to avoid long, daily
commutes and desire easier access to the restaurants and events
that might once have drawn them to the city only on weekends.
EPA's Brownfields Program has helped cities across the country
respond to these development trends. In Emeryville, California, a
former industrial site was transformed into 220 residential housing
units, using nearly $20 million in private investment leveraged through
the city's $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The Pilot worked
with the City of Emeryville to rejuvenate an economically distressed
area, targeting 10 sites and more than 180 acres for cleanup and
redevelopment. The Pilot established strong working relationships
among the city's regulatory agencies, facilitating a plan between
the city and a local development corporation to redevelop an aban-
doned former railyard. Now fully occupied, these 220 new apart-
ments include a 1,800-square-foot community room and 7,500 square
feet of retail space and have won several awards for their design.
With a population of nearly 80,000 within its 4.2-square-mile area,
Somerville, Massachusetts, is the most densely populated munici-
pality in New England. Idle property, such as a 51,500-square-foot
continued ^
JUSTTHE FACTS:
• In Emeryville, California, a former industrial
site was transformed into 220 residential
housing units, using nearly $20 million in
private investment leveraged through
Brownfields Pilot.
• Somerville, Massachusetts converted a con-
taminated, former mattress factory into a 97-
unit, assisted-living facility.
• The City of Virginia, Minnesota's Brownfields
Pilot is transforming a former brownfield into
a $7.2 million assisted living facility that in-
cludes special care for Alzheimer's patients.
Using brownfields as new residential space
complements a recent, overall trend in site
development, spurred by a nationwide shift
toward urban relocation. This "reverse
suburbanization" is based on a desire for
convenience as traffic problems mount in
majorcities.
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building at 259 Lowell Street, is something the city can ill afford. Originally an industrial
baking operation, the structure had been occupied by a series of mattress manufac-
turers and outlet stores until its abandonment in 1995. The building subsequently
fell into disrepair and became a safety concern and an eyesore for local resi-
dents. Partially due to fears of site contamination, there was limited developer
interest in the site. This changed in 1996, when Somerville was selected as an
EPA Brownfields Pilot and received a $100,000 grant to generate activity on
sites like the one on Lowell Street.
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CONTACTS:
After learning of Somerville's Brownfields Pilot award, the Visiting Nurses
Association (VNA) approached the city with an interest in purchasing and re-
developing the mattress factory property, depending on the Pilot's assessment
results. Soil and groundwater tests revealed lead, petroleum, and barium con-
tamination, with an estimated cleanup cost of $225,000. To encourage the VNA to
move forward with plans to redevelop the property into a 100-unit, assisted-living
facility and neighborhood health center, Somerville provided $100,000 in cleanup cost-
overrun coverage. In response to the site's new and promising future, resources for the project
rapidly mushroomed. The Federal Home Loan Bank agreed to a $1.25 million loan and a $250,000
grant; the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) awarded
$5.9 million in low-income housing tax credits; $750,000 in low-interest loans have been granted by the
DHCD and the City of Somerville; the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust fund earmarked a $ 150,000
loan for the project; and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership provided a $5.4 million Affordable
Housing loan. The VNA's new, 97-unit, assisted-living facility opened in June 2000, and every unit was
occupied by the end of that summer.
EPA's Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Brownfields Pilot partnered with the Minnesota Environmen-
tal Initiative and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity to perform brownfields assessments in Minneapolis
and St. Paul, Minnesota, on sites to be used for affordable
housing. The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council over-
sees redevelopment for the seven-county metropoli-
tan area, which has apopulation of 2.2 million, and
has identified 3,000 acres of brownfields within
that area. While not all of these properties are
suitable for residential reuse, the Brownfields
Pilot verified through environmental assess-
ments that seven Twin Cities properties owned
by Habitat for Humanity were free of contami-
nants. In addition to funding these assessments,
the Brownfields Pilot has leveraged $415,361 thus
far, including in-kind services from consulting firms
for environmental assessment work.
To date, three single-family homes have been built on one
property at Nebraska and Arkwright Streets in St. Paul by
Habitat's WomenBuild project, which uses all-female volunteer crews. A fourth home on Stevens
Avenue in Minneapolis was completed in fall 2001. All of the homes are being built with energy-
efficient r25 insulation in the walls and mechanical ventilation to maintain indoor air quality. The State
of Minnesota recently raised its building code for single-family residences, so these homes are also
being built to the strictest standards in the nation.
continued ^
I
I
EPA's Office of Outreach and
Special Projects Staff
(202) 260-4039
Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Success Story
Residential Reuses
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA-500-F-02-035
April 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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The Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Pilot and its partners hope to create an easily replicable model that will
allow other affordable housing builders to similarly expand their capabilities. According to Stephen Seidel,
executive director of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, "As we at Twin Cities Habitat strive to meet the
ever-increasing need for affordable housing in our community, it is essential that we have the capacity to
consider every location that has the possibility of providing housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-
income people. Thanks to this collaboration [with the Brownfields Pilot and the Minnesota Environmental
Initiative], generously supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, we are able to do just that."
Because of successes like those of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council
Pilot, on February 13, 2002, EPA signed a Memorandum of Under-
standing with Habitat for Humanity to work in partnership to build
energy-efficient homes on former brownfields throughout the
country.
Less than 200 miles to the north, the small City of Virginia,
Minnesota (population 9,410), has also enjoyed the benefits of
a Brownfields Assessment Pilot award. Once the region's lead-
ing producer of iron ore and taconite, the City of Virginia and the
surrounding area underwent a severe economic downturn during
the 1980s. The city's unemployment and poverty rates remain among
the highest in Minnesota. Most of the sites available for redevelopment
are former industrial mining areas with uncertain degrees of contamination. The city established a Brownfields
Task Force to identify the most promising sites for transformation and was awarded an EPA Brownfields
Assessment grant in June 1999.
The Virginia Pilot focuses on brownfields adjacent to open-pit mines for redevelopment into low- to moder-
ate-income residential space. Initial Pilot assessments of one such site found no need for cleanup. Based on
that finding, the property was quickly sold, and construction began on a new senior citizen housing facility.
The $7.2 million redevelopment project includes a 24-bed facility for persons with Alzheimer's, an 89-unit
assisted living facility, and 20 apartments. As many as 75 jobs will be created as a result of this project.
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, an EPA Brownfields Pilot funded a $27,500 assessment of the Bowser Pump site—
a 12.5-acre property divided into three parcels within one of the most economically distressed areas in the
state. Approximately 3,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil were eventually excavated, removed from the
site, and disposed of. This portion, known as "Parcel B," was a storage site for 600,000 tires that caught fire
and burned for three days in 1997, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 neighborhood residents and the
adjacent Fort Wayne Police Department. The city spent nearly $350,000 to demolish the remaining charred
and unsafe buildings, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) removed the
remaining tires. A $300,000 grant from HUD's Economic Development Initiative (EDI) will finance instal-
lation of a new public infrastructure that will support construction of 20 new homes on the site. Purchasers
will also receive a five-year residential property tax abatement on their new homes. The first model home
was completed in early 2000, and three additional homes are nearly complete.
Other EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilots, as well as other Brownfields Pilot types, are working to safely
redevelop brownfields for residential reuse. In Stamford, Connecticut, an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Re-
volving Loan Fund Pilot loan for $250,000 was signed in October 1999 for a waterfront property where more
than 300 apartments will be built. And in Dallas, Texas, a 22-acre vacant lot formerly home to motor freight
and transportation facilities is being transformed into a $35.3 million, multi-family housing and shopping
development—a project that has already created 50 new construction jobs. For more information on EPA's
Brownfields Pilots, contact your local EPA Region or visit EPA's Brownfields Web site, at www./epa.gov/
brownfields.
Brownfields Success Story
Residential Reuses
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA-500-F-02-035
April 2002
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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