United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-035
May 1997
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
St Louis, MO
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. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. 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 selected the City of St. Louis for a Brownfields
Pilot. The City of St. Louis is facilitating the assess-
ment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the Dr. Martin
Luther King Business Park (MLKBP). Over the past
45 years, the City of St. Louis has lost half of its jobs
and two thirds of its population to areas outside St.
Louis. This has resulted in urban decay and a
substantial reduction in the City's tax base.
MLKBP is a 26-acre site assembled by the City of St.
Louis' Planned Industrial Expansion Authority
(PIEA) to attract jobs for nearby residents whose
current median household income is $9,700. Priorto
redevelopment, several businesses expressed inter-
est in locating in the industrial park, but the threat of
environmental contamination precluded any rede-
velopment of the area. It is estimated that at least 51
percent of the jobs that would be created by a
brownfields initiative at this site would be held by
low to moderate income residents.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this Pilot is to assess and cleanup the
Dr. Martin Luther King Business Park (MLKBP).
The strategy of the City of St. Louis and its regional
partners is to develop a solution to reverse the years
of disinvestment and under-utilization that currently
PILOT SNAPSHOT
St. Louis, Missouri
Contacts:
Eric Klipsch
Planned Industrial
Expansion Authority
City of St. Louis
(314)622-3400
Date of Award:
September 1995
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets the 26-acre Dr.
Martin Luther King
Business Park located
adjacent to the north side
of the downtown area.
Kerry Herndon
U.S. EPA-Region 7
(913)551-7286
herndon.kerry@
epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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plague the City. Specifically, the City wants to use
cleanup and redevelopment activities undertaken at
MLKBP as a Brownfields Redevelopment Model
that can be applied elsewhere in the City and nation-
wide.
AND
The Pilot has:
* Characterized environmental concerns at more than
eight city blocks within the MLKBP;
• Established strategies for financing costs that exceed
property values including: reimbursing assessment
and cleanup costs for property owners; collaborating
with the Missouri Voluntary Cleanup Program; and
establishing escrow accounts of sale proceeds from
PIEA properties to fund future assessment and
cleanup efforts;
• Cooperated with the St. Louis Association of
Community Organizations (SLACO), which
includes several neighborhood associations and
church partners. City Officials, and the PIEA; hosted
more than six neighborhood meetings to keep
residents informed of Pilot activities; and
* Developed a community outreach program. The St.
Louis Development Corp. (SLACO) has begun
working with PIEA and the RCGC Brownfields
Task Force to develop a Brownfields Advisory
Council to support the cleanup and redevelopment
of brownfields throughout the City.
The Pilot is:
• Planning for the preparation of a Brownfields
Redevelopment Model report to ensure the transfer
of knowledge gained at the MLKBP to other sites
within the region and nationwide. The City, working
with the Regional Commerce and Growth
Commission (RCGC), has already begun to address
brownfields properties outside the MLKBP;
• Organizing and paying the administrative expenses of
a voluntary Environmental Consultant Committee to:
- Guide the selection of assessment and cleanup
criteria:
- Participate in the development of risk-based.
uniform cleanup standards for Missouri, based on
future property use; and
- Apply common sense approaches to assessment
and cleanup that are protective of human health
and the environment.
Experience with the St. Louis Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities including the following.
* Completed environmental assessment and cleanup
activities at the MLKBP property purchased in mid-
1996 by Medco Tool Company. Medco recently
submitted their final report to Missouri' s Voluntary
Cleanup Program for approval. Construction of
Medco' s new 25,000 square foot distribution center
has started. It is estimated that construction of this
facility will create 25-30 new jobs.
* Completed construction of a 20.000 square foot
building by Die Cutting Diversified, Inc.. an exist-
ing business, that has decided to remain in the
MLKBP and expand. The company holds an option
on adjacent property, which is undergoing environ-
mental assessment before preparation of a cleanup
plan.
* Working with two additional companies interested
in expanding existing or locating new facilities in
the MLKBP on assessment and cleanup priorities.
* Identified six blocks of the MLKBP to be included
in the proposed Golf Course/Neighborhood Rede-
velopment Plan. The plan includes a golf learning
center, 700 homes, and a 9-hole golf course. The
City has applied to the Department of Housing and
Urban Development for funding.
* Establishing local revolving loan fund.
* Working with State agencies to implement the re-
cently enacted Missouri Abandoned Property Re-
use Act ('"Brownfields Act").
* Developed an environmental training curriculum in
partnership with St. Louis Community College.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot
May 1997
St. Louis, Missouri
EPA 500-F-97-035
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