United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-264
November 1998
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Salt Lake City, UT
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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. This multi-agency partnership has pledged support to 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models
demonstrating the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. The designated 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.
Community Profile
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
Salt Lake City as a Brownfields Showcase Commu-
nity. The city is targeting the 650-acre Gateway dis-
trict, which developed during the mining and railroad
booms of the 19th century, for revitalization. As rail-
road tracks, manufacturing and maintenance facili-
ties, heavy industry,
salvage yards and
warehouses expanded,
a no-man's land devel-
oped around the tracks
and Interstate-15, re-
sulting in shifting land
uses and disinvest-
ment. Now, 20% of
the Gateway district is
vacant land and build-
ings, and the area is
plagued by environmental contamination, severe
crime, homelessness, and poor accessibility. Assess-
ments reveal that at least 50% of the district's par-
cels are contaminated. Property in the area is un-
dervalued by four times, causing an estimated $1.6
million loss in annual property taxes. Approximately
13% of adults in the Gateway district have less than
a ninth-grade education. In one portion of the dis-
trict, more than 50% of the population lives below
the poverty level. Through the Gateway Revitaliza-
tion Initiative, Salt Lake City is working to rejuve-
nate the blighted industrial district that currently di-
vides the east and west sides of the city into a livable,
mixed-use neighborhood.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City's Gateway
Revitalization Initiative will restore
the 650-acre blighted industrial
district that divides the east and
west sides of the city. Current
redevelopment projects within the
Gateway include a $14 million, 5-
acre housing and retail center, and a
$15 million transportation hubfor
bus, railroad, and light rail activity.
Since 1978, Salt Lake
City has developed so-
phisticated programs,
partnerships and pro-
cesses to address the
issues associated with
brownfields and com-
munity redevelopment,
including partnering
with EPA as a
Brownfields Assess-
ment Demonstration Pilot. Other highlights of Salt
Lake City's brownfields program include:
• Completing initial environmental assessments for all
of the district's parcels, and completing
environmental sampling for 15 of these parcels;
• Cleaning up brownfields parcels in some areas of the
Gateway district and restoring them to productive
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use, including building the Delta Center sports
arena (which employs 1,452 people and generates
$ 1 million in tax increments annually) and the Triad
Center business complex;
• Leveraging $25 0 million in private investments in a
five-block, 5 0-acre area of the Gateway district—
20 acres of this section are part of an historic
warehouse district; and
• Investing more than $ 1 million to improve historic
Pioneer Park, and creating an active Farmer's
Market there.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Salt Lake City's integration of its brownfields strat-
egy, transportation improvements, and land use plan-
ning is a strong redevelopment model that can be
replicated across the country. The city has in place
a diverse set of partnerships that will be enhanced
through the Showcase Community designation. In-
creased access to federal resources and a full-time
federal staff person will enable more effective co-
ordination of these myriad partnerships, to more
efficiently achieve the city's goals. In keeping with
the community's vision of returning the Gateway
district to more residential and open space uses, Salt
Lake City plans to:
Create a 100-acre green belt between the main
railroad tracks and the interstate, along with several
smaller parks, which will provide environmental
education and recreational opportunities;
Develop the "Bridge Project," a $14 million, five-
acre center for housing, retail and community-
based cultural organizations;
Build, with Department of Transportation assistance,
a $ 15 million intermodal transportation hub to bring
together Amtrak, Greyhound, local bus service, and
commuter and light rails;
Ensure environmental considerations are addressed
in planning for the 2002 Olympic Games, including
working with an Olympic Coordinator from EPA
and planting new trees in the Gateway district; and
Ensure that low-income, minority and homeless
populations directly and indirectly benefit through
housing that is affordable to a mix of income levels.
Contacts
Redevelopment Agency of
Salt Lake City
City of Salt Lake City
(801)535-7240
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 8
(303)312-6931
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm
Brownfields Showcase Community
November 1998
Salt Lake City, Utah
EPA 500-F-98-264
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