United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-005
May 1997
National Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
Bridgeport, CT
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 Bridgeport for a
Brownfields Pilot. Bridgeport is the largest and
most economically, fiscally, and demographically
distressed city in Connecticut. Industrial
employment has dropped steadily in each of the
last three decades. Unemployment in impacted
industrial corridors is significantly higher than the
City-wide rate of 8.6 percent. Approximately 50
percent of the area's manufacturing base has been
lost in the past decade. The area's poverty rate is
17 percent, and per capita income in the area is 60
percent of the State average. Many businesses
have left Bridgeport for the greener fields in the
suburbs, resulting in several hundred acres of
formerly prime industrial land in the City that lie
derelict and abandoned due to the presence or
threat of contamination.
OBJECTIVES
The Bridgeport Pilot is working to return
contaminated inner-city, derelict land to productive
use and to serve as a prototype for other cities to
redevelop brownfields. To achieve this objective,
the Pilot is encouraging cleanup and economic
development, long-term growth, and prosperity by
empowering community-based groups to be part
of the decision-making process that shapes their
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Award:
September 1994
Amount: $200,000
Site Profile: The Pilot
targets underutilized,
vacant or abandoned
properties in inner-city
Bridgeport that the City
Bridgeport, Connecticut hopes to return to
a ^ productive use.
Contacts:
Eileen Carey
City of Bridgeport, Office
John Podgurski
U.S. EPA-Region 1
of Planning and Economic (617) 573-9681
Development
(203) 576-7087
podgurski.john@epamail.
epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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neighborhoods and the City. The City expects that
the resuscitation of Bridgeport's brownfields will
lead to the creation of new jobs, local economic
growth, increased tax base, increased property values,
and improved quality of life for the surrounding
community.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Conducted field studies to identify underutilized,
vacant, or abandoned properties;
• Established an inventory of 205 brownfields sites;
• Ranked brownfields sites for development potential
using a database prioritization model;
• Categorized and prioritized cleanup of redevelopable
properties based on the degree of reclamation work
necessary under the State's environmental laws.
The City, various City departments, the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection and
Economic Development, the Community Linkage
for Environmental Action Now (CLEAN), and a
local community task force have been working
together;
• Selected six high-priority sites for "highest and best
use"studies using the database model in combination
with other experimental and intuitive criteria;
• Conducted Phase I site assessments on the six sites;
• Prepared redevelopment strategies for each of these
six sites; and
• Held an "Environmental Job Training and Education
Summit" to showcase opportunities within the
environmental technology field and encourage
community involvement and awareness of
environmental issues.
The Pilot is:
• Hosting an "Investors Forum" to showcase
development opportunities of the prioritized sites;
• Initiating cooperative relationships with other Federal
and State agencies and local groups and institutions
to develop programs and services that enhance
urban revitalization efforts in brownfields areas;
• Linking cleanup and redevelopment efforts with
appropriate job training opportunities;
• Identifying environmental obstacles to brownfields
redevelopment;
• Estimating duration and methods of cleanup and
availability of funding;
• Coordinating with the Housatonic Community and
Technical College to offer environmental science
courses to students who can then assist in City
redevelopment efforts;
• Finalizing an educational brochure on the
brownfields program;
• Targeting local businesses wishing to lease or
purchase additional space to encourage them to
participate in the brownfields effort and remain in
Bridgeport; and
• Evaluating the reclamation effort's success at the
conclusion of the Pilot projects.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the Bridgeport Pilot has been a
catalyst for related activities including the following.
• We stinghouse completed building demolition of the
former Bryant Electric site. The Pilot is conducting
site assessment activities. Once site cleanup is
completed, the property will be transferred to the
City by the current owners. The City is negotiating
with potential developers to locate a 140,000 square
foot manufacturing facility at the site. The project
is expected to create 400 jobs.
• Received an "Economic Adjustment" grant of
$200,000 from the Economic Development
Administration for site characterization efforts.
• A combination of Federal, State and private funds
have been combined to capitalize a $7 million
"Grow Bridgeport" fund for small business
financing, site assessment, and remediation. This
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot
May 1997
Bridgeport, Connecticut
EPA 500-F-97-005
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"Limited Liability Corporation" (LLC) will establish
a loan program for site characterization and
remediation efforts.
The City of Bridgeport will also receive nearly $3
million in Federal Enterprise Community funds to
implement its 10-year strategic plan. The budget
proposes $200,000 for brownfields-related job
training and an additional $200,000 for additional
site characterization.
The EPA and the National Park Service are working
out an interagency agreement which will support
local effort for the local Groundwork Trusts, a
program established to assist local communities to
reclaim brownfields sites for park and recreation
use. The Federal Enterprise community has budgeted
$200,000 towards this effort.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) used a
former power plant in Bridgeport as the focus for an
Environmental Design Charrette (EDC). The
purpose of this charrette is to bring together diverse
elements of the community to collaborate for a
comprehensive view of the interconnection between
economic need, community development, and long-
term environmental stability.
Governor Rowland has appointed a "Team
Bridgeport" to develop a State action plan for the
redevelopment of Bridgeport. The Governor has
pledged $2 million in State funds to support for site
purchase and land assembly, environmental
assessment, remediation design, and cleanup.
MITRE, a national non-profit engineering firm, is
researching investment firms and banks to determine
what information the banking world needs to approve
funding of brownfields properties.
The Central High School is working with students to
prepare a video on the Brownfields Program in
Bridgeport.
National Brownfields Assessment Pilot Bridgeport, Connecticut
May 1997 EPA 500-F-97-005
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