United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA 500-F-99-030
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
upto $200,000 overtwo years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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
Bridgeport is Connecticut's largest city, with a
population of 141,686. Half of the residents are
Hispanic and African-American. According to 1990
census data, Bridgeport's per capita income is at 60
percent of the state average. Nearly one-fifth of the
population lives below the federal poverty level and
female-headed families account for almost 72 percent
of all families below the poverty level. Bridgeport has
suffered a significant loss to its manufacturing base in
the last decade, resulting in approximately 50 percent
(10,000) of the city's manufacturing jobs being lost.
This situation has also created many abandoned or
underutilized properties that contain real or perceived
environmental contamination.
BCRLFOBJECTIVES
The goal of the Bridgeport BCRLF Pilot program is
to fund the cleanup of these brownfields sites and the
return of these sites to productive use. By funding the
redevelopment of brownfields sites, the city aims to
attract reinvestment and retain or create new jobs.
The city will use the BCRLF in coordination with
other efforts to assess, clean up, and redevelop
brownfields. More specifically, the City of Bridgeport
will use the BCRLF to supplement the newly created
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Date of Award:
September 1997
Amount: $350,000
BCRLF Target Area : City-
wide brownfields sites.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Contacts:
City of Bridgeport
(203) 576-7603
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 1
(617)918-1209
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/remed/brnfld/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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lending pool, the Grow Bridgeport Fund, LLC (GBF).
The GBF is a public-private partnership formed by the
city, the State of Connecticut, the Bridgeport Economic
Development Corporation (BEDCO), the Community
Economic Development Fund (CEDF), and three
operating lending institutions. The purpose of the fund
is to promote community economic development.
The addition of the BCRLF funds will enable this
lending pool to directly address all aspects of
brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. For example,
the EPA portion of the funds will support site cleanup
and the other GBF funds can be used to support site
assessment and demolition.
FUNDSTRUCTUREANDOPERATIONS
The GBF will serve as the Fund Manager. A site
manager will be designated by the city. The BCRLF
funds will provide gap funding for those who do not
qualify for other financing mechanisms in the city. In
addition to cleanup, applicant criteria will also address
the property's marketability including land value,
visibility, neighborhood conditions, and physical
infrastructure. The fund will concentrate on non-
traditional bank loans which cannot be underwritten
through conventional methods.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, andallCERCLA restrictions on use of funding
also apply to BCRLF funds.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot Bridgeport, Connecticut
May 1999 EPA500-F-99-030
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