SEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA500-F-01-219
June 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
                   Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                                        Brownfields Success Stories
Clearwater's  Revitalization  Spectrum:
From  High-tech  Industry to  Community
Health  Clinic                               JUSTTHE FACTS:
                       CLEARWATER.  FL
         .
         he City of Clearwater, Florida, is beginning a growth
     spurt that promises to create hundreds of jobs, increase the
     city's tax base, and enhance its neglected neighborhoods while
     cleaning up its brownfields and improving the environment.
     In September  1996, EPA awarded the city a $100,000
     Brownfields Assessment  Pilot grant,  and an additional
     $100,000 in September 1998. From this, the city has lever-
     aged more than $9 million in additional federal, state, and lo-
     cal funding. Now, the high-tech revolution has come to
     Clearwater; an  international software company that located
     its new headquarters on a former brownfield has brought more
     than 500 new jobs to Clearwater so far, with 500 more to come.
     This $50 million development is the biggest project happen-
     ing in Clearwater right now, but it's not the only one that will
     benefit local residents. Among Clearwater's many brownfields
     restoration projects  is a new health clinic being built to serve
     the residents of North Greenwood, the largest minority com-
     munity in the city.

     The Clearwater Brownfields Assessment Pilot area contains
     approximately 220 potentially contaminated commercial, in-

                                          continued  ^
                                          From a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Pilot
                                          grant, Clearwater has leveraged more than $9
                                          million in federal, state, and local funding.
                                          An international software company that
                                          located its new headquarters on a former
                                          brownfield has brought more than 500 new
                                          jobs to Clearwater, with 500 more to come.
                                          Among Clearwater's many brownfields
                                          restoration projects is a new health clinic
                                          being built to serve the residents of North
                                          Greenwood, the largest minority community
                                          in the city.
                                         Clearwater's Brownfields Pilot funded
                                         assessments on a 14-acre site once
                                         occupied by a department store's
                                         automotive service center.  Based on
                                         assessment results, the city spent
                                         $500,000 for cleanup, which consisted
                                         of excavation and removal of petroleum-
                                         contaminated  soil.  The site was
                                         purchased by Information Management
                                         Resources for $1.5 million as the site of
                                         its new headquarters.
ERA'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 up to $200,000 over two 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 brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
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.

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         dustrial, and residential sites located on more than 1,800 acres, part
         of which includes former wetlands that were filled in more than 40
         years ago for urban development.  Encompassing a State Enter-
         prise Zone, the Pilot area is also the first state-certified brownfields
         area in Florida.
CONTACTS:
Clearwater Economic
Development Team
(727) 562-4023
EPA Region 4
(404) 562-8923
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
         One of Clearwater's most successful brownfields restoration ef-
         forts involves the 14-acre site of a former auto service center that
         is now home to Information Management Resources' (IMR) Global
         Center headquarters. The brownfields property was once occupied
         by  a department store's automotive service center.  The department
         store removed underground oil, diesel, and gasoline storage tanks sev-
         eral years ago, but unknown levels of contamination remained.  The Pilot
         funded environmental assessments, a storm water  retention area, and right-of-
         way improvements required for the project, and the city spent $500,000 for cleanup, which
         consisted of excavation and removal of petroleum-contaminated soil.  IMR paid $1.5
         million for the property, and the city offered substantial economic incentives. It is a good
         investment for both parties.

         The Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development approved IMR for
         the state's Qualified Target Industry (QTI) program to receive approximately $2 million
         in tax refunds for creating more than 550 new jobs. Florida's Brownfields Bonus program
         will add an additional $1.4 million to that refund. This project has resulted in more than
         $51 million in capital investment and is the  largest business deal in the city's history.
         Redevelopment plans call for the construction of six buildings with a total of 310,000
         square feet of office space.  The  first building was completed in July 1999 and opened
         with 175 employees. A second building opened in early 2000, and there are now more
         than 500 employees working on-site.  When all six buildings are finished and in opera-
         tion, 1,000 people will be employed with an average salary of $40,000. This average
         salary is expected to substantially increase the average salary in Pinellas County,  and
         IMR's presence will attract other  big businesses to the area.  More than  1,500 additional
         new jobs in the county are projected to be generated.

         On a smaller scale, the residents of North Greenwood, one of Clearwater's poorest neigh-
         borhoods, will also enjoy the benefits of brownfields redevelopment.  On March 18,2000,
         ground was broken for the Greenwood Community Health Resource Center. As part of
         the city's environmental justice plan, representatives of North Greenwood participated in
         redevelopment planning and voted unanimously for the city to lease the property to the
         nonprofit clinic.  The Health Resource  Center, which  is staffed by professionals who
         volunteer their time, was founded by Willa Carson, a 72-year-old retired nurse who had
         previously been operating the clinic out of two refurbished apartments.  The new home
         for the clinic is being constructed on the site of a former gas station using a $300,000 state
         appropriation.  The Pilot conducted environmental assessments at the property, and a
         $200,000 state allocation funded removal of underground storage tanks and soil cleanup.
         Once construction is complete, North Greenwood will have a new health facility offering

                                                                            continued ^
Brownfields Success Story
June 2001
                     Clearwater, FL
                  EPA 500-F-01-219

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        immunizations, physicals, tests and screenings, flu shots, and counseling to residents of the neigh-
        borhood.

        Many other brownfields in Clearwater are being returned to use.  For example, the Pilot has com-
        pleted environmental assessments on a site to be developed by a small, woman-owned  company
        that will hire at least 50 percent of its new employees from the surrounding community.  Land and
        groundwater assessments have also been completed on the site of a former auto dealership that
        will be redeveloped into a 100-unit townhouse community overlooking the town pond.

        EPA has continued its commitment to Clearwater's brownfields restoration efforts by awarding the
        city a $100,000 supplemental assistance grant that includes $50,000 for greenspace restoration of
        Stevenson Creek, which runs through the heart of North Greenwood.  EPA has also awarded the
        city a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) grant, which will be used to
        clean up sites targeted under the Brownfields Assessment Pilot.  The Pilot anticipates making its
        first BCRLF loan by Fall 2001 for the cleanup of a pesticide-contaminated property to be redevel-
        oped into computer-based businesses. In addition, EPA is assisting with a $141,000 Job Training
        and Development Demonstration Pilot that will train unemployed and underemployed residents in
        the North and South Greenwood neighborhoods for environmental jobs, including the assessment
        and cleanup of Clearwater's brownfields. For more information about the Clearwater Brownfields
        Pilot, contact Miles Ballogg, Brownfields Coordinator, Clearwater Economic Development Team,
        at (727) 5 62-4023.

Brownfields Success Story
June 2001
   Clearwater, FL
EPA 500-F-01-219

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