Brownfields 2003 Cleanup Grant  Fact Sheet
               Jefferson Davis Artist Lofts LP, Houston,  TX
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed
into law the Small Business Liability  Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup
grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response
programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

Jefferson Davis Artist Lofts, LP, was selected to receive
a cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up
the Jefferson Davis Hospital site, which is located on a
1.6 acre site in Houston, Texas. Between 1840-1890,
the City of Houston used the site and  the surrounding
five acres as an official city cemetery. In 1890, the
cemetery had no more capacity and the site was
neglected and fell into disrepair. The property was used
as a park in the 1920s, and the city built its first hospital
for indigent care on the site in 1924. Underground
storage tanks onsite were used to fuel ambulances and
possibly for backup fuel supply to the boilers and
incinerator. The hospital building is now abandoned
and has become a magnet for the homeless and for
gangs, and an attractive nuisance for youths. Cleanup of
the property will help eliminate the immediate visual
blight, trigger investment and cleanup of properties in
the surrounding neighborhood, and create jobs.
                   Cleanup Grant

                   $200,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected Jefferson Davis Artist Lofts, LP,
                   for a cleanup grant. The cleanup grant will be used
                   to address petroleum issues on the site of an historic,
                   but now abandoned, public hospital so the building
                   can be renovated into loft-style living and workspace
                   for low-income artists and their families.

                   Contacts

                   For further information, including specific grant
                   contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                   news and events, and publications and links, visit
                   the EPA Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team
                   (214) 665-6780
                   EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Jefferson Davis Artist Lofts
                   Houston, TX
                   (612)333-9012

                   The information presented in this fact sheet comes
                   from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
                   accuracy of this information. The cooperative
                   agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
                   Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
                   subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-03-113
        Jun 03

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