For Worcester,  the  New Gateway  Park
^^7J   is an  Impressive  First  Step  in an
         ^    Area-Wide Transformation      "^
 L
          Worcester, Massachusetts
     'ocated just under 50 miles from Boston, the historically
industrial City of Worcester, Massachusetts covers some 37 square
miles in the state's approximate center. Despite its size, Worcester
has less than 100 acres available for new development—and with
more than two hundred documented brownfields, the city recognized
that restoration of these idle and underused properties was crucial
to promoting development, revitalizing its economy, and reversing
the high unemployment and poverty rates found in some of its
neighborhoods. On an 11-acre former industrial area now known
as Gateway Park, the city and its partner, Gateway Park LLC, are
developing a bioengineering research and mixed-use complex that is
transforming the once-underused area, drawing millions of dollars in
private investment, and creating hundreds of new jobs.

Long invested in transforming its brownfields, Worcester was
the recipient of an EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant in
1999. This funding was used to investigate contamination levels
on the South Worcester Industrial Park property, which the city is
currently redeveloping into 1.7 million square feet of industrial,
manufacturing, and warehouse space. For Worcester's north
side, Gateway Park LLC created a master redevelopment plan
for a 5 5-acre, mostly industrial area rife with underused, likely
contaminated properties. While active businesses still remained
in this target area, including an art museum and some commercial
facilities, idle brownfields within these 55 acres included former steel
manufacturers, auto body shops, and a plating company.

What would become the first major project within the north
Worcester target area was initiated by a partnership between two
non-profit entities: the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), which
had been looking for a location for its newly funded bioengineering
wing; and the Worcester Business Development Corporation
(WBDC). These two organizations formed Gateway Park LLC and
through it, purchased multiple properties totaling 11 acres within
the larger project area. One of these 11 acres, once home to the New
England Plating Company, was designated as the future parking
location for the planned, mixed-use complex.

Given its history of metal plating activity, this one-acre property
proved the most difficult and most expensive site to clean.
                                                                The new WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center
                                                                 (foreground) and the renovated industrial building,
                                                                    which contains offices, meeting rooms,
                                                                       and shared facilities (at left).

                                                              JUST   THE  FACTS:

                                                              •   With more than 200 documented
                                                                  brownfields, the City of Worcester
                                                                  recognized that restoration of these
                                                                  idle and underused properties was
                                                                  crucial to promoting development,
                                                                  revitalizing its economy, and reversing
                                                                  high unemployment and poverty rates.
                                                              •   State and federal funding that included
                                                                  an EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan
                                                                  Fund grant enabled cleanup of an
                                                                  11-acre former industrial area targeted
                                                                  as a mixed-use, biotechnology/
                                                                  biomedical facility and business
                                                                  incubator.

                                                                  When development is fully realized,
                                                                  the new "Gateway Park" will create
                                                                  2,500 new jobs, including 300
                                                                  biomedical research positions—as
                                                                  well as more than $6 million in
                                                                  annual taxes.
                                                                          Gateway Park's
                                                                        master plan calls for
                                                                  the rehabilitation and construction of
                                                                 buildings containing 1,564,800 square
                                                                feet of mixed-use space, and 1.7 acres of
                                                                residential development. The project was
                                                                recognized in 2006 with the James D.P.
                                                                Farrell "Brownfields Project of the Year"
                                                                award from the Environmental Business
                                                                      Council of New England.
                                                   continued

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      Gateway Park LLC received two $350,000 cleanup loans from the Massachusetts Development Finance
      Agency and had dedicated one of those loans solely for the former plating property, but still found itself
      needing additional cleanup funds. The solution was found within a $1.28 million EPA Brownfields
      Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grant awarded to Worcester in August 2005. With an additional $200,000
      provided to the  Gateway Park project from the  RLF, cleanup of the former plating company
      property and the remaining 10 acres was completed in March 2006. This cleanup
      included demolition of buildings and the safe disposal of thousands of square feet
      of asbestos-containing debris. Building materials were also recycled whenever
      possible.
                                   CONTACTS:
                                   For more information contact
                                   U.S. EPA REGION 1
                                   (617)918-1105
                                   Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
                                   www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
      Gateway Park's first building, completed in Spring 2007, is the $40 million,
      four-story, 124,600-square-foot Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center.
      WPI occupies some three-quarters of the Center, which houses the university's
      graduate research programs in biology and biotechnology, biomedical
      engineering, chemical engineering, and chemistry and biochemistry. On the
      first floor, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives created the Gateway Park
      Incubator—a facility that includes laboratories, shared equipment, and offices
      for up to six startup biomedical companies. The remainder of the building is
      being leased to business and commercial entities.

      In all, Gateway Park's master plan calls for the rehabilitation and construction of
      buildings containing 1,564,800  square feet of mixed-use space, and a 1.7-acre parcel
      has been designated for residential development. On the one-acre site of the former plating
      company, a 200-space parking lot and a 640-space parking garage are now complete. The Economic
      Development Administration provided a $2.5 million grant to the project for this parking development,
      while the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $1.8 million for improvements to public road
      access in the project area. In addition, the State of Massachusetts awarded a $2 million grant to the city
      for infrastructure improvements within Gateway Park.

            ^^^^^^         The Gateway Park project was recognized in 2006 with WPI's receipt
                                     of the  James D.P Farrell "Brownfields Project of the Year" award
                                      from the Environmental Business Council of New England—an
                                       award presented annually to a project that exemplifies excellence
                                        in overcoming social, economic, technical, and institutional
                                        challenges. When development is fully realized, WBDC estimates
                                        that Gateway Park will create 2,500 new jobs, including 300
                                        biomedical research positions—as well as more than $6 million in
                                        annual taxes. For more information on Worcester's Gateway Park
                                        project and Brownfields Revolving Loan Funds, please  contact
               of the modern laboratory bays     £pA R  1Qn 1 at (617) 918-1105 Or at WWW.epa.gOV/reglOnO I/
in the WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Lenter at            °
             Gateway Park.                  brownfields/.
  Brownfields Success Story
  Worcester, Massachusetts
  Gateway Park
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
      EPA-560-F-09-023
         February 2009
www. epa.gov/brownfields/

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