SB,
                            C3
 Brownfields  2003

 Grant Fact Sheet

        Allentown,  PA



EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
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 con-
taminant.  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

The City of Allentown was selected to receive a
revolving loan fund grant. Allentown (population
106,632) is Pennsylvania's third largest city after
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Beginning with iron and
steel production for railroads in the 1850s and continu-
ing with a host of other industries, Allentown was one
of the nation's great workshops. With the changing
economic landscape in recent decades, many of the
city's industrial sites are now abandoned, creating
blight and posing potential risks to nearby residents.
An estimated 35-45 brownfields are scattered through-
out the city. Many brownfields  are located in an
economically disadvantaged 48-square block area
bordered by Tilghman Street to the north and Hamilton
Street to the south, contributing to this neighborhood's
decline and exacerbating the high crime rates. Minori-
                                  Revolving Loan Fund
                                  Grant
 New'
L2003/
                                  $1,000,000 for hazardous substances

                                  EPA has selected the City of Allentown for a
                                  brownfields revolving loan fund grant.  The grant
                                  will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund
                                  from which Allentown will provide loans and
                                  subgrants to conduct cleanup activities.  The city
                                  will focus on cleaning up brownfields in one of
                                  the city's most economically disadvantaged
                                  neighborhoods that lies within a 48-square block
                                  area bordered by Tilghman Street to the north
                                  and Hamilton Street to the south.
                                  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 at:
                                  www.epa.gov/brownfields.

                                  EPA Region 3 Brownfields Team
                                  215-814-3129
                                  http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm

                                  Grant Recipient: City of Allentown, PA
                                  610-437-7610

                                  Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City
                                  of Allentown has not received brownfields grant funding.

                                  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
                                  negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
                                  are subject to change.
                               ties make up 68 percent of the population in this area,
                               and 35 percent of residents live below the poverty
                               level. Allentown has already initiated a downtown
                               revitalization project in this neighborhood that focuses
                               on a mixed-use brownfields redevelopment project
                               known as Lehigh Landing. This grant will enable the
                               city to continue to successfully clean up and redevelop
                               its brownfields, thereby encouraging reinvestment,
                               creating jobs, and improving the quality of life for
                               disadvantaged residents.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                                                        EPA 500-F-03-044
                                                        June 2003
                                                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------