United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA500-F-01-235
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
<>EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
Lansing Brownfields Redevelopment Authority, Ml
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
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 up to $250,000 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 forfuture employment in the environmental field; and, brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund (BCRLF)programs (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years), to provide financial assistance 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
Lansing has long been a center of automobile
manufacturing and related industries, with General
Motors (GM) traditionally being one of the largest
employers. More recently, Lansing's economy has
suffered, and many jobs have been lost as a result of
GM's corporate downsizing and the closure of older,
less efficient plants. Currently, 19% of Lansing's
population lives below the poverty line.
In an attempt to combat poverty and urban sprawl, and
to attract new business to the area, the City established
two Renaissance Zones which offer developers tax
incentives to locate therein. The City also set up the
Lansing Brownfields Redevelopment Authority
(LBRA) in 1997 to promote the revitalization of
environmentally distressed areas. To date, the LBRA
has completed two brownfields projects. The first was
the redevelopment of an abandoned gas station into a
thriving commercial business, and the second was the
conversion of the former Motor Wheel facility (27
acres) into the home of GM's new Powertrain Machine
Tool Operations, retaining over 250 jobs with the
expectation of 250 more. In addition, the LBRA
utilized the original EPA Assessment Demonstration
Pilot funds to identify, categorize, and prioritize
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Lansing, Michigan
Contacts:
Lansing Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority
(517)483-4594
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $500,000
BCRLF Target Area:
Sites throughout the City
of Lansing
Region 5 Brownfields
Coordinator
(312)886-3058
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
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:
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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approximately 100 brownfields properties with
redevelopment potential that are evenly dispersed
throughout the city.
BCRLF OBJECTIVES
Lansing's brownfields objectives are to level the
financial playing field between undeveloped greenfield
sites and brownfield properties. The City wants to
return brownfields to productive use and substantially
increase the property value of those sites identified as
redevelopment priorities; market available sites and
funding mechanisms to potential developers; and create
new employment and economic vitality within the
community. Implicit is the desire to reduce urban
sprawl and encourage environmentally friendly
development.
Two promising projects under consideration for the
BCRLF are the: (1) expansion of the Lansing
Convention Center northward onto a site that is known
to be contaminated, requiring $11 million in
investment, and (2) cleanup of contaminated sites in
downtown Lansing that will then be used for the
construction of an Arts & Education Center.
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
At the state level, the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality has several grant and/or loan
programs specifically designed to assist brownfields
cleanup efforts. The Brownfields Redevelopment
Site Reclamation Grant Program and the Clean
Michigan Initiative both may be incorporated into
local brownfields redevelopment plans. In addition,
the State provides tax incentives to induce
brownfields redevelopment, the Single Business Tax
Credit, Tax Increment Financing, and credits arising
from neighborhood Renaissance Zone Status. These
will complement Federal funding from HUD's
Entitlement and Community Development Block
Grant Program, and the Department of Commerce's
Economic Development Administration Brownfields
Program.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of
funding also apply to BCRLF funds.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
The LBRA is the cooperative agreement recipient and
will serve as the lead agency and fund manager. The
LBRA is considering several options for a site
manager.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
April 2001
Lansing, Ml
EPA 500-F-01-235
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