LAND REVITALIZATION FACT SHEET
RECREATIONAL REUSE:
CLEVELAND VELODROME
Open spaces and recreational
opportunities are essential compo-
nents of healthy communities.
Physical inactivity is recognized as a major
cause of a host of health impacts, includ-
ing heart disease, diabetes, depression,
hypertension, and obesity. The increasing
interest in the creation of "active living"
environments provides another option for
reusing brownfields to benefit affected
communities. Many brownfields are ideally
located to improve public health by
supporting greater physical activity.
Brownfields often are located within or
nearby densely populated, low-income
urban communities that have very limited
options for recreation and physical activity.
Even in less crowded suburban communi-
ties, sprawling development has resulted in
widespread physical inactivity among chil-
dren and adults as people have become
more dependent on automobiles to get
to essential destinations. Many brownfields
can serve the physical activity needs of
surrounding neighborhoods by being
redeveloped into green spaces, such as
ball parks, recreation fields, and trails.
Traditional brownfields redevelopment
focuses on using market forces to
encourage developers to create indus-
trial, commercial, or residential reuses
that provide economic benefits to a
community. The benefits of these types of
projects are numerous, including creat-
ing local jobs, increasing property values
and tax bases, curbing urban sprawl,
reducing adverse effects of contamina-
tion, and contributing to neighborhood
revitalization. However, there is growing
recognition among municipal planners
and community groups of the enormous
potential of brownfields for "greening"
city environments and promoting more
active lifestyles.
Recreational sites used to be seen as
a poor reuse of brownfields by some
because they didn't increase properly
or sales tax dollars. That view is chang-
ing. Communities across the country are
supporting a wide range of conservation
and community enhancement activities
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS
EPAs land revitalization initiatives are producing significant environmental benefits
and helping to transform communities into more sustainable and livable places.
The strategy of encouraging market-driven redevelopment of brownfields and
other contaminated sites for economic reuse is proving to be a successful
approach at many sites. However, challenging real estate markets and economic
realities can leave some formerly contaminated properties unused, possibly for
a long time. New approaches are needed to revitalize these sites and protect
human health and the environment.
EPAs Land Revitalization Team is working with communities, states, other federal
agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector to
develop and test new approaches that recognize valuable reuse alternatives for
formerly contaminated properties. Building green infrastructure to help manage
stormwater runoff and floods, promoting safe soil management to support urban
agriculture, and siting renewable energy on contaminated sites can bring environ-
mental, ecological, and social benefits to communities. Unlocking the potential value
of these underused properties often requires creativity and close collaboration with
many public and private partners. These projects can help stabilize communities
and spur economic development.
demonstrating that open-space preserva-
tion is a key community value and often
is the community's preferred reuse over
economic-based reuses. Today, even some
properties in prime locations that formerly
would have been redeveloped as housing
and offices are being turned into parks.
Recreational reuses of brownfields include
playgrounds, pocket parks, hiking and
biking trails, soccer and softball fields,
basketball and tennis courts, and golf
courses. More unusual recreational
reuses of formerly contaminated land
includes fields for flying model airplanes,
fishing docks, equestrian centers, and
velodromes for bicycling. These land
uses have both public health benefits
and economic benefits. The public
health benefits of reusing brownfields
for recreation include reducing the risk
of adverse health effects from contami-
nation and increasing opportunities for
active living. In addition, there is plenty
of data indicating that simply cleaning
up brownfields increases surrounding
property values and that creating a park
or other recreational amenity increases
property values even more.
Recreational reuse of brownfields presents a
huge opportunity for active living communi-
ties, but there can be major challenges.
It can be difficult to secure funding for the
early stages of brownfield redevelopment
such as planning, land acquisition, assess-
ment, and cleanup. There also are long-
term maintenance costs, and many recre-
ational reuses do not provide an income
stream to cover these ongoing costs.
Despite the challenges, scores of commu-
nities are successfully transforming contam-
inated properties into valuable parks and
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recreational spaces. Converting brown-
fields to recreational reuses continues to
rely largely on the support of federal, state,
and local governments. Nonprofit orga-
nizations also can catalyze projects by
engaging the community and working to
fill funding gaps. For example, EPA part-
nered with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and
the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The
presence of a community-based cham-
pion to generate community interest and
collaboration is one of the most important
factors in successful recreational projects.
CLEVELAND VELODROME PROJECT
A velodrome, the cycling track most of
us see only during the Olympics, was
built on the site of a former brownfield
in Slavic Village, a neighborhood of
Cleveland, Ohio. Slavic Village, just south
of downtown Cleveland, was originally
settled in the mid-19th century by Czech
and Polish immigrants who arrived to work
in the city's steel factories and woolen
mills. The neighborhood still maintains the
customs, culture, and recipes brought by
their ancestors. As with most older, inner-
ring urban neighborhoods, brownfields
are located in close proximity to residen-
tial areas. Traveling a long and creative
path, one of this quaint neighborhood's
brownfields has been turned into a
unique recreational facility.
The velodrome is located on the site of
the former St. Alexis Hospital, founded in
1884 to serve workers in the Cuyahoga
Industrial Valley. Renamed St. Michael
Hospital in 1994, the hospital closed its
doors in 2003. The site owner gave the
properly to the city along with money
intended to ready the properly for reuse.
•f.t'~'<- '.:.'•'•
View of St. Alexis Hospital circa 1957.
(from Michael Schwartz Library,
Cleveland State University)
The city decided to place the properly
within the Cleveland Land Reutilization
Program, a land bank run by the city's
Department of Community Development,
with the intent of redeveloping the properly
for housing.
Total costs for the assessment, demolition,
and cleanup of the site were about $2.5
million, which far exceeded the amount
provided by the former site owner. The city
assessed contamination at the site using
an EPA brownfields assessment grant.
Cuyahoga County added a $200,000
subgrant from an EPA brownfields revolving
loan fund grant and a $628,400 loan from
the county's bond fund. The city provided
additional funding, demolished structures
on the site, and cleaned up contamina-
tion, primarily asbestos. The city received
a No Further Action determination by the
state and published a request for propos-
als (RFP) from developers to generate
ideas for housing redevelopment projects.
Unfortunately, this occurred just as the
nation's housing market downturn began,
so the RFP was received with little interest.
The Slavic Village Development (SVD),
a non-profit community development
corporation, became involved in reusing
the 8.9-acre site after it became clear
that a housing project was not going to
happen. SVD has been working to create
new greenspace throughout the commu-
nity, promote active living, and improve
housing and transportation in the Greater
Broadway community for 30 years. SVD,
with the backing of the community and
City Council members, actively searched
for a greenspace reuse of the site. Their
search resulted in a connection with Fast
Track Cycling, Inc., (Fast Track), a nonprofit
Artist rendering of completed
velodrome project, (from Fast
Track Cycling, Inc.)
dedicated to establishing and operating
a velodrome cycling track in Cleveland
to promote the sport of cycling for its
various health and wellness benefits.
Fast Track was evaluating sites within five
northern Ohio counties for a location for
a velodrome.
In November 2009, Fast Track entered
into a lease with option to purchase
agreement with the city to use the site
as a velodrome. Through the work of
its 12-member volunteer board, Fast
Track raised $300,000 in donations
to construct the first phase of the
three-phase project. Phase I of the
project was completed with the grand
opening of a 166-meter outdoor
track on August 30, 2012. Activities
at the track include youth programs,
velodrome etiquette training, open
riding, and racing events. Fast Track is
continuing to work toward completion
of all three phases of its project, which
will culminate in twin indoor tracks and
a connecting building.
MORE INFORMATION:
Visit ERA's Land Revitalization program website at http://www.epa.qov/landrevitalization/
Fast Track Cycling, Inc., Cleveland Velodrome, at http://clevelandvelodrome.org/
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-12-191
November 2012
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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