Brownfields
Success Story
EPA Grant Recipient:
Redevelopment Authority of
the County of Montgomery,
Pennsylvania
EPA Grant Type:
EPA Revolving Loan Fund
Former Use: Power Station for an
Asbestos Manufacturing Plant
Current Use: Office Space
Repowering a Historic
Landmark
Ambler, Pennsylvania Boiler House
The Borough of Ambler, Pennsylvania, was a bustling industrial community
when the Keasbey & Mattison Company relocated its manufacturing business
there from Philadelphia in 1881. Sixteen years later, the company constructed the
48,00Q-square-foot Boiler House as a generating station to power its asbestos
manufacturing operations.
While the company collapsed after the Great Depression, the Boiler House
remained and was sold several times to other asbestos producers until, in the
1980s, it sat vacant and neglected. The site was contaminated by asbestos,
benzoate, arsenic, lead and other toxins—even a buried railcar filled with oil.
Though it had become an eyesore, the Boiler House stood as an icon of Ambler's
industrial past. "Each time we would go to Ambler," says Jerry Nugent, executive
director at the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Montgomery, "you
could see the Boiler House Was a prominent landmark." In the early 2000s, the
Redevelopment Authority began working with Ambler Borough to revitalize a
number of buildings in the area. It was time to do something about the former
power station.
Working Through Steep Challenges
The biggest obstacle to redevelopment was environmental remediation. The
Boiler House is adjacent to the former Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site,
and approximately $4.6 million in environmental assessment and cleanup was
required before renovations could begin. Every part of the building was washed,
and each piece of rubble inside had to be cleaned before it could be transported
to a landfill. Another challenge Was financing the project. An $847,000 EPA
Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) loan helped trigger the rest of the project's $14.2
million in financing from federal and state agencies. "One of the key pieces of
the financing was the RLF," says developer John Zaharchuk, whose real estate
development company purchased the Boiler House in the early 2000s. "You
can't borrow money to redevelop a site that has this level of contamination. The
RLF enabled us to put the other pieces of financing in place."
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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Roughly 320 people now work at the Boiler
House, which is the single largest tax income
generator in the borough.
In 2009, an amendment to Act 2 under Pennsylvania's Land Recycling
Program iimited environmentai liability for economic development agencies
like the Redevelopment Authority. After the new law was established,
Zaharchuk's company temporarily transferred the property title to the
Redevelopment Authority during remediation. The Redevelopment Authority
was then able to borrow money not available to private entities, which paved
the way for the RLF-led cleanup and maximized financing opportunities.
Once remediation was complete, the title was transferred back to the
developer and construction began.
Reimagining the Boiler House
The process of remediation, redevelopment and reconstruction took about
four years, concluding in 2012. The day construction ended, the building was
already completely leased. Approximately 320 people currently work there,
many of whom arrive each day by a 25-minute train ride from downtown
Philadelphia. The building is LEED Platinum certified by the U.S. Green
Building Council, due in great part to its geothermal heating and cooling
system and extensive use of recycled materials during construction.
"We set out to create an environment that would enable our tenants to
attract and retain employees," Zaharchuk says. "For our tenants, the building
is strategic. It's not just a place for their business."
Zaharchuk also has seen a difference in the community as a whole. Structures
that were either uninhabited or underutilized are now under renovation.
"I think everyone believes in this area," he says, "Some of the older, adjacent
commercial buildings are now trying to keep up with the Boiier House.
Everyone is making sure their properties are in great condition."
Constructing the Future
The Boiler House now contributes significantly to Ambler's local economy
while preserving a iink to the borough's history. Annual taxes on the
property—barely garnering $1,000 in the 1980s—are now at $120,000,
making the Ambler Boiler House the single largest tax income generator in
the borough.
The parties that revived the Boiler House have partnered again to construct
a ground-up development at an adjoining site. The Crossings at Ambler, a
115-unit apartment project, is scheduled for completion in the summer of
2018. An additional, $250,000 loan from Montgomery County's Brownfields
RLF is helping fund remediation for the project.
"Ambler had a reputation as a declining former industrial community,"
Nugent says. "Now it's a hotspot. It's a cool place to work and live."
ct We get to see
the impact every
time we're in
Ambler. It's pretty
remarkable that
something like
this has had such a
positive effect on
the community.
Jerry Nugent,
Executive Director,
Redevelopment Authority of
the County of Montgomery,
Pennsylvania
For more information:
Visit the EPA Brownfields website
at www.epa.gov/brownfields
or contact Gianna Rosati at
215-814-3406 or
Rosati.Gianna@epa.gov.
EPA 56Q-F-17-230
September 2017

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