Brownfields 2005 Assessment, Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund Grant Fact Sheet Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee, WI



Q \ Brownfields 2005 Assessment, Cleanup and
Revolving Loan Fund Grant Fact Sheet
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee, Wl

EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states,
communities, and other stakeholders 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 contaminant. 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 Redevelopment Authority of the City of
Milwaukee was selected to receive two brownfields
assessment grants, four cleanup grants, and a revolving
loan fund grant. The economy of Milwaukee
(population 596,974), a federal Renewal Community,
has been dominated by manufacturing. Over the years,
many older companies, such as motor manufacturers,
tanneries, foundries, and breweries, have left the city,
leaving behind a legacy of large and small brownfields.
The city has documented at least 485 acres of
brownfields on 206 tax-delinquent properties and at
least 50 other severely underutilized parcels.
Eighty-five percent of these brownfields properties are
in five Aldermanic Districts that are home to 20 percent
of the city's residents. The populations in these districts
are 89 percent minority. The unemployment and
poverty rates are 16 and 36 percent, respectively, and
the median household income is 75 percent of the city
median. Assessment and cleanup of the various
brownfields sites around the city will remove health
threats and blight from the communities, return the sites
to the city tax roll, and create employment opportunities
in neighborhoods most in need. Once the East Vienna
Avenue site and the Betz Trust property are cleaned up,
the city plans to market both sites for industrial use that
Revolving Loan Fund Grant
$1,000,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Redevelopment Authority of
the City of Milwaukee for a brownfields revolving
loan fund grant. The grant will be used to capitalize
a revolving loan fund from which the
Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee
will provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup
activities for sites in areas contaminated with
hazardous substances. The fund will be used to
support cleanups around the city, with a focus on
Milwaukee's 30th Street Industrial Corridor and the
Menomonee Valley/Inner Harbor area.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Redevelopment Authority of
the City of Milwaukee for two brownfields
assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds
will be used to conduct Phase I and II environmental
site assessments in five Aldermanic Districts where
85 percent of the city's 206 tax-delinquent
brownfields are located. Petroleum funds will be
used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential
petroleum contamination.
Cleanup Grant
$800,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Redevelopment Authority of
the City of Milwaukee for four brownfields cleanup
grants. Grant funds will be used to clean up metals
and other hazardous substances contamination at the
vacant lot at 701 East Vienna Avenue, a former
industrial site; the Garden Park site at 821-33 E.
Locust Street, impacted by contaminated fill; the
Robert G. Betz Trust property, used at various times
for automobile salvage, asphalt operations, and
illegal dumping; and 502-04 West Cherry Street, site
of an historic brewery and, later, a metal
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-109
May 05

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is expected 10 generate zuu nign-quaniy jods. Cleanup
of the Garden Park site will allow for the lot to be used
for a community meeting place, farmers' market,
sculpture garden, and entertainment area. Cleanup of
the historic brewery site on West Cherry Street will
help connect the surrounding neighborhoods that are in
various stages of redevelopment, and change the
perception of the area.
salvage/recycling business.
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
(http: //www. epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http: //www. epa.gov/R5 Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Redevelopment Authority of the
City of Milwaukee,WI
(414) 286-5642
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 560-F-05-109
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV05
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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