W5
Brownfields 1997 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Chicago, IL
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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.
Background
EPA Region 5 has selected the City of Chicago as a
Regional Brownfields Pilot. The west side of Chicago is
characterized by mixed residential and industrial land
uses. Abandoned industrial properties have created
economic blight and hampered redevelopment. In 1993,
representatives from the Chicago Departments of
Environment, Planning and Development, Buildings,
Law, and the Mayor's Office came together to develop a
strategy for promoting cleanup and redevelopment of the
City's brownfields. The City developed a three-pronged
initiative based on this strategy.
The Brownfields Forum is a broad-based public/private
policy group including real estate developers,
industrialists, bankers, lawyers, representatives from
local, State, and Federal government agencies,
environmental advocates, and community groups.
Between December 1994 and June 1995, over 130
people attended a series of working meetings, developing
65 recommendations for promoting brownfields
redevelopment. Forum participants formed project teams
and implemented some of the recommendations
including regulatory changes, influencing regional
planning, involving communities and promoting
pollution prevention.
Also during this time period, the Brownfields Sites
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/13/1997
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The pilot will target brownfields sites
located on the City's west side.
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/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Chicago,IL
(419)435-7789
Objectives
The objective of this brownfields pilot is to continue the
successful work begun by the City of Chicago in two
important ways. The brownfields pilot will: assess the
responsiveness of environmental and economic
redevelopment policies devised by the City of Chicago;
and develop a stakeholder participation process for
three brownfields redevelopment sites.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this pilot include: Chicago
Brownfields Forum Evaluation
•	Performing interviews with Forum participants to
assess implementation and effects of the 1995
Action Plan; and
•	Recording and assessing accomplishments of the
Forum's workgroups to better define future
redevelopment goals.
Stakeholder Participation Process
•	Coordinating with the City's Department of
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-97-116
May 97

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Program invested less than $1 million to investigate,
clean up and prepare five sites for private
redevelopment. The City worked with community and
business groups and local, State and Federal officials
which resulted in private capital investment of over $5.2
million and the creation of over 100 jobs.
The Brownfields Economic Analysis studied a critical
connection between economic research, public policy,
and the practice of brownfields redevelopment. Research
performed by economists at the University of Illinois at
Chicago discovered that urban sprawl primarily benefits
suburban employers, who are being subsidized by
taxpayers and commuters.
Environment and the Department of Planning
and Development to develop brownfields site
specific information including site histories,
environmental problems, anticipated
redevelopment, and interactions with community
members;
•	Interviewing stakeholders to determine concerns
with sites, levels of participation desired, and
concerns relating to the cleanup and
redevelopment process; and
•	Developing and implementing a stakeholder
participation plan for each site.
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 500-F-97-116
j. i- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV97
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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/r^. Brownfields 1997 Supplemental Assessment
IW * Pilot Fact Sheet
%	City of Chicago, IL
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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.
Background
EPA awarded the City of Chicago supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot. Several areas of Chicago are characterized by
mixed residential and industrial land uses. Abandoned
industrial properties have created economic blight and
hampered redevelopment. In 1993, Chicago established
the Chicago Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative to
revitalize the city's abandoned and contaminated
properties. The Initiative currently manages about 26
sites and is comprised of an interdepartmental team of
project managers from the city Departments of
Environment, Planning and Development, and Law.
The city's success in returning contaminated and/or
abandoned sites to productive use is demonstrated
through a number of ongoing redevelopment projects.
For example, it was recently announced that a $190
million minority-owned television studio will be built on
a former dump; and a plastics molding factory, which
will employ 600 people, will be developed on another
abandoned site.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 03/01/2000
Amount: $100,000
Profile: City of Chicago, IL. The Pilot will support
Chicago's successful brownfields program through
supporting environmental assessments at
approximately 25 brownfields sites throughout the
city.
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/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Chicago,IL
(312)744-9139
Objectives
The objective of this brownfields pilot is to continue the
successful work begun by the City of Chicago through
supporting additional environmental assessments at
brownfield sites. More than 100 potential additional
brownfield sites exist and will be evaluated based on
access and control, estimates of cleanup costs, and
property value. Most of these areas have received
special designations (model industrial corridors, planned
manufacturing districts, and tax increment financing
districts).
To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:
•	Conduct environmental assessments at
approximately 25 priority brownfield sites
throughout the city;
•	Facilitate industrial and commercial
redevelopment at abandoned industrial sites; and
•	Continue to draw on a variety of funding
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-00-007
nil- a	ancl Emergency	. __
Protection Agency	Response (5105*0	Apr°°
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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mechanisms for assessments and other activities
necessary to redevelop brownfield sites.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-00-007
Apr 00

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