JfcL Land & Community Revitalizatlon BROWNFIELDS SUCCESS IN NEW ENGLAND MANCHESTER STREET PARK LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS Property Details Property Address: 77 Manchester Street, Lawrence, MA 01841 Property Size: 5 acres Former Use: Industrial trash to electricity plant Contaminants Found: Arsenic, Dioxin, Benzo(a)pyrene Current Use: Public Park Current Owner: City ofLawrence Project Partners Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), City of Lawrence, Covanta Energy, Groundwork Lawrence, State of Massachusetts Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) Grant, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funding Details Urban Self-Help Program (PARC) from EOEEA: $500,000 City CDBG Matching Funds for PARC Grant: $161,689 EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant: $200,000 City CDBG Matching Funds for EPA Grant: $40,000 Urban River Visions Grant from EOEEA: $75,000 City CDBG Funds for Final Design and Project Management: $ 134,602 City CDBG Funds for Community Garden Beds: $3,000 Total Funding to Date: $1,114,291 Project Highlights • Redeveloped former industrial site into a five-acre community park • Part of a larger effort to clean up Lawrence, leveraged more than $3.7 million to date city wide • Continued upkeep and beautification of the park is shared between local volunteers and the city - 30 community garden beds recently installed at the park Motivation for Redevelopment: Located in the most densely populated section of Lawrence, Massachusetts, an environmental justice community, the former Covanta property was an eyesore for local residents and took up valuable space in the Arlington neighborhood. In 2002, as a part of a larger city-wide effort, the City of Lawrence was awarded a $75,000 Urban River Visions grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA). Urban River Visions grants are awarded to communities to work with design firms and create charrettes for redevelopment of their waterfront properties. Through the charrette process, the city identified the former Covanta property as an area for a potential park within a network of parks and trails called the Spicket River Greenway. Property History: For almost 100 years, the former Covanta property served as a supplemental electrical power plant for the industrial mills in Lawrence. Resting on the banks of Stevens Pond, the property originally operated as a coal fired power plant and was later converted into an Energy from Waste facility. The process took municipal trash, then incinerated it to produce electricity. For 20 years, Covanta Energy operated the facility and produced electricity for the City ofLawrence. In 1998, the plant closed, and the incinerator was demolished and limited cleanup activities were performed. Rather than selling it for commercial or industrial reuse, Covanta desired it be made available for public space. In 2008, the city purchased the facility for $1.00 and began the process of revitalizing the property with the recommendations from the design charrettes. Project Results: The city used its EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant awarded in 2008 to clean up soils contaminated with arsenic, dioxin, and benzo(a)pyrene. A portion of the property was capped and covered with clean soil to prevent further contamination. The city redeveloped the property as the Manchester Street Park, making use of a variety of green building and landscaping techniques including permeable pavement, playground equipment, a community garden, bioswales and greenspace. A gazebo was constructed on the property using a previously existing building foundation. Working with Groundwork Lawrence, a local nonprofit enviromnental advocacy organization. Manchester Street Park has now become an endpoint to a local greenway walking trail that spans across the city. Development of the park and greenway is a great improvement for the densely populated Arlington neighborhood, providing local residents with more than five acres of open space and access to Stevens Pond. Project Timeline 2002 Urban River Visions Grant Awarded 2008 EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant Awarded 2008 PARC Grant Awarded February 27, 2009 Accepted Bids for Design March 5, 2009 Project Awarded to developer David W. White and Son, Inc. July 2009 Project Completion October 2009 Local Contact: Maggie Rosinski, Project Officer, Lawrence Community Development • (978) 620-3535 ------- |