Brownfields

Success Story

Branch Street

Pawtucket, Rhode Island

The Branch Street site on the banks of the historic Blackstone River in
Pawtucket has evolved from an area overrun with invasive scrub and illegal
dumping to the home for 29 units of affordable housing. Pawtucket, which
launched the American Industrial Revolution in 1793 at Slater Mill, saw
industrial development for the next century and became an important
manufacturing center. For nearly 100 years, Branch Street was a flourishing
urban community and the perfect place for working families --close to jobs,
the river, major roadways, and Pawtucket's downtown.

The thriving textile industry eventually died down, leaving Pawtucket littered
with brownfields. Branch Street, like the rest of the city, began to decline in
the 1960s and '70s as industries closed and families moved out. Buildings
were abandoned or torn down, leaving vacant lots of contamination and
hazardous material. Before the cleanup and redevelopment, Branch Street's
vacant lots were covered in poison ivy, which grew around illegally dumped
mattresses, bags of garbage, and construction debris. With support from
EPA's Brownfields program, Pawtucket Central Falls Development
Corporation was able to take five of those vacant lots and transform them
into a thriving neighborhood.

Priming the Property for Redevelopment

Pawtucket Central Falls Development saw Branch Street as a perfect location
for much-needed affordable housing. In 2010, the Rl Department of
Environmental Management invested $77,000 to assess the property for
hazardous materials. This led to the discovery of contaminants, including
lead, arsenic, and manganese, as well as urban fill and chemicals from old
heating systems. Both the contamination and steep grade of the site added
challenges to the cleanup. However, Pawtucket Central Falls Development
created a unique cleanup plan that would leave the site ready for the
construction of affordable housing units. The organization received $600,000
in EPA funding, and work began in 2015 to remove and cover contaminated
soils. An area of the site was also dedicated exclusively to preserving
riverfront wetland.

Affordable housing units completed in 2017 with support

from EPA Brownfields grants

(Photo Credit: Pawtucket Central Falls Development)

The conditions of the site before cleanup included illegal

dumping and hazardous contamination

(Photo Credit: Pawtucket Central Falls Development)

&EPA

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency


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Aerial view of the Branch Street Redevelopment project

nearing the end of construction

(Photo Credit: Pawtucket Central Falls Development)

"The EPA Brownfield Cleanup
award was the catalyst for the
Branch Blackstone Development.

PCF Development was able to
leverage these grants and secure
over $11 million of affordable
housing funding which directly led
to the creation of these much-
needed homes and complete
revitalization of this formerly
derelict property".

Linda Weisinger
Executive Director - PCF Development

The contractor removed the hazardous materials and capped portions of the
site with building foundations and a parking lot, which ultimately reduced the
cost of building affordable housing. Soon after the $1.05 million cleanup was
finished in 2017, construction began on the affordable housing units. The
housing was funded by private and non-profit sources outside of the EPA
brownfields grant.

Today

From an abandoned brownfields site, an entirely new neighborhood has
been built. Four three-story buildings now line Branch Street with all 29 units
developed as affordable housing. The new development includes play spaces
and green space, which for the first time allows public access to the river
from Branch Street. The community now can access nature preserves as well
as the river overlook park.

The affordable housing units are a mix of one- to four-bedroom apartments
ranging from 600 square feet to 1,200 square feet. The apartments were
built with durable material to ensure the buildings thrive for years to come.
Energy efficient upgrades, such as high-efficiency heating systems and Energy
Star appliances, reduce utility prices for tenants, as well as their carbon
footprints. When the units became available, they were filled almost
immediately, showingjust how needed this project was in Pawtucket. In
October 2018, the city saw the completion of a decade-long journey to
revitalize this once hazardous site into clean, safe and affordable homes for
more than two dozen Rhode Island families.

Then

December 2010	April 2011

June 2017	October 2018

Now

Phase 1
Assessment

Phase 2
Assessment

Cleanup
Complete

Redevelopment
Complete

For more information:

Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/brownfields or contact
Jim Byrne at 617-918-1389 or Byrne.James@epa.gov

EPA 901-F-23-003
April 2023

for informational use only - no endorsement intended


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