Brownfields

Success Story

EPA Grant Recipient:

City of Worcester

Grant Types:

Two EPA assessment grants totaling
$78,000

Current Use:
Baking Facility

Former Uses:

Steam Engine Manufacturing, Foundry

^—.	

Pies on the facility conveyor belt. (Photo credit: MassLive)

25 Southgate Street

Worcester, Mass.

Aerial view of newly redeveloped 25 Southgate Street
Facility. (Photo credit: Chacharone Properties)

An industrial site used for manufacturing since the 1800s has been cleaned
and redeveloped in the South Worcester Industrial Park, providing a 50,000-
square-foot new home for a century-old baking company.

The baking company was founded in 1924 by two Greek immigrants who
began by selling pies from horse-drawn carts on the streets of Worcester.
That company, which was family-owned for three generations, is now one of
the nation's largest pie bakeries and occupies a building on an 8-acre
industrial park that was made possible by funding from EPA, the state of
Massachusetts, and the City of Worcester.

When the company began searching for a new location close to its existing
work force, it found an ideal fit in a brownfields site in the South Worcester
Industrial Park. The pad-ready industrial park is the result of more than 20
years of effort by the City after it acquired 8 acres of blighted, abandoned
properties through tax title foreclosures and friendly acquisition. State and
federal grants combined with city funds paid to demolish buildings, conduct
environmental response actions, and create a space ready for light industrial
redevelopment.

Priming the Property for Redevelopment

A steam engine manufacturing company owned a part of the property in the
1800s. It was later acquired by another company that specialized in
manufacturing iron castings that operated for nearly 100 years, including
helping to supply the war effort in two world wars. Industrial operations
continued at the property until 1984. The City foreclosed on the property in
2004 as part of the creation of the South Worcester Industrial Park.

Concerns over potential contamination from historic manufacturing
operations were a significant obstacle to redevelopment. Funding from two
EPA Brownfields assessment grants was used to assess the property. In 2007,
$47,000 was used to assess the property for hazardous substances. In 2009,
$36,000 was used to investigate petroleum contamination. Among the
contaminants identified at the site were hydrocarbons, arsenic, and
polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs. Underground storage tanks
containing fuel oil were also found. The results of environmental assessment,
and the quantification of potential liabilities, were key in moving the
redevelopment forward.

&EPA

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency


-------
A look inside the baking facility. (Photo credit: MassLive)

Based on the information uncovered and site characterization developed
through the environmental assessment, additional state, local, and private
funds were invested to successfully redevelop the property,

MassDevelopment, the economic development arm of the State, provided
$100,000 for further assessment and cleanup. Infrastructure and other
improvements to the South Worcester Industrial Park were made possible
through the Massachusetts' MassWorks Program and a $3 million City bond.
The developer invested about $4.5 million in constructing the building, which
was then leased by the pie company. City Council members also approved a
tax plan for the property that reduces property taxes over 20 years. After the
pie company invested about $4 million for equipment, the new facility was
ready for production.

Today

In January 2017, the company also re-opened a neighborhood retail store at its
original Green Street location in the Canal District of Worcester, In September
of 2017, the company had their grand opening of the newly developed 50,000
square-foot facility on Southgate Street that produces over 52 million snack
pies per year.

In recognition of its successful expansion and continued commitment to the
City of Worcester, the company received the "Richard B. Kennedy 2017
Business of the Year Award" from the Worcester Regional Chamber of
Commerce.

As of 2023, there were 82 new full-time jobs created at the redeveloped
facility—in addition to 30 full-time jobs retained— many of which are local to
the City of Worcester. The City of Worcester has also used further EPA
Brownfields funding to assess and clean up other properties that the pie-baking
company currently uses, such as a cold storage facility and a new corporate
headquarters.

This brownfields success story resulted from the combined efforts of multiple
state, local, federal and private partners committed to cleaning the
environment, generating tax revenue, and creating jobs.

4 * [The company] has deep roots
in the City of Worcester and we
are pleased to have played a
role in facilitating their
expansion here in their
hometown. The new 50,000
square-foot facility in the South
Worcester Industrial Park would
not have been possible without
the support of the U.S. EPA
Brownfields Program and we
look forward to continued
success and partnership with
the EPA in redeveloping
brownfields sites across the

city."

Edward M. Augustus Jr.

Worcester City Manager

Then 2007	2009 2010	2017	Now

O o	o o	o	O

Phase 1	Phase 2	Cleanup	Redevelopment

Assessment	Assessment	Complete	Complete

For more information:

Visit the EPA Brownfields website at www.epa.gov/browrtfields or contact
Katy Deng at 617-918-1286 or Deng.Katy@epa.gov

EPA 901-F-24-003
August 2024

for informational use only - no endorsement intended


-------