Technical Assistance Success Stories | EPA #560F23291 March 2023 Planning for Sustainable Brownfield Redevelopment FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS - BELLOWS FALLS ISLAND AREA (EPA REGION 1) SITE INFORMATION • Community: Bellows Falls-Town of Rockingham, Vermont • Local project lead: Town of Rockingham • Former use: Industrial • Future use: Mixed-Use • Brownfields technical assistance: Funding/financing analysis for redevelopment of the Bellows Falls Island Area PROJECT BACKGROUND The Town of Rockingham, VT, recently completed an Areawide Plan (AWP) for the Island Area, which is a 47-acre industrial section of Bellows Falls that is located across a canal from the historic downtown, Existing land uses in the AWP area are varied and include commercial and industrial, a public park and greenway trail, a passenger train station, a rail line and rail yard, a welcome center, a United States Post Office, a Hydroelectric power plant, a canal and river, three major bridges, 21 Island Street (a completed brownfield cleanup site), and other brownfield sites, The AWP outlines a conceptual plan for redeveloping the area into a walkable neighborhood that includes light industrial uses as well as residential, a renovated passenger rail station, a public use trail, streetscapes, and other amenities, PROJECT CHALLENGE The Town of Rockingham needed technical assistance (TA) to better understand the potential for new tax revenue that may be generated from the proposed AWP uses. The funding and financial analysis under the TA found that a 12-year buildout of development proposed by the AWP would generate approximately $3.2 million in new taxes. However, $77 million in new investment would be needed to implement the development, and the additional costs of public infrastructure to support the development was unknown. HOW EPA HELPED In 2022-2023, the U.S. EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) provided TA to the town to support a funding and financial analysis for redevelopment of the Bellows Falls Island Area. The TA included the following support: • Preparing a Financial Model (sitewide): A conceptual financial proforma was prepared to analyze the potential for new tax revenue that may be generated from the implementation of the AWP. The Financial Model was designed to be "evergreen" so that it can be updated as plans development scenarios change to analyze development costs and financial feasibility, • Preparing a Financial Model (site specific): Conceptual financial proformas were created for three parcels using specific financial and buildout scenarios. Specific financial gaps were identified for each site using reuse scenarios that included residential, residential mixed use, and light industrial. • Developing a Financial Strategy: Sources of public financing were identified to help support the redevelopment, including Low- Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) that may be used to reduce the financing gap for specific development projects. As development proceeds, tax incremental financing can be examined as a potential funding source for future infrastructure development. COMMUNITY'S NEXT STEPS • Consider reaching out to private and non-profit developers that specialize in LIHTC and NMTC financing to determine initial interest in the Island Area. • Continue site specific reuse planning for high priority sites to better understand opportunities and constraints to development. • Consider prioritizing sites for future development, leverage grants and public financing tools, further analyze the need and costs to improve public infrastructure and implement zoning changes that allow for mixed-use development, • Use the financial models to test additional assumptions and reuse scenarios to assess cost feasibility of future brownfield redevelopment projects, Questions? Please contact EPA Region 1: Jessica Dominquez Figure 1: Canal and 0 Bridge Street, Bellows Falls ------- |