Buffalo, N.Y.
The ongoing effort to improve and market a former industrial brownfield site in North Tonawanda received a boost when the National Grid in late September provided a $190,000 redevelopment grant to Lumber City Development Corp.
The funding will be used to support work at the 23-acre Buffalo Bolt Business Park, a business park along Oliver Street that was the former home of Buffalo Bolt Corp. and Roblin Steel.
With the grant and other major funding sources, Buffalo Bolt Business Park will eventually be home to light industrial and manufacturing businesses.
Lumber City Development Corp. develops and implements programs, projects and activities to create or stimulate economic and community development in the City of North Tonawanda.
National Grid’s Brownfield Redevelopment program provides grants to fund utility-related infrastructure improvements and other costs that are necessary to redevelop brownfield sites or vacant buildings. More information about National Grid’s economic development programs is available at www.shovelready.com.
Source: Bizjournals.com
Portland, Ore.
The redevelopment of a 33-acre Zidell property on Portland's south waterfront is being perceived as an opportunity to test green ideas on a large scale. The soil on much of Zidell's south waterfront property was contaminated by industrial pollution.
The company has removed or contained contaminated soil to keep it from seeping into groundwater and the Willamette River. A Zidell spokeswoman says now the company is working with planners to install green roofs and lots of green space.
Geraldine Moyle, a project manager for the Portland Development Commission, told OPB that the group is looking at the potential for renewable energy and graywater recycling systems that would serve the neighborhood. "Exploring systems that serve multiple buildings at once and can be more efficient in how they pull energy or water off the current systems and then use them at a district level and multiple buildings at a time is something we're exploring at this time," Moyle said.
The Environmental Protection Agency sees green potential in the site, as well, as the agency has offered its own experts to maximize the benefits of green roofs, rain gardens, and bioswales to soak up storm water. EPA stated that there's a great deal of potential at the site to use green infrastructure because it's so large. The incorporation of green infrastructure appears to be a feasible opportunity.
EPA is hoping the city of Portland can apply what it learns at the Zidell site to the redevelopment of the Portland Harbor Superfund site.
Source: OPB
Vermont
EPA announced that Vermont is the recipient of nearly $1.5 million in EPA brownfields grants. The funds will go to six separate entities and are a combination of assessment, cleanup and revolving loan fund (RLF) grants.
The Rutland Regional Planning Commission is the recipient of a $200,000 assessment grant that will help assist cities and towns throughout southwestern Vermont. Rutland RPC has been a brownfields grantee since 2003, and with the latest award, the organization has now received $1.6 million in Brownfields funding.
The next two grantees are nonprofit organizations receiving $200,000 a piece in cleanup grants. The Springfield Regional Development Corporation will use their funds to to remediate environmental contamination at the former Jones & Lamson Plant 1 site. This funding is being combined with two additional cleanup subgrants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
These subgrants, funded by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, bring the total brownfields cleanup funding leveraged for this project to over $775,000. The Bellows Falls Historical Society is the second grantee to receive the $200,000 cleanup grant. The organization plan to use these funds to continue their efforts toward completing the Bellows Falls Historic Riverfront Park and Trail System. This represents the second clean grant the Historical Society has received, and funding from the grant will go towards Phase II of this environmental cleanup and restoration project.
Two other grantees receiving supplemental funding for their on-going Revolving Loan Fund programs include: The Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, which is receiving $400,000 in supplemental funding, bringing their Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grant to nearly $1.8 million.The additional funding will continue to go towards cleanup and redevelopment projects in their region, including sites such as the former Perkinsville School in Weathersfield.
In addition, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development is receiving $450,000 in supplemental funding to bring their Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grant to $2,450,000. This funding will continue to go towards cleanup and redevelopment projects throughout Vermont, including sites such as the Prospect Street Redevelopment project in White River Junction.
The goal of EPA Brownfields grants is to lead to the clean up & sustainable redevelopment of Brownfields sites, thus improving the economy and quality of life in U.S. communities. The funding is part of more than $17 million in EPA Brownfields investments across the six New England states announced by EPA in 2012.
Source: VTdigger.org
East Lansing, Mich.
Of seven major development projects waiting to rise in Lansing in 2009, four of them—Capitol Club Tower, City Center Studios, Lansing Gateway and SOBI Square—never got off the ground.
According to City Pulse, the other three — Pat Gillespie’s Market Place and Ball Park North projects and the Lawton Group’s The Lenawee (now called Reutter Park Place) — are still waiting to be built.
Eight projects are at various stages in the road to completion. The list of major projects is not complete in light of major uncertainties: There’s still the prospect of developing up to 120 acres of the former Waverly Golf Course in Lansing Township, for which no plan has surfaced.
The list also includes the vacant entryway into REO Town where the Deluxe Inn once stood: Two years ago, local developers unveiled a $30 million vision for the property that’s owned by the Ingham County Land Bank. Most recently, it’s been the site of various art events.
In Lansing Township, the government is partway through a public/private development at Eastwood Towne Center; in REO Town, the Lansing Board of Water & Light is well along on its $182 million co-generation power plant, with an expected completion next summer. A legal battle of whether the city of Lansing can partner with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to build a downtown casino is also a challenge being faced in the city, and will likely take several years for this to come to fruition.
Source: City Pulse (East Lansing, Mich.)
Milwaukee, Wis.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Susan Hedman today joined Mayor Tom Barrett at the Century City business park on the west side of Milwaukee to announce brownfield grants totaling $1.3 million to redevelop contaminated properties, create employment opportunities and provide job training.
"These EPA grants are an investment in Milwaukee's future,” said Hedman. “They will be used to make the environment healthier and the economy stronger.”
"A century of industrial work left this land with real issues that had to be addressed before we could bring new jobs to this location," Mayor Barrett said. "The EPA has been a strong partner in our efforts."
“We take pride in our success helping Wisconsin communities revitalize old brownfield properties,” said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. “So it’s very exciting to see the progress at Century City and we look forward to a future for Milwaukee that includes a renewed and economically vibrant 30th Street Corridor.”
Century City is the 84-acre city-owned business park where Tower Automotive once produced auto frames, military equipment and electric motors. The City's redevelopment authority will receive a $400,000 brownfield grant to clean up petroleum contamination at Century City, bringing the total of EPA brownfield funding for this site to $2.35 million.
In addition EPA is awarding the City of Milwaukee:
$200,000 for environmental job training. The City will use this funding to train at least 80 Milwaukee residents for environmental remediation work and other green jobs.
$200,000 to clean up hazardous substances at the Esser Paint site at 1542-46 North 32nd St. and 3131 W. Galena St. The former paint and stained glass manufacturing complex has been vacant since 1999 and is contaminated with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and other substances. The Esser Paint site is part of the 30th St. Industrial Corridor, a historic industrial and residential area on the near west side that includes Century City.
$500,000 for a Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund to provide loans to clean up contaminated sites in Milwaukee. When borrowers repay these loans, funds will be available to clean up other sites. This will provide an ongoing source of capital to reduce contamination and blight in Milwaukee.
In 2012, EPA brownfield grants totaled approximately $69 million nationwide. Since 1998, EPA has awarded over $15 million in brownfield grants to Milwaukee.
Source: eNews Park Forest
