Communities throughout the U.S. are embracing redevelopment initiatives that target mill sites. The most common are idled textile, lumber and steel mills located in communities throughout the South, New England, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. To date, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Brownfields Grant Program has contributed to the revitalization of approximately 355 mill sites.

In most cases, these mills are physically located in the heart of the community and are historically relevant, so redevelopment is seen as a potential for literally revitalizing entire communities. For smaller communities in states where the terrain is predominantly rural and riddled with idled mill sites, such as in New Hampshire, mill site redevelopments become more than just a project. Mill site redevelopments are a vehicle to economic development and healthier communities.

New Hampshire has a legacy of contaminated mill properties that carry with them a host of challenges. One challenge that haunts mill site redevelopment and generally all brownfields, has been rooted in overcoming local skepticism about the availability of brownfield resources (funds) to support assessments and cleanups.

“I do not think the concept of redeveloping mill sites in New Hampshire is any easier to approach than anywhere else in America,” says John Hayes, assistant executive director of the North Country Council. “Inventorying isn’t any easier either and most properties are hidden.”

Chart from U.S. EPA’s Report on Revitalizing America’s Mills.

Another challenge, notes Hayes, is initiating redevelopments that are not eligible for USEPA brownfield cleanup grants, generally due to ownership issues.

Fortunately, in New Hampshire, funding from the state voluntary cleanup program and targeted assessment programs provides ample support to address ineligible mill sites. The importance of state support for communities is compounded by the state’s unique tax structure. Having no state taxes, the common practice of allowing municipalities to abate back taxes on an abandoned property as additional incentive to redevelop becomes impossible. This means that towns are heavily dependent on funding awarded by state or federal brownfield programs.

Troy Mills
As the number of mill site redevelopment success stories begins to grow within the New Hampshire brownfield program, so too does the confidence in its structure. For example, in 2003, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services completed a site investigation of Troy Mills, a manufacturing complex located on a 19-acre parcel of land in the town of Troy. Throughout the 1800s, the Mills had been used to produce fitted horse blankets made from wool until it was converted into a producer of non-woven fabrics for automobiles in the early 1900s.

The initial brownfield financial assistance package of $84,000 to assess the contaminated property has since been parlayed into a $40 million development project. The once defunct property is now being turned into an active adult community replete with 120 housing units and a portion dedicated just to commerce.

A testament to the value of the state brownfield program, the Troy Mills project serves as an indicator of how private industry can benefit from brownfields as well.

As with most states, funding in New Hampshire is primarily allocated to eligible non-profits and municipalities. In order to make redevelopment attractive for private investors, though, New Hampshire offers a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). This allows developers to achieve a low-interest line of credit for bearing the financial burden of redeveloping a contaminated site. In the case of Troy Mills, there is expected to be a $600,000 line of credit extended to the private entity that takes on development of the property.

The Troy Mills site is just one of dozens of mill sites that state programs have supported on their paths back to reuse. States like New Hampshire are investing time as well as resources into mill site redevelopment.

“Over the last 10 years, New Hampshire’s brownfield program has been working diligently with the public and private sectors to revitalize properties all over the state,” says Mike Wimsatt, New Hampshire’s brownfield coordinator. “As a result of their successes, local communities and developers have come to trust our program and welcome our involvement. The early skepticism has given way to enthusiasm, and ‘brownfields’ has come to symbolize opportunity, rather than stigma.”

If the amount of support for mill site redevelopment in New Hampshire is representative of how such projects are being received across the country, there is no doubt that mill renovations will continue to be a growing trend.

Michael Bellamente is the brownfields program manager for NADO Research Foundation. Kelly Novak is a doctoral student and brownfields research assistant at Virginia Tech’s Urban and Regional Planning Center.