Innovative solutions have been required from the beginning, since the MVIC site posed a number of complicated challenges to development. Since the land had been an intensively used manufacturing site for more than 125 years and lay abandoned for an additional 20, it posed risks that have often kept entities from acquiring and redeveloping similar sites. In addition, the MVIC site was also located within the 100-year floodplain, the soil would not likely support building loads without pile foundations, and the extent of liability for environmental contamination was unknown. The City acquired the site knowing that success depended on cleaning up the existing contamination, bringing the development out of the flood plain, and restoring native flora and fauna to the banks of the Menomonee River. To create the "model Brownfields redevelopment", the City developed an aggressive redevelopment strategy, firmly rooted in three key tenants: (1) environmental protection; (2) economic development; and (3) social responsibility - all three of which were wound together in a sustainability theme. From an environmental perspective, this meant that the redevelopment had to be protective of human health and the environment and had to be done so in a sustainable manner. Aggressive targets of waste minimization/beneficial re-use, low carbon footprint, ecological/recreational/aesthetic enhancement, and overall environmental stewardship were established. These aggressive goals required true collaboration and innovation throughout all stages of planning, design, and construction. Innovations providing environmental solutions include the following:

• Proactive involvement of (and true collaboration with) local and statewide environmental agencies and innovative thinking facilitated management of asbestos-containing building debris onsite, saving over $10 million in offsite management and disposal costs and lowering risks to the environment by circumventing the need to load and haul the debris to a local disposal facility (this would have required thousands of truckloads).
• Use of excess highway excavation spoils, obtained through a creative agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), gave WisDOT a place to dispose of 700,000 cubic yards of fill that netted the MVIC project $1.5 million, raised the business park an average of 8 feet out of the 100-year floodplain, and increased the structural condition of the subsurface for development.
• Development and implementation of a focused demolition program that thoroughly investigated and identified and safely and successfully abandoned/abated/removed miles of subsurface utilities and vaults and demolished and recycled thousands of cubic yards of building pads and foundations, thus providing an environmentally secure and structural sound footprint for redevelopment.
• Onsite stabilization and final onsite placement of soils impacted with heavy metals. Beneficial re-use of onsite materials in the design and construction of a centralized subsurface stormwater reservoir/treatment area has saved precious development space, increased surface water runoff quality, created a recreational destination, and substantially increased natural resource value .
• Integration of park-space features on the surface of the stormwater facility to enhance the recreational greenspace of the development, implementation of creative greenspace planning for improved local and regional access to the river and trails, and riverbank restoration efforts led to over $120 MM in recreational, ecological, and aesthetic resource value.
• Establishment of a model developer agreement between the City and private developers to stipulate geotechnical and environmental responsibilities for all parties (establishing this agreement limits time spent on identical questions from numerous developers and provides additional assurance to the developer regarding existing site conditions).

Environmental conditions present at the time the City of Milwaukee obtained the property were documented in several site investigation/characterization reports and closure proposals submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Contaminated soil identified in these reports was remediated using a combination of excavation/offsite disposal, onsite stabilization, and onsite containment in a controlled (groundwater monitored) area. Groundwater monitoring is a component of ongoing site maintenance that will provide periodic "checks" that the human health and environmental conditions are meeting or exceeding requirements. In addition to improved soil and groundwater conditions, vastly improved river ecology was achieved once remediation was complete by exceeding stormwater discharge limits and zero direct surface water discharge via the innovative "stormwater park" facility. The stormwater park is a stormwater management facility but also a multiple-use public park. The restored, naturalized landscapes of the basins and the surrounding acreage create a setting for a park space that includes trails, court games, soccer fields and gathering spaces. In all, forty-five acres of wildlife habitats were established with native plants. Three-thousand feet of riverbank along the Menomonee River were restored, helping the habitat but also benefiting flood control management. Net environmental benefits analysis (NEBA) tools were used to baseline existing ecological, recreational, and aesthetic resource conditions prior to and after the development. The uplift in value was documented in excess of $120MM.

 

The remediation at the MVIC was not required under a consent order or other legal mandate-but it was performed to meet all applicable local and state-wide environmental requirements as detailed in an approved site "Remedial Action Plan", or "RAP". The RAP was developed and implemented in complete partnership with the regulatory agencies, special interests groups, and the community. Several types of contamination were present on the property inherited by the City:

• 120,000 cubic yards of demolished building debris (some asbestos material was identified)
• miles of subsurface utilities and structures-many impacted with petroleum products
   
• soil in the vicinity of a former onsite waste water treatment plant (WWTP) contaminated with petroleum products.
   
• an area of free product detected at a thickness of 4 feet
   
• pockets of soils impacted with heavy metals and chlorinated solvents

Final disposition of the building material was accomplished by engaging local and state agencies in a decision to allow onsite disposal/containment of this material. The building debris was incorporated into various greenspace features (e.g., onsite landscaped mounds, soccer fields, etc.) and encapsulated with an engineered cover to prohibit future movement or contact with the material.
Impacted soil was removed from a maximum depth of approximately 16 feet and from an area just less than 0.5 acres. A total of approximately 12,000 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil was sent to an offsite treatment facility and additional soil (with a lower degree of contamination) was excavated and placed into an onsite consolidation berm. 13,500 gallons of petroleum-based liquid were recovered.

Subsurface utilities encountered both across the parcel and during soil excavation at the WWTP were removed, crushed in place, and/or plugged, along with their permeable backfill, in order to prohibit movement of groundwater through and out of these zones and to provide a more suitable footprint for redevelopment. Due to the pervasiveness of the historical utilities entering the former WWTP area, a recovery/cut off trench was constructed downgradient of the WWTP and upgradient of the Menomonee River. The trench measures approximately 500 feet long by four to eight feet wide, 16 feet deep, and is equipped with 2 recovery sumps such that liquid petroleum product that enters the trench can be periodically removed and taken offsite. A clean cover of at least 2 feet in thickness was placed across the entire redeveloped area (and compacted to redevelopment specifications) after remediation was complete in order to prohibit direct contact of the historical soil present at the site.