Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Contact: Teri Hasbrouck
An Update of Regional Brownfield Program Developments
Breaking NEWS…
EPA Awards $71 Million to Help Brownfields Bloom into Productivity
Local Funding Available to Revitalize Industrial Sites
The cities of Clearwater, Tampa and the Clearwater Homeless Intervention Project (CHIP) have been selected to receive USEPA brownfields grants to help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use. (more)
EPA Grants to Help Revitalize and Redevelop Clearwater, Florida Brownfields
The City of Clearwater was selected to receive assessment grants totaling $400,000. Brownfields redevelopment will focus on the Clearwater Brownfields Area (CBA), which is home to the city's low-income residents. The CBA was once a thriving business center, but the economic base has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This decline has left a legacy of abandoned lands tainted by former gas stations, dry cleaning facilities, and print shops. When brownfields are assessed, the city will use this information to leverage investments in affordable housing and commercial and office space. Redevelopment is expected to provide economic and community development opportunities, create jobs, and increase property values. (more)
· Read more about Clearwater's record of successful Brownfield revitalization.
Clearwater Homeless Intervention Project Selected for Brownfields Cleanup Grant
The CHIP was selected to receive a cleanup grant for $200,000. Grant funds will be used to clean up the former Carpro property located on Cleveland Street in Clearwater. The site operated as a service station from 1958 until 1984 and then as an automotive repair and welding business. CHIP intends to redevelop the site with affordable housing, offices, and retail space. Site cleanup and redevelopment will spur adjacent redevelopment activities and enable CHIP to expand its social, medical, and housing services and programs. (more)
EPA Grants to Assist East Tampa Target Area
The City of Tampa was also selected to receive assessment grants totaling $400,000. The East Tampa Target Area is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. Historical development patterns resulted in numerous large, underused, and potentially contaminated sites in the area. The area is home to 25 illegal dump sites. Many of these blighted properties are in close proximity to residences. Assessment will help determine the potential and actual threats to public health and groundwater. The city is working to promote redevelopment in this area that will bring affordable housing, greenspace, and commercial and industrial facilities generating permanent jobs for area residents. (more)
Brownfield Fast Facts and Stats
· Definition: Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.
· 2007 Brownfield Award Statistics:
o 202 applicants were selected to receive 294 assessment, revolving loan fund, and cleanup grants.
o The $70.7 million program will provide 189 assessment grants, 92 cleanup grants, and 13 revolving loan fund grants.
· Quote: The EPA Brownfields Program empowers communities and stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. “By transforming thousands of blighted sites into engines of economic rebirth, EPA's Brownfields program is proving to be one of the greatest environmental success stories of the past decade,” said Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “These grants build on the federal government's commitment of handing down a healthier, more prosperous future to the next generation of Americans.”
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Pinellas County has Funding Available for Brownfield Environmental Assessments
Grant funds are still available for projects that qualify for redevelopment under the Brownfield Program. Successful redevelopment of inactive and underutilized properties is expected to result in local job growth, community investment, recreational opportunities, and an enhanced tax base to help fund neighborhood improvements.
For information about how your Pinellas County site can qualify for environmental assessment funding and Brownfield employment bonus tax rebates, please contact:
Teri Hasbrouck, Pinellas County's Brownfield Program Manager
· Email: THasbrouck@PinellasCounty.org
· Phone: (727) 464-7319
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