Feature
Sometimes a Brownfield Is Only Skin Deep
Sometimes a brownfield is just a piece of property with a bad reputation: The suspected contamination is worse than the real thing. But one has to dig below the surface to discover the depth of damage and figure out a new use for the land.
Such is the case with the American Linen property in downtown Boise. The two-story brick building and adjacent warehouse long sat empty—one of many vacant properties in what was once a bustling area of cleaning businesses and light industrial manufacturing.
What held the Grove Street area back while the rest of Boise boomed was the very real threat of chemical contamination. Yet Boise’s brownfield was only skin deep, making it possible for an interested developer to become an active one.
“It was more a matter of perception,” says Keith Donahue, brownfields program manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). “People were worried.”
Developers interested but dubious
It wasn’t that developers weren’t interested. Many made inquiries about the property, particularly as Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), Boise’s urban renewal agency, marketed this down-in-the-mouth section of town.
But fears lingered that the chemicals once used by the linen supply company had leached into the ground and posed an ongoing hazard. Much of the concern centered on a chemical compound known as tetrachloraethylene (PERC or PCE), which was frequently used to clean heavily soiled clothing. Another worry was that the property once housed underground storage tanks filled with diesel fuel for delivery trucks and harsh solvents for spot-cleaning difficult stains.
The only way to know for sure meant sampling groundwater and soils below the surface. So the CCDC reached out to Idaho’s DEQ to get the job done. The DEQ’s brownfields team put together an assessment to evaluate the soil and groundwater quality.
The results were better than expected. It turns out American Linen isn’t the source of contamination and the low level of chemical pollutants coming onto the property don’t pose a significant environmental threat.
That’s often the case, according to Donahue, whose brownfields program launched just a year and a half ago.
“In the majority of sites, more often than not it’s just a stigma,” he says. “The best brownfields are the ones where you don’t find a problem!”
From hot spots to hotspot
Even with the good news, in American Linen’s case, the brownfields team had to work fast. The CCDC had lined up an interested developer but needed to have the assessment finalized in just about 45 days.
It helped that it was a relatively small site and “we knew what we were looking for,” Donahue says, adding, “We streamline everything and do it as fast as possible. We also find the funding to get it done.”
These days, the old American Linen property is being looked at as Boise’s next cultural and artistic hotspot.
A recent article in The Idaho Statesman showcased developer David Hale’s vision of turning the old American Linen building into an area landmark and the anchor for an entire development. Hale even hopes to furnish the Grove Street area with a new name, the Linen District, akin to Portland’s hip Pearl District.
Hale’s plans call for redeveloping a six-block area into a mecca for restaurants, funky art galleries and urban-style cafes. Already, several businesses have arranged to relocate or open new shops there.
None of it would have been possible without the state’s DEQ brownfields team helping to assess the site—and finding the perceived pollution problems didn’t really exist.
Groundwork
Where to start your search for brownfields funding
Start at the end. That’s the advice of Karen Homolac, when asked how to find federal funds for brownfields cleanup.
In other words, think beyond the contamination. “Don’t get caught up in thinking 'I’ve got a brownfield and I’ve got to find specific brownfields funding,'” advises Homolac, Regional Coordinator and Brownfields Coordinator for Capital Projects Division, Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. Instead, do end use planning. Starting with what you want to accomplish with your project helps you be creative when looking for money.
For example, if it’s an infrastructure project, that might make you eligible for certain funds. If you want to build a community center, that opens up another door of possible money sources. If you can argue that eliminating a brownfield will eliminate the source of a plume and therefore non-source pollution, you gain yet another funding resource. Your end use is key because it will drive what kind of federal funding you’re eligible for.
Looking beyond the EPA
Not that traditional EPA brownfields funding doesn’t exist. It does. But it’s limited and can be complicated. And it’s not an easy option if you’re a for-profit business or a private property owner. That’s because EPA money is intended for communities, counties, states and nonprofit organizations, yet even those nonprofits must look beyond the EPA.
Other resources are available. A brownfields project is a redevelopment project, and that means clean up is just one part that needs financing. You have more federal funding options available as a result, options like the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
For federal funds, start with the state Your initial homework shouldn’t be going online to look for cleanup funds, however. Instead, spend that time figuring out who’s assisting with funding at your state or local government level.
“It’s not that hard to tap into federal funds; you just have to know how to do it,” says Homolac. That’s where your state or local brownfields people come in. They’re involved with economic and community development, and it’s their job to stay on top of the different funding sources, not just brownfield. They can help you look for federal funds, and state and local options as well.
And if you’re a private property owner or part of a for-profit organization, you automatically start at the state level because federal funds aren’t meant for you. However, it is possible for you to access them working through your state. Look for more information about tapping into state funding and resources in next month’s issue.
To find your brownfields representative, start with your state’s Web site:
- Alaska: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/csp/brownfields.htm
- Idaho: http://www.deq.state.id.us
- Oregon: http://www.econ.state.or.us
- Washington: http://www.cted.wa.gov/brownfields
