Feature
'Spudsville' shows what can happen when you utilize brownfield tools
The word “brownfield” can send many developers scattering like dandelion fluff on a windy day. For some, it can be easier to run from a contaminated piece of property than to dive in and explore its real potential.
Yet financing tools exist that can greatly decrease—or even eliminate—the costs of a renewal project, and even help make that investment profitable. There are funds available for the assessment phases as well as the cleanup phase. You can buy environmental insurance to cover any surprises, such as an undetected underground storage tank. And state and federal tax credits can be utilized to decrease costs.
To illustrate the many options available and how they might be used, the folks at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have written a story about a hypothetical site, Standard Linen in downtown Spudsville.
The fictional story of Standard Linen actually rings quite real. This site, though it is in a prime business location, sat vacant for more than a decade, falling into disrepair. It was a neighborhood eyesore and, worse, the catalyst that led to the deterioration of the downtown. Once an industrial laundry, the site was feared to be contaminated with tetrachloroethene (PCE). A Phase I assessment later also turns up at least two USTs. Many developers backed away from the property. Why would anyone take on such a mess?
Using the story of Standard Linen, the Idaho DEQ shows how a developer can utilize resources to make a project happen: When the right tools are put to use and partnerships at the local, state and federal levels are formed, a developer doesn’t fight the brownfield battle alone. Standard Linen, when cleaned up and redeveloped, is transformed into an urban hotspot that leverages more economic development, an impact the entire community will feel.
And isn’t that a story we’d all like to see come true?
Read the story on the Building on Brownfields Web site at: http://www.buildingonbrownfields.com/additional/spudsville.htm.
Problem Solver
Urban renewal agencies a good fit for brownfields
For years, concerns of contamination at the former American Linen building in downtown Boise stymied any development efforts by the Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), the downtown’s urban renewal agency. CCDC wanted to transform the former industrial/commercial district into a mixed-use redevelopment that would revitalize that portion of downtown.
With the building sitting empty, CCDC reached out to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Turning the property around, CCDC argued, would serve as a vehicle for renewal for the district. In 2004, DEQ agreed to fund a property assessment to evaluate the groundwater quality beneath the site.
That was the beginning of a relationship and CCDC’s foothold in the brownfield arena. As cleanup got underway, CCDC was able to attract a developer. David Hale, owner of Hale Development, has big plans for the site, which he has named the Linen District. With the old American Linen building as the district’s anchor, a coffee shop, offices, restaurants and residential space will be added.
His interest in that property was jump-started by the CCDC, Hale says. CCDC’s work to get the Phase I and Phase II assessment work was done, and the property’s no-further-action determination, meant Hale felt he had green light to go ahead with the project without having to deal with the assessment phase.
Working with CCDC has been a great experience, Hale says. The organization introduced him to the potential of brownfields as redevelopment projects. Today, he sees the potential in these sites and isn’t intimidated by them.
In Idaho, this urban renewal agency has been a pioneer when it comes to brownfields redevelopment. In 2004, the agency received a $200,000 brownfield petroleum assessment grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It also has applied for a hazardous waste grant. The agency is currently working on assessments for some 10 sites, says Scot Oliver, project manager for CCDC.
An urban renewal agency can play a key role in brownfields redevelopment, says Keith Donahue, brownfields program manager for Idaho’s DEQ. Agencies such as CCDC have a solid understanding of their local communities and a strong interest in their development and growth. They’re able to identify and market these sites in their jurisdictions using their own tools, such as tax increment financing, as well as DEQ or EPA tools. They are able to build relationships with state and federal agencies. And, they are able to request site assessments to help facilitate private transactions at sites where the buyer has plans that fit well into the renewal agency’s master plans. (Private, for-profit parties can’t request assessments.)
Donahue expects to see more urban renewal agencies throughout Idaho following CCDC’s lead. Some already have. “To me, they’re a good fit,” he says.
The Portland Development Commission (PDC) is perhaps the most experienced urban renewal agency in EPA Region 10 when it comes to redeveloping brownfields. Working in brownfields is a natural fit for renewal agencies, agrees Dave Obern, construction services manager for PDC. Over the past 25 years, the PDC has become very sophisticated in these matters, he says.
The PDC consists of 11 renewal areas in Portland. It has a staff of 200 employees and a budget of about $200 million. The PDC is working on up to 160 sites at a time. The majority of that work is funded through tax increment financing, although it does receive some assistance from EPA. The PDC in 2005 won three separate EPA assessment and cleanup grants worth $800,000.
Typically, the PDC acquires a piece of property and then completes the Phase I and Phase II assessments. Remediation may take place. Then the property is offered for sale. “At the end of the day, we are trying to provide a site that’s ready for redevelopment,” Obern says.
By working with a renewal agency, developers know there is a high standard of due diligence, Obern says. They know the renewal agency--through a strong relationship with resources such as a state’s DEQ--has done its best to quantify the risk, if not totally minimize it, he says. (Lending institutions won’t work with a developer unless a site’s issues are quantified.)
In Boise, the CCDC also has been working to educate landowners, developers and the public about brownfields, as well as develop a site inventory. A public forum CCDC held last summer was an opportunity to inform the community of the opportunities available. The EPA grant has been critical in overcoming the perception that a brownfield is a major liability, Oliver says.
As a result, brownfield is no longer such a dirty word in his area, he adds. People have been “coming out of the woodwork” to purchase brownfield sites. Real estate is hot right now, and brownfields are typically in excellent locations. Fewer developers are shying away from this market.
The CCDC’s work in brownfields has led to another significant benefit: a whole new set of partnerships, says Oliver. “This opened up DEQ and EPA partnerships that we hadn’t been involved in before.”
Groundwork
Success through community involvement
Zoned heavy industrial, the former Chiloquin Forest Products Mill sits on 28 acres in a premier location in a small Oregon town. In fact, the Klamath County government, which foreclosed on the land in 1998, probably saw it as an opportunity to lure new business to town, says Chuck Wells, a member of the Central Klamath County Community Action Team.
However, the Chiloquin community has other plans for the site. People have spoken up, wanting to see the property used for a variety of purposes. And they don’t all focus on economic development.
The nearby Klamath Tribes would like a corner of the property on the banks of the Sprague River, once sacred fishing grounds, to be returned to the tribes. The tribes have proposed building a wellness center there. The local school district would like a small portion to be used for a softball diamond. The city of Chiloquin also has a request: It needs a few acres for a city settling pond.
Those requests still leave room for something that would benefit the entire community, such as walking and biking paths that lead into town, and even some residential or small business developments, Wells says. That piece of property could go a long way for the people of Chiloquin.
“It could become a more vibrant part of the community,” he says.
It’s important that communities be active in the redevelopment of brownfield sites, says Katie Robertson, cleanup project manager with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ). Garnering community support can bring much success to a project, she says.
The Chiloquin mill is a great example of how a community can jump aboard a brownfield project and influence the outcome. The Chiloquin site has used various techniques, from numerous public meetings to a Web site devoted to keeping the public informed, to raise community support.
“It has been a better project because of their involvement,” Robertson says.
Having an informed community also is a way to preempt problems that may arise. For example, the project called for the Oregon Department of Transportation to bring in 30,000 cubic yards of fill to the site, which is bordered by the town’s two schools. That’s a lot of trucks in and out of a school zone. The community was kept informed of the truck traffic and children’s safety was at the top of the priority list for ODEQ.
By keeping the community in the project’s loop, ODEQ has also been able to forge good relationships with the city and school district in Chiloquin and has maintained an open dialogue with the tribes, Robertson says. That’s important in any community, but especially in a smaller one. “In a rural community, you have a lot of people watching what you’re doing,” she says.
Lani Hickey, natural resources manager for Klamath County agrees. “They like to be kept informed,” Hickey says of the public. “And if they don’t know what’s going on, then you have problems.”
Among the tools used to gain community support were public meetings as well as planning charrettes. A charrette is a French word meaning “cart.” In the business world, a charrette refers to an intense work session, usually with workshops and open houses, that harnesses the talents and energies of all parties and results in a feasible plan for a project.
Usually, anyone with a stock in a property is invited to the charrette. That may include the property owner, state and federal officials, community associations, real estate agents and bankers, city representatives and residents. In the meeting, all those involved talk about the different ways to develop the property.
In Chiloquin, two charrettes were held. While the first focused on what was to become of the site once cleaned up, the second focused on the project’s financing. The Governor’s Economic Revitalization Team, which consists of representatives from several key state agencies, attended this second charrette.
Wells recognizes it can be difficult getting a community involved in these meetings. That’s why it’s important that officials do their best to get the word out about them. That also means making sure meeting times and dates are convenient for community members.
In an effort to keep the community abreast of the latest news from the project, technical documents are also available at the local library and online at http://www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/cu/sites/chiloquinmill.htm. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) even created a community-focused Web site for this project.
It would have been easy for the county government to decide on its own what was to become of the Chiloquin mill site; however, this is an issue of land-use planning, which the public should be involved in, Wells says.
And the public’s participation has been a much-encouraged thing. “I don’t think (the project) ever would have worked without the community involved,” Hickey says.
