If you think “Brownfields” might not sound like the nicest place for a renovation – you’d be right (kind of).
Participating in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program is a pretty big undertaking, but it helps give new life to potentially environmentally contaminated areas.
The phrase “potentially environmentally contaminated” doesn’t necessarily mean the Brownfield property was a nuclear test site. ☢ A Brownfield is an underutilized or abandoned property, whose redevelopment may be complicated by the potential or current presence of contamination.
When local marketing agency Brains on Fire set their sights on the old adjoining Mutual Home Store buildings on Pendleton St, they didn’t realize the site had once been a dry cleaner. The grounds were soaked with unsafe chemicals that had been dumped over the years. (Their motto “The grass is greener where you water it” couldn’t be more true here – see photos from their renovation).
A lot of old textile mill properties have been abandoned since the industry declined, mostly because developers aren’t sure if the land or building is contaminated and finding out means performing a costly environmental assessment.
Why not just peace out and look for another building?
Brownfields redevelopments help our community:
- Use infrastructure that already exists (a.k.a. no new construction)
- Prevent urban sprawl
- Create new jobs + tax dollars that wouldn’t exist if the land was sitting idle – a $58,400 EPA Brownfields investment towards a QuikTrip on Rutherford Rd led to $4 million in capital improvements + 20 new jobs
A prime example of a Brownfields site that was totally transformed: Fluor Field, and much of the surrounding residential + commercial spaces.
The stadium where we spend our summer nights started as an empty + underutilized property, and helped spearhead the West End’s revitalization thanks to City and private investors who took on the challenge.
But Brownfields projects take a while. Local governments start with an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant to determine if contaminants exist, plan and take inventory, and perform community outreach (over the span of 3 years, with up to $300,000 annually to local governments + $600,000 for coalitions for assessment, no match needed).
If contamination is confirmed, there are several resources available to assist, including an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant available to local governments and non-profit entities (3 years, up to $200,000 per parcel for clean-up activities, local governments or non-profits provide a 20% match).
Another resource is the EPA Brownfields Clean-Up Revolving Loan program. In South Carolina, the loan fund is administered by the Catawba Regional Council of Governments. The Revolving Loan fund can be accessed to assist with clean-up in an amount up to $1 million.
On our local level, Brownfields Redevelopment projects get support from City departments, SCDHEC (who creates Voluntary Cleanup Contracts to allow potential buyers to purchase contaminated properties with certain liability protections), the S.C. Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (which has $4.25 million available to loan for work done under a Voluntary Cleanup Contract), Brownfields Task Force, and private consultants.
Greenville has received $1.8 million from the EPA since 2000, and was recently awarded a $300K assessment grant for 2018 – 2021, which will begin work in October. The west side of Greenville is the priority area, and specifically areas that will be redeveloped within a year.
Brownfields Redevelopments have done a lot so far for GVL: besides Fluor Field, the Kroc Center and the AJ Whittenberg Elementary School were both Brownfields sites. The Kroc Center’s overflow parking lot on S. Hudson Street was built with the assistance of the Brownfields Program and a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Our beloved Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail was transformed from a Brownfields site to a Greenway.
Lake Conestee’s waters were full of arsenic, pesticides, and carcinogenic chemicals thought to be runoff from former textile mills, but thanks to a DHEC Voluntary Cleanup Contract, recently won a Phoenix Award from the EPA, which honors Brownfields project that have a major community impact.
Land around the future Unity Park may also be Brownfields, so the City will be able to work with property owners to do environmental assessments.
Here’s more in detail from the EPA about the Brownfields Redevelopment process, from pre-development to opening day.
Information on the City of Greenville’s current grant funding can be found here.
