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  • 27 Feb 2018 4:39 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Brett HallFriday, CNYcentral (NYrk

    In an area where many relics of Syracuse's industrial past have been washed clean of their former appearance, a former washing machine factory lies dormant and decaying with no immediate sign of change. 

    The 261,800 square foot facility has an address of 128 Spencer street placing it on the edge of Syracuse's Inner Harbor, two blocks from Destiny USA. While other former factories surround the property, many of them have been converted into loft apartments where the younger community has moved in.

    "I can see it right from my living room window it’s not the most best thing to look at during the day," Norah Hoodmaker, who lives across Spencer Street, said. "It’s creepy looking."


    For the entire article, see

    http://cnycentral.com/news/tear-it-down-fix-it-up/tear-it-down-or-fix-it-up-dec-terminates-clean-up-agreement-at-abandoned-syracuse-factory

  • 26 Feb 2018 10:17 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Steve Dwyer

    Transportation-oriented investments come in many shapes and sizes. The home run concepts might be found in a multi-use commercial/residential play that's positioned in close proximity to light rail or bus routes in an urban setting-or even include a modest but effective bicycle-sharing program to enable folks to get from point to point on a moment's notice. 

    A basic trail system constitutes a Transit Oriented Development (TOD)  component. However, it doesn't get the props as being a real game-changer in the context of "compelling redevelopment" project. 

    Of course, it depends on whom you ask. This passive TOD application can be equally as powerful to drive social-oriented impact and regenerate quality of life status. It's a simple yet effective outlet for residents to get out and walk, run or bike the trails. And, if a single, one-dimensional trail can be extended over time, it adds more power to point-to-point connectivity. 

    We witnessed an example of passive TOD relating to a 150-acre brownfield in West Bethlehem Township, PA where a mile-long grass hiking trail was unveiled recently. For one, the new-use helped shed a reputation of blight, as the footprint once housed a mine refuse dump and sediment ponds. It had sat dormant for years. Now, it's perceived by the public and local stakeholders as an asset. And, it's acclaimed to be a textbook example of what happens when land remediation is executed properly.

    Another example is Charles Town, WV, where the community embarked on an initiative to transform waterfront brownfields on the Evitts Run Creek into a new park, recreation and nature area with innovative green infrastructure helping buttress a distressed neighborhood. 

    Key components of the "Evitts Run Creek Green Infrastructure Park" is marked by an on-line wet stormwater lake and park space dubbed "Lake Charles." This plan included: planting of hundreds of urban trees and shrubs, removal of six acres of long-abandoned parking lot at a long-defunct creekside factory area, deployment of pervious parking and trail facilities, and creation of a native nursery to support future green infrastructure efforts in the watershed. 

    In West Beth, PA, land was reclaimed and repurposed in an area where coal mining was pervasive more than a quarter-century ago. The heavy lifting began in 2003 when West Bethlehem purchased the land from Bethlehem Steel Co. for $40,000, one year after the PA Department of Environmental Protection ordered the steel firm to spend $45 million to remediate six coal mines and clean up its waste pile and sediment ponds. A 12-inch-thick layer of topsoil was put down to seal the refuse area.

    West Bethlehem's agreement with the steel company mandated land to be made available to the public. The township has done just that-removing undergrowth around the pond, making it more accessible to those who fish, and forging an agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to allow hunters on a permission basis.

    This transformation from brownfield to vibrant recreational space isn't complete, as there are more assets to be added to the existing footprint. The township also is formulating plans to plant donated trees and stock pheasants there, enhancing the property even more. The signature feature is the trail that offers impressive views and really has been a social impact, as well as a recreational/transportation boon. 

    Similar to the positive reaction in West Virginia, the West Beth project appears to have additional possibilities for expansion. Passive recreational decision on a property might not pump revenue into local or state coffers like multi-use commercial and residential projects do. But they sure do pump hope and sense of civic pride into the citizenry.

  • 21 Feb 2018 4:44 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Daniel Schemer, South Coast Today (MA)

    On Orchard Street in New Bedford’s South End a brand new Family Dollar has sprung up.

    “It’s a good location to have one. I think this store will do well here,” said Cheri Santos, the store manager, at the store’s grand opening last weekend.

    Of greater significance than having a new retail establishment in this part of the city, however, is the actual location itself.

    When standing in the building’s parking lot, across from Ashley Park, one is still greeted by a full view of what is referred to as the Goodyear Parcel, where the mammoth Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant once stood. Now all that remains is 10 acres of fenced-in dirt stone, and debris, representing the residuals of this part of New Bedford’s once prominent industrial era.


    For the entire article, see

    http://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20180210/south-end-development-spurs-hope-for-long-vacant-brownfield

  • 21 Feb 2018 4:43 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Environmental due diligence is a critical component of any property transaction where potential environmental risks are a concern—minimize risks and protect yourself from...

    by Sylvia Carignan, BNA Environmental Due Diligence Guide

    President Donald Trump’s sweeping infrastructure plan proposes to rewrite long-standing funding options for cleaning up brownfields and superfund sites.

    The plan, released Feb. 12, seeks new ways to provide federal funding for contaminated site cleanup, potentially speeding progress toward redeveloping those sites. At the same time, the president’s budget plan would slash the traditional funding route for brownfields.

    The proposed infrastructure reforms would create new loan and grant programs but also require legislative action.

    For the entire article, see

    https://www.bna.com/trump-proposes-new-n57982088681/

  • 21 Feb 2018 3:45 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by TIM FAULKNER, ecoRI (RI)

    Cleaning polluted land isn’t cheap, but thanks to a federal and state program funds are available to return some of these brownfield sites to commercial and residential use.

    On Feb. 9, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) awarded $3.7 million to nine polluted sites for clean up and redevelopment. One of the sites will be home to a new facility for Farm Fresh RI, the nonprofit distributor of local food and farmers market manager headquartered in Pawtucket.

    The lot at 498 Kinsley Ave., in the Valley neighborhood, is the remnant of a massive mill fire in 2015 that destroyed the building. The 3.3-acre site will now host the Rhode Island Food Hub, a mixed-use facility that will serve as a distribution center for local food and produce. It will offer food production facilities, nutrition education, job training, and retail markets. Farm Fresh will occupy half of a new 60,000-square-foot building. Other food-related businesses will rent the rest.

    The Food Hub site is across the street from another brownfield success story, The Steel Yard, the industrial arts studio that received $2.1 million in brownfield funds in 2010 to remediate a 3.8-acre site. The Steep Yard hosted the announcement for the program's latest grant recipients.


    For the entire article, see

    https://www.ecori.org/smart-growth/2018/2/12/37-million-awarded-to-brownfield-cleanup-and-food-hub

  • 21 Feb 2018 3:26 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Steve Dwyer

    So, you're a metropolitan area seeking a viable waterfront redevelopment opportunity. The options are several, including a mixed-use residential and commercial combination. It's certainly a prevalent one with much upside.

    You can draw a bead on yet another potential game plan-transportation hub providing waterway facility transportation infrastructure within the U.S. import/export market.

    It's vital as businesses rely on U.S. shipping ports to acquire raw materials or to ship finished products to markets around the world. In the Northeast, smaller metro areas have a chance to compete with the likes of Boston, Philadelphia or New York City by marketing themselves as a less congested more fluid alternative to move freight to far-away lands.  

    You become a gateway to connect producers and consumers to the rest of the world via your investment in private/public terminals and manufacturing areas owned by the port and leased to private entities.

    It creates a large number of jobs and infuses strength into a local, even regional, economy: Direct employment opportunities encompass a wide range of position with maritime service firms, surface transportation firms, shippers, consignees, governmental agencies, and professional service firms.

    Some caveats creep into the picture when considering an investment of this magnitude: 

    • The size of today's freighters has expanded to the point where certain ports can't accommodate these mega-ships. Large engineering investments, such as dredging and expanding, must be made to make it fly. 
    • Environmentally, there the potential scenario of answering to Coastal Zone requirements, which are designed to protect the natural environment of the coastal zone areas by prohibiting new heavy industry that doesn't conform to the law.
    • Permitting is a third caveat. Rivers and waterways might have to be dredged to allow for the construction of new berths. "Anytime you are talking about creating port facilities, the biggest problem is permitting," said an official who was involved with working on the Port of Wilmington's auto berth project on the Delaware River in New Castle County, Delaware, that opened 16 years ago. "The main thing is permitting for dredging for the docks, both state and federal."

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicates that the permitting process depends on location, site conditions and other factors. When a developer has firmed up preliminary plans, the Corps works with the applicant to adjust plans if necessary. The Corps is known to approve more than 90% of applications.

    Back to the accommodation aspect: The shipping industry has been greatly transformed with the advent of a new global fleet of mega-ships that can carry almost double the containers of the previous generation of ships. These vessels have a capacity of 7,500 to 12,000 container units as measured by the standard 20-foot container. Older generation vessels could handle 6,000 to 9,000 20-foot equivalent container units.

    You might be a decent-size city in the Northeast, but accommodating the modern-day shipping industry is not a given for certain cities not named Boston, Philadelphia or New York City. If you are considering a port expansion opportunity to spark economic growth, dip your toe into the water and ponder the three caveats first before diving in headlong. 

  • 16 Feb 2018 11:58 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Jeff Mill, Middletown Press (CT)

    Residents later this month will be asked to approve the purchase of a 5.28-acre parcel of land along the Connecticut River.

    The Board of Selectman voted Wednesday to send the proposal to a Feb. 28 town meeting.

    The property, comprising three contiguous parcels - 222, 232 and 248 Brownstone Ave. - is the site of the former Connecticut Tar & Asphalt Co. It has been vacant for the past decade.

    For the entire article, see

    https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Portland-voters-to-decide-purchase-of-riverfront-12567833.php

  • 07 Feb 2018 2:11 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    by Brian Nearing, Albany Times-Union (NY)

    Cohoes - A not-for-profit Boston developer is eyeing a $10 million apartment project off New York 787 in Cohoes.

    Plans by Community Builders, which five years ago redeveloped former mill worker housing on North Mohawk Street in Cohoes, call for 39 apartment units on a vacant former industrial property on Saratoga Street just north of the offices of Mohawk Paper.

    The developer also expects to spend about $1.5 million to investigate and clean pollution from the 1.7-acre parcel, including toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury and barium.

    For the entire article, see

    http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Apartments-planned-for-Cohoes-brownfield-12544015.php


  • 07 Feb 2018 2:10 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    MassHousing commits $17.1 million to assist Trinity Financial in creating 102 homes.

    by Donna Kimura, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE

    MassHousing has committed $17.1 million in financing to assist an affiliate of Trinity Financial create an affordable housing community in Lawrence, Mass.

    Trinity Financial is transforming the former Van Brodie Mill into 102 units of mixed-income housing within a smart growth district. The adaptive-reuse project will preserve the historic mill, while remediating a brownfield site. 

    “Van Brodie Mill will be an important new housing resource for working families in Lawrence,” said Tom Lyons, MassHousing’s active executive director. “This transformational project will put a former brownfield back into productive use, while advancing regional economic development and enabling families to live affordably and prosper in greater Lawrence.”

    For the entire article, see

    http://www.housingfinance.com/news/developer-to-turn-massachusetts-mill-into-affordable-housing_o

  • 02 Feb 2018 3:14 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Editorial - Washington Observer-Reporter (PA)

    For years, it was essentially a 150-acre brownfield that included a mine refuse dump, sediment ponds and memories of a grimy but prosperous vocation. This was a tract of West Bethlehem Township that was forlorn and, seemingly, forgotten by time.

    Not anymore. The land has been reclaimed and impressively repurposed in an area where coal mining predominated more than a quarter-century ago. That waste dump and those sediment ponds are gone, replaced by a pond with clean water and a bounty of fish, encircled by a large, healthy wetlands with cattails galore. All of this is complemented by the creation of a mile-long grass hiking trail with a steep ascent that tests one’s stamina and yields scenic views.

    The beast has become a beauty. “It’s gorgeous,” Lisa Scherer, a volunteer at the property, recently told the Observer-Reporter’s Scott Beveridge.

    For the entire editorial, see

    https://observer-reporter.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-west-beth-trail-a-much-needed-asset/article_58e422d8-e017-11e7-89e1-1b8b955cd46a.html


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