Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England
Greater Providence YMCA Project
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Success in Brownfields Cleanup Revolving
Loan Fund Program Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation
Providence, RI
(May 17, 2002)
Contacts
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Site Plan - facility will be located on 17 acres of the 37-acre
former industrial Gorham site. |
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Perspective |
On April 10,2002 the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Greater Providence borrowed $500,000 from the Rhode Island Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) to clean up the former Gorham Manufacturing Site in the South Side of Providence for redevelopment into a state-of-the-art YMCA recreational facility that includes a gymnasium, day camp, and community services. This will provide vital social services to one of Providence's low-income communities. The YMCA will be allowed to forego repayment of 30% of the loan amount as a discount to nonprofit borrowers. The new facility will cost approximately $9 million, which will be financed through a YMCA fundraising campaign. The term of the loan shall be for a period of 48 months at a fixed interest rate of approximately 3.25%. Interest-only payments are to be made for the first 12 months, with the principle and interest paid during the remaining 36 months.
In past years, EPA has awarded the city of Providence (Population 173,000), the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) three Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots totaling $850,00. The Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots have helped leverage the resources committed to the city of Providence as a Brownfields Showcase Community, along with providing site assessments that stimulate revitalization efforts throughout the state. In May 2000, the EPA selected RIEDC for a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund grant, capitalizing the loan fund with $1 million.
The state of Rhode Island (Population 1,048,000) has focused its Brownfields efforts on two major areas: the remnants of its industrial heritage and the urban core of its cities, particularly Enterprise Zones. Rhode Island contains eight cities and 11 Enterprise Zones, with some zones reaching poverty levels of 50% or more. The remediation and return of Brownfields to productive use will contribute to economic revitalization through job creation and increased tax base, eliminate potential environmental and health risks, and reclaim public enjoyment of the few natural resources left in these urban communities. Rhode Island hopes the BCRLF will help enhance environmental justice in disadvantaged communities and act as a catalyst for the reclamation of abandoned land and a return to economic vitality.
The RIEDC is the Lead Agency for the BCRLF program. The Small Business Loan Fund Corporation will serve as the Fund Manager. The RIDEM shall serve as the Site Manager to coordinate, direct, and oversee BCRLF response actions. The respective roles and responsibilities of the RIEDC and RIDEM have been documented in a Memorandum of Agreement.
The focus for this BCRLF loan is a 17-acre site located in one of Providence's Enterprise Zone Empowerment Communities adjacent to residential property and the Mashapaug Pond.
An abandoned property, the site was previously used for the manufacturing of silverware and bronze castings between 1890-1986. Operations included casting, rolling, polishing, lacquering, forging, plating, annealing, soldering, degreasing, machining, and melting. Most of the buildings on the site have been, or soon will be, demolished.
Environmental assessment of the site found levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC), metals (Arsenic, copper,chromium, lead, silver, and zinc), as well as oil and/or hazardous materials in the soil that exceed the Upper Concentration Limits for the RIDEM Industrial/Commercial Exposure criteria. Furthermore, the concentration of Trichloroethene and 1,1-Dichlorothylene exceed the GB classification for groundwater, which categorizes water as unsuitable for drinking without pretreatment. The latest site investigation, performed in January of 2002, revealed levels of arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons above RIDEM's residential direct exposure criteria, as well as VOC biodegradation products (i.e. methane) on the site.
The contamination is believed to be from underground storage tanks and former industrial uses that include degreasing and metal processing. The proposed remedial action will be to cap all surface soils surrounding the main building and parking lots with either two feet of clean soil or a combination of a synthetic membrane and soil. To address the VOC contaminants, a passive vent system has been proposed for installation under the foundations of any buildings in the area of groundwater contamination.
Once the cleanup is complete, development of the 50,000 square foot recreational facility, including a gymnasium, swimming pool, and family center, will commence. The proposed project will supply economic, environmental, and social benefits to the community. The YMCA will add dozens of construction jobs and 60 new full-time, permanent jobs to the workforce, thereby attracting economic activity to the neighborhood and encouraging additional redevelopment. Within the heart of a developed urban area, a polluted industrial site will become a YMCA recreation area with wooded habitat, precious open space. The project also will provide the community with valuable social services, such as child-care, sports facilities, and health education. These new YMCA community services will be housed within the aptly named "Villages of Promise" portion of the complex.