Brownfields Program

Brownfield sites are diamonds in the rough. “Brownfields property” means abandoned, idle, or underused property at which expansion or redevelopment is hindered by actual or perceived environmental contamination. Examples are abandoned gas stations, old textile mills, industrial plants, former dry cleaners, and other abandoned industrial or commercial properties. These properties may be unsightly, but they have infrastructure that undeveloped sites lack. The City's Brownfields program is working to put these properties back into use and transform them from vacant and underutilized to uses that provide employment and benefit the overall community.

Benefits include:

  • Increased marketability of the property
  • A clean site
  • Redevelopment of under-utilized property
  • Reduced site development costs due to use of exiting infrastructure
  • Creation of new jobs
  • Increased tax base for the community
  • Improved quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods
  • Federal and state redevelopment incentives (tax credits)

The program works in part through a Community Wide Petroleum Assessment Grant awarded by  the Environmental Protection Agency. This provides funding for environmental site assessments (ESAs) of Brownfield sites, providing financial assistance to developers who wish to redevelop these sites. These ESAs are the first step towards redevelopment.

For more information or to see if your property can benefit from this program, please visit our Brownfields website: http://www.ctcbrownfields.com/wilson or contact Emily Beddingfield, Planner. 

Click HERE for a Powerpoint with more information about the Brownfields Program

Documents:

702 Lodge Street Phase 1 Environmental Assessment (Nov 2, 2010): Phase 1 Report