PILOT SNAPSHOT
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Date of Announcement: July 1998
Amount: $200,000 |
Profile: The Pilot targets four sites in the City of Brockton's Economic Corridor, an area containing most of the City's industrial land and abutting economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Brockton for a Brownfields Pilot. Brockton (population
92,788) is located in southeastern Massachusetts, approximately
20 miles from Boston. The percentage of Brockton families living
in poverty is double the rate of surrounding areas. Shoe- and
bootmaking were once Brockton's most important industries, but
factory closings and the movement of middle-income families to
outlying areas have left the once thriving downtown business district
in decline. During the last 10 years, Brockton has lost approximately
4,200 jobs.
In 1996, the City designated an Economic Corridor running north-south
through the center of Brockton along both sides of the Old Colony
Railroad. The corridor contains most of the City's industrially
zoned land and is Brockton's last major resource for industrial
growth. Brownfields comprise about one-third of the Economic Corridor.
The State has designated the area an Economic Opportunity Area,
making economic development incentives available to the City.
Brockton is targeting four sites within the Economic Corridor
for its Pilot. Three of the sites are former shoe manufacturing
facilities and a fourth site will be selected during the Pilot
project.
OBJECTIVES
Brockton plans to conduct the Pilot as an integral part of the City's overall
economic development plan. The City plans to assess and clean
up its brownfields, establish strategic reuse plans, create new
job opportunities, and improve the quality of life in its downtown.
The Pilot will provide a model for this process through the assessment
of two sites, the creation of cleanup and reuse plans for four
sites, and involvement of the community in reuse decisions. The
City will provide additional funding for the public participation
and cleanup planning portions of the Pilot.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
- Conducting site assessments;
- Developing cleanup and redevelopment plans for four sites;
- Distributing information about the sites and conducting workshops to encourage community participation in cleanup and reuse decision making; and
- Developing reuse plans for each of the four sites that identify
desirable end uses, appropriate cleanup standards and methods,
cleanup financing mechanisms, and other sources of public and
private support.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
CONTACTS
City of Brockton
(508) 580-7113
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 1
(617) 573-9681
Visit the EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/index.html
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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