![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Brownfields Success Stories
Heart of North Birmingham's Industrial Area Receives Transplant
North Birmingham's run-down industrial area is scheduled for an economic transformation, jump-started by a $200,000 brownfields grant from EPA. The project's ultimate goal is the creation of a 150-acre industrial park, with 75 acres reserved for heavy industry, a 50-acre distribution center, a business park, and a full-scale retail center. Work on the distribution center is already underway, and by the project's completion, more than 2 million square feet of industrial and commercial facilities could be in place. Three new companies have already located in the project area. KMAC, a company that sells industrial byproducts, invested $300,000 of its own money in locating to the project zone; $150,000 of this amount went toward environmental assessments. Kenworth of Birmingham located on a 10-acre plot, investing $6 million of its own money, and bringing 100 new permanent jobs to North Birmingham. $1 million was the total investment of Tire Engineering, which redeveloped a 5-acre property, adding 15 permanent jobs to the community. All of these companies located to the project area by using the Birmingham Environmental Clearinghouse's brownfields sites data repository to research properties for potential redevelopment. According to John Gemmill, Project Manager with the City, the Clearinghouse serves as a "source of confidence" for potential developers, in that the Clearinghouse provides the most accurate and up-to-date site information available on Birmingham's brownfields. The three above-mentioned companies will generate approximately $200,000 in annual tax revenue for the City. Planners believe the area will see the creation of more than 2,000 jobs. For more information on the Birmingham Brownfields Pilot, contact Barbara Caprita at (404) 562-8371.