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Brownfields Success Stories
Stamford Cleanup Loan Helps Harley Davidson Race Towards Relocation and Expansion
In November 1999 Blues Brothers LLC, the company that owns the Harley Davidson franchise in Stamford, Connecticut, received the third loan under EPA's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) Pilot Program. The $165,000 loan will pay for cleanup on the site of a former printing and engraving shop that is expected to be redeveloped as a new, $600,000 Harley Davidson showroom. Cleanup of the site is expected to begin in March 2000 and will involve removal of contaminated soil, which was found to contain semi-volatile organic compounds, mixed petroleum, and chromium and other metals. Although the property requires cleanup only to commercial/industrial standards, Blues Brothers will clean up the site to residential standards (which excludes site capping) in order to broaden future use options. Site redevelopment, which includes renovation of two turn-of-the-century buildings and site landscaping, is anticipated to begin immediately after cleanup and be completed in the fall of 2000.
The city's Community Redevelopment Director, who serves as the BCRLF Fund Manager, told Blues Brothers about the availability of the BCRLF loans in October 1999. After several meetings with Stamford's BCRLF staff, Blues Brothers decided to apply for the BCRLF loan, and within a few months, they signed a loan agreement with the city. The loan's term is 15 months at 6 percent interest. However, if Blues Brothers repays the loan within 12 months, which they are expected to do, no interest will be charged. To date, EPA has awarded 68 BCRLF Pilots. These Pilots enable states, cities, and Native American tribes to make low-interest loans to facilitate the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields properties. The program has already leveraged more than $50 million in redevelopment funding from the BCRLF loans issued to date. For more information on EPA's BCRLF Program, contact Barbara Bassuener of OSWER's Outreach and Special Projects Staff at (202) 260-9347.