Brownfields Showcase Community Fact Sheet

Community Profile

St. Louis, Missouri/East St. Louis, Illinois

The Cities of St. Louis and East St. Louis will target three brownfield areas in the federally designated Empowerment Zone. The cities will develop a regional approach to cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields in a healthy and sustainable way.

Background

The Brownfields National Partnership has selected St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, together as a Brownfields Showcase Community. The cities (population 437,629)are undertaking the Mississippi River Corridor Brownfields Initiative, which will extend along both sides of the river -for 4 miles in East St. Louis and more than 12 miles in St. Louis. The targeted corridor encompasses riverfront recreational areas, business districts, industrial areas, and residential neighborhoods. The cities will target three brownfield areas located within the federally designated Empowerment Zone (EZ): (1) the Central Core Area, which encompasses 766 acres on the East St. Louis riverfront and in the St. Louis central business district; (2) the North Riverfront site in St. Louis, which is a 4-mile long industrial corridor located immediately north of downtown St. Louis;and (3) the Rivers South site,which is a 123-acre site along the river in the Carondelet area located just south of downtown. Specific project sites within these target areas will be selected through community involvement efforts and an area-wide study.

This project area encompasses some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the entire region. The areas are marked by rapid population decline, a high percentage of minority residents, pervasive household poverty rates, and comparatively high unemployment rates. The residents in these areas face significant environmental and related health challenges. In addition, the East St.Louis area has one of the largest remaining viable urban wetlands in the nation, which is home to several endangered species.

Current Activities and Achievements

The cities have planned or undertaken brownfield redevelopment projects in the bistate area that have an estimated investment of $747 million and are estimated to create more than 7,000 jobs. For example, the cleanup and redevelopment of the Martin Luther King Business Park in St. Louis is bringing a commitment of $16 million and 220 new jobs to the neighborhood. The relocation of the Union Bank of Illinois to a cleaned up site in downtown East St. Louis has resulted in a $1 million investment and 14 new jobs. Other highlights of the region 's brownfields and related economic development efforts include:

• Helping to develop and pass the Missouri Brownfields Redevelopment Act, which facilitates the identification, cleanup, and reuse of urban brownfields;

• Providing assistance to the creation of cleanup guidance for the State of Missouri;

• Using St.Louis' Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative to funnel needed resources to several disadvantaged neighborhoods in the targeted areas;

• Opening the initial leg of the Gateway Recreational Trail, with plans to complete this trail along the entire river corridor, including cleanup and redevelopment of a brownfield to serve as the trail head facility; and

• Using EPA 's Targeted Brownfields Assessment funds to assess several sites in St. Louis.

The Mississippi River Corridor of St. Louis and East St. Louis have already partnered with several federal agencies, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs such as an Empowerment Zone, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and a Hope VI project community; EPA as Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots with a supplemental award to the St. Louis Pilot, a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot, a Brownfields Job Training Pilot, and an EMPACT grant; U.S. Small Business Administration as a HubZone; and the federal Council on Environmental Quality as an American Heritage River.

Showcase Community Objectives and Planned Activities

As a Showcase Community, the Mississippi River Corridor partnership will build on the experiences from St. Louis to help focus further cleanup and redevelopment in East St. Louis to improve the standard of living for local residents and businesses, with job opportunities, access to clean and efficient transportation, and revitalized neighborhoods. The cleanup and reuse of brownfields remains the key to unlocking this vision. This project -a partnership of the St. Louis Development Corporation and the East St. Louis CDBG Operations Corporation -will develop and implement a regional approach to help eliminate the barriers posed by brownfields. The goal of this approach is to develop solutions with ongoing input from the local community that permit redevelopment in a healthy and sustainable way. The Showcase Community project will also serve as a model to address wetlands preservation as an essential component of local and regional strategic planning.

For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm