EPA provides $500K to the City of Fort Collins to advance the cleanup and revitalization of properties in north downtown corridor and the Poudre River

Funds part of $54 million to clean up and redevelop Brownfields sites across the country

Denver, Colo. – May 29, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the City of Fort Collins $500K in Brownfields grant funding to expand local efforts to assess, clean up and redevelop properties along the Poudre River and the northern edge of the city’s downtown business district. Today’s announcement is among 243 EPA grant investments totaling $54.3 million to 147 communities across the U.S. These grants will provide communities with funding necessary to assess, clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

The City of Fort Collins will work closely with the Downtown Development Authority and Larimer County Coalition Partners to use the EPA grant funds to conduct a community-wide assessment of properties contaminated with petroleum and hazardous substances in an area known as the Poudre River/North College Innovation District. The target area is characterized by blighted and contaminated properties associated with manufactured gas production, automotive operations, gas stations, and dry cleaning facilities. The cleanup and redevelopment of these properties will connect the area with other parts of downtown and help restore access to the riverfront.

“EPA Brownfields grants open doors by helping communities like Fort Collins transform blighted properties into public and economic assets,” said EPA regional administrator, Shaun McGrath. “These investments will address contamination and create new opportunities for people to live, play, and do business.”

There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the United States. EPA’s Brownfields program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse these brownfields sites. Since the inception of the program in 1995, cumulative brownfield program investments have leveraged more than $22 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per EPA brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 105,942 jobs nationwide.

More information on Brownfields grants by state: http://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/

More Brownfields information:
Program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Success Stories http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/success/index.htm

Contact Information: U.S. EPA: Danny Heffernan, 303-312-7074; heffernan.daniel (at) epa (dot) gov U.S. EPA: Richard Mylott, 303-312-6654; mylott.richard (at) epa (dot) gov City of Fort Collins: Josh Birks, Economic Health Director, 970-221-6324; jbirks (at) fcgov (dot) com