News Releases - 2001

Grants Awarded to 15 Illinois Communities - Alton Receives Special Award During National Brownfields Conference

Springfield, Ill. -- Fifteen Illinois communities are the latest recipients of Illinois Brownfields Redevelopment Grants. Representatives of these communities were recognized at the National Brownfields Conference held September 24 - 26 at McCormick Place in Chicago by Lieutenant Governor Corrine Wood, during a ceremony hosted by the Illinois EPA. According to Wood, "Governor Ryan and I have placed a high priority on brownfields restoration. Under the Ryan administration, our state brownfields programs will result in the cleanup of over 778 acres of property by 2003, with and additional 3000 acres we are addressing through other targeted brownfields initiatives."

Also honored during the Conference will be the Alton Center Business Park, which is receiving a special Phoenix Award: the Community Impact Award, for revitalizing a former brownfields site. The Phoenix Awards honor individuals and groups who are working to transform abandoned industrial areas into productive new uses.

The Owens-Illinois Plant, a 177-acre industrial complex in Alton, has a long history of hard use, resulting in significant contamination. Today, the Alton Center Business Park is the home of a customer service center for a multi-state utility, which will serve 10 million customers in 23 states. Together with a second prospective tenant, it will create over 475 new jobs. Long-term redevelopment is expected to contribute over 1000 jobs and $80 million in private investment to the local economy. The Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program provided technical and regulatory oversight during the remediation of this brownfields site. This is the first time Illinois has received this prestigious award.

Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano said, "Alton is an excellent example of what communities can accomplish when they work in concert with the Illinois EPA and the private sector to redevelop a contaminated site. The Brownfields grants being awarded by the Illinois EPA are giving many other communities the opportunity to revitalize some of their problem areas. These funds will allow them to evaluate potential contamination and prepare clean up plans for abandoned or underused industrial and commercials properties in their town."

Director Cipriano reports that 38 communities have now been awarded grants under the program, which began July 1, 1998. Illinois communities have received over $3.3 million, to date, for environmental assessments of brownfields sites. "In addition, we are very pleased that the Illinois legislature intends to increase the maximum amount available to each community to $240,000. With theses funds now available to each municipality, the assistance can be the catalyst to bring back to productive use sites that have been community eyesores or potential hazards to the citizens and environment," she noted.

The grants will be used to identify, investigate and characterize sites, determine clean up objectives and develop remedial action plans. The latest grant recipients and the amount of the award are:

Bedford Park - $38,959

The Village of Bedford Park plans to redevelop a former storage drum and chemical manufacturing site into two parcels. The eastern parcel will be used as a water reservoir, pump station, and fire station. The western parcel will house a 10 million gallon water storage tank. Grant funds will be used to perform environmental assessments.

Belvidere - $120,000

Belvidere will use grant funds to conduct environmental assessments, develop remedial objectives, and develop remedial action plans at a former salvage yard. These funds will help further the progress of the Kishwaukee River Site redevelopment area.

Broadview - $34,197

Broadview will use grant funds to conduct environmental assessments, develop remedial objectives and develop remedial action plans at a former gas station. The grant funds will help further the transformation of the non-productive brownfields site into a revenue-producing commercial or retail site, providing the village with tax revenues and acting as a catalyst for further redevelopment.

Carbon Cliff - $29,860

The Village of Carbon Cliff plans to conduct site assessment work on the old Rock Island Lines Rail Yard, located in the Village of Carbon Cliff and the City of Silvis. The rail yard will be turned into a regional rail-truck transfer site. The City of Silvis has also received a brownfields grant for their portion of this old rail yard.

East Peoria - $120,000

East Peoria will use its brownfields grant to fund environmental oversight and investigation activities performed in conjunction with Caterpillar, Inc.'s investigation and remediation of 65 acres owned by Caterpillar. The goal of the city is to redevelop the area into a mixed commercial/retail site.

Glencoe - $120,000

Glencoe will use the grant to conduct site assessment work at the village's former municipal waste incinerator and ash fill area. The village hopes to redevelop the site for industrial/commercial use.

Glen Ellyn - $17,026.00

Glen Ellyn will use grant funds to assess a former gas station in its downtown area. The village intends to redevelop the site for open space or future private business.

Grayslake - $28,089

Grayslake will use grant funds to conduct environmental site assessments at a former gas station and auto repair shop. The property is slated to become a multi-use parking facility.

Harvey - $32,884

Harvey will use its grant funds to conduct an environmental assessment at a former gas station as part of its downtown redevelopment.

Lincolnshire - $49,200

The Village of Lincolnshire will use grant funds to investigate several parcels in the old commercial crossroads area. This area is slated to become the village's downtown center. Three mixed-use buildings are proposed, as are an 81-unit condominium building, two restaurants, a bank, a grocery store, and accompanying retail center.

Mt. Vernon - 3/20/01 - $48,032

Mt. Vernon will use grant funds to perform environmental assessments, develop remediation objectives, and prepare a remedial action plan for a 35-acre site formerly used for locomotive rebuilding and repair.

Rockford - $120,000

Rockford has identified and catalogued 40 properties distributed within five redevelopment corridors. The Illinois Brownfields Redevelopment Grant will enable the city to fully investigate the brownfields properties in the three top priority corridor projects.

Rock Island - $120,000

The City of Rock Island will use its grant funds for environmental oversight and investigation activities at six different sites. Redevelopment of two of the sites also involves an Open Land Trust grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Three of the six sites will become green space areas in association with a bike trail; the other three sites will be redeveloped for commercial use.

Silvis - $44,750

The City of Silvis is using grant funds to conduct site assessment work on the old Rock Island Lines Rail Yard, located in the City of Silvis and the Village of Carbon Cliff. The Village of Carbon Cliff is also about to receive a brownfields grant for its portion of this old rail yard. The area will be developed into a regional rail-truck transfer site.

Zion - $115,231

The City of Zion will use grant funds to conduct environmental investigation activities at four parcels in or near the lakeside industrial/commercial area of Zion. Commercial development interests have been stymied in the past due to lingering environmental concerns. The parcels are situated within an area now ripe for redevelopment.

Additional information, including Brownfields Grant application forms, is available on the Internet at www.epa.state.il.us/land/brownfields.