News Releases - 2003

Seventeen Communities Awarded Brownfields Grants at Annual Conference

Springfield, Ill. -- Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano recognized 17 Illinois communities as recipients of Brownfields Redevelopment Grants at this year’s Brownfields Conference.

“ Brownfields grants provide Illinois communities with the funding they need to evaluate the environmental impact of the past uses of property,” said Director Cipriano. “This enables them to form a plan to rehabilitate the site for redevelopment.”

Among the topics discussed at this year’s conference are strategies for site selection and land acquisition, an update on regulatory changes affecting cleanups and financing strategies and opportunities. Attendees also learned about new remedial technologies and the basics of skills needed to conduct environmental assessments.

The Illinois EPA’s popular annual brownfields conferences draw local officials, developers, consultants and others from throughout the state to learn the latest developments in cleaning up and redeveloping abandoned industrial and commercial sites and to share challenges and successes. Illinois has one of the most extensive brownfields programs in the nation. The conference was held this year in Springfield on May 20 and 21.

Seventy-five Illinois communities have received over $7.5 million, to date, for environmental assessments of brownfields sites.

This assistance is often the catalyst necessary to bring sites that have been community eyesores or potential hazards back to productive use. The grants are awarded to Illinois municipalities for environmental assessments of abandoned or underutilized properties in preparation for brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. The awards ceremony was held in Springfield at the Renaissance Hotel.

This year’s recipients and the grant amounts are:

Town of Cicero - $105,486

Grant dollars will be used to perform assessments and prepare cleanup plans at two properties. Cicero proposes to develop recreational park space on a petroleum-contaminated parcel situated within a residential area. Grant dollars will also go toward transforming a non-productive brownfields site into an educational facility to help reduce current overcrowding in area schools.

City of Olney - $120,000

The grant will be used to conduct a soil and groundwater investigation at a former above ground storage tank and waste disposal area. Olney acquired the property to address the environmental concerns, then plan to use the remediated property to promote economic development in the area.

Village of Posen - $120,000

Posen will use grant funds to assess a former TV repair shop, which has potential lead and mercury contamination from the television sets and solvents contamination from a parts washer. After cleanup, the Village intends to return the property to active commercial use.

Village of Karnak - $97,495

The Village will conduct a site assessment at a former wooden box manufacturing company, abandoned since 1976. The site is adjacent to the Tunnel Hill State bike trail that runs for 45 miles in Southern Illinois. The Village plans to purchase the property, then resell it as an industrial/commercial site.

City of Woodstock - $10,689

Grant dollars will assist the city in its Greenways Project, a joint effort with the McHenry County Conservation District. A “greenway” belt will be assembled around portions of the city focusing on the preservation and enhancement of the Kishwaukee River. The site will have future use as public recreational open space with a recreation path routed through the property.

City of Gillespie - $87,750

The City of Gillespie will perform a site assessment at a former cabinet manufacturing company, destroyed by a fire in 2001. The parcel is located in a prominent, high traffic area within the town, and has been a tremendous eyesore due to the fire. A local bank adjacent to the brownfield site plans to expand onto the property.

City of Calumet City - $88,305

The City intends to leverage state grant funds with a U.S.EPA Brownfields Pilot Grant to investigate two abandoned service stations located along State Line Road. Calumet City is currently focusing its redevelopment efforts along the State Line Road "strip", with the parcels in question being slated for re-use as retail and/or office space.

Village of Barrington Hills - $119,474

This grant represents a unique partnership between the Village of Barrington Hills and the Village of Barrington Park District to investigate and cleanup a former industrial facility. Once it is clean, the 55-acre site will be used entirely for recreational purposes serving seven area communities.

City of Rosiclare - $119,939

Rosiclare will use its Grant funds to investigate four city-owned properties to determine if they have been impacted by the waste generated from florspar mining activities conducted in the region. Based on the site assessments, the Rosiclare plans to enroll in the Site Remediation Program and use the funds to perform cleanup activities.

City of Braidwood - $30,106

Braidwood will conduct a site assessment at a former gas station that is now a pet and bait shop. The grocery store located next door is interested in the property for additional parking space.

City of Eureka - $62,016

Eureka’s Grant will pay for site assessment at a manufacturing facility that produces road-building equipment. The grant dollars will also help assess for petroleum contamination and hazardous waste. The city's objective is to obtain an NFR letter in order to reach their utlimate goal of reselling the property for future resuse and job creation.

City of Mendota - $63,895

The grant will allow the city to redevelop a 12-acre manufacturing site, which has been vacant for six years. The grant will also allow the city to redevelop a former gas station and automotive repair shop for commercial uses. This will provide the city with tax revenues and will act as a catalyst for further redevelopment.

City of Des Plaines - $36,590

Des Plaines’ grant will be used for assessing a triangular shaped parcel that contains six properties in downtown Des Plaines, including a gasoline station and several auto repair businesses. A retail chain is interested in obtaining the entire parcel.

Village of Naplate - $38,335

The Village will perform environmental investigation activities on two vacant properties that the Village has purchased. One property is slated for redevelopment into baseball fields and the other property into a new Village fire station.

City of DeKalb - $44,827

The City will use its grant to conduct an assessment on an auto salvage yard. The parcel is located on a major thoroughfare and has considerable appeal to developers for commercial and/or retail redevelopment.

City of Hoopeston - $39,252

Hoopeston will use its grant funds on three parcels of land: a former gas station/video store; a former trailer park; and a former motel site suspected of environmental contamination. The properties have considerable appeal to developers for commercial and/or retail redevelopment.

Village of Machesney Park - $107,341

Grant dollars will be used to assess the potential hazards that may exist on a four-acre junkyard. The Village’s goal is to redevelop the property into a commercial/retail development, as well as improve the Willow Creek tributary that runs through the site.