FLASHBACK TO 2001 (Clearwater Florida Brownfield PILOT Story)

As we approach 2011, I thought it would be interesting to share some information pulled together by EPA back in 2001 on the Clearwater Brownfield Pilot.  Here's what they put together:

The City of Clearwater, Florida, is beginning a growth
spurt that promises to create hundreds of jobs, increase the
city's tax base, and enhance its neglected neighborhoods while
cleaning up its brownfields and improving the environment.
In September 1996, EPA awarded the city a $100,000
Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant, and an additional
$100,000 in September 1998. From this, the city has lever-
aged more than $9 million in additional federal, state, and lo-
cal funding. Now, the high-tech revolution has come to
Clearwater; an international software company that located
its new headquarters on a former brownfield has brought more
than 500 new jobs to Clearwater so far, with 500 more to come.
This $50 million development is the biggest project happen-
ing in Clearwater right now, but it's not the only one that will
benefit local residents. Among Clearwater's many brownfields
restoration projects is a new health clinic being built to serve
the residents of North Greenwood, the largest minority com-
munity in the city.

The Clearwater Brownfields Assessment Pilot area contains
approximately 220 potentially contaminated commercial, in-
dustrial, and residential sites located on more than 1,800 acres, part
of which includes former wetlands that were filled in more than 40
years ago for urban development. Encompassing a State Enter-
prise Zone, the Pilot area is also the first state-certified brownfields
area in Florida.

One of Clearwater's most successful brownfields restoration ef-
forts involves the 14-acre site of a former auto service center that
is now home to Information Management Resources' (IMR) Global
Center headquarters. The brownfields property was once occupied
by a department store's automotive service center. The department
store removed underground oil, diesel, and gasoline storage tanks sev-
eral years ago, but unknown levels of contamination remained. The Pilot
funded environmental assessments, a storm water retention area, and right-of-
way improvements required for the project, and the city spent $500,000 for cleanup, which
consisted of excavation and removal of petroleum-contaminated soil. IMR paid $1.5
million for the property, and the city offered substantial economic incentives. It is a good
investment for both parties.

The Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development approved IMR for
the state's Qualified Target Industry (QTI) program to receive approximately $2 million
in tax refunds for creating more than 550 new jobs. Florida's Brownfields Bonus program
will add an additional $1.4 million to that refund. This project has resulted in more than
$51 million in capital investment and is the largest business deal in the city's history.
Redevelopment plans call for the construction of six buildings with a total of 310,000
square feet of office space. The first building was completed in July 1999 and opened
with 175 employees. A second building opened in early 2000, and there are now more
than 500 employees working on-site. When all six buildings are finished and in opera-
tion, 1,000 people will be employed with an average salary of $40,000. This average
salary is expected to substantially increase the average salary in Pinellas County, and
IMR's presence will attract other big businesses to the area. More than 1,500 additional
new jobs in the county are projected to be generated.

On a smaller scale, the residents of North Greenwood, one of Clearwater's poorest neigh-
borhoods, will also enjoy the benefits of brownfields redevelopment. On March 18, 2000,
ground was broken for the Greenwood Community Health Resource Center. As part of
the city's environmental justice plan, representatives of North Greenwood participated in
redevelopment planning and voted unanimously for the city to lease the property to the
nonprofit clinic. The Health Resource Center, which is staffed by professionals who
volunteer their time, was founded by Willa Carson, a 72-year-old retired nurse who had
previously been operating the clinic out of two refurbished apartments. The new home
for the clinic is being constructed on the site of a former gas station using a $300,000 state
appropriation. The Pilot conducted environmental assessments at the property, and a
$200,000 state allocation funded removal of underground storage tanks and soil cleanup.
Once construction is complete, North Greenwood will have a new health facility offering
immunizations, physicals, tests and screenings, flu shots, and counseling to residents of the neigh-
borhood.

Many other brownfields in Clearwater are being returned to use. For example, the Pilot has com-
pleted environmental assessments on a site to be developed by a small, woman-owned company
that will hire at least 50 percent of its new employees from the surrounding community. Land and
groundwater assessments have also been completed on the site of a former auto dealership that
will be redeveloped into a 100-unit townhouse community overlooking the town pond.

EPA has continued its commitment to Clearwater's brownfields restoration efforts by awarding the
city a $100,000 supplemental assistance grant that includes $50,000 for greenspace restoration of
Stevenson Creek, which runs through the heart of North Greenwood. EPA has also awarded the
city a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (BCRLF) grant, which will be used to
clean up sites targeted under the Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The Pilot anticipates making its
first BCRLF loan by Fall 2001 for the cleanup of a pesticide-contaminated property to be redevel-
oped into computer-based businesses. In addition, EPA is assisting with a $141,000 Job Training
and Development Demonstration Pilot that will train unemployed and underemployed residents in
the North and South Greenwood neighborhoods for environmental jobs, including the assessment
and cleanup of Clearwater's brownfields. For more information about the Clearwater Brownfields
Pilot, contact Miles Ballogg, Brownfields Coordinator, Clearwater Economic Development Team,
at (727) 562–4023.

P.S. - Time flies when your having fun.... Just ask Miles.  He's now with Cardno TBE, a brownfield consulting firm in Clearwater.