BUNNELL -- After spending a day last week in the greenery of the Princess Place Preserve, the Economic Opportunity Advisory Council got an update about brownfield redevelopment efforts earlier this week.
The county set up the Flagler Economic Enhancement District to create brownfield redevelopment areas, said Greg Rawls, economic development manager. Properties in those areas are eligible for a variety of incentives and tax credits, including ones for job creation and site cleanup.
Brownfield sites are former industrial sites that have some contamination or are perceived to have contamination, Rawls explained. For targeted industry sectors, business owners can receive up to $2,500 in job creation tax credits, Rawls said, with $2,000 coming from the state. Rawls said efforts to redevelop former industrial sites have changed perceptions about brownfields designations. Rawls said property owners were invited to join the economic enhancement district, but are not obligated to keep their property with that designation. He said property owners can opt in or out of the brownfield area.
Rawls said the county began looking at brownfield redevelopment as an economic development option when the former Food Lion grocery store on State Road 100 in Flagler Beach closed. Among the areas included in the county's economic enhancement district are the county landfill area off of Old Kings Road, areas around the Flagler County Airport, the Town Center area in Palm Coast, Steel Rail Industrial Park in Bunnell and other industrial sites in the county including Pine Lakes and Hargrove Grade.
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