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City receives national funds for redevelopment

T-R PHOTO BY TREVOR BABCOCK — From left to right: Mel Pins, Deandre Singletary, Joel Greer and Michelle Sponheimer accept the $300,000 Brownfield Assessment Grant.

The city of Marshalltown was selected for a national grant to help revitalize vacant and abandoned sites.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum to present city officials with a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant for cleanup initiatives in Marshalltown.

A brownfield is defined as a property where redevelopment or reuse is hindered by environmental contaminants or hazardous materials.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) brownfields program director Mel Pins for the brownfields redevelopment program, said brownfields can throw off potential buyers and redevelopment groups.

“They don’t wanna fiddle around with unknown costs for environmental assessments and cleanup, maybe they have concerns about being liable for something even if they didn’t cause it or maybe there could be restrictions on how they can use the site,” Pins said.

Marshalltown Housing and Community Development Director expresses her excitement on receiving the grant and getting to work.

Examples of brownfields Pins gave were old gas stations, industrial facilities, and buildings with asbestos or lead-based paint. Brownfields may not have any environmental issues, but buyers and redevelopment groups pass on these properties because they don’t want to spend money to find out.

“That gives the reputation that the site is a brownfield,” Pins said. “It’s dirty, it’s tainted, it’s tarnished, just like that rusty color is often described as brown. So that’s what a brownfield really is, it’s more about the character of the site than any true designation.”

Funding from the grant will let Marshalltown assess local brownfields and develop site-specific cleanup plans.

Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer said the grant will aid in Marshalltown’s increased growth and development.

“We’re experiencing one of the biggest building years we’ve ever had in decades,” Greer said. “I think it is the biggest in many decades in terms of the number of building permits we’re seeing and opportunities for additional development remain in and around downtown.”

Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer says he’s impressed with the work city officials put in to successfully compete for the Brownfields Assessment Grant.

Marshalltown Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer said she anticipates a big piece of the project will be working with UnityPoint Health in Marshalltown. After the new UnityPoint Campus in Marshalltown opens, the old campus will open up 14 acres available for redevelopment.

Other opportunities for redevelopment include multiple buildings destroyed by natural disasters on West Main Street, First Street and Center Street as well as buildings along the Highway 14 corridor.

EPA Region Seven Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Director DeAndre Singletary, who helped present the grant, said the award can help the city achieve economic development outcomes such as an increase in tax revenue and property value.

“A study of 48 brownfield sites found an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional local tax revenue was generated in a single year after cleanup,” Singletary said. “Another study found that property values of homes near revitalize brownfield sites, increased between five to 15 percent following clean up.”

He highlighted the importance of Marshalltown competing successfully for the grant.

“I don’t know if anybody understands how big of a lift it is to be able to compete nationally and get this type of funding,” Singletary said.

Marshalltown received a Brownfields Assessment Grant from the EPA in 2007, resulting in the assessment of more than 40 properties including the historic Hotel Tallcorn.

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Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.

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