Community Services Center Montgomery Creek, CA

The Problem

A community-based organization in rural Shasta County was leasing a former gas station to house their after-school programs, community library, and nonprofit cafe. The nonprofit was contacted by the owner of the property, who was very interested in selling the property quickly. Since the organization had occupied the site for over a decade and was reluctant to relocate, they expressed interest in purchasing the property but were concerned about the site's previous use and potential liability.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR provided technical assistance to help the organization determine the extent of the contamination, and hence, the risk involved in purchasing the property.

Result

The property was not purchased due to an identified plume of MTBE, which presented too much risk for the organization. The property was sold and the new owner agreed to allow the nonprofit to continue to lease their portion of the site.

Lessons Learned

The importance of conducting environmental due diligence prior to purchase cannot be underestimated.

Low-Income Housing Development East Los Angeles, CA

The Problem

An affordable housing developer was interested in developing a vacant parcel in the Temple-Beaudry neighborhood of Los Angeles. The site was located in an area where naturally occurring oil fields are closer to the surface, creating higher levels of methane gas in the soil. The site was located just down the street from the Belmont Learning Center, and the community had lingering health and safety concerns about any development.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR provided funds and technical assistance for a Phase II Site Assessment, risk management, and cleanup of the site, and made certain that the nonprofit hired a qualified and experienced environmental consultant.

Result

The project overcame all major obstacles and opened in Fall 2006. The project brings much needed housing to very low-income families, and provides free support services to residents including after-school tutoring, case management, crisis intervention, and computer training.

Lessons Learned

Hiring a qualified environmental consultant and conducting thoughtful risk communication is key to a successful project.

Underutilized Rail Yard Site Truckee, CA

The Problem

A charming and rustic community nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains found itself under tremendous growth pressure, with development crawling up its picturesque hillsides. At the same time, a 40-acre rail yard lay vacant adjacent to the town's historic downtown, offering a critical infill opportunity. Two significant challenges hindered the rail yard's redevelopment: first, the long-standing and prevailing myth that the site was dangerously contaminated, and second, the town's historically strained relationship with the railroad company.

CCLR Assistance

Even though an old timber mill had operated on the site at one point in its history, by gathering all the existing environmental documents, CCLR was able to dispel the prevailing myth that the site was seriously contaminated. CCLR then facilitated the first open dialogue between the town and the railroad company.

Result

The site was not as contaminated as the public perceived. An open dialogue, initiated by CCLR, helped the community and the railroad company come to an agreement on developing this key infill location. A Master Plan for the Railyard area is in place, and the site will be redeveloped into a mixed-use development that includes housing, retail, commerical and recreational space .

Lessons Learned

Prevailing myths about the perception of contamination can be dispelled with information and appropriate communication. A third-party mediator can be helpful in bringing a recalcitrant landowner to the table.

Abandoned Gas Station San Pedro, CA

The Problem

A historically underserved port community of Los Angeles was skeptical about converting an abandoned gas station and adjacent arroyo into a neighborhood park and restored natural canyon, The San Pedro Welcome Park. The property was being used for illegal dumping and drug trafficking and has been a community concern and eyesore for years.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR provided funds to facilitate a community outreach program and conceptual design for the park.

Result

The community embraced the idea of a park and created a Neighborhood Watch program and organized neighborhood cleanup weekends. The project acquired funding for acquisition and construction. The park is now complete and a source of pride for the community.

Lessons Learned

With small but strategically applied amounts of financial and technical assistance, a neighborhood can create a significant community benefit.

Auto Dismantling Facility Oakland, CA

The Problem

For years, a historically under-served East Oakland neighborhood had been trying to shut down an old auto dismantling facility, which had become a community eyesore. An affordable housing developer was interested in developing the site but was uncertain about how to finance the site assessment, and was concerned about liability exposure.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR provided funds to the nonprofit developer for a Phase II Site Assessment, and secured pro bono legal assistance to procure a prospective purchaser agreement, which limited the organization's liability exposure. CCLR also assisted with procurement of additional funds for completion of the cleanup.

Result

Funds provided by CCLR were leveraged to secure additional funding for the cleanup. Due to the efforts of the affordable housing developer and its partners, the site has been revitalized into 54 units of affordable, sustainable housing for low-income families.

Lessons Learned

By strategically leveraging small amounts of funding, nonprofit developers can achieve what may appear out of reach to an organization with limited resources.

Abandoned Oil Well Site Venice Beach, CA

The Problem

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks faced a dilemma when planning improvements for one of the State's most popular urban recreation areas. An oil well on the beach had been abandoned, leaving petrochemical contamination behind. Initially, it was thought the costs would be far more than the City had available to clean up the contaminants.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR and its partners reassessed the site and developed an action plan to remediate the toxics and redevelop the site with existing funds.

Result

The site will be redeveloped for recreational uses at less cost than the City feared it would cost for cleanup alone.

Lessons Learned

While brownfield projects can be approached in much the same way as other redevelopment projects, the development team must possess an additional skill set. The strategic application of financial and technical resources can make the critical difference for under-resourced community developers.

Neighborhood Park Oakland, CA

The Problem

A community-based organization led a drive to convert a former industrial site on the Oakland estuary into a much-needed waterfront park for the low-income, multiethnic Fruitvale neighborhood. A lack of reliable information about the nature and extent of toxic contamination and the cleanup cost threatened to derail the project.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR helped fund a site assessment that determined that cleanup was feasible and not costly.

Result

The nine-acre park opened in the fall of 2005. The park offers waterfront access, park activities, and attractive open space in an area of Oakland that has lacked such opportunities.

Lessons Learned

Good information about what is or isn't present on a site enables a reliable estimate of cleanup costs, and consequently helps make the go/no-go decision easier. Even small amounts of financial and technical assistance can provide a factual basis for decision-making that can help project proponents prevail over misperceptions.

Lumber Mill Site North Fork, CA

The Problem

When the town's lumber mill permanently closed (one of hundreds in California to do so in recent years) this energetic and determined community organized to convert the site to new uses that would be appropriate and create new jobs. But the community lacked the experience and expertise needed to evaluate economic development options and create a viable plan for dealing with the contamination left on the site.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR assembled a project team that conducted a series of community workshops to focus on feasible uses for the site, and also helped the community secure an EPA grant to perform a targeted site assessment.

Result

North Fork now has a detailed redevelopment plan and a new confidence that is being employed in negotiations with several potential end users.

Lessons Learned

Economic development planning and assessment of the nature and extent of site contamination must precede land use planning and the creation of a master plan. Highly inclusive community planning processes, facilitated by talented and plain-speaking experts, are an excellent way to achieve plans that are appropriate, economically viable, and community-supported, while also securing competitive advantages with potential users.

Municipal Surplus Property Pacifica, CA

The Problem

An older, inner-ring bedroom suburb of San Francisco had an aging wastewater treatment plant located on a key site in a residential neighborhood. When the plant was closed, the City had the opportunity to redevelop the site in a way that would reinvigorate the neighborhood, while contributing to the City's tax base.

CCLR Assistance

With CCLR's assistance, the City engaged divergent community interests in a constructive dialogue about reuse options for the site through a series of planning workshops, or charettes.

Result

A hotel developer is now working with the community to redevelop the site.

Lessons Learned

A planning charette can be a powerful tool to test ideas and build consensus, but disinterested intermediaries and strong local leadership are necessary ingredients to ensure success. Even in the absence of financial hardship, the presence of a neutral convenor is often critical to overcoming differences and moving forward.

Business Incubator Project South Central Los Angeles, CA

The Problem

When one of the largest African-American congregations in the West decided to build a new and larger church on Crenshaw Boulevard, community leaders recognized an opportunity to incubate retail businesses and revitalize an area devastated by the civil disturbances of 1992. A community development corporation affiliated with the church negotiated an agreement to purchase a dilapidated strip mall across the street from the new church. However, the owner of the site insisted on being indemnified against liability for contamination, and would not allow a site assessment to determine the nature or extent of contamination.

CCLR Assistance

CCLR and its strategic partners used analyses performed on other nearby parcels to extrapolate the likelihood of contamination on the subject site.

Result

It was determined that there was a high probability of significant groundwater contamination originating from the site, which would result in severe liability risks for the community development corporation.

Lessons Learned

Community-based organizations need to be careful to distinguish between feasible and unfeasible brownfield redevelopment projects. Not all contamination is the same, and groundwater toxicity is much more problematic than that of soil. Particularly for local organizations, the margin of error is narrow. What might be a mistake for a large, well-funded organization could be a disaster for a small, community-based organization.

First Community Housing 1st & Gish Street, San Jose, CA

First Community Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, used our loan to investigate a former gas station adjacent to the Gish Street light rail station in San Jose. The gas station was demolished several years ago and the parcel sat vacant. First Community Housing used the loan to perform environmental due diligence and construction is now complete on this transit-oriented, mixed-use development.

The project revitalized an unsafe eyesore into a 35-unit energy-efficient apartment complex. The development provides desperately needed, multifamily affordable housing for families earning 50% or less of area median income as well as neighborhood retail and access to public transportation.

“As a non-profit housing developer building infill, workforce housing on impacted urban sites, the CALReUSE loan program was an indispensable part of our financing.  Our pre-development funds could not have covered the costs that the CALReUSE program did—and the CCLR staff was very professional and great to work with.”

Jeff Oberdorfer
Executive Director, First Community Housing

South County Housing Corporation Gilroy Cannery, Gilroy, CA

The former Gilroy Cannery is a 12-acre site adjacent to the City's downtown commercial district. The Cannery operated from 1917 to 1997 and was the town's major economic driver. South County Housing Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, was interested in redeveloping the site, but was concerned about the potential contamination on the property. That's when South County contacted CCLR. We encouraged them to apply for our forgivable loan program, which provided them with a "free look" at the site.

The Cannery will be redeveloped from its former industrial use to a vibrant mixed-use, mixed-income venture that will provide new housing, office, and retail space, as well as stimulate and reinforce the ongoing investment in Gilroy's downtown.

"CCLR's loan program functioned exactly as it should have, by giving our organization the confidence to proceed with a venture that we might have otherwise passed on. The loan provided a low-risk source of money to do the due diligence that we needed to satisfy ourselves that we could take on this difficult project."

Nancy Moore Wright
South County Housing Corporation

The Railyards Sacramento, CA

The Railyards is a 244-acre mixed-use redevelopment project located at the former Union Pacific railyard in downtown Sacramento, and is the largest urban infill project in the country. Remediation of the site is partially funded by a Cleanup Grant. The project will transform this site into a vibrant urban environment with housing, retail, office space, open space, entertainment and cultural venues, and riverfront amenities. The development will create 19,000 permanent jobs, 2,800 hundred annual construction jobs and result in an ongoing annual positive economic impact of $2.7 billion. The Railyards is a public-private partnership between Thomas Enterprises, Inc., the City of Sacramento, the State of California and the United States government.

Read more about The Railyards in this New York Times article or visit www.sacramentorailyards.com.

2235 Third Street San Francisco, CA

2235 Third Street is a planned transit-oriented, mixed-use development in San Francisco's Central Waterfront district. The project will include 179 units of housing, as well as retail, daycare services, and restaurants and cafes. A Cleanup Grant will be used for the removal of contaminated soil and material from this former industrial site and scrap yard. 2235 Third Street will also preserve two historic brick warehouse buildings.

For more information about 2235 Third Street, please visit www.2235thirdstreetsf.com.

The Boulevards at South Bay Los Angeles, CA

With the assistance of a Cleanup Grant, the Boulevards at South Bay will transform a former municipal landfill in Los Angeles into a dynamic mixed-use community offering housing, retail, and other amenities. The project is expected to produce more than 4,500 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs. One component of The Boulevards is a 400-unit apartment complex, which will include affordable housing.

For more information about The Boulevards, please visit www.boulevardsatsouthbay.com.

Carson City Senior Center Senior Housing Carson, CA

The Carson City Senior Center Senior Housing project is an infill development that will offer 85 units of affordable senior housing, as well as commercial retail, community ammenities, and a lush central courtyard. A Community Room will be the focal point for resident services, including education and activity programs. A Cleanup Grant will enable remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon impacted soils on the site.