California Brownfield Workshops: Empowering Practical Learning

What would you do with 2 acres of land long abandoned and now home to six shipping containers and one lonely storage tank? Can you see a future for a vacant lot where a chemicals company manufactured pesticides for 15 years?

This is the challenge CCLR and EPA Region 9 posed to attendees at the 2025 California Brownfield Workshops in Sacramento and Fresno earlier this month. The workshops opened with a tour of local brownfield sites in various stages of development, followed by sessions to detail the brownfield process. At the end of the day, workshop attendees participated in a group activity to devise a reuse plan for one of the underutilized sites they had visited earlier in the day.

The group activity is part of CCLR’s goal to help brownfield practitioners connect the dots between workshop content and its practical application. Taking on roles like “city council member” or “environmental program manager,” gave workshop attendees an opportunity to get creative. By seeing a site from different angles (literally), everyone put their learning to use.

North A Street Site, Sacramento

The Sacramento mobile tour took us to Mirasol Village, a 427-unit mixed-income housing development that includes a 1.2-acre park, early childhood education center, and community garden.

In Sacramento, small group brainstorms led to several reuse plans for a site on North A street in Sacramento’s River District. The surrounding area has a heavy industrial history and soil contamination is common. Pedestrian infrastructure is lacking and truck traffic is near constant, but the City of Sacramento’s recently completed street safety project on N 12th street is improving conditions.

One delegation of workshop goers suggested a reuse plan beginning with community engagement. Partnering with leadership from a neighboring Salvation Army facility would help identify end uses preferred by locals. Others thought the existing Salvation Army could expand and grow into a community resilience hub. Another group saw potential for density and proposed mixed use zoning to maximize space. A grocery store with housing above it solves two needs with one project.

H. Street Parking Lot (Former H. Street Warehouse), Fresno

In Fresno, attendees pitched potential creative solutions to recycle a vacant lot in downtown bordering Chinatown and Chukchansi Stadium. Currently, stadium goers and Firefighters from a nearby station use the site for parking. It also hosts solar panels which provide power to the stadium. Proximity to major road connectors and California’s first High-Speed Rail station make the site easily accessible for many commuters.

One group of brainstormers thought about a partial reuse. Since the lot is already usable as parking space, they noted it could be a parking lot for Chukchansi Stadium. Others thought the lot could turn into a parking garage with potential for mixed use space above. Both of these pitches consider reusing existing infrastructure and are resource efficient! Since the Fresno lot is already well connected, some attendees thought it could host E bike transit areas or host space for artist pop ups and cultural events. Another group considered community wellbeing when they proposed a park or open space area for recreation.

Like pilots leading a simulated flight or doctors conducting mock appointments, the workshop organizing team knew brownfield practitioners would get hands-on experience navigating the complexities of reusing a real-world brownfield.

Fresno workshop attendees learn about the history, current use and potential of the case study site.

California Brownfield Workshops celebrate diverse learning styles

While developing this thought exercise, the CCLR team considered diverse learning styles. Most of us are used to conferences prioritizing auditory learning, but bringing in hands-on learning can make events more accessible. This is especially important for people who prefer to talk it out, write their ideas down, or start a dialogue to hash out a plan.

Conference organizer Lujain Altawarah was excited to see everyone getting involved. She observed attendees bringing in different parts of the workshop. Some participants dived deep into local financing, others reminded their groups to consider existing community needs. It was encouraging to see how much everyone got out of the day’s programming.

Senior Program Manager Claire Weston hopes to see similarly engaging activities at conferences in the future. By giving people a realistic view of brownfield reuse, they can see how many ways into land reuse there really are. And, the more experts we can get engaged, the better! Diversifying programming is an easy and fun way to ensure everyone’s good ideas are considered.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2025 California Brownfield Workshops in Sacramento and Fresno! And thank you for the exceptional feedback:

“I will use this information and connections made to build a long term and successful Brownfields program” – Fresno attendee on what they’ll take from the event

“All of the real-world scenarios about working in redevelopment and how organizations had to be creative to move projects forward.” – Sacramento attendee on which sessions they found particularly compelling

“I found the group who attended (at least at my table) to be open and sharing. I learned a lot of really good information that I am excited to bring back to my counties.” – Sacramento attendee