Posted January 15, 2021

Written by Laura Tepper, Senior Program Consultant and Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs

The City of Emeryville, California is showing the value of patience, partnership, and persistence in the process of brownfield redevelopment, reaping its latest reward in the form of a long-awaited piece of bike and pedestrian infrastructure, the South Bayfront Bridge. This public project tops off a decades-long community revitalization effort, bridging brownfields sites to build a more sustainable community.

Posted January 11, 2021

Written by Johanna Roth, Master’s of Public Health and Master’s of City Planning Candidate, U.C. Berkeley 

While brownfields lie idle, they have the potential to negatively impact public health by polluting local air and groundwater supplies, which burdens local neighborhoods with health challenges. Further, they may deplete local tax bases, decrease surrounding property values, and attract illegal activity. Living in proximity to derelict and disinvested sites may also affect mental health and a sense of safety for community residents. With brownfields disproportionately burdening marginalized, low-income, and high minority neighborhoods, it is important to redevelop them in a timely manner, to focus on beneficial and equitable reuse of sites, and to recognize the potential they hold for transforming communities and increasing community health.

Posted December 1, 2020

Written by Ayano Healy, Cascadia Partners and Rachel Ross, CCLR Communications Coordinator

After receiving an EPA Brownfields Multipurpose grant in the spring of 2020, the first step for the City of Ponderay was to develop a series of aspirational land use scenarios for the brownfield site through a community engagement process called Vision-to-Action (V2A) planning. However, performing community outreach during the COVID-19 crisis was a challenge. Utilizing virtual tools, Ponderay was able to receive community input and keep the project moving forward. 

Posted November 17, 2020

Written by Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs

To those that have never prepared an EPA Brownfields MARC (Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan and Cleanup) grant application, it can be daunting. CCLR works to transform pain into gain - free of charge. Though applications were submitted to EPA on October 28, we'll see you in the spring for the next round of these annual grants. Continue reading for a review of this grant round and tips and tricks for next year. 

Posted October 8, 2020

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

2020 has been a challenging year, to say the least. CCLR and our partners at U.S. EPA and DTSC created this year’s California Land Recycling Conference to address head-on the relationship between redevelopment and the struggles we’re facing in public health, climate change, and racial injustice. “The scope and breadth of the redevelopment field can feel daunting, but it is important that as land reuse practitioners, we make every effort to understand its intricacies and interdisciplinary nature. That is key to better brownfields redevelopment,” CCLR Program Manager, Claire Weston, said during her welcoming remarks on day two of the conference. 

Posted October 7, 2020

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

“Although you didn’t create the problem, you may be held financially responsible for the outcome.”

Due to the concerns around historical site contamination, redevelopment professionals may consider environmental insurance to help mitigate operational exposure while moving forward on a project. Great American Insurance Group’s Environmental Division understands the intricacies of environmental exposures and can help protect against hazardous pollution risks posed in brownfield redevelopment operations. Launched in 2008, Great American Environmental is one of the few insurance carriers serving the industry for over a decade. Their core products and service capabilities enable businesses to effectively manage financially threatening risks. GAIG policies offer environmental liability coverage for a fixed location, including brownfields and redevelopment sites, as well as the contracting professionals who perform environmental remediation and build structures. 

Posted September 30, 2020

Written by Mary Hashem, CCLR Board Chair

The Board of Directors of the Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), the leading national nonprofit championing the beneficial reuse of impacted properties for economic revitalization, announces that its Executive Director, Meredith Hendricks, will step down at the end of September 2020 to assume a new leadership position in land conservation. She leaves the organization on a sounder fiscal and institutional footing than when she arrived. Jean Hamerman, CCLR's long-serving Deputy Director, will succeed Meredith as Acting Executive Director.

Posted September 22, 2020

Written by Jean Hamerman, Deputy Director

The FY21 Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant Guidelines are now available on the OBLR MARC Grant Application Resources webpage along with other General Program Resources. The application submission deadline is October 28, 2020.

Posted August 12, 2020

Written by Rachel Ross, Communications Coordinator

The first Hawaii Virtual Brownfields Workshop was packed with information on brownfields basics, Hawaii environmental regulations and assistance, EPA financial and technical assistance, and case studies. This was the first multi-day conference that CCLR has hosted for land reuse professionals in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and the information was customized to specific programs, regulations, and emerging issues in Hawaii and the Pacific Island territories. Read on for links to the workshop slides and recordings. 

Posted July 14, 2020

Written by Jean Hamerman, Deputy Director

The next round of applications for Multipurpose, Assessment, or Cleanup grants is just months away; the Request for Applications (RFA) is expected to be released in the late summer. In the era of COVID-19, starting even earlier is paramount because checking off the key elements of a strong application may present unforeseen challenges. Read on for guidance and resources.