Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Miami Model City Community Revitalization District Trust, FL

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Miami Model City Community Revitalization District Trust for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up petroleum contamination at the former Star Service Station at 1199 NW 62nd Street, including soil and groundwater cleanup activities. Funds also will be used to conduct redevelopment and health/risk planning, and community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Miami Model City Community Revitalization District Trust was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The Trust, an agency of the City of Miami, provides oversight and helps facilitate the city's revitalization efforts within the Model City district. Of Miami's 362,470 residents, 23,135 live in this district, and 96 percent of residents are African-American. The area has a poverty rate of 50 percent. During the civil disturbances of 1980, businesses in the area were destroyed and property was abandoned, contributing to the slums and blight in the neighborhood. The loss in population between 1990 and 2000 was accompanied by a loss of almost 1,000 housing units. Cleanup of the former Star Service Station will allow the development of an African-American Medical Museum at the site. Cleanup of the site is part of a larger area-wide redevelopment effort, which will expand the tax base, spur economic development, create jobs, and reconfigure the district through smart growth.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8684
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Model City Community Revitalization District Trust, FL
305-635-2301, ext. 374

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.