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Governor Rendell Says PA Making Investments to Revitalize Former Industrial Sites

Posted on: Friday, 21 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced that four redevelopment projects, including an effort to create more than 10,000 jobs by revitalizing 77 acres of a former steel site in Chester County, have qualified for Brownfield Action Team assistance. Other qualifying projects are in Bucks, Butler and Lehigh counties.

"Pennsylvania's industrial heritage has left us with many industrial sites that are contaminated, but we are making investments to return this prime real estate to productive use," Governor Rendell said. "Revitalizing these sites will help us attract new jobs and new investment that will help the state continue its solid progress in improving the economy.

"Our Department of Environmental Protection has streamlined the permit process, which accelerates redevelopment deals and gives investors the incentive they need to clean up contaminated industrial sites. As a result, we are able to support job creation, build our tax base and enhance recreational opportunities that improve the quality of life for area residents," Governor Rendell added.

Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty took part in announcing the four BAT designations at the Worthington Steel site in East Whiteland Township, Chester County. The plant closed in 2002, leaving the site vacant and economically unproductive.

"Governor Rendell's leadership is making the state's redevelopment efforts a national model for transforming abandoned, idle properties into new economic opportunities," McGinty said. "These projects demonstrate clearly that environmental protection can be a driver for economic growth in Pennsylvania."

The 77-acre Worthington redevelopment project includes 700,000 square feet of commercial office space, 500,000 square feet of retail space, 600 multi- family residential units and an open-space greenway for recreation. This project is expected to create 3,000 jobs on site, with the potential to generate up to 7,400 spin-off jobs in the area economy.

The site is being developed by O'Neill Properties Group, which already has secured $7 million in federal funding and is pursuing several sources of state funding, including the Governor's successful Business in Our Sites Program, which provides money to prepare sites for reuse. The developers also have entered into loan agreements with private sector sources.

"This project will be a tremendous shot in the arm for the local economy," McGinty said. "Governor Rendell's vision of bringing good jobs back to vacant industrial sites to benefit residents will be realized here. At the same time, this project will help to preserve open space, which is at a premium in southeastern Pennsylvania."

At the former Elf Atochem North America property in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, the Riverfront South project will create a waterfront community containing an array of office and retail space, along with entertainment- oriented businesses. Also planned is a mixture of housing, about 500 units in all, in a traditional neighborhood setting with pedestrian-oriented streets. This new urban plan also includes four acres of green space along the Delaware River for recreation, including walking and biking paths to link with park areas both north and south of the site.

The West Sand Island project in Bethlehem, Lehigh County, will expand the existing park, preserve green space, improve access to the riverfront and enhance the overall recreational value of Sand Island. The redevelopment plan, being run by the city, includes walking/biking trails, fishing piers, a nonmotorized boat dock, a pavilion with restroom facilities, a picnic area, a parking area and green space. This is all located on a former manufacturing site.

The Pullman Center Business Park in Butler, Butler County, is a key component of the city's revitalization efforts. Plans for this $30 million redevelopment project include revamping it into a business park with space available for commercial, office and industrial manufacturing uses. Two current businesses located on this site will stay, and several parties have expressed interest in other parcels on the site once it is reclaimed and new utilities are installed. This project will be funded through a variety of public and private investments.

Governor Rendell has worked aggressively to provide new incentives and financing and put in place enhanced management approaches that hasten brownfield redevelopment. McGinty highlighted the administration's significant track record of making environmental protection work for businesses and employees during testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives panel in September.

The Governor's Business in Our Sites Fund provides $300 million to help local redevelopment authorities and economic development corporations acquire, remediate and prepare shovel-ready sites for businesses that are seeking to build or expand immediately. PennWorks, a $250 million voter-approved bond initiative, finances improvements to aging water and wastewater systems that can serve as a disincentive to development.

The BAT program, launched in 2004, creates a single point of contact to streamline permitting processes - cutting the time in half - for those sites that local officials target for redevelopment. BAT relies on communities to tell DEP which brownfield projects are priorities for revitalizing an area and requires communities to show cleanup and financing plans as well as the proposed use of the site and its benefits to the area.

The Rendell administration added another enhancement through a historic Memorandum of Agreement between DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make Pennsylvania's Land Recycling Program the first and only in the nation to serve as a "one-stop shop" for state and federal standards guiding the cleanup of brownfield sites.

The memorandum clarifies that sites remediated under the state's brownfields program also satisfy requirements for three key federal laws: the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation Liability Act, commonly referred to as Superfund; and the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by environmental issues. For more information, visit DEP's Web site at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/, Keyword: "Land Recycling."

The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/.

CONTACT: Kate Philips 717-783-1116 Kurt Knaus, DEP 717-787-1323

Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

CONTACT: Kate Philips, Pennsylvania Office of the Governor,+1-717-783-1116, or Kurt Knaus, DEP, +1-717-787-1323

Web site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/http://www.dep.state.pa.us/

Source: PRNewswire

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