|
|
|
|
|
Industry Revival in a Classic Chicago Neighborhood STAMP:Industry Revival in a Classic Chicago Neighborhood Few other cities have had their industrial past immortalized like Chicago. Perhaps it’s because of its rapid and rugged rise from a marshy, frontier outpost into one of the nation’s leading metropolises. Perhaps because of the grit of its entrepreneurs and its workers, who rebuilt upon the city’s own ashes a more prosperous one that dared to reach for the sky. Or, perhaps we were just damn lucky to have a run of great writers who found a dark beauty in the smoke and soot and steel that coalesced and conspired to create the Chicago of the world’s imagination. Whether good or bad, it was the industriousness of Chicago’s people and its business community that armed the pens of writers like Theodore Dreiser, Gwendolyn Brooks, Studs Terkel, Nelson Algren, and Stuart Dybek. From that industry and around that industry grew neighborhoods to house the families of workers who forged and turned the wheels of progress. West Pullman in southeast Chicago is one of those neighborhoods. Born of the railroad industry and later nurtured by an amalgam of manufacturers, a large portion of the community now sits vacant and decayed. But this past July, the National Brownfield Association’s Site Technical Assistance for Municipal Projects (STAMP) brought together a team of brownfield professionals and municipal leaders to survey the area and propose creative solutions for financing predevelopment activities (remediation and surface/subsurface demolition) and sustainable initiatives. The City of Chicago is in the process of assembling an 80-acre tract of land within the larger West Pullman area, of which it currently owns or controls approximately 58 acres. Of the 80 acres, an estimated 80 percent of the property is deemed developable, assuming 20 percent of acreage is required for site setback and interior landscaping. Land value estimates can range from $1.50 per square foot for raw land to $3 per square foot for pad ready land. Tax rates range from $90 cents to $2 per square foot. The estimated cost to remediate the entire site to industrial cleanup standards, raze structures to grade and remove foundations where applicable is estimated at $50 million. The City of Chicago does not have the funds necessary to cover the cost of predevelopment activities. In addition, the city requires that all industrial sites incorporate green building design and sustainable initiatives into the development. This includes onsite storm water management and incorporation of green roofs. For this project, the goal is 100 percent green roof coverage or a combination of green roofs and photovoltaic (solar energy) systems. The cost estimate to achieve this green initiative is an additional $5 million. Site History Activities included the manufacturing of locomotive brake shoes, farm implements, railcars, various metallic working and forging operations, as well as lead-based paint production. World War II spurred additional growth in the 1940s, including the production of artillery shells and tank parts. Later market forces, such as decentralization, led to the industrial decline of the area. By the mid-1990s, the area was characterized by vacant sites, obsolete and abandoned industrial structures, environmental contamination and deteriorated infrastructure. Scavenging activities, which often spread contamination across the parcel, further exacerbated site conditions. A few parcels from the area were donated to churches or other nonprofit entities in an effort to divest of heavily con-taminated properties. Few industrial operations remain. International Harvester, Ingersoll and Dutch Boy have relocated their operations out of the area. Due to West Pullman’s growth throughout the late 1800s, defined by the acquisition of small communities and larger tracts of vacant land, the site boundary tends to be irregular. The boundaries roughly extend to Peoria Street on the east, Loomis Street on the west, 119th Street on the north and 122nd Street on the south. Environmental History In general, all of the properties have been entered into the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s (IEPA’s) Site Remediation Program (SRP), the state’s voluntary cleanup program (VCP). It is the city’s conserve landfill space. The advantage of the SRP to site remediation and development is that contaminated soil can be moved and maintained onsite in soil management zones, thus reducing the need for offsite disposal and associated costs. However, untreated hazardous waste must be treated or removed. It has been estimated that cleanup costs will range from $25 million to $50 million, which are developer dependent. To achieve the lower end of the remediation cost range, it was assumed that the site would be cleaned to industrial standards using risk assessment, engineered barriers and deed restrictions. It was also assumed that a portion of the older foundations could be left in place and new buildings constructed on top of them. In 1997, the Chicago City Council passed a groundwater ordinance that prohibits the installation of potable water wells in the city. Under Illinois’ VCP, groundwater must be completely evaluated, but allows a remedial applicant to limit groundwater cleanup and rely on this groundwater ordinance to prevent human consumption. Therefore, in most cases, groundwater remediation is not required within the city limits. Zoning Designation & Demographic Data Together, the area is known as the West Pullman neighborhood. According to 1990 and 2000 census data, the population was 36,649, of which 92 percent are African American. Additionally, the median family income was $42,914, and the unemployment rate was 17.6 percent in 1990 and 10.5 percent in 2000. Infrastructure The city is currently reconstructing 119th Street from Halsted to Ashland and coordinating the involvement of private utilities for the upgrade of natural gas, electrical and telephone facilities throughout the neighborhood. Incentives and Other Revenue Sources Key programs include: Previous owners and operators who were responsible for polluting the site should be identified as a possible source to finance cleanup. In addition, investigating the feasibility of collecting on historic insurance policies should be pursued through: • Insurance Recovery: Historic general and liability insurance policies No matter what path the city chooses in redeveloping West Pullman, the neighborhood is bound to bounce back, perhaps not to its former industrial glory, but able to support industry once again and with it, the workers and smaller businesses that are the staples of all communities. This is, after all, Chicago, a city experienced with rebirth. A city, as Carl Sandburg once wrote, that is: Now It’s Your Turn Let us know by sending your comments, suggestions or recommendations to johns@brownfieldnews.com. |
Want more? Become a Brownfield News subscriber and get instant access to industry news you can use!
|
Brownfield News is the official publication of the
National Brownfield Association |
© 2007 Environomics Communications. 5440 North Cumberland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60656
|
