Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) Quick Reference Fact Sheet

United States

Environmental

Protection Agency

Washington, D.C. 20460

Solid Waste

and Emergency

Response (5101)

Ypsilanti, MI

Brownfields Assessment

Demonstration Pilot

EPA 500-F-98-203

July 1998

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Date of Announcement:

July 1998

Amount: $200,000

Profile: The Pilot targets

the City’s 34-acre Water

Street district, where

abandoned and idle

industrial lands provide the

best opportunities for

redevelopment in a

community that has limited

land for expansion.

PILOT SNAPSHOT

Contacts:

Community and

Economic Development

Department

City of Ypsilanti

(734) 483-9646

EPA’s Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other

stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and

sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and

an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment

Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of

brownfields solutions. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities, and communities with

useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site

assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.

Regional Brownfields Team

U.S. EPA - Region 5

(312) 353-3161

Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,

additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and

publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Ypsilanti for a

Brownfields Pilot. Ypsilanti is an historic urban

community with a population of nearly 25,000, located

20 minutes west of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The City, four square miles in area, has limited land

for development and is seeking to redevelop idle

industrial sites located in the City’s 34-acre Water

Street District. Industrial, residential, and park

properties characterize the Water Street area. The

City believes contamination exists due to automobile

manufacturing and associated industries. Ypsilanti is

faced with a declining population, a high poverty rate

(18%), limited opportunities for tax base expansion, a

deteriorating infrastructure, and a higher

unemployment rate than surrounding communities.

Eight targeted redevelopment areas are identified in

the City’s Master Plan, but the Pilot will primarily

focus on the Water Street Redevelopment Area.

OBJECTIVES

Ypsilanti plans to redevelop the Water Street area

with a mix of commercial and residential land uses,

capitalizing on the area’s proximity to the Huron River

and the City’s central business district. The Water

Street project will provide a model process for future

brownfields redevelopment in Ypsilanti.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Ypsilanti, Michigan

July 1998 EPA 500-F-98-203

An Environmental Real Estate Assessment (EREA)

of the target area revealed probable contamination

and recommended further environmental investigation.

Pilot funding will be used for conducting Phase I and

Phase II assessments, collecting parcel information

to update the EREA, and conducting public outreach

activities to involve property owners and developers.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Performing Phase I environmental assessments on

15 to 20 parcels;

• Performing Phase II environmental assessments on

8 to 10 parcels;

• Updating the EREA with the results from

environmental assessments so that parcels can be

prioritized based on their redevelopment potential;

and

• Conducting public information meetings where

targeted neighborhoods are provided updates of

Pilot activities and are encouraged to offer their

input in planning redevelopment in their communities.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been

negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet

are subject to change.