Project Background:

A prime commercial location and highway improvements made this partially abandoned parcel with two buildings 

attractive for redevelopment; however, one building’s former use as a dry cleaner clouded the site’s reputation. Various 

environmental assessments were conducted at the site since the dry cleaner closed in 1990, and potential ground water 

contamination was found in connection with the dry cleaning business. The owner of the property (who had never 

operated the dry cleaner) inherited both buildings from his late father in 1999. In July 2001, the property owner agreed 

to participate in the City of West Monroe’s Brownfields Assessment Pilot. An EPA Brownfields Assessment grant to the 

City of West Monroe, along with leveraged funding from the property owner, paid the $55,000 cost of site assessment 

in 2003. The assessment indicated that concentrations of tetrachloroethene and other contaminants in subsurface soil 

and ground water exceeded Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) limits. The proposed remedial design 

for the site included implementation of ground water use restrictions and elimination of soil exposure pathways via an 

impervious cap. Based on these findings, the property owner entered into a Voluntary Remedial Action Cooperative 

Agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality in November 2003, and developed a Remedial 

Design and Project Plan to address risks at the site and undertake its cleanup. 

key accomPlishments:

•	 Parking lot barrier and institutional controls limit exposure to contaminants 

at the site.

•	 Remediation demolished abandoned dry cleaner building and provided 

additional parking for viable commercial building.

•	 $6,000 in private funding was leveraged for site assessment and 

remediation.

outcome:

Cleanup was competed on February 8, 2007. Remediation included institutional controls prohibiting the use of ground 

water at the site, and the installation of a barrier to prevent exposure to impacted soils. Originally, the .23 acre property 

included two buildings, the dry cleaner and one that had a variety of uses over the years. The property owner’s 

redevelopment plan was simple: demolish the vacant dry cleaning building while leaving the other intact and build a 

parking lot to serve as both a cap over the impacted soils and a way to increase parking for the intact viable building. The 

City of West Monroe’s Brownfields Redevelopment Program provided financial and technical support to both assess and 

remediate the site, to improve the appearance and business environment in the area, and to encourage economic growth. 

The property was recently sold, and its new owner now operates a successful fitness center in the site’s remaining building.

Former Brownfield Brings Opportunity for Physical Fitness

CMA PROPERTIES West Monroe, Louisiana

Assessment Grant

brownfields

at-a-glance

EPA 560-F-10-217

July 2010

For additional data and geographic 

information for this and other Brownfields 

Grants, please visit EPA’s Cleanups in 

My Community - http://iaspub.epa.gov/

Cleanups/

FOR MORE InFORMATIOn: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 6 at (214) 665-6780

address: 2712-18 N. 7th Street, West Monroe, LA 71291

ProPerty size: 0.23 acres

Former use: Dry cleaner, cablevision, electronics store, 

interior design store, and radio station 

current use: Fitness Center

ePa grant reciPient: Project Partners:

Louisiana Department of 

Environmental Quality, City 

of West Monroe Brownfields 

Program

The City of West Monroe, 

Louisiana received a $200,000 

EPA Brownfields Assessment 

grant in 2000.

For additional data and geographic 

information for this and other Brownfields 

Grants, please visit 

My Community

Cleanups/

Site remediation in progress.