The Union of 

Revolving Loan Funds 

Colorado Coalition, Colorado 

A major component of EPA’s Brownfields Program is the award of 

cooperative agreements to states, political subdivisions, and tribes to 

capitalize Brownfields Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs). These entities use 

RLF funds to make low interest loans for cleanup activities at 

brownfields properties. Seven Colorado local governments have joined 

the state to form a coalition to create the first RLF collaborative effort in 

EPA’s Brownfields Program. The Coalition is comprised of Commerce 

City, Denver, El Paso County, Englewood, Lakewood, Loveland, 

Westminster, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and 

Environment (CDPHE) and includes a partnership with the Colorado 

Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA). CDPHE is the grant recipient 

and lead agency responsible for assisting coalition communities in 

carrying out site management responsibilities and CHFA serves as the 

fund manager responsible for allocating the $5.1 million in cumulative 

RLF funds. 

All cleanups financed through the cumulative fund must have previous 

approval from CDPHE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). In addition 

to CDPHE and CHFA, the Colorado Coalition RLF is run by a Board of 

Directors comprised of representatives from each of the local 

government partners. The Board provides policy direction for the RLF 

communities and reviews all loan applications received by the Coalition. 

This equation has achieved great success providing loan funds across the 

state. 

The Colorado Coalition made one of the largest RLF loans under EPA’s 

Brownfields Program, to clean up a “greyfield.” The term “greyfield” 

was coined in a recent study to refer to the sites composed of derelict 

shopping centers, or so-called “dead malls,” often characterized by the 

vast empty asphalt parking lots that surround them. 

In 2002, the Coalition issued a $1.95 million loan to Continuum Partners 

LLC, a private developer, for the cleanup of the former Villa Italia Mall 

property in the City of Lakewood. This brownfield was a former indoor 

shopping mall in a blighted neighborhood approximately ten minutes from 

downtown Denver. Continuum Partners demolished the Villa Italia Mall, 

removed contaminated soil, and are currently using in-situ groundwater 

remediation to clean up perchloroethylene (PCE) contamination left 

behind from two dry cleaning companies that previously occupied a 

portion of the property. The new redevelopment is called Belmar, which 

was the historic name for this area. 

Revolving Loan Funds helped make this 

Colorado shopping center possible. 

JUST THE FACTS: • Seven Colorado local governments and 

the state formed the first RLF 

collaborative effort in the Brownfields 

Program. The Coalition comprises the 

cities of Commerce City, Denver, El 

Paso County, Englewood, Lakewood, 

Loveland, Westminster, and the 

Colorado Department of Public Health 

and Environment (CDPHE) and 

includes a partnership with the 

Colorado Housing and Finance 

Authority (CHFA). 

• The first loan, issued to the City of 

Englewood, was used to clean up a 

9.4-acre former landfill and transform it 

into a community park with an all-star 

baseball field and new trail connections. 

• A $1.95 million loan was made to a 

private developer for the cleanup of the 

Villa Italia Mall property in the City of 

Lakewood the 19-block project will 

create a city center concentrated 

around the city’s municipal buildings. 

With assistance from EPA’s 

Brownfields Program, the Colorado 

Coalition is working collaboratively 

with many partners to clean up 

blighted areas in Colorado and 

return them to productive use. The 

Coalition’s projects represent 

collaborative efforts and 

coordination at the federal, state, 

and local levels. 

continued • 
The completed Phase 1 and 2 of the 

Belmar redevelopment project. 

CONTACTS:

For more information contact: 

Dan Scheppers, CDPHE, (303) 692-3398 

Tom Pike, U.S. EPA-REGION 8, (303) 312-6982 

Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: 

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

In-situ remediation involves injecting nutrients and a carbon source into the groundwater 

via wells to facilitate the biological breakdown of PCE. Currently, all injection wells 

have been installed and the property is in the monitoring phase, with additional 

injections of nutrients occurring as needed. The groundwater treatment has been 

completed and the site will be monitored to assure that the treatment was 

successful. 

Once completed, the phased Belmar redevelopment project will give Lakewood 

its first downtown area; a mixed-use space that will include a public plaza, a park, 

an outside shopping area, offices, and residential living. The 19-block project will 

create a city center concentrated around the city’s municipal buildings. The city is 

estimating the project to cost of approximately $500 million. As 

of fall 2005, Phases 1 and 2 of the three-phase redevelopment 

have been completed. 

In addition to the Belmar project, the Coalition has been able to utilize 

innovative partnerships to cleanup a property and create a 

community park that includes two new athletic fields. The 

Coalition’s first loan was issued to the City of Englewood in 1998, 

for the development of Centennial Park. The $705,041 loan was 

used to clean up a 9.4-acre former landfill and transform it into a 

community park that comprises an all-star baseball field and new 

trail connections. Site investigations identified elevated 

concentrations of heavy metals in groundwater and high levels of 

methane. 

Originally, the property owner planned to convert the land into a 

waste transfer station; however, the city opposed this use, and 

together with the community, initiated park expansion activities. One 

of the highlights of this project was the addition of new athletic 

fields to the city’s park system, one of which was funded through 

the Colorado Rockies’ Field of Dreams program. Former Colorado Rockies’ catcher Brent Mayne 

donated $70,000 in seed money for the construction of a baseball field (Brent Mayne Field) at 

Centennial Park. The park project also created new trail connections to the South Platte River Trail 

system, providing kayakers access to the South Platte boat chutes and Mary Carter Greenway 

whitewater boating facilities. This project is significant to the communities of Englewood, Sheridan, 

and Littleton because it provides regional recreational amenities to residents of all three cities. 

These projects exemplify a collaborative effort to remove regulatory barriers without sacrificing 

protection of human health and the environment, and coordination of environmental cleanup efforts at 

the federal, state, and local levels. The Colorado Coalition RLF has approved seven loans for $4.9 

million and one subgrant since its inception. Through the creation and use of the Colorado Coalition 

RLF, the communities in Colorado are successfully cleaning up blighted areas and returning them to 

productive use. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 560-F-05-245 

Colorado Coalition, Colorado and Emergency October 2005 

Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/