Featuring an aquatic center 

and a gymnasium, the $9 million, 

50,000-square-foot facility is the 

centerpiece of the $30 million public/

private revitalization project of the Kilby 

Gardner Hammond Street neighborhood. 

When the entire Kilby Gardner Hammond 

Street project is completed, it will 

generate an estimated $180,000 

per year in tax benefits.

The Main South Community Development Corporation (CDC) 

in Worcester, Massachusetts worked with neighborhood residents and 

community stakeholders to create a redevelopment vision that would 

aid in the recovery of a blighted, low-income minority community. With 

the help of project partners and a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup 

grant, the CDC redeveloped the former Rice Barton industrial factory 

and surrounding underutilized properties into a new Boys & Girls 

Club of Worcester. Replacing a 100-year-old building in need of major 

renovations, the Boys & Girls Club facility is the centerpiece of a public/

private revitalization project that will produce affordable housing for first 

time buyers and athletic fields for Clark University. 

Once a prospering industrial neighborhood, the Kilby Gardner Hammond 

Street (KGHS) area suffered economic decline associated with 

businesses closing in the area. Subsequently, the area became known as a 

dangerous location, often involving gang and illegal activity. The 30-acre 

KGHS target area contained many underutilized and vacant properties 

with dilapidated industrial or residential structures last used during 

the 1980s. One of the most contaminated properties was the former 

Rice Barton facility which, at the height of operation, was the largest 

manufacturer of paper-making machinery in the world. 

At the request of the city and community, the CDC helped the 

community craft a development vision for the future use of the 

property and surrounding neighborhood. The resulting plan included 

affordable, green housing for first time buyers, adjacent to surrounding 

neighborhoods; new athletic fields to meet the need of neighboring Clark 

University (a long-standing partner with the CDC); and a new state-ofthe-art Boys and Girls Club to replace the existing facility across town. 

In 1999, the CDC used an EPA Brownfields Assessment grant 

to determine the extent of contamination for the Kilby Gardner 

Hammond Street area, the largest wildcard in the development vision. 

Contamination revealed at the former Rice Barton site included 

petroleum products, hazardous materials including transformers, 

PCBs, solvents, and lead paint. Asbestos was also found inside the 

main building. After characterizing the contamination, the CDC 

was comfortable moving forward with cleanup. The Massachusetts 

Department of Environmental Protection issued a Beneficial Use 

Determination, which allowed the CDC to move construction materials 

and debris between parcels within the target area and reuse building 

JUST THE FACTS:

• Replacing a 100-year-old building in 

need of major renovations, the Boys & 

Girls Club facility is the centerpiece of 

a public/private revitalization project 

that will produce affordable housing for 

first time buyers and athletic fields for 

Clark University.

• In order to address cleanup of the 

area, the Boys & Girls Club, Clark 

University, and the Main South CDC 

formed the Kilby Gardner Hammond 

LLC in 2000 to oversee the cleanup 

and redevelopment project and to 

protect the partners from potential 

liability.

• Including funds from the U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, federal earmarked 

funds, private foundations, and city 

support, the project leveraged more 

than $5,965,000 in cleanup and 

redevelopment costs.

Worcester, Massachusetts

continued 

The completed Boys & Girls Club facility.

Partnerships and Critical Funding Turn 

Contaminated Land into Recreational 

and Residential Centerpieces
Demolition underway before construction of the new facility.

CONTACTS:

For more information contact

U.S. EPA REGION 1

(617) 918-1432

Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:

www.epa.gov/brownfields/

Brownfields Success Story - Worcester, MA Solid Waste EPA-560-F-09-022

Partnerships and Critical Funding Turn Contaminated and Emergency February 2009

Land into Recreational and Residential Centerpieces Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/

materials as fill—a tremendous cost-saver for the project. In 2003, the CDC was awarded a $200,000 

EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant for petroleum and hazardous materials to address the most significant 

contamination at the former Rice Barton property. As the keystone to moving the project forward, this grant 

helped to generate momentum and leverage additional funding. 

The entire project area consists of 30 individual properties, seven of which comprise the 

new Boys & Girls Club and athletic fields complex. The CDC acquired all 30 parcels 

within the target redevelopment area through negotiated sale and purchase and 

without using eminent domain. In order to address cleanup of the area, the Boys & 

Girls Club, Clark University, and the Main South CDC formed the Kilby Gardner 

Hammond LLC in 2000 to oversee the cleanup and redevelopment project and 

to protect the partners from potential liability. The CDC maintained ownership 

of the properties throughout cleanup and acted as the managing partner. Once 

cleanup was completed in March 2005, a two-acre parcel was transferred to the 

Boys & Girls Club; the parcels being converted into athletic fields will be sold to 

Clark University for the cost of land once the fields are completed.

The Boys & Girls Club facility opened at 65 Tainter Street on September 16, 

2006, with more than 800 people attending. The new facility will support the 

Worcester club’s current 2,300 members and will hopefully attract new ones. 

Featuring an aquatic center and a gymnasium, the $9 

million, 50,000-square-foot facility is the centerpiece 

of the $30 million public/private revitalization 

project of the Kilby Gardner Hammond Street neighborhood. 

When the entire Kilby Gardner Hammond Street project is 

completed, it will generate an estimated $180,000 per year 

in tax benefits.

EPA Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup grants 

provided momentum and security for the project, which 

helped to leverage additional funding. Steve Teasdale 

from the CDC stated, “The cost of remediating some 

sites located in inner city neighborhoods can be greater 

than the existing market value of the property. However, 

by subsidizing the development of those sites with public 

funding, the sites can be successfully redeveloped and 

become catalysts for the redevelopment of the surrounding 

area and overall growth of the city tax base. This end result warrents the initial subsidy investment.” 

Including funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal earmarked 

funds, private foundations, and city support, the project leveraged more than $5,965,000 in cleanup and 

redevelopment costs. 

The Boys & Girls Club redevelopment provided the needed incentive for additional development projects 

in the area. The Kilby Gardner Hammond Street project will include 80 affordable houses for first time 

buyers and will incorporate green design components. Currently, half of the houses are occupied. These 

homes include solar panels, EPA Energy Star rated windows, and no vinyl siding. Families are moving 

back into the area and will be able to walk to the Boys & Girls Club and athletic fields. Among the area’s 

new developments are two condominium projects that will create 136 units and return more than $325,000 

in annual tax revenues. The Kilby Gardner Hammond Street development project has greatly benefited the 

local community and now serves as a revitalization model for the Worcester region.