Coralville Residents’ Vision for 

Iowa River is Coming to Life 

JUST THE ACTS: 

• Over the past 12 years, Coralville's 

City Council has been working to 

revitalize a dilapidated industrial park 

that stood at the city's gateway. 

• The city used EPA Brownfields Pilot 

funds to begin Phase II environmental 

assessments of the industrial park. 

These and subsequent assessments 

have acted as a catalyst for 

redevelopment. 

• The city has developed an Urban 

Renewal Plan and issued municipal 

bonds to fund development of a $58 

million convention center and 200-

room hotel complex. 

projects alone are expected to 

generate as many as 2,000 jobs. 

Coralville, IA 

icture driving down Interstate 80 and, approaching Coralville, an Iowa 

town, you see a beautiful river—with a giant coal pile, an abandoned truck 

stop, an old municipal dump, and a rail spur next to it—not a pretty picture. 

Until recently, this was the view that greeted visitors arriving in Coralville. 

Now imagine arriving for a meeting at a new conference center with an 

exhibit hall and a hotel alongside the same river. As you stroll along a pathway on the river's edge, you rest at a gazebo and consider walking to Iowa 

City via a new pedestrian bridge. You may even picnic on the newly restored bands of the Iowa River. This more appealing scenario is what the 

Coralville community had in mind when it participated in a brainstorming 

session for the revitalization of the 157-acre, declining industrial park that 

had for so long been the gateway to Coralville. With the help of EPA, which 

in September 1998 awarded a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant 

to the City of Coralville, along with supplemental awards of $100,000 in 

2000 and 2002—and the $1,500,000 in funding leveraged to date as a result, 

this scenario is now becoming reality. 

Over the past 12 years, Coralville's City Council has been working to revitalize 

the old industrial park—home to heavy commercial and industrial businesses 

near the end of their life cycles. As commercial and industrial space became 

scarce in the city and residents often objected to using nearby space for 

these purposes, it became nearly impossible to bring new businesses to the 

area. As a result, assessing and cleaning up contamination at the industrial 

park became vital. To jumpstart revitalization, the Council first brainstormed 

different redevelopment scenarios and developed the First Avenue 

Revitalization Plan, which called for a new convention center/exhibit hall 

and hotel. 

In 1997, a First Avenue Corridor Study identified $15.4 million in roadway 

improvements needed to provide necessary access to the park. These 

improvements are being funded by the Iowa Department of Transportation 

(DOT) with matching funds from city bonds. Phase one of these 

improvements was completed in 2001, including sidewalk repair and 

construction to improve pedestrian access—an important step as the park 

provides the only access to the Iowa River. In 1998, the city used Pilot 

funds to begin Phase two environmental assessments of the park, which 

along with three subsequent assessments have acted as a catalyst for 

redevelopment. "After 12 years, the most difficult part was getting started 

with the assessment funding; the Pilot generated a lot of interest in the 

community, and even across the river—Iowa City is now looking towards 

the river for revitalization as well," said City Administrator Kelly Hayworth. 

continued �

"After 12 years, the most 

difficult part [of redeveloping 

Coralville's gateway area] was 

getting started with the assessment 

funding; [EPA's Brownfields] Pilot 

generated a lot of interest in the 

community, and even across the 

river—Iowa City is now looking 

towards the river for revitalization 

as well." 

Coralville City Administrator 

Kelly Hayworth 

P 

F

These two 
CONTACTS: 

For more information contact 

U.S. EPA-Region 7 (913) 551-7414 

Or visit EPA’s Brownfields Web site at: 

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

Since the former Hawkeye Truck Stop site was expected to be the cornerstone of the planned redevelopment, 

the Pilot funded an assessment that revealed little contamination but reaffirmed the presence 

of known mixed petroleum contaminants from two underground storage tanks (USTs), 

one of which was a leaking underground storage tank (LUST). In the spring of 2000, 

after the city purchased $10,000 in UST insurance, the state Department of Natural 

Resources used $800,000 in LUST Fund monies to remove the tanks, pump out 

five to six feet of standing mixed-petroleum contamination, and treat additional 

chemical contaminants. The city also spent $12,000 to demolish a gas station 

and restaurant on the site and purchased the property for $4 million. 

However, plans changed for the truck stop site once public opinion was solicited 

at open meetings held by a Steering Committee created by the City Council. 

Although residents still supported the conference center development, they wanted 

the Iowa River to be the focal point of revitalization efforts. As a result, a new 

location adjacent to the river was selected. 

The second site to be assessed and cleaned up under the Brownfields Pilot was the 

Crandic Railroad property, where a 50-year-old, 13-acre coal pile once visible from the interstate 

was removed. The University of Iowa, which leased the property from Alliant Energy, removed the coal as 

well as a layer of asphalt and funded $225,000 of the cleanup. The soil and coal removed were not toxic. 

However, from June 2001 until June 2003, the levels of cadmium that had leached into the groundwater will be 

monitored. The city purchased the site for $1.8 million-$500,000 of which came from the Iowa Department of 

Economic Development-and will use it for future mixed-use development and open space. 

The third assessment conducted with Pilot funds is not related to the convention center, but was a high 

priority for the city because of the property's creek side location and its former use as a municipal dump. 

Assessment results on the Clear Creek property found ethelbenzene in the groundwater, which the city 

plans to clean up using a technique called airsparging. In this method, compressed air is pumped through 

water, separating the contaminants for removal. The city anticipates using a combination of private and 

city funding for the cleanup. 

The city has developed an Urban Renewal Plan, which enabled it to obtain a designation that allows 

Coralville to issue municipal bonds to fund the $58 million convention center and 200-room hotel complex 

in 2002. This includes the approximately $2 million purchase of 50 acres (eight parcels of land). The city 

anticipates that construction on the project will begin in the summer of 2003 and that the convention 

center/complex will open in 2004. Between the hotel and the conference/exhibit hall, 2,000 jobs are 

expected to be created. 

The conference center and hotel have opened the door to plans for a much larger redevelopment project 

adjacent to the conference center: A Child project. The city plans to acquire the land (they have 

already acquired approximately 15 percent of the 30 acres needed) that will be used to house an ecologicallyoriented learning environment that includes a 4.5-acre indoor rainforest with an aquarium, as well as 

outdoor exhibits of Iowa's indigenous ecosystem including prairies and wetlands. The project is envisioned 

as a learning laboratory for visitors, students, teachers, and researchers. It is anticipated that $230 million 

in state, federal, and private funds will be needed to fund the project, which was originally planned for 80 

acres of greenspace until the brownfields site came to the attention of the IOWA Child Institute. The 

site's brownfields status, riverside location, and proximity to the conference center and hotel are well 

matched to the ecological project's aims. An exhibit about the location's brownfields history is a part of a 

planned development that is expected to generate $116.6 million in annual statewide revenue and taxes as 

well as $22.2 million in new wages. 

the IOW

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 500-F-03-013 

Coralville, Iowa and Emergency May 2003 

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