In Charlotte, North Carolina, a Brownfi elds Assessment 

Demonstration grant awarded by EPA in 1996 to target the city’s 

Wilmore neighborhood and South End Business District led to the 

creation of nearly 1,000 jobs, and helped leverage more than $37.5 

million in cleanup and redevelopment funding. This total is expected 

to reach over $60 million once Charlotte’s ongoing redevelopment 

projects are completed.

The Brownfi elds Pilot’s fi rst major success was Camden Square, 

a mixed-use development now home to the Design Center of the 

Carolinas, a complex of three buildings that house architectural fi rms, 

graphics production companies, interior design fi rms, and other designrelated endeavors. This project alone leveraged approximately $14.5 

million in redevelopment investments, and that number will increase 

as redevelopment expands to a separate project—Camden Square’s 

Village East and Village West. Investment at this project is projected to 

reach $49 million and to create an additional 750 jobs. Camden Square 

was the fi rst project to fall under the state’s Brownfi elds Property 

Reuse Act, which uses land use restrictions, risk-based cleanup 

standards, and liability protections to promote the redevelopment of 

brownfi elds.

Another Pilot success is the Gaines Brown Design Project, which 

focuses on a brownfi eld located in Charlotte’s Wilmore neighborhood. 

The operator of an exhibit design business in the neighborhood had 

been looking to purchase this site adjacent to his property to renovate 

and lease to design-related businesses. Once the site of a radiator 

shop, the property was vacant for more than 10 years due in part to 

unknown levels of lead contamination in the soil. The Pilot used 

$25,000 in grant funding to conduct an environmental assessment and 

design a cleanup plan. The assessment revealed that a portion of the 

site was in fact clean, enabling the operator to purchase that area of 

the property. The operator was later able to purchase the remaining 

portion of the parcel, demolish the former radiator shop, and remove 

the contaminated soil. Due to successful redevelopment of an offi ce 

building across the street as well as a nearby 5-story condominium 

JUST THE FACTS:

• In Charlotte, an EPA Brownfi elds 

Assessment Demonstration grant 

awarded in 1996 has led to the creation 

of nearly 1,000 jobs and helped leverage 

more than $37.5 million in cleanup and 

redevelopment funding throughout the 

city. 

• The $14.5 million Design Center of 

the Carolinas now includes more than 

100 design-related businesses and 500 

employees.

• EPA-funded assessments of the Gaines 

Brown Design property indicated that it 

was clean, and in the future the property 

will likely include a $3 to $5 million 

redevelopment project. 

• The former Westover Shopping Center 

is now City West Commons, which 

opened in September 2003 and created 

150 new jobs.

Charlotte, North Carolina

continued 

Charlotte Maintains 

Redevelopment Momentum

The Gaines Brown Design property prior to 

cleanup and redevelopment.

“It’s a great sign that outsiders are 

realizing what the potential is. ... My 

concern is that a lot of folks might sell 

without knowing what a gold mine 

they’re sitting on.” 

 -City Council member 

Patrick Cannon, The Charlotte 

Observer, 7/12/98
CONTACTS:

For more information contact

U.S. EPA REGION 4

(404) 562-9900

Visit the EPA Brownfi elds Web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/

Brownfi elds Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-06-233

Charlotte, North Carolina and Emergency August 2006

 Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/

complex, a $3 to $5 million redevelopment project is probable for this property. 

Another success for the Charlotte Brownfi elds Pilot is the City West Commons property, formerly 

the Westover Shopping Center. In 1991, the property was seized by the federal government due to 

illegal activities. The Pilot used $20,000 to conduct an environmental assessment on the property, 

which concluded that contaminant levels were low enough for redevelopment to begin. The Pilot 

leveraged nearly $200,000 for assessment and cleanup of the property as well as more than 

$3 million for redevelopment activities. After a decade of planning to bring new 

development to the area, the newly constructed shopping center opened in September 

2003 and created 150 new jobs. The new tenants include Family Dollar, JacksonHewitt Tax Service, a division of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, 

and a Southern cuisine cafeteria that has live gospel music every month.

Thanks to EPA’s Brownfi elds Program, Charlotte has returned these formerly idle 

properties to enhancements for the city and provided much-needed employment 

opportunities in an area where 27 percent of residents live below the poverty 

line. As word of these successes has spread to the real estate and redevelopment 

communities, there has been a dramatic increase in the Wilmore neighborhood’s 

marketability. Residents are now being inundated with offers 

to sell their properties. The Pilot was also awarded a 

$100,000 supplemental assistance grant, which allowed the 

Pilot to expand its target area beyond the South End-Wilmore district 

to include all the of city’s distressed neighborhoods. 

The completed Gaines Brown 

Design Building.