A Vision of Liberty 

is Realized 

Liberty Lands, Pennsylvania 

Upon founding and designing Philadelphia in 1680, William 

Penn specified that 10,000 acres of land north and west of the town 

be set aside for “Liberty Lands.” More than 320 years later, using an 

EPA Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) grant, the community of 

Northern Liberties followed Penn’s vision and created Liberty Lands 

Park on a site with a history of contamination. 

Northern Liberties, a residential community in North Philadelphia, 

thrived both as a blue collar neighborhood and an industrial center 

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Breweries, factories, and 

leather tanneries provided gainful employment for the residents of 

Philadelphia and the promise of a new life for many immigrants. 

In the mid-20th century, industry in the area began to decline. The 

sites of once-thriving businesses became filled with weeds and were 

abandoned. A former tannery, which closed in 1962, was left with real 

and perceived contamination and considered a serious health threat 

to the neighborhood. In 1987, EPA’s Superfund Removal Program 

removed 1,000 drums and chemical containers from the building 

and site. Three years later, EPA returned to clean up polychlorinated 

biphenyls (PCBs) that were leaking into adjacent streets from discarded 

electrical transformers on the site. 

Following these cleanup activities, plans were made by developers to 

remodel the existing building into loft style housing. When the project 

fell through due to financial problems, the property was donated 

to the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association (NLNA), which 

planned to build senior housing for neighborhood residents. However, 

damage within the existing structure caused the City of Philadelphia to 

demolish the building, placing the $500,000 cost of demolition as a lien 

on the property. The NLNA’s plans were put on hold and the site was 

left vacant for more than a year. After much deliberation, the NLNA 

decided to implement a short term plan and turn the site into a park. 

EPA Region 3 provided a $15,000 TBA to perform assessments, which 

indicated that the property was clear of contamination and suitable 

for greenspace redevelopment. TBAs are provided through EPA’s 

Brownfields Program and are intended to finance site characterization 

services for brownfields with redevelopment potential. These 

continued • 

The completed Liberty Lands playground in Winter. 

JUST THE FACTS:

• A former tannery in the Northern 

Liberties neighborhood of North 

Philadelphia was the site of an EPA-led 

cleanup effort in the late 1980s. 

• With local developers interested in the 

property, EPA Targeted Brownfields 

Assessment funds were used to confirm 

that the site was still safe and suitable 

for redevelopment into recreational 

greenspace. 

• The new Liberty Lands park is now 

a place of pride and appreciation for 

local residents—a place where people 

can “just eat lunch and watch the 

greenery.” 

• In 2002, this project was used as an 

example of innovative brownfields 

redevelopment in a PBS program titled, 

“What’s Up in the Environment.” 

The community used 

innovative and environmentally 

sustainable approaches in redevelopment; 

biosolids, solid materials generated from 

waste water treatment, were used as 

fertilizer and topsoil. Today, Liberty Lands 

Park includes a community garden, a 

playground, picnic benches, a Native 

American herb garden, a butterfl y garden, 

more than 100 trees, and a screen for 

showing outdoor movies. 
The new park. 

assessments give cities, municipalities, states, and potential developers an idea of the contamination 

present and how much cleanup will be necessary. 

After assessments were completed, the NLNA turned its attention to removing the liens, estimates 

for which had reached nearly $750,000. First District Councilman Frank DiCicco was instrumental 

in convincing the city to absolve the costs of demolition and other debts attached to the land. The 

NLNA and DiCicco celebrated the success of this effort by holding a lien burning at the park, which 

was attended by hundreds of local residents. The site’s transformation into a park created pride and 

appreciation within the neighborhood, and the NLNA ultimately decided to keep the park as the site’s 

permanent use. 

In 1997, after receiving $69,000 from a Philadelphia Urban Resources Partnership (PURP) grant, the 

NLNA was able to move forward with its greenspace development plan. The PURP grant required that 

the local community provide a match to the grant in either community volunteer hours or fi nancing, and 

the NLNA more than doubled this requirement. Philadelphia Green, part of the 

Pennsylvania Horticulture Society, made the project part of its Keystone 

Gardens program from which the NLNA leveraged $8,000 for various 

projects and countless hours of in-kind support, tools, and materials. 

Later, the NLNA received $35,000 in a second PURP grant that was 

used for drainage cleanup in the park. To date, the 

community has contributed approximately 

$200,000 in volunteer hours and $100,000 of 

funding in small donations for the park. CONTACTS:

The community used innovative and For more information contact environmentally sustainable approaches to U.S. EPA REGION 3 

redevelopment. Biosolids, solid materials generated from waste water (215) 814-5000 

treatment, were used as fertilizer and topsoil. The community used both 

the funding from the PURP grants and funds generated by the community Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: 

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

to provide amenities for the park that include a community garden, 

picnic benches, a Native American herb garden, a playground, a butterfly 

garden, a composting area, stone retaining walls, more than 100 trees, 

and a screen for showing outdoor movies. Northern Liberties Neighbors 

Association Member Janet Finegar remarked, “A lot of people just eat lunch 

and watch the greenery. It is the only park in our neighborhood, the only place 

to just go and sit.” 

Liberty Lands Park is a tribute to the success of EPA’s regional TBA programs. In 2002, the project was 

used as an example of innovative brownfields redevelopment in a PBS program titled, “What’s Up in the 

Environment.” Targeted Brownfields Assessments have and continue to be great tools for communities 

to use in the efforts to return their brownfields to productive use. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-08-300 

A Vision of Liberty is Realized and Emergency September 2008 

Liberty Lands, Pennsylvania Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/