Using “Green” Buildings on 

Brownfields: Using Innovative 

Architecture to Improve Performance 

EPA’s Brownfields Program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to 

work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a property, 

the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous 

substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides financial and technical assistance for brownfield 

revitalization, including grants for environmental assessment, cleanup, and job training. 

The new Montgomery Park Business Center 

in Baltimore, Maryland. 

JUST THE FACTS: 

• Sustainable development ensuring 

that property reuses are 

environmentally sound, safe, and 

beneficial to the community has 

always been one of the most 

important aspects of EPA’s 

Brownfields Program. 

• In Baltimore, Maryland, the city’s 

Brownfields Assessment Pilot 

helped facilitate redevelopment of 

an historic catalogue distribution 

center into a model green building 

for office and technology uses. 

• Baltimore’s new facility offers lowenergy heating, cooling, and lighting 

systems; use of recycled materials; 

insulated windows; a green roof 

that incorporates soil planting for 

added insulation; abundant natural 

light; and bike lockers and showers 

for employees who ride to work. 

continued 

Green Buildings 

Green buildings complement EPA’s philosophy that brownfields 

redevelopment projects should be environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, 

long-lasting, and safe for the local community. Green buildings represent 

resource-efficient models of construction and operation that are designed 

to use fewer resources and generate less pollution. As part of its Green 

Buildings on Brownfields Initiative, EPA selected eight communities for 

Green Buildings on Brownfields Pilot projects. Through these Pilots, EPA 

has been working with communities to incorporate environmental 

considerations into the planning, design, and implementation of their 

brownfields redevelopment projects. 

Some of the design considerations associated with green buildings include: 

• use of environmentally safe and/or recycled construction materials in 

design; 

• landscaping that reduces runoff and shades the structure; 

• designs that reduce the amount of water and energy consumption by 

occupants; and 

• green roofs (roofs with plant covering to reduce direct heating and 

improve a building’s appearance). 

EPA’s initial eight Green Buildings on Brownfields Pilot projects are now 

underway, and it is hoped that their progress and accomplishments will 

serve as models for similar projects to follow. Assistance from EPA for 

these Pilots comes in the form of technical, financial, planning, and outreach 

services; design expertise; and/or other needed expertise as identified by 

the community. The Pilots are described below. 

The Community Center Building, Springfield, 

Massachusetts 

With assistance from EPA and the local government, the New North 

Citizen’s Council (NNCC), a non-profit social service organization, plans 

to build a two-story, 25,000-square-foot building to replace its cramped 

and deteriorated offices. The project site is located on 1.2 acres, which 
includes NNCC’s current offices and other city-owned brownfields. The Pilot project aims to meet the criteria and 

gain the certification of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 

program and the Energy Star for Buildings program. 

The National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Center for Aquatic Life and Conservation, 

Baltimore, Maryland 

To meet the needs of a rapidly growing collection of current and future exhibits, as well as expanding programs in 

research, husbandry, and conservation, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is building a new aquatic animal care 

center. A seven-acre brownfield located near major highways and bus routes in Baltimore City is the planned location 

for the new facility. The Aquarium will seek a Gold or Silver LEED rating for the center. 

Community Culture and Commercial Center, Kauai, Hawaii 

This project is located on the island of Kauai, in Anahola, on a property that has frequently been used for the illegal 

disposal of automobiles, tires, appliances, batteries, and other items. Reuse plans for the state-owned property 

include a senior care living center, an elderly independent living facility, a charter school, retail stores, office space, 

and other facilities. The state plans to design the buildings and landscape to be energy- and resource-efficient, using 

local building materials wherever possible, and to attain LEED certification. Some of the sustainable design measures 

being considered include alternative energy generation, natural ventilation and day-lighting, the use of recycled building 

materials, and the use of non-toxic finishes and materials. 

World Headquarters for Heifer International, Little Rock, Arkansas 

Heifer International, a non-profit organization devoted to ending world hunger, is developing its new world headquarters 

and an education center on a 28-acre brownfield in a former industrial area in downtown Little Rock. Heifer will seek 

a Gold LEED rating for the 100,000-square-foot building. Sustainable, environmentally sound features of the building 

will be highlighted in public education programs to illustrate environmentally responsible building practices. 

Volcanic Legacy Discovery Center, Mt. Shasta, California 

The redevelopment plan for this 127-acre former lumber mill property includes 10 acres for the Volcanic Legacy 

Center. The center will be the centerpiece of a scenic byway stretching from Crater Lake in Oregon to Lassen Peak 

in California, and is expected to receive thousands of visitors each year. The center will include a 20,000-square-foot 

building with an auditorium, exhibit spaces with interactive and educational displays (including a section to demonstrate 

green building materials), a gift shop, other auxiliary spaces, and parking. Sustainable landscape design features may 

be incorporated into the reuse plan, with an area for shrubs and plants, a vegetative filter area, a wildlife pond, and a 

stormwater retention basin among the possibilities. 

ReGenesis Medical Center, Spartanburg, South Carolina 

ReGenesis, Inc., a community non-profit corporation, is purchasing a 33-acre brownfield for redevelopment as a 

health and wellness park. The property will include a community medical center providing integrated healthcare. 

Using green building technologies, the center will be designed to protect indoor air quality, reduce operation and 

maintenance costs, and protect the watershed of a nearby creek. continued 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste October 2003 

EPA-500-F-03-249 and Emergency Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 
A former pumphouse property in Washington, DC 

has been redeveloped into a conservation center 

with a green roof. 

continued 

The Trailhead Building, St. Louis, Missouri 

Trailnet, Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop a system of trails, known as the Greenway, in the 

greater St. Louis metropolitan area, is converting a former power plant into an environmentally friendly building for 

office space. The building will also serve as a public place for people to meet, eat, get directions and information on 

the Greenway, and learn about the planet’s third-largest watershed. Trailnet, working with local stakeholders and 

partners, aims to achieve a Gold LEED rating for the building. 

Marina District Redevelopment, Toledo, Ohio 

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is in the process of redeveloping the 120-acre Marina District brownfield on 

the east bank of the Maumee River, directly across from downtown Toledo. The redeveloped area will include 

residential, commercial, recreational, and entertainment facilities. The Port Authority intends to use expert services 

provided through the Pilot to identify opportunities to employ green building technologies such as energy conservation 

measures, natural landscaping, natural stormwater management, and pedestrian-friendly site designs. 

Green Building Practices on Existing EPA Brownfields Pilots 

Sustainable development ensuring that property reuses are environmentally sound, safe, and beneficial to the community 

has always been one of the most important aspects of EPA’s Brownfields Program. 

designs into redevelopment plans has already proven successful for a number of EPA Brownfields Pilot projects. 

Washington, D.C. 

In southwest Washington, D.C., a former pumphouse along the Anacostia 

River has taken on a new life. s Brownfields 

Redevelopment Action Team (BRAT) had identified the pumphouse 

as having redevelopment potential, the Brownfields Pilot leveraged 

$600,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) funds for cleanup and infrastructure improvements. 

The Earth Conservation Corps (ECC), a District-based non-profit 

group, helped redevelop the site and opened the Matthew Henson 

Earth Conservation Center there in 2001. 

Sustainable DC, a nonprofit organization focusing on best practices 

in sustainable development, to determine the design of the facility by 

involving the community and obtaining feedback through several design 

charrettes. A green roof for the building was constructed that filters 

stormwater before it runs into the river and reduces the building’s heating 

and cooling costs. 

In addition to the new Conservation Center, the former pumphouse site is now a place for community members to 

picnic and relax. Two fishing piers, constructed on either side of the center, provide the community access to the 

river. Willie, Program Manager for ECC put it this way: o take a part of DC that has been completely 

industrial and to make greenspace out of it; to make it an ecological example of what kinds of things can be done in 

Incorporating green building 

Once the city’

ECC partnered with 

James “T

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste October 2003 

EPA-500-F-03-249 and Emergency Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 
To find out more about EPA’s 

Brownfields Pilots and the Green 

Buildings on Brownfields Initiative, 

visit EPA’s Brownfields web site at 

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

or call EPA’s Office of Brownfields 

Cleanup and Redevelopment at 

(202) 566-2777. 

The first building available for lease in Cape 

Charles, Virginia’s eco-industrial park. 

a greenhouse space...not just a post-industrial space, but utilizing green roofs and making other innovative projects 

work here, it has really become a great example unto itself.” 

Baltimore, MD 

In Baltimore, Maryland, the city’s Brownfields Assessment Pilot helped facilitate redevelopment of the historic 

Montgomery Ward catalogue distribution center into a model green building for office and technology uses, called the 

Montgomery Park Business Center. The Montgomery Ward warehouse was built from 1925 to 1927 and at that time 

was the largest mercantile building in Baltimore. 

making its redevelopment into a green facility an historic event as well. 

The business closed its doors in 1985, and in 1995 the Baltimore Brownfields Pilot targeted the site for assessment, 

cleanup, and redevelopment. The developer put the site through Maryland’s Voluntary Cleanup Program and proceeded 

with a $3 million cleanup, which included removal of lead paint, asbestos, petroleum, and PCBs. 

square-foot Montgomery Park Business Center offers low-energy heating, cooling, and lighting systems; innovative 

uses of stormwater in toilet water; use of recycled materials; windows with insulated “Low-E” glazing; a green roof 

that incorporates soil planting for added insulation; abundant natural light; and bike lockers and showers for employees 

who ride their bikes to work. When fully occupied, the Business Center, which is located in an Empowerment Zone, 

will employ 3,500 to 5,000 people. Total private and public investment will reach $100 million, including $9 million in 

grants and loans from HUD and $2 million from Maryland’s Brownfields Revitalization Incentive Program for lead 

abatement. 

Cape Charles, VA 

In August 1994, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development selected 

Cape Charles, Virginia, as one of four sites for a national eco-industrial park 

demonstration project, to showcase advanced facilities in resource efficiency 

and pollution prevention. An EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot and an EPA 

Brownfields Showcase Community grant added to a growing commitment of 

private, state, and federal funding for this project. 

EPA’s Brownfields grants funded environmental assessments on an abandoned 

25-acre dump as the center of a new 200-acre eco-industrial park. 

park’s first building, funded with a $2.5 million county bond, was a 30,930-square-foot 

facility that included a solar electric roof system. 

America, this roof is capable of generating 42 kilowatts of power 

for the building’s tenants. 

Serving as Examples for Future Green Building 

Projects 

As more and more brownfields redevelopment projects utilize green building 

practices, EPA expects that they will serve as models for future projects. A 

hopes that eventually, most developers will recognize the environmental and 

economic benefits of green buildings, and that such designs will proliferate. 

conserving resources and lessening the usual environmental impact of new 

construction, green buildings have the potential to improve the environment one 

structure at a time. 

The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, 

Now the 1.3-millionThe eco-industrial 

The largest of its kind in North 

EP

By 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste October 2003 

EPA-500-F-03-249 and Emergency Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/