New Environmental Solutions

EPA’s land revitalization initiatives are producing significant environmental benefits 

and helping to transform communities into more sustainable and livable places. 

The strategy of encouraging market-driven redevelopment of brownfields and 

other contaminated sites for economic reuse is proving to be a successful 

approach at many sites. However, challenging real estate markets and economic 

realities can leave some formerly contaminated properties unused, possibly for 

a long time. New approaches are needed to revitalize these sites and protect 

human health and the environment.

EPA’s Land Revitalization Team is working with communities, states, other federal 

agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector to 

develop and test new approaches that recognize valuable reuse alternatives for 

formerly contaminated properties. Building green infrastructure to help manage 

stormwater runoff and floods, promoting safe soil management to support urban 

agriculture, and siting renewable energy on contaminated sites can bring environmental, ecological, and social benefits to communities. Unlocking the potential value 

of these underused properties often requires creativity and close collaboration with 

many public and private partners. These projects can help stabilize communities 

and spur economic development.

Land Revitalization Fact Sheet

Recreational Reuse: 

Cleveland Velodrome

Open spaces and recreational 

opportunities are essential components of healthy communities. 

Physical inactivity is recognized as a major 

cause of a host of health impacts, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, 

hypertension, and obesity. The increasing 

interest in the creation of “active living” 

environments provides another option for 

reusing brownfields to benefit affected 

communities. Many brownfields are ideally 

located to improve public health by 

supporting greater physical activity. 

Brownfields often are located within or 

nearby densely populated, low-income 

urban communities that have very limited 

options for recreation and physical activity. 

Even in less crowded suburban communities, sprawling development has resulted in 

widespread physical inactivity among children and adults as people have become 

more dependent on automobiles to get 

to essential destinations. Many brownfields 

can serve the physical activity needs of 

surrounding neighborhoods by being 

redeveloped into green spaces, such as 

ball parks, recreation fields, and trails.

Traditional brownfields redevelopment 

focuses on using market forces to 

encourage developers to create industrial, commercial, or residential reuses 

that provide economic benefits to a 

community. The benefits of these types of 

projects are numerous, including creating local jobs, increasing property values 

and tax bases, curbing urban sprawl, 

reducing adverse effects of contamination, and contributing to neighborhood 

revitalization. However, there is growing 

recognition among municipal planners 

and community groups of the enormous 

potential of brownfields for “greening” 

city environments and promoting more 

active lifestyles. 

Recreational sites used to be seen as 

a poor reuse of brownfields by some 

because they didn’t increase property 

or sales tax dollars. That view is changing. Communities across the country are 

supporting a wide range of conservation 

and community enhancement activities 

demonstrating that open-space preservation is a key community value and often 

is the community’s preferred reuse over 

economic-based reuses. Today, even some 

properties in prime locations that formerly 

would have been redeveloped as housing 

and offices are being turned into parks.

Recreational reuses of brownfields include 

playgrounds, pocket parks, hiking and 

biking trails, soccer and softball fields, 

basketball and tennis courts, and golf 

courses. More unusual recreational 

reuses of formerly contaminated land 

includes fields for flying model airplanes, 

fishing docks, equestrian centers, and 

velodromes for bicycling. These land 

uses have both public health benefits 

and economic benefits. The public 

health benefits of reusing brownfields 

for recreation include reducing the risk 

of adverse health effects from contamination and increasing opportunities for 

active living. In addition, there is plenty 

of data indicating that simply cleaning 

up brownfields increases surrounding 

property values and that creating a park 

or other recreational amenity increases 

property values even more. 

Recreational reuse of brownfields presents a 

huge opportunity for active living communities, but there can be major challenges. 

It can be difficult to secure funding for the 

early stages of brownfield redevelopment 

such as planning, land acquisition, assessment, and cleanup. There also are longterm maintenance costs, and many recreational reuses do not provide an income 

stream to cover these ongoing costs.

Despite the challenges, scores of communities are successfully transforming contaminated properties into valuable parks and 

Cyclists exercising in the Cleveland 

velodrome. (from Fast Track Cycling, Inc.)
United States Office of Solid Waste and EPA 560-F-12-191

Environmental Protection Emergency Response November 2012

Agency (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/

More Information:

Visit EPA’s Land Revitalization program website at http://www.epa.gov/landrevitalization/

Fast Track Cycling, Inc., Cleveland Velodrome, at http://clevelandvelodrome.org/

recreational spaces. Converting brownfields to recreational reuses continues to 

rely largely on the support of federal, state, 

and local governments. Nonprofit organizations also can catalyze projects by 

Cleveland Velodrome Project

A velodrome, the cycling track most of 

us see only during the Olympics, was 

built on the site of a former brownfield 

in Slavic Village, a neighborhood of 

Cleveland, Ohio. Slavic Village, just south 

of downtown Cleveland, was originally 

settled in the mid-19th century by Czech 

and Polish immigrants who arrived to work 

in the city’s steel factories and woolen 

mills. The neighborhood still maintains the 

customs, culture, and recipes brought by 

their ancestors. As with most older, innerring urban neighborhoods, brownfields 

are located in close proximity to residential areas. Traveling a long and creative 

path, one of this quaint neighborhood’s 

brownfields has been turned into a 

unique recreational facility.

The velodrome is located on the site of 

the former St. Alexis Hospital, founded in 

1884 to serve workers in the Cuyahoga 

Industrial Valley. Renamed St. Michael 

Hospital in 1994, the hospital closed its 

doors in 2003. The site owner gave the 

property to the city along with money 

intended to ready the property for reuse. 

The city decided to place the property 

within the Cleveland Land Reutilization 

Program, a land bank run by the city’s 

Department of Community Development, 

with the intent of redeveloping the property 

for housing.

Total costs for the assessment, demolition, 

and cleanup of the site were about $2.5 

million, which far exceeded the amount 

provided by the former site owner. The city 

assessed contamination at the site using 

an EPA brownfields assessment grant. 

Cuyahoga County added a $200,000 

subgrant from an EPA brownfields revolving 

loan fund grant and a $628,400 loan from 

the county’s bond fund. The city provided 

additional funding, demolished structures 

on the site, and cleaned up contamination, primarily asbestos. The city received 

a No Further Action determination by the 

state and published a request for proposals (RFP) from developers to generate 

ideas for housing redevelopment projects. 

Unfortunately, this occurred just as the 

nation’s housing market downturn began, 

so the RFP was received with little interest.

The Slavic Village Development (SVD), 

a non-profit community development 

corporation, became involved in reusing 

the 8.9-acre site after it became clear 

that a housing project was not going to 

happen. SVD has been working to create 

new greenspace throughout the community, promote active living, and improve 

housing and transportation in the Greater 

Broadway community for 30 years. SVD, 

with the backing of the community and 

City Council members, actively searched 

for a greenspace reuse of the site. Their 

search resulted in a connection with Fast 

Track Cycling, Inc., (Fast Track), a nonprofit 

dedicated to establishing and operating 

a velodrome cycling track in Cleveland 

to promote the sport of cycling for its 

various health and wellness benefits. 

Fast Track was evaluating sites within five 

northern Ohio counties for a location for 

a velodrome.

In November 2009, Fast Track entered 

into a lease with option to purchase 

agreement with the city to use the site 

as a velodrome. Through the work of 

its 12-member volunteer board, Fast 

Track raised $300,000 in donations 

to construct the first phase of the 

three-phase project. Phase I of the 

project was completed with the grand 

opening of a 166-meter outdoor 

track on August 30, 2012. Activities 

at the track include youth programs, 

velodrome etiquette training, open 

riding, and racing events. Fast Track is 

continuing to work toward completion 

of all three phases of its project, which 

will culminate in twin indoor tracks and 

a connecting building.

View of St. Alexis Hospital circa 1957. 

(from Michael Schwartz Library, 

Cleveland State University)

Artist rendering of completed 

velodrome project. (from Fast 

Track Cycling, Inc.)

engaging the community and working to 

fill funding gaps. For example, EPA partnered with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and 

the Academy of Model Aeronautics. The 

presence of a community-based champion to generate community interest and 

collaboration is one of the most important 

factors in successful recreational projects.