In 2001, a raging fire sent a plume of black smoke into the sky across the riverside community of Ansonia, Connecticut. As the flames consumed the town’s largest employer and taxpayer, the manufacturing operation of Latex Foam Products, Ansonia officials knew they would face challenges beyond simply extinguishing the blaze. Once the debris of the fire was cleared away, they would be left searching for a way to fill the void left by the company and make use of the now-vacant 12-acres of brownfield along the Naugatuck River.

Bringing underutilized brownfield properties back into productive use is an important part of sustainable development of many communities across the country. These properties are often eyesores and carry a stigma in the community, and also represent significant environmental risks to residents. By working with land owners and developers to implement well-considered environmental remedies and to redevelop brownfield sites, cities and towns can make better use of their land resources, help limit sprawl and habitat destruction, and reduce the risks to health and safety that brownfields often pose.

The journey of the Latex Foam Products property from fire-blighted, environmentally compromised brownfield to vibrant retail attraction is a model that other developers and communities can follow. Ansonia was able to bring a large employer into the town, replacing a key source of jobs and tax revenue, and the Target Corporation, which bought and redeveloped the site, was able to positively impact the economic and environmental circumstances of the community and meet its own financial and social objectives as well.

A complicated ­history
The industrial history of the 12-acre, river-side site extends back to the 1850s. It originally housed a foundry, which produced copper and brass wire and other metal products. Over the years it saw a succession of owners, ending as the Latex Foam Products mattress factory.

As a result of the variety of manufacturing activities, the site was exposed to many different potential contaminants, including coal ash, foundry wastes, plating wastes, oil spills, PCB-containing materials, and solvents.

In the aftermath of the fire, the property owner was left with a vacant lot and a host of unknowns with respect to potential environmental impact. Before any plans to sell or redevelop the land could proceed, it was crucial to determine the extent of any environmental contamination.

Laying the groundwork
Environmental due diligence has become a standard part of any large property transfer, and in the case of brownfields intended for redevelopment, it is especially important. An accurate understanding of the nature and extent of contamination improves the chances that a site can move smoothly through the transfer, remediation, and redevelopment process.

Initial investigations at the Ansonia site revealed a number of areas of historic contamination. Many of these were the result of uses long past and actually represented very little risk to the environment or human health as long as they remained undisturbed. Nonetheless, any contamination raises liability questions and can significantly complicate property transfer.

The landowner hired Woodard & Curran to perform extensive site characterization studies and estimate remediation costs for the property.

This information allowed the owner to market the lot and negotiate the property transfer. The owner and consultant team also took the remedial action plan to the state environmental agency and got a strong, albeit informal, approval of the approach.

The process was somewhat simplified by the fact that officials in Ansonia were very interested in redeveloping the property and hopeful that a buyer could be found that would help replace the jobs and tax revenue lost to the fire. Having local authorities behind the effort improves the chances that sale and redevelopment plans will move forward quickly and smoothly.

Target steps in
Target’s interest in the site truly set the wheels in motion. With a proactive potential buyer interested, negotiations began in earnest. It is critical at this point in any brownfields project that the buyer and seller make a “good deal:” one that takes into account the known environmental risks, potential unknown issues, and potential sources of funding that could be available from government or private agencies.

Based on its evaluation of the site, the characterization studies, and cost information provided by the owner, and with the full support of the Town of Ansonia, Target decided to purchase the property in 2005 and begin the redevelopment process.

At this point, Target took the important step of assembling a team of environmental and civil engineers, remediation experts and construction contractors, permitting specialists and Target stakeholders. Forming a comprehensive team at this stage allowed Target to plan for a wide range of possibilities, set an optimal schedule of permitting efforts, and build the remediation elements into the construction plans.
Integrated remediation & construction
Certain remedial actions had to be completed before construction could begin, but the majority of the clean-up could be done most effectively and efficiently in conjunction with construction activities. The site plan called for a typical Target store and significant parking areas. This allowed for the capping in place, or “rendering inaccessible,” of a large portion of the historical contamination.
In this scenario, contaminated soil is covered either with the concrete slab of the building foundation, or with a bituminous parking lot. The alternative would have been to dig up the soil, transport it off site, and dump it in a landfill. That solution poses a greater risk to workers on site, and simply shifts the problem to a landfill. Because the contaminated soil was stable, it did not pose a risk to the environment or human health, and the simplest and most sustainable solution was to not disturb it.
When remedial activities are implemented as part of the construction work, it can streamline project schedules and provide opportunities to use resources more efficiently. As in this case, it can also reduce the risk to the community by eliminating the need to truck contaminated material through the community that the developer is trying to protect.
Sustainable opportunities
Brownfields often provide other opportunities for creative and sustainable solutions. The only thing left behind by the fire on this site was a six-acre slab foundation where industrial buildings formerly sat. The new retail store needed a new foundation, which required a large amount of structural fill to support it. Instead of importing structural fill, the project team decided to break up and re-use the old concrete slab for that purpose. This not only avoided the economic and environmental costs of importing fill, but eliminated the need to send the old contaminated slab material to a landfill.
Keeping historic materials on site is a cost-effective way to reduce the environmental footprint of a brownfield redevelopment project.
Expect the unexpected
It may be cliché, but in the case of brownfield projects it is certainly true: no matter how thorough the initial environmental investigations are, there will be some unpleasant surprises. Putting a strong team in place and having clear roles defined will help deal with unanticipated problems.
You may not know what waits under the surface of the site, but there will almost always be something you didn’t anticipate. Having a plan in place for dealing with these challenges can be the difference between costly delays and timely action.
Sharing the rewards
The July 2007 opening of the Target store was seen by city officials as an integral part of reshaping the city’s economy by providing jobs, adding to the tax base, and attracting visitors and other businesses to the area. The store has been a huge commercial success and is viewed as a great environmental success as well. In August 2007 Governor M. Jodi Rell chose the Target Ansonia site as the backdrop for the ceremonial signing of the new Connecticut Brownfields Act, citing the project as a model for future brownfields development in the state.
Sustainability is not just about the environment, although that is a hugely important consideration. Brownfields projects benefit the economic and social bottom lines of communities by returning unused and often dangerous properties to productive use.
Brownfields projects benefit the environmental bottom line by addressing environmental contamination and making the best use of properties that might otherwise be considered unusable. They also offer an alternative to developing new properties, where no development has taken place, which helps limit sprawl and keeps stores and jobs closer to downtown. SLDT
About the author: Steve Holtman is a Senior Vice President and Principal Engineer for Woodard & Curran. He has over 25 years of environmental engineering experience ­including site investigation and remediation, property redevelopment, wastewater treatment, and landfill construction projects.
For more information on the firm visit: www.woodardcurran.com.