LCRA Receives $1.9 Million in Supplement Funding to Continue the Clean Up at Brownfield Sites
Yesterday evening, before a St. Louis Cardinals Game at Busch Stadium, Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Meg McCollister presented County Executive Dr. Sam Page and Rodney Crim, CEO & President, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership with a $1.9 million check after being awarded a Brownfields grant.
The Land Clearance of Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) of St. Louis County was one of 39 high-performing Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund Grant recipients to help communities continue their work to carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects on contaminated brownfield properties. The St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) was also awarded $1 million in brownfield grants. Brownfield projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos, lead, or chemical contamination, to addressing properties with abandoned underground storage tanks or other petroleum pollution.
“We’re turning blight into might for communities across America,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are significantly ramping up our investments in communities, with the bulk of our funding going to places that have been overburdened and underserved for far too long.”
The LCRA’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund Program has committed more than $1 million to brownfield cleanup projects, leveraging more than $24 million in investment. These projects in St. Louis County have led to the revitalization of the Heege Neighborhood Retail Center, Lemay riverfront, and the former River Roads Mall in Jennings.
Two sites currently undergoing cleanup efforts are 9844 and 9846 West Florissant Avenue in Dellwood. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis acquired the properties and is working with the community on the redevelopment plans for Urban League Plaza, a new 13,500 square foot multi-use facility. This commercial center will serve as an incubator for new businesses, a home for established and committed partners, and a community service center for area families.
Maude Bauschard Trost, Brownfield Project Manager explains that “LCRA will use this investment, to expand our work with municipal and community partners in the St. Louis Promise Zone in North St. Louis County. This assistance will help address a key barrier to economic development for these communities which have been impacted by decades of racism and disinvestment.”
