No images? Click here LISC Partners with City of Phoenix on EPA Brownfields Loan FundLISC Phoenix is glad to partner with the City of Phoenix to manage the $800,000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund as part of a grant from the EPA. Phoenix Receives $1.4 Million in Brownfields Grants to Revitalize CommunitiesAt a press conference on May 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southwest Region Administrator John Busterud announced that the city of Phoenix is receiving two brownfields grants totaling $1.4 million. "Phoenix’s Brownfields Program is poised to continue to boost our economy with these $1.4 million grants from EPA," said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. "The two grants allow us to address environmentally-challenged properties for the Rio Reimagined Project and provide low-interest rate loans for developers, businesses and nonprofits for cleanup of sites citywide." Through the Brownfields Communitywide Assessment Coalition Grant for $600,000, the city of Phoenix will lead a collaborative effort with the cities of Avondale and Tempe, and Arizona State University to assess, in each city, the area within one mile on either side of the 45-mile stretch of the Salt River (Rio Salado), Agua Fria and Gila rivers for potential brownfield properties. This project builds on previous EPA brownfields grants and work within the Rio Reimagined Urban Waters project area. The city is also receiving a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund for $800,000 to clean up brownfield properties and work with local grassroots groups, developers and government agencies to finance brownfields cleanup projects to help Phoenix become a sustainable, connected and smart desert city. Local Initiatives Support Corporation Phoenix is a partner in this grant and will be providing services as the financial manager. Their expertise in community development and management of loan and grant funds will be beneficial. This award leverages other investments to spur economic and community development. A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Phoenix Brownfields Land Recycling Programs initiated in 1997, has cleaned up and put back into use, 310 acres of previously contaminated land, created or maintained over 3,300 jobs, and brought $312 million in private investment to the city. To learn more about the city’s Brownfields Program, visit https://www.phoenix.gov/oep/brownfields-about. For more information about EPA’s Brownfields Program, visit https://www.epa.gov/brownfields. |