Relying on partnerships
‘Brownfields coordination to the best degree’
When the Anchorage Community Land Trust (ACLT) bought property in 2005 along Mountain View Drive in northeast Anchorage, the nonprofit organization had visions of joining in the city’s goal of revitalizing the low-income neighborhood into a bustling arts and cultural center.
The property had been owned since 1981 by Brewster’s Department Store, which used the site for storage for its nearby store. The ACLT knew little else about the property when it was purchased, including whether potential environmental conditions existed at the site. What it did know was that the proper management of this important intersection could be a critical part of its redevelopment vision.
The ACLT had a strong economic plan for the property, including a prospective developer interested in building a police sub-station and a new credit union, which would be the first financial institution in this neighborhood in 20 years. However, a large-scale Phase I environmental site assessment of the Mountain View neighborhood, one of the first brownfield assessments (http://www.dec.state.ak.us/SPAR/csp/brownfields.htm#assess) completed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), uncovered some unsettling information. A gas station had operated on the property before it was purchased by the department store, more than 25 years before ACLT got involved.
The question soon became: what’s the condition of this property?
In 2007, ACLT followed up on the Phase I results and completed a limited site characterization that identified contamination consistent with the use of the facility as a vehicle maintenance shop. Metals and petroleum were identified in various locations, but preliminary investigations indicated the extent of contamination wasn’t as bad as it could be. Still, the cost to clean it up was beyond the capacity of ACLT, and until the environmental problems could be resolved, the project appeared to be stalled.
DEC Brownfield Coordinator John Carnahan realized no financial assistance was available to help ACLT clean up the site. However, he also recognized the importance of this property to the entire Mountain View redevelopment project. Carnahan contacted Chevron, the company managing outstanding affairs associated with former Union 76, or UNOCAL, stations like this site. Identifying Chevron as a potential responsible party brought them to the table to coordinate with ACLT on the revitalization plan for the site. Carnahan offered to work closely with both Chevron and ACLT to help expedite the proposed redevelopment.
“This is brownfield coordination to the best degree possible,” Carnahan says. “This project could not succeed without Chevron’s taking the lead on financing not only the cleanup, but also the demolition of the remaining structure. We understand that Chevron manages hundreds of sites, and they prioritized this project simply to ensure its success.”
The project involved building demolition and additional site characterization, which ultimately identified three underground storage tanks requiring decommissioning. This complex project was expedited and the cleanup completed in the fall and early winter of 2008, with construction of the credit union to proceed this spring.
“You have to start these projects asking yourself how you will get it done, not focusing on why it can’t be done,” Carnahan says. “With positive and cooperative working relationships across the board, there’s no reason we can’t see more projects move at this pace.”
