A new biotechnology campus will rise where a decrepit century-old paint factory once stood in South San Francisco, thanks to a recent RCRA brownfields agreement. California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) reached a prospective purchaser agreement (PPA) with Genentech, one of the world’s leading biotech companies, to create an innovative 27-acre expansion of Genentech’s existing corporate campus. The PPA allows new construction while requiring that the known environmental contamination at the site is appropriately addressed to protect construction personnel as well as future occupants at the site.

Property Use and Cleanup History

W.P. Fuller and Company originally ran a paint and coatings manufacturing business at the site beginning in 1898. Paint manufacture resulted in extensive problems with lead in soil and in the former San Bruno Channel. The O’Brien Corporation, a paint manufacturer, purchased the site in 1967 and managed hazardous wastes in drums, tanks and surface impoundments. O’Brien conducted closure of various RCRA units under the oversight of DTSC and EPA.

Initially, EPA assumed supervision of corrective measures for the soils under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) authorities, but since 2000, DTSC has held full regulatory lead at the site. Cherokee Investment Partners purchased the site in 1999 and commenced cleanup in preparation for redevelopment. The site was subsequently purchased by Slough SSF, LLC in 2000. Cherokee will complete the RCRA corrective action for groundwater, including assessment of contamination and any necessary cleanup. Slough will conduct all needed operation and maintenance activities, provide any financial assurances, and enter into a land use covenant to restrict most portions of the site to commercial use. Slough is constructing the facilities in phases over the next four years, and has contracted with Genentech for a mult-year long-term lease with an option to purchase. Genentech is expected to begin occupancy in late 2006.

Read Remainder of Article at US EPA Region 9 web site.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 9:52 pm and is filed under ●Brownfields Success Stories.

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