NOTE: Please read original article at Building On Brownfields

Project recycles more than just land, TBA clears hurdle for home improvement outlet store

With a piece of property in mind for its home improvement outlet store, Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County had one large hurdle to clear: Before it could purchase the land and warehouse and move forward, officials had to know what kind of contamination lingered below the surface.

The seller had provided Habitat with old environmental reports that indicated some groundwater contamination of uncertain origin, says Bob Gerth, a Habitat volunteer and retired CPA and businessman. When bankers hear words like “contamination,” it isn’t exactly easy to get a loan, he adds.

Still, this property and its warehouse were critical to the organization and its efforts to help low-income families build affordable housing, Gerth says. The rapidly increasing cost of land and construction in the Seattle area meant Habitat needed to find new ways to fund its mission. The outlet store would be the organization’s best option.

Help stepped up in the form of a Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA). Several years ago, EPA gave Region 10 funds to conduct TBAs at sites requested by Habitat. EPA had been waiting to use that money and was ‘”thrilled” to do so, says Joanne LaBaw of EPA.

A TBA is a study conducted by EPA to determine the nature and extent of contamination. If requested, the assessment may also include an analysis of options and cost estimates associated with these options. Environmental consultants already under contract with EPA conduct the assessment work. These site assessments are available to public, quasi-public or nonprofit entities. TBAs can cover up to $50,000 in costs.

Last year, EPA agreed to perform a Phase I Environmental Assessment on the 53,000-square-foot site. The assessment, which cost about $8,000, included visiting the property, evaluating existing environmental information and providing Habitat with a report. Perhaps most importantly, EPA also provided Habitat with a “comfort” letter to take to lenders confirming the site was not of federal interest.

The assessment and comfort letter were instrumental in moving this project forward, Gerth says. “It was absolutely the right answer for us,” he says. “It was great.”

From this brownfield project has come a unique redevelopment that not only puts the property back into use but also promotes the reuse of building supplies and materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Habitat operates about 300 home improvement outlet stores around the country. At 40,000 square feet, the Seattle store at 21 South Nevada St. is the largest outlet in western Washington, Gerth says. Open to the public, the outlet solicits both new and used materials donated by area businesses and people. While much of the outlet’s merchandise is new, many of these items would have ended up in a landfill if not at the outlet store.

The outlet has five full-time employees and a wide range of inventory, including flooring and roofing materials, plumbing and light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, outdoor and indoor windows and doors, sinks, appliances and even Jacuzzi tubs. All items are sold at about 50 percent the cost of other stores, Gerth says.

The outlet opened in February with a grand-opening ceremony attended by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. More than $60,000 worth of business was done that first day. On a typical Saturday, up to 75 groups of people will come through the store.

Habitat expects the outlet eventually will make $500,000 a year, money to be used to produce 12 to 15 new homes annually for the area’s low-income families.

To learn about the TBA program, contact Joanne LaBaw at 206-553-2594. Or go to http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/.

Region 10 contacts
idaho           John Carnahan, john.carnahan@alaska.gov
idaho           Aaron Scheff, aaron.scheff@deq.idaho.gov
oregon           Gil Wistar, wistar.gil@deq.state.or.us
washington     Dan Koroma, dkor461@ecy.wa.g

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 3:20 pm and is filed under ●Brownfields Success Stories, ●Environmental Agencies.

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