Over the last three (3) years, the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks (BCRDA) has been the leading force in the redevelopment of Brownfield properties in Bucks County. It has been the recipient of a $200,000.00 National Brownfields Pilot Demonstration grant from the federal government (EPA), which allowed the BCRDA to develop an inventory of Brownfield properties within the State designated Enterprise Zone which is located in Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Bensalem Township, Tullytown Borough and Morrisville Borough. That successful effort resulted in additional state assistance for developers, and increased economic opportunities for these six communities and is now viewed as a model program in the Commonwealth and beyond.

    In addition to the Federal and State assistance the Bucks County Commissioners have provided funds through the Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG), in 1999 and 2000 respectively. With all these sources of funds the BCRDA has been able to identify and catalog over 25 Brownfield properties in the Enterprise Zone Communities alone.

    On Monday, April 10th, 2000, the BCRDA was awarded an additional USEPA grant in the amount of $150,000.00 for the purpose of providing an inventory of the Brownfield properties in the entire County. With this new grant from the USEPA and along with the $1,000.00 the BCRDA receives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for every site it identifies and posts onto the state directory, the BCRDA will be able to continue its efforts to promote the redevelopment and reuse of the vacant and underused industrial sites, keeping jobs and tax dollars in Bucks County. Since this the EPA has awarded the Redevelopment Authority an additional $150,000 for inventory and assessment of Brownfield Properties.

    The idea is to develop a comprehensive list of properties statewide that would help direct companies looking to build or expand in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the County of Bucks. Many of these vacant and underused industrial properties are in choice locations. In identifying and cataloging these properties we will help promote the Governor's Growing Greener environmental initiative by minimizing the use of Greenfield sites and restraining the spread of suburban sprawl.

    The Redevelopment Authority's Brownfield site inventory, conducted with the help of the US EPA and the Pennsylvania DEP, inventoried and ranked all of the Brownfield sites in the state designated Enterprise Zone of Bucks County. The Riverfront North site was the highest-ranking site in the inventory. It also presented the greatest opportunity for the community to reclaim access to the Riverfront that was once previously occupied by the numerous industries established along side the riverbanks.

    Following an evaluation of the needs of the community and a study of the market conditions of the area, led by the Redevelopment Authority, the future reuse plan for the site was envisioned to incorporate a mixed-use concept including commercial/office, residential (age restricted housing), open space and recreation. This reuse concept was a combination not only of market studies and other analyses, but was also primarily driven by a community vision to assure the best reuse of the land and to create a more sustainable community on a former industrial site. Most importantly, the reuse of the site - as envisioned by the community - required public access to Riverfront.

    There have been recent inquiries from potential developers interested in building a mixed-use development similar to that envisioned by the community. However, the reluctance from developers to acquire the property has almost exclusively originated from the concerns about the costs associated with the environmental remediation and liability. This impediment has prevented the successful sale of the site to a developer and has prevented the community from gaining access to the Riverfront. Even with the Developer friendly Act II programs in the Commonwealth, developers were concerned about the time and red tape involved once they became involved with the process. With that in mind the BCRDA has taken a pro-active stance in this matter by beginning an inventory and catalog system in Bucks County, well before the Commonwealth adopted the began the Statewide Brownfields Pilot Demonstration Grant program.

    The reason the BCRDA stepped out ahead on Brownfield Properties was the realization that a good many of these properties could be back to full capacity at a minimum and possibly expanded providing additional employment opportunities, with the possible exception there were perceived or real environmental conditions on the sites. To expedite these properties reuse it was necessary to identify and catalog them in accordance with their probability for revitalization. Many factors enter into the equation when these sites are cataloged for reuse:

    Is the owner willing to have the property assessed?
    Is the property for sale or lease?
    What incentives are available to assist the assessment?
    Does the property have any historic value?
    Is the property located within a reasonable distance to major highways?
    Is the property served with rail?
    The size of the parcel of land plays a large part in these rankings.
    Do we have a developer or end user for the property?
    What would the Municipality desire to have located on the property?
    Is public transportation available to the property?

    The BCRDA began immediately to obtain targeted properties that met many of the above points. Several of the first properties assessed and cataloged have already begun the road to revitalization. Some through private sources and many through the many available sources of funding opportunities at the County, State and Federal levels. The overall success of Brownfield reclamation comes from the communication and cooperation of all levels of the governing bodies. The following are some of the properties presently listed on the Bucks County Brownfield Register.

    Radcliffe and Monroe Streets, Bristol Borough

    River Front North is a project located on the river in Bristol Borough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania consisting of approximately 32 acres of land to develop. The total site is approximately 41 acres, with 10 acres below the high water table or considered low lands or river area. Upland along the river consists of land that is not part of the land covered by the river during high tide. Any land not considered upland requires the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers, prior to changes to the landscape or grade. There are about 10 acres at the Riverfront North property not considered to be useful because of the flood level that has claimed it over the years. The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks, through a cooperative agreement with Bristol Borough, acquired this property in the 1980's. This property was in poor condition, underused and going in a direction the Borough wanted to change. The Borough decided to change their outlook and remove the old smokestack manufacturing buildings. To finance this project Bristol Borough floated a bond issue in the amount of $1.5 million, for purchase and cleanup of the old Purex site. The Purex site was utilized for many different uses in the 1900's. There was a shipyard that was built by Admiral Harriman who came to Bristol, PA to build ships for the American troops to fight in the German war. At that time he designed and built a town for the people who would work at this shipyard to live. This area now being called the Harriman section of Bristol Borough, at one time had it's own post office, hotel and hospital.

    Later the site was developed into a manufacturing business that was operated by the Kaiser Corporation. And finally it became the Purex property, manufacturing soap and bleach products. In addition, part of the site called Superior Zinc developed zinc product for many uses. One such use provided a coating for tubes used inside tires on automobiles and trucks, to prevent friction and over heating of the tire when driving. The owner of Superior Zinc then started a recycling business and leased space for other uses the Borough Council did not want in their community. River Front North project was included in a redevelopment area project plan and covers both sides of Radcliffe Street and a residential area backing up to the warehouse area. The idea is to revitalize the whole area and change the usage from manufacturing and warehousing to owner occupied housing and high tech office space, such as clean room manufactures that produce computer chips or similar products.

    The Community College as well a many housing developers have considered the property. The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks has obtained grants from the State and the Borough of Bristol to do an assessment of the environmental conditions. With the environmental conditions known and a work plan approved by the PADEP for remediation through the ACT 2 of Pennsylvania's Community and Economic Development Department, we are in the process of applying for a grant in the amount of $100,000 to do an environmental remediation of the property. This property which consists of approximately 10.43 acres on the North end, will be cleaned up to residential standards. Bristol Borough therefore decided that they would like to have some type of housing built, preferably an age restrictive property that would not have an impact on the school district. The Borough has continuously been desirous of having a marina or some type of boat access to the river. This area located on the old zinc property contains 7 plus acres and is located directly adjacent to the dial factory on Radcliffe Street.

    Contract documents have been prepared to have the remaining building materials and piles of dirt removed and disposed of at an approved facility. This cleanup is expected to run about a $320,000. The Department of Community Economic Development has awarded the Authority a grant in the amount of $100,000 that will be matched by Bristol Borough. It is expected that the Borough will also provide the additional $120,000 for the material clean up of the property. The cleanup began in March 2000, and will take about 3 months to complete.

    In addition, the Authority is preparing contract documents for the environmental cleanup, which is expected to cost around a $1,000,000. These funds will be provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the clean up standards will be in accordance with the provisions of PADEP Act 2 Program. It is expected the work will begin March or April.

    Suggestions that the balance of the property be divided into 3 to 5 acre parcels from Radcliffe Street to the river are being considered. This would allow high tech manufacturers or office users to purchase a portion of this property, taking as little as 3 acres or as many acres they would have a need for.

    It is expected that the material clean up as well as the environmental remediation will be completed sometime mid year 2000. The cleanup will start in the northern area and work back down to the southern area near the Dial Soap building. We are looking forward to this property being completed within the next 3 to 5 years. Superior a Zinc will be maintained by the Authority until it can be determined if it is feasible to install boat launch area for river access for the public with the hopes a marina can be built on the site at a later date.

    Located in the Bucks County Enterprise Zone, this property was acquired by the BCRDA through a cooperation agreement between the BCRDA and all the taxing bodies. Corell Steel had been tax delinquent for more than ten (10) years and had nearly one million dollars due for real estate taxes. This is a classic case where developers simply wait for the final tax sale that clears the title and purchase the property through straw companies that may contain one or more of the original property owners.

    Because of the perceived environmental conditions of the property, no one wanted to incur the cost of remediation. Many properties in the country are perceived to have a much worse condition than they may contain. This is a classic case where the clean up was perceived to be in the hundreds of thousands and in fact, after this site was assessed through the Pennsylvania States Key Sites Program, only three (3) tanks need to be removed.