Mayor Scott Eisenhauer says city leaders are very excited about the awarding of a $300-thousand dollar federal Brownfield Grant to Danville. ‘’This is great news,’’ proclaimed Eisenhauer. He adds it is an assessment grant that can be used to assess brownfield sites throughout the community.
Brownfield sites are ones where redevelopment has been blocked by the presence of hazardous substances – such as old industrial sites or former gas stations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Danville was selected to receive a $300-thousand dollar Brownfield Assessments Grant to continue its redevelopment efforts in the East Main Street and Fairchild Street corridors and nearby residential neighborhoods.
Previous EPA Brownfield assistance helped fund environmental investigations which led to private funds being used for redevelopment in Danville’s downtown area. For example a former gas station and auto repair site in the 400 block of North Vermilion Street is now where a law office is located.
The U.S. EPA says studies have shown that residential property near brownfield sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15-percent. And property values within a one-and-a-quarter mile radius of brownfield sites also often rise after the clean-up.
‘’The EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods,’’ says EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. ”These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow,” added Pruitt.
Dixon, Chicago and Rockford are other Illinois cities that will receive grants under the program.
