Southeast Brownfields Workshop – Mobile tours

Following informative presentations and case studies on November 7 and 8, we are pleased to offer mobile tours on November 9. Two tours are available – the Lifecycle Building Center and Ponce City Market – allowing you to hear more about the unique remediation efforts and challenges, and implement some of the learnings in your community.

The walking tours will take place from 9am-noon, with transportation provided to and from the Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center. More information is below. If you’d like to attend either tour, please register soon ($30/person, paid separately from Workshop registration), as participation is limited in order to ensure an intimate tour.

Lifecycle Building Center

Lifecycle Building Center is a community-based organization that salvages and redistributes reusable building materials from demolition and renovation projects. Materials are then donated free of charge to local nonprofits and sold to the public at steep discounts, making it affordable for community members to make home repairs. By implementing best practice green building-related concepts, the organization reduces solid waste disposal, promotes resource efficiency, stimulates economic development, and empowers every citizen to improve their own built environment.

The organization has made its home in a circa 1890s industrial building on Atlanta’s Murphy Avenue. In order to facilitate the purchase of the 70,000-sq-ft building, LBC utilized funding provided by the City of Atlanta’s Community-wide EPA Brownfield assessment grant to complete both Phase I and II environmental assessments of the property prior to purchase. The data derived from this EPA funded assessment work was then used to provide justification for entry into the GA Brownfield program. Next, LBC applied for and obtained an FY17 Brownfield Cleanup grant which will facilitate both the removal of impacted contaminated soils and the abatement of asbestos containing materials and lead based paint coated surfaces necessary to complete facility upgrades.

During the tour you will have the opportunity to learn about LBC, how the EPA Brownfield Program continues to be leveraged to further the redevelopment of the site, and finally you will have the opportunity to spend time in the retail space. You never know what you may find. Perhaps you will stumble upon the just the right light fixture or cabinet for your house remodel at a deep discount.

Click here to register for the Lifecycle Building Center walking tour.

Ponce City Market

Located near downtown Atlanta and opened in 2015, Ponce City Market is a historic, mixed-use community hub and serves among the nation’s preeminent examples of the revitalization of historic buildings. The building, which was originally constructed by Sears, Roebuck, & Co. in 1926, is now owned by real estate investment and management company Jamestown and is the largest adaptive reuse project in Atlanta’s history. The 2.1 million-square-foot, iconic structure combines 259 residential flats with approximately 550,000 square feet of Class-A loft office space and 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants.

Many environmental challenges were faced during redevelopment, including regional groundwater contamination migrating onto the property (from former manufacturing operations), as well as miscellaneous tanks, contaminated fill, and dewatering issues. Utilizing funding provided by the Georgia Brownfield Program, the development team addressed subsurface issues, abated or encapsulate lead and asbestos, and performed risk assessments to determine residual risk (including remaining ACM, LBP & sand addressed with O&M programs, and residual VI risk addressed through mitigation system).

Click here to register for the Ponce City Market walking tour.