Wenatchee Valley
Brownfields Project
What is a Brownfield?
A brownfield site is an underused piece of land that is known or thought to have environmental contamination.
Because of the contamination, brownfields are often abandoned. Neighbors who live near brownfields worry about potential effects of the contamination, and property owners fear they might not be able to sell or redevelop the property.
For more information about brownfields and redevelopment, read this fact sheet from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)
Revitalizing Brownfields in the Wenatchee Valley
The Wenatchee Valley’s long history of agricultural industries includes processing facilities, warehouses, and orchards. These facilities, and everyday businesses like dry cleaners and gas stations, can leave behind contamination that can be a barrier to redevelopment and reuse of properties.
In 2020, three agencies—the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority, the City of Wenatchee, and the City of Rock Island—were awarded an Assessment Coalition Grant from the EPA.
The Port used the Assessment Coalition Grant to inventory valuable land for potential reuse. The Port then partnered with municipalities and private landowners to conduct due diligence activities, environmental analyses, and develop cleanup plans.
By providing a clear path to remediation for participating property owners and by repurposing unusable properties, this grant project helped contribute to the revitalization of the region and open new opportunities for amenities, businesses, and economic development.
Check out the Project Documents section for a timeline of the grant activities and summary of funding usage.
How were EPA Assessment Grant Funds used?
The assessment grants provided funding for the community to identify past uses and inventory and assess sites to determine existing contamination.
The grants provided opportunities for community involvement when planning for cleanup and redevelopment. Eligible sites can benefit from the following activities:
Phase I & II Environmental Site Assessments
Analysis of cleanup alternatives
Cleanup and redevelopment feasibility planning
Valley Brownfield Successes
Hilton Garden Inn
Wenatchee visitors have a stylish new place to stay because the city used grant funding to catalyze redevelopment that transformed a former brownfield into a new hotel.
The site was sitting on top of an old landfill and had lingering environmental issues from historical uses making redevelopment challenging. The City Wenatchee, with assistance from the Department of Ecology, assessed and remediated the property. That included placing a protective cap over the existing contamination to pave the way for the hotel development in 2017.
Today, the four-story, 174-room hotel and conference center stands in the city’s waterfront area and complements the downtown market and other neighboring businesses.
Rock Island Waterfront
Image credit: Graham Baba Architects
A silicon smelter used to operate on the western portion of the property and was one of the largest employers in the county. When the smelter closed in the late 1990s the City of Rock Island lost a lot of working-class jobs. What was left? A legacy of environmental risk and uncertainty that has deterred new investment.
Rock Island needed to evaluate the risks associated with historical contamination and create a plan for redevelopment.
Thanks to grant funds, the city was able to complete an environmental assessment and draft a plan to clean up and redevelop the property. The proposed project would include a mix of office space and classrooms, plus a hotel, restaurant, and brewery. The new waterfront would create new opportunities for outdoor events and waterfront activities.
Project Documents