Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Cleaning Up: Wenatchee’s waterfront revival

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

The city of Wenatchee’s vision for a revived Columbia River waterfront continues to prove fruitful, thanks in part to seed money from Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP).

In Wenatchee, city officials used a $150,000 integrated planning grant from TCP to develop a plan for reuse of an old landfill along the river (shown at right). Doing so helped the city move ahead with its broader waterfront redevelopment in keeping with the community’s vision.

Several significant projects either are finished or are in the planning stages. They include the Pybus Public Market, which opened in May. It has drawn plenty of media attention, including this recent Associated Press piece.

The market’s development is included in this video about what’s happening along Wenatchee’s waterfront. The video debuted in May at the National Brownfields 2013 Conference in Atlanta.

Dedicated TCP staff members focus on helping communities to examine and possibly redevelop sites known as brownfields – abandoned or underused properties that may be contaminated with toxic materials.

TCP staff use integrated planning grants to support such efforts. Local governments (like cities, counties and ports) use grant money to evaluate a property’s possible environmental issues and explore if it’s worth investing local money to create new economic development, public recreation or habitat restoration opportunities. The governments don’t have to match the grant funds.

For more information:

You can read more about the grants and also watch another video on how communities throughout the state use them.

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