Illinois EPA Director visits East St. Louis to explain Gov. Blagojevich's River Edge Redevelopment Initiative

EAST ST.LOUIS  --- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott visited East St. Louis today, along with State Sen. James Clayborne (D-East St. Louis) and State Rep. Wyvetter Younge (D-East St. Louis), to explain an innovative new pilot program designed to help revitalize the East St. Louis riverfront.  The River Edge Redevelopment Initiative can provide local developers and businesses with the critical tools to revive and redevelop abandoned or contaminated properties that will stimulate economic development opportunities and create more Illinois jobs. 

 

"We are targeting areas of the state that have the greatest need for redevelopment and potential for growth.  River communities, like East St. Louis, were the original economic engines of Illinois, and there are underutilized and abandoned properties along major waterways prime for redevelopment," Gov. Blagojevich said.  "This River Edge Redevelopment Initiative will provide municipalities and businesses with the additional resources they need to clean-up brownfields sites, which will to attract more businesses and put more people to work."

 

The River Edge Redevelopment Initiative includes the designation of redevelopment zones that will be eligible to receive tax credits, exemptions and potentially new grant funding upon appropriation to support clean-up, remediation and redevelopment efforts that will lead to economic revitalization in these areas.  This initiative combines resources across state agencies and will be administered primarily by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and IEPA.

 

"As a former mayor of a river community, I know that brownfield sites, especially those with abandoned properties, present significant roadblocks to redevelopment," said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott.  "Municipalities often don't have enough resources to make a site viable for potential economic development projects.  This is a new, integrated set of tools that will lead to a renaissance along our river banks."

 

"We are always looking for innovative ways to take advantage of all of our assets to continue growing the economy and creating more jobs.  Gov. Blagojevich's River Edge Redevelopment Initiative is exactly the kind of spark needed to turn promise into prosperity by allowing East St. Louis to attract more private investment and economic development opportunities," Sen. Clayborne, one of the initial bill's sponsors, said.

 

"This exciting new opportunity for redevelopment will bring new commerce to the East St. Louis area," said Rep. Younge.  "I am happy to be a part of this venture and look forward to watching this area grow and benefit the community."

 

River Edge Redevelopment Zones consist of environmentally challenged areas that lie adjacent to rivers that have economic development potential, but the cost of redevelopment has made attracting investment extremely difficult.  These zones would be structured similarly to the current Enterprise Zone designation, where municipalities apply directly to the state to become a River Edge Redevelopment Zone.  Once a zone has been approved, developers and businesses could be eligible for tax exemptions, including sales tax on building materials, an investment and jobs tax credit and various other deductions. Companies or individuals in the zones could also be eligible for an environmental remediation tax credit for certain clean-up costs.

 

Municipalities, developers and companies located in these zones could be eligible to receive funding, upon appropriation, to support infrastructure needs for economic revitalization projects, which will ultimately lead to job creation and economic development in a zone.  While many of these areas were home to former industrial sites, they are now ideal settings for new residential, office, warehouse/distribution, retail, recreational, hospitality, commercial and other productive land uses.     

 

Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties that have actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment.  Brownfields can include contaminated land varying from a multi-acre closed factory to a vacant gas station.  While brownfields were once considered to be only an environmental health issue, they are now fully recognized as areas with the potential to play a vital role in the economic development of a community.  In Illinois, there are an estimated 7,000-10,000 brownfields sites in need of remediation.

                                                           

Since Gov. Blagojevich took office, the clean-up of contaminated sites has accelerated in Illinois with thousands of acres at more than 400 sites cleaned up for redevelopment, recreational or natural habitat use.  Through the Municipal Brownfield Redevelopment Program, the Illinois EPA has provided the initial funding and customized technical assistance for environmental assessments and clean-ups for 120 municipalities, of which 44 are located along rivers.  These grants of up to $240,000 each per community have been the catalyst for future redevelopment in such river cities as Aurora, East St. Louis, Alton, Dixon, Freeport, Geneva, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Sterling, Streator and the Quad Cities.  This initiative leverages these investments already made in these river communities.

 

Gov. Blagojevich's Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois' history.  Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn't work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions - each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges.  Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses.  It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs.  Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.