Newcroft Park
Rochester, NY
Trash to Treasure: Urban Brownfield
Transformed into Successful Single
Family Market-Rate Subdivision
Michael P. Storonsky, Managing Senior Associate
mstoronsky@stantec.com
Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
www.stantec.com
“I have seen for myself the condition of the property,
and it’s a disaster!”
--Lois Geiss, President, Rochester City Council, 1996
Newcroft Park Brownfields Site
Rochester, NY
Blighting Conditions
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Abandoned derelict structures and equipment
Harassment, nuisance & disregard of neighbors
Building code violations
$150,000 in delinquent City property taxes
Illegal waste disposal (> 15,000 cubic yards)
Sloppy fuel storage & use (> 26,000 gallons &
13 tanks)
• Petroleum contaminated stormwater runoff
• Wide variety of undesirable wildlife inhabitants
Abandoned Building
Construction & Demolition Debris
Waste Disposal Piles
Abandoned Fuel Pumps & USTs Adjacent
to Residences
Sloppy Petroleum Waste Handling Practices
Above Ground Petroleum Storage
Project Challenges
• Project funding – 1996 NYSDEC Bond Act
• Land assembly – 9 tax parcels, foreclosure &
condemnation
• Repairing community relationship – Active
Outreach Program with WAAM Neighborhood
• Reuse planning – Community Involvement
• Risks & rigors of cleanup – Unrestricted Use
• Off-site contamination – Private Property
Access
Planned use vs cleanup rigor & cost
Rochester, New York
Cleanup
Costs
per acre
($1,000)
400
Upper Cost Range
300
200
Lower Cost Range
100
No Action
Site Control
Commercial
Industrial
Managed Multi-unit Single Family
Residential/Day Care Residential
Project Stages
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1996 & ‘99 - Phase I & II Environmental Site Investigations
1997-98 - Site Investigation/Remedial Alternatives
1999/2000 - Interim Remedial Measures
2000-01 - Design Phase Investigation
2001 - Remedial Design
2001-02 - Remedial Construction
2002 - Subdivision Design
2002-04 - Remedial Systems Operations
2003 - Street & Infrastructure Construction
Fall 2004 – Marketing of “CityScape” Homearama
2004-05 - Private construction and sale of residences
Off-site Investigation of Adjoining Properties
Perimeter Waste Pile Grading for Fence Installation
Underground Tank Removal
Drums & Containers Requiring Disposal
Unrestricted Single-Family Use =
Restrictive Remediation Requirements
New York State will indemnify the City,
developers and all all future homeowners,
resulting in rigorous cleanup requirements:
•Benzene ≤ 60 ppb in soil
•Benzene ≤ 1 ppb in groundwater
•Toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene ≤ 5 ppb in
groundwater
•To verify cleanup, 525 confirmatory samples
were collected (75 samples/acre)
Waste Disposal Piles – Post Vegetation Clearing
Segregated Construction & Demolition
Debris, Impacted Soils and Scrap Metal
Impacted Surficial Soil Removal
Drywell Beneath Former
Abandoned Building
Excavation of Impacted Soils
Resulting from Drywell
Remedial Construction Wastes
Removed
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21,200 tons - Impacted Soils
4,300 tons - Construction & Demolition Debris
475 tons - Asphalt
200 tons - Asbestos Wastes
80 tons - Scrap Metal
25 tons - Municipal Solid Waste
210 cu. yds. - Tires
300,000 gallons - Impacted Water
5,200 cu. yd. Ex-situ Bioremediation Cell
Installation of Groundwater Treatment
Oxygen Injection System Piping
Post Remediation Conditions
Redevelopment Plan
Construction of Homes - July 2004
Existing Conditions—Summer 2005
City Project Costs
Main site assembly – tax foreclosure
$
0
Additional acquisitions & relocations
$
210,000
Demolition costs
$
16,200
Street construction (new infrastructure & subdivision)
Environmental response costs
$ 1,390,000
+ $ 4,050,000
Total Cost prior to state contribution
NYS 1996 Bond Act Environmental Restoration Grant
Total City Project Costs
$ 5,666,200
- $ 3,417,297
$ 2,248,903
Present Value Cost – Benefit Analysis
(Direct City costs/revenues)
Cost/Revenue
Amount
Financing of City funding
$ 1,614,135
Lost property tax revenue
+
Total City (non-salary) costs
Present Value of property taxes & embellishments
Net revenue from sale of property
$ 86,749
$ 1,700,884
$ 2,347,265
+ $154,500
Total City revenues $ 2,501,765
30 Year Present Value Net Gain
$
800,881