U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister presented checks to three St. Louis, Mo., organizations for brownfields grants before throwing out the first pitch June 28 at the St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium.
According to a June 29 EPA news release, the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of St. Louis County received $1.9 million for cleanups in disadvantaged areas; the St. Louis Development Corporation received $1 million for cleanup projects in Fountain Park, the Ville, Midtown and North Riverfront; and St. Louis Community College received $200,000 to train 48 unemployed residents for Class B commercial driving with hazardous materials endorsement.
“We are proud to recognize these three deserving St. Louis organizations at Busch Stadium – a site that itself was cleaned up using brownfields funding and is now a source of pride for the city,” McCollister said in the release. “St. Louis understands the power of brownfields grants, and we are excited at the opportunities, improvements and jobs these grants will provide.”
“We have big plans for investment in historically distressed and underserved areas of the city, and this support from EPA will provide a strong foundation for the predevelopment work necessary to revitalize these communities," St. Louis Development Corporation Executive Director Neal Richardson said in the release.
“With this investment, we will prioritize expanding our work with community partners in the St. Louis Promise Zone in North St. Louis County," Maude Bauschard Trost, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership community development project manager, said, according to the release. "This assistance will help address a key barrier to economic development for these communities, which have been impacted by decades of disinvestment.”
