City of Bloomington Hosts Public Forum on Brownfield Redevelopment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 29, 2014

For more information, please contact:

Danise Alano-Martin, Director of Economic Development, City of Bloomington Department of Economic and Sustainable Development, 349.3477, alanod@bloomington.in.gov

City of Bloomington Hosts Public Forum on Brownfield Redevelopment

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Economic and Sustainable Development Department, in partnership with the Indiana Brownfields Program, will present "From Brown to Blooming: Putting Brownfields Back to Work," a forum for exploring the benefits, challenges and methods of redeveloping brownfields. The event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers of City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. The forum is free and open to the public.

Generally, a brownfield is property that is inactive or even abandoned and faces obstacles to redevelopment or reuse because of the perception of possible environmental issues. Michele Oertel will present information about the Indiana Brownfields Program and its mission to assist in the redevelopment of brownfield properties. Oertel is the Federal Funding and Community Relations Coordinator for the Indiana Finance Authority, which provides oversight to the Indiana Brownfields Program. Danise Alano-Martin, Director of the City of Bloomington Economic and Sustainable Development Department, and representatives of the City's U.S. EPA Brownfield Grant consultant, Bruce Carter Associates, will share experiences with brownfield grant administration and financing brownfield remediation projects.

Property owners, developers, planners and others interested in brownfield redevelopment are invited to learn how the technical and financial assistance programs of the Indiana Brownfields Program can help plan and accomplish redevelopment projects. Attendees will also learn about specific Bloomington projects.

For more information or to RSVP to the event, contact economicvitality@bloomington.in.gov.

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