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Cleaning up after businesses
Trinity site is a 'jewel,' deserves better future
Birmingham Business Journal - February 17, 2006by Kaija WilkinsonStaff
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A prominent Birmingham brownfield is undergoing a multimillion-dollar cleanup in preparation for a new life.
After Jefferson County and the city of Birmingham chipped in $1.3 million each in spring 2005 to buy and clean up a portion of the former Trinity Industries Inc. steel site on Sixth Avenue South in western Birmingham, the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority in the fall appointed an advisory committee to determine the best uses for the site. Their first meeting was in early December.
Consisting of 14 individuals from the architectural, engineering and construction professions, the three teams are scheduled in April 2006 to present their ideas to the city and county in three categories: industrial, mixed-used and "outside the box."
Shelia Smoot, county commissioner of roads, transportation and community development, says she hopes the Trinity site will set an example about the potential of brownfields. And though the original intention was to make way for another industrial user, Smoot says she feels a better use can be determined, perhaps including offices, parks or housing.
"I absolutely do not want another industrial user," says Smoot. "The site is better than that."
Contamination less than feared
Situated along Interstate 65 in the Titusville neighborhood, the site is about a quarter-mile west of the University of Alabama at Birmingham near UAB Medical Center. Plus, notes Smoot, with demolition of most existing structures more than 75 percent complete, the site boasts a stunning view of the Birmingham skyline. "By tearing down the buildings, we were able to see that we had a jewel on our hands," Smoot says. A pair of office buildings built between 1910 and 1920 remain and will be part of the site's new use.
Totaling about 60,000 square feet, the office buildings have an Art Deco look and features like an engraved ship and train to represent a couple of the industries that fueled the steel industry that thrived there for nearly a century. Although the interiors are in poor condition, inlaid wood and marble await refurbishing.
"We ought to be utilizing that site better than the traditional, easy use," Smoot says. "It's easy to run 18-wheelers through that site, but I don't want that. We want something that ties in with the university or the hospitals at UAB or St. Vincent's, which means biomedical, biotech, pharmaceutical -- those kinds of industries and/or recreational."
From shortly after the turn of the century to the early 1980s, Ingram Ironworks operated at the site, manufacturing steel used in railroads, planes, ships and submarines. Ingram sold the site to Trinity in the early 1980s, and Trinity operated there until 2001, when the company pulled out of the Birmingham market.
Doug Bullock, who oversaw the environmental work performed by Gallet & Associates Inc. of Birmingham for the city and county, says the site wasn't as environmentally contaminated as initially feared, so the project came in within budget. Gallet analyzed the area for multiple volatile compounds in the soil, groundwater and adjacent stream on the property.
"What we found is a localized condition that is quite manageable and works in conjunction with the deal," Bullock says. "Our main concern was making the math work."
Bullock says that Gallet is about to present its pre-approved cleanup plan to ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management.)
A wealth of expert advice
Other than somewhat limited access to I-65, the site is a prime redevelopment opportunity. Allen Pate, chairman of the board of the development authority and executive director of the city of Hoover, says those involved will keep an open mind in considering potential buyers.
"We are looking for tenants, and we will be considering whoever comes forward with an offer on the site," Pate says.
Bob Wilkerson, senior planner for the Birmingham Regional Planning Commission and coordinator of the Greater Birmingham Brownfield Redevelopment Task Force, praises the intergovernmental cooperation involved in the Trinity plan. Wilkerson says, although the site has appeal as an industrial site simply because of its history and proximity to other industrial tenants such as Golden Flake Snack Foods Inc., a fresh use would be welcomed.
Says Wilkerson: "I wouldn't say there aren't opinions that disagree, but by and large, it's been a very cooperative group. We've brought to the table not just the public sector people, which you see very often in these types of projects, but individuals from the private sector. We have environmental engineering firms, architectural firms, law firms that have environmental divisions, citizens, property owners and developers. It takes this range of people to do a brownfields project right."
Wilkerson is heading up development of a brownfields database to market sites to potential users. Launched last year using a $60,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, the database is nearing completion. It currently includes properties such as Trinity that have received public funds, but Wilkerson is working on a format that will allow any property owners to add their properties to the database, regardless of whether they have received public funds.
As for the future of Trinity, Smoot says "the sky's the limit." She anticipates a flood of interest from developers and future tenants, especially once the teams present ideas.
kwilkinson@bizjournals.com • (205) 443-5637
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