BROWNFIELD OPPORTUNITY AREA PRE-NOMINATION STUDY, (STEP 1)
City of Lockport, NY

KEY PROJECT COMPONENTS:
• BOA Boundary Justification and Mapping
• SEQRA Compliance
• Community Participation Program Development/Execution
• Demographic and Economic Data Compilation/Analysis
• Characterization and Mapping of Existing Land Use and Zoning
• Identification, Mapping and Profiling of Brownfield Sites
• Development of GIS for Study Area
• Land Ownership Analysis and Mapping
• Natural Resource Mapping and Evaluation
• Reuse/Redevelopment Analysis
• Pre-Nomination Study Preparation
• Grant Application Preparation
• Grant Administration

TVGA was selected by the City of Lockport to conduct a Pre-Nomination Study of an approximate 450-acre area of the City under the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program. The City was awarded a Step 1 BOA grant for $70,000 to identify and preliminarily evaluate these multiple brownfield sites, to ultimately develop a community-based, area-wide redevelopment plan that complements other local planning and development initiatives. The proposed area of concentrated brownfield sites offers a number of strategic opportunities for community and economic revitalization. The City intends to utilize the BOA Program to evaluate the potential for redevelopment of the study area as an augmentation of the urban revitalization efforts currently occurring in the City’s downtown district.

The study area is located along the Erie Canal and 18-Mile Creek and was historically developed for industrial use. Unfortunately, the decline of industrial operations in the region has resulted in the closure of many of these facilities, and the study area currently contains a number of abandoned and underutilized industrial properties. Although these multiple brownfield sites represent some of the only undeveloped land remaining in the City, the City has been unable to realize their potential because of real and perceived contamination. As a result, these properties have remained in a state of decay that have adversely affected the surrounding community and natural environment.

TVGA completed the Step 1 BOA project for the City, including the identification of the boundaries of the study area and the initial evaluation of brownfield sites contained within that area.  TVGA’s work also included the characterization of land use within the area, preparation of existing conditions maps such as zoning and natural resources, and the creation of a pre-nomination study report.  Following completion of this Step 1 project, TVGA prepared the City’s successful application into Step 2 of the program.