Uniroyal cleanup moving forward.....apparently

[Rocko]

Surprised I didn't see this posted anyplace. Pay special attention to what George Jackson has to add to this text:

Sept. 11, 2010

Uniroyal factory cleanup at hand

Mayor hails plan as historic for Detroit

BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER


Like the vacant Michigan Central Station, for years, the Uniroyal factory site on Detroit's east riverfront has symbolized the city's inability to recover from decades of abandonment.

But that symbol may be coming to an end.

Detroit's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority this week approved agreements with three corporations for $15 million-$20 million to clean up the western half of the 40-acre site. Cleanup agreements also are expected soon for the eastern portion.

A cleanup of the old industrial site would allow the extension of the Detroit RiverWalk to the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.

And it will clear the way for developers to begin work on the long-delayed Bellview residential and retail project that could bring new life to the vacant riverfront parcel.

The factory was torn down in 1985.

Mayor Dave Bing hailed the cleanup pacts.

"This is a historic agreement for the City of Detroit," he said in a statement Friday. "The Uniroyal site has sat idle for decades. This puts us in a position to complete the RiverWalk and continue the transformation of the riverfront for future generations."

Once done, 2 projects could proceed along riverfront

Cleaning up the Uniroyal site just west of the bridge to Belle Isle is close at hand.

And that could lead to two major redevelopment projects proceeding.

In one, the Detroit RiverWalk would extend from near Mt. Elliott eastward across
the Uniroyal site to the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle.

In the other, developers headed by former Detroit-raised football star Jerome Bettis and his partner, Pittsburgh businessman Charles Betters, hope to build a mixed-use project known as Bellview that eventually could include up to 2,000 residential units and stores.

The cleanup and related site preparation are likely to take a couple of years, so the new developments won't arrive immediately. But the signs are at least hopeful.

"I think this is the most critical piece to shape up the future of the east riverfront," said George Jackson, president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

Jackson likened the agreements on Uniroyal to the earlier agreements negotiated by DEGC to remove cement silos from the east riverfront. Removal of the silos allowed RiverWalk construction to start.

"What would the riverfront look like if those deals had not been completed?" he asked Friday. "This is very transformational."

The agreements approved by the Detroit's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority were with E.I. du Pont de Nemours, Michigan Consolidated Gas and Michelin North America, successor companies to firms that once did business on the site.

Betters, the developer, said he is likely to oversee the actual cleanup work, which should begin in the spring and take 18 months to two years to complete. "It's been an endurance contest," he said Friday, but he credited Jackson and DEGC with making the deal happen.

Since the Uniroyal tire factory was demolished in 1985, hopes for the site surged repeatedly only to be dashed.

When Donald Trump inspected the site by helicopter in the mid-'80s, Detroiters buzzed for months with speculation that the Donald would build a hotel or casino there.

Although best known for the Uniroyal factory that stood there for decades, the long-vacant parcel was home to many different industrial operations since the mid-19th Century.

The contamination and debris left by a century or more of industrial use is a brew of ammonia, mercury and cyanide, all of which are in the groundwater at the site, as well as other industrial byproducts.

Besides the chemical contamination, debris from the demolished tire factory was buried, rather than hauled away, creating further complications for future use.

"It's slow but we are making progress," said Will Tamminga, director of project management for the DEGC.

Contact JOHN GALLAGHER: 313-222-5173 or gallagher@freepress.com

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...te=fullarticle

George Jackson:

Jackson likened the agreements on Uniroyal to the earlier agreements negotiated by DEGC to remove cement silos from the east riverfront. Removal of the silos allowed RiverWalk construction to start.

"What would the riverfront look like if those deals had not been completed?" he asked Friday. "This is very transformational."

REALLY? I might be the only person who knows/noticed this, but presently, NOTHING has been built on any of the cement silo sites east of downtown. The old Huron Cement/LaFarge site has been re-mediated and prepped for more work [[it sits just to the west of the big hill at Tri-Centennial...er Milliken State Park), but the land is presently not in use. The Medusa/Southdown site is overgrown with weeds as the Watermark development has been completely scuttled [[located between Tri-Centennial and Chene Park). The third cement silo complex, previous operator unknown, was located between Chene and the large parking lot for Stroh's, was unused prior to demolition, and is still a trash infested empty lot occasionally inhabited by the local fishermen. YES, George Jackson, if these three had not been demolished, two of them tax paying, income producing, the riverfront would not have moved forward. I understand that these industries could not have stayed for the overall final riverfront to be successful, but I just think it's complete BS to hinge the riverfront's success on something like this, where no benefit has yet been seen.

[EASTSIDE CAT 67-83]

Any other city would not let such prime river front real estate sit idle for decades as this property has, what a waste. Yes the land needs to be sanitized but the earning potential must far out weigh that cost in the long view.

[5speedz34]

Given the fact that it's been a quarter-century since they demolished Uniroyal I think any Detroiter won't be holding their breath.

As for contaminants in groundwater, what's keeping that from leaching into the rest of the water table? Is the seawall protecting the River from being contaminated?

[mikefmich]

I used to work right next door to Uniroyal....."love the smell of burning rubber in the morning".

Honestly, I will believe this cleanup will happen after I've seen it done. Only in Detroit could 40 plus acres of waterfront property sit contaminated for nearly 3 decades.

I hate sounding negative but......

[Hypestyles]

wait a minute-- they simply buried the debris from the demolition instead of carting it off? that's just stupid-- they need to take out all of that stuff and remove it completely..

[JJD]

Heres hoping once again.... Living Belle Isle I would love to be able to ride my bike along the revoer all the way to Hart Plaza. Maybe it will happed before I am too old to ride a bike, maybe not, we will see.

[Detroitnerd]

Grandpa Detroitnerd used to work there. Pappy Detroitnerd thought they should have reused the thing somehow, since it was built to withstand bombing and had to be knocked down one column at a time. I guess my dream scenario would be that they put all the soil on railcars to Anniston, Ala., and reactivate the Beaufait rail line, putting in a commuter station there. Let a thousand transit-oriented developments bloom.

[royce]

Nice to hear something is finally being done. However, here's a problem that I see. It will take X amount of money to clean the site, yet DSWD wants to build a sewage retention basin along Atwater east of Rivard that will take up three to four blocks, eliminating the possibility of developing residential or retail development in that area. Why not build the sewage retention basin along the Uniroyal site since it's already contaminated and sewage is just another form of contamination. Given the choice in where to build the sewage retention basin, the land along Atwater IMHO is more valuable for development than the land on the Uniroyal site.

[Russix]

Which of these parks closes at 10pm?
A) Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
B) Chicago Lake Shore Trail
C) Windsor Riverside Parks
D) Detroit Riverfront

[kryptonite]

Doesn't the EPA require that brownfields sit for a number of years without development to allow some chemicals to leech down through the soil? Doesn't it vary depending on the prior industrial use? Different industries generate different pollutants. I know there is some type of 10-year requirement for apple orchards due to chemicals used in the orchards. I would guess the Uniroyal site would have needed to sit undisturbed for some period of time, probably not 25 years though.

In addition to EPA requirements wouldn't the Uniroyal site be classified as a wetlands maybe which could slow the process down more? the EPA can slow redevelopment down and even stop it depending on the type of industry involved.