Although the creation of the Center for Community Revitalization is not directly associated with the predevelopment activities, the Center does play a pivotal role in the redevelopment of this area. It has become a community resource and in 2004, the building was renovated to accommodate a child care center. The center is operated by the Main South CDC who has a 99 year lease on the building.

As well as providing child care facilities, the center is widely used by the community and has proven to be an important focal point for generating community participation in the redevelopment of the Kilby, Gardner, Hammond area. At the Center we provide an after-school program for neighborhood youth, computer training classes for adults both in English and Spanish, free resume writing and job training; the Main Public Safety Alliance meetings are also coordinated by the CDC and are held at the Center and in 2007, the Center also became a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site. The Center plays an important role in generating community involvement and support in the redevelopment of this area.

Brownfield Remediation:

The Main South CDC has spent a great deal of time over the course of the last couple of years coordinating efforts to determine the extent of environmental contamination within the project area and to arrange the necessary clean up. Like many urban brownfields, it is often the fear of the unknown that prevents productive reuse. A critical element of the CDC’s predevelopment efforts was to quantify the extent of the contamination and to coordinate the most cost efficient development of the site.

The CDC has had its Licensed Site Professional (GZA Environmental) complete full environmental testing on the site and in the buildings. The results of these findings have been reported to the EPA and we have involved them extensively in mitigation discussions. As a result we have been able to impose limited use restrictions (e.g. paved parking lots) upon areas of the site thus minimizing the extent of necessary clean up and ensuring the feasibility of the project.

The extent of contamination has been quantified and contractor bid packages for the asbestos abatement, soil clean up, property demolition and site work have been prepared and bid out. The bid process resulted in the contract work being secured for a price that was within the project budget. The Boys and Girls Club construction is completed while the construction of the athletic field is still in the beginning phase. The Boys and Girls Club was opened to the public in mid-July of 2006 while the construction of the Clark athletic field is underway.

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