City awarded with $350,000 Brownfields grant for MAPS 3 Downtown Park 

(May 30, 2012) - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that Oklahoma City will receive a $350,000 grant for an environmental site assessment on land purchased for the MAPS 3 Downtown Public Park.

“The park is being built in an older part of the City where a variety of commercial and industrial activities occurred from the 1940s to the present,” said Brownsfields Coordinator Chris Varga.  “Types of businesses included tractor and auto repair shops, salvage yards, print shops, battery manufacturers and dry cleaners, so we fully expect some level of cleanup will need to take place.” 

The Downtown Public Park consists of a 40-acre upper park and a 30-acre lower park connected by the Oklahoma City SkyDance Bridge that spans I-40.  The park’s boundaries are Hudson Avenue on the west, Robinson Avenue on the east, the future Oklahoma City Boulevard (SW 3) on the North and the Oklahoma River on the south.

The EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields.  A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.  

Contact:  Kristy Yager
297-2550 / 863-2831