The Andrew Rypien Field stands as a
model of remarkable achievement in brownfields redevelopment. A
consortium of local community groups, government entities, and
private corporations worked together to transform a Superfund site
listed on EPA's National Priorities List since 1994, into a sports
complex serving over 4,500 neighborhood children.
The Spokane Junkyard/Associated
Properties site covers approximately 16 acres of an area designated
for light commercial enterprise and low-income residences in
northeast Spokane. Several private businesses, single-family
residences, a low-income apartment complex, and an elementary
school surround the site. Prior to its redevelopment as a sports
complex, the site contained the following properties: Spokane
Junkyard, which accepted military surplus items, automobiles, heavy
equipment, appliances, and electrical transformers from the 1940s
to 1987; an adjacent property where Spokane Metals Company recycled
scrap metal and transformers from 1936 through 1983; a vacant
residential lot; and an undeveloped strip of land dedicated to
public use. The site presented a hazard to children living in the
neighborhood or attending school adjacent to the site. As the
subject of many citizen complaints, in 1981 the City of Spokane
fenced the property, citing it as a public nuisance.
In September 1997, the former
junkyard site was removed from the NPL. Marlene Stewart, the Bemiss
neighborhood representative, approached the Spokane Youth Sports
Association (SYSA) asking them to consider the site for a potential
sports complex. Although a small portion of the site was donated by
the PRPs for community use, the SYSA purchased 15 acres developing
it into the Andrew Rypien Field. Named for the young son of NFL
quarterback Mark Rypien, a former resident of Spokane, the complex
consists of six soccer fields, four softball fields, two basketball
courts, a baseball field, picnic area, and concession stand. Future
phases will add more playing fields and other amenities. So
successful was Ms. Stewart in overcoming the stigma of a Superfund
site, the SYSA now uses the slogan “Superfund to SuperFUN” in its
fund-raising campaign.
The above taken from:
Excerpts from a summary in the Doctoral
Thesis, Contaminated Brownfield Sites: Impact on Asset Value and
Strategies for Redevelopment , of Dr. Daniel B.
Koroma