NEARLY 30 JOBS CREATED THANKS TO BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 22, 2014

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850-245-2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us 

NEARLY 30 JOBS CREATED THANKS TO TWO BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

~Contaminated sites remediated to become location for viable businesses~

JACKSONVILLE – Two contaminated sites in the city of Jacksonville will soon be remediated and replaced with viable businesses bringing jobs and contributing to the economy. This is made possible thanks to collaboration between the city of Jacksonville and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The city recently executed two resolutions for Brownfields Area Designations that will enable redevelopment and result in the creation of nearly 30 new full-time jobs in the department’s Northeast District.

Darrin McKeehen, Northeast District’s brownfields coordinator, has been working closely with Heather Ireland, the city of Jacksonville’s brownfields coordinator, to facilitate remediation and redevelopment through the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program at Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. and L&M Griffin Properties #3, LLC (formerly known as Bill Johns Waste Oil).

"We are excited for these new job opportunities that are coming to Jacksonville," said DEP's Northeast District Director Greg Strong. "Not only are these businesses bringing new economic opportunities to the city, but they are also cleaning up contamination and restoring the environmental integrity of the sites. It is a win for Florida's environment and economy."

“I applaud Heather Ireland and the city of Jacksonville Brownfields Coalition for its continued effort to identify, assess, clean up and rehabilitate brownfield properties,” said Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown. “The city is grateful to have DEP as a partner as we encourage job creation and a cleaner environment.”

Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. owns property located at 16770 Rebar Rd. in Jacksonville that has been a steel production facility since 1976. Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. plans to remediate existing contamination and rehabilitate the site to accommodate expansion and streamlining of existing plant operations. The proposed redevelopment project is anticipated to create approximately 18 new permanent full-time jobs in melt-shop production operations, as a result of the remediation and rehabilitation.

Sea Breeze Food Service, Inc., has recently leased property located at 3744 Keen Rd., from L&M Griffin Properties #3, LLC, which is contiguous with their existing operations located at 3807 Edgewood Dr. The Keen Road site was formerly utilized as a used oil recycling facility known as Bill Johns Waste Oil and is directly adjacent to the existing Sea Breeze Food Service property. In the late 1990s the United States Environmental Protection Agency initiated a limited source removal action to remediate contaminated soil resulting from the former operations, and further remediation is needed to complete site closure. L&M Griffin plans to remediate the existing contamination and rehabilitate the site to accommodate expansion including warehouse construction for additional dry storage and refrigeration, as well as truck parking to lease to Sea Breeze Food Service for their existing operations at 3807 Edgewood Drive. The proposed redevelopment project is anticipated to create 10 or more permanent full-time jobs.

Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. and L&M Griffin are in the process of entering into Brownfields Site Rehabilitation Agreements with the Northeast District and will conduct the required remediation, complete redevelopment and reuse under the direction of the Northeast District and become eligible for applicable tax credits through the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program.

Established in 1997, the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program utilizes economic and regulatory incentives to encourage the use of private revenue to restore and redevelop sites, create new jobs and boost the local economy. Partners in the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program include local governments, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida, Inc. For more information about the Florida Brownfield Redevelopment Program click here, where you may view the annual report to learn more about this successful program.