'BROWNFIELD' DESIGNATION SOUGHT FOR POLLUTED GREENPORT INDUSTRIAL SITE

Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

The developer of the Greenport Crossing project is seeking state “brownfield” status for the state Route 66 site, which is polluted with the remnants from years of industrial usage.

Developer Harbalwant Singh is seeking the state Department of Environmental Conservation designation for the site of his proposed Greenport Crossing hotel and entertainment complex to assure investors and others that the former industrial site will have been cleaned properly.

“The investigation done at the site (if it is declared a ‘brownfield’) is very thorough and detailed, not only by the Department of Environmental Conservation, but by the Department of Health, so once the property is clean, the state will issue the discharge of the liability,” Singh said. “It will help assure everyone that the site is clean.”

DEC spokesman Maureen Wren told ccSCOOP on Thursday that the agency sent notice this week to Singh that his application has been deemed complete, setting the stage for a public review period.

“We should announce in the very near future a public comment period on the application,” Wren said.

Singh said that in an effort to expedite the process, his application also contained a remediation plan for the site, which was once home to V&O Press, a metals manufacturer.

Once released for public comment, the application will likely be made available for review at the Greenport Town Hall.

Singh said DEC officials have already visited the site, and he expects to the land to be designated a ‘brownfield’ by the end of the year.

The state’s ‘brownfield’ program provides incentives, technical assistant and liability relief to help owners of contaminated and abandoned industrial properties in an effort to promote their cleanup and re-use. A preliminary report on the site identified several heavy metals and pollutants on the property, as well as asbestos - all consistent with the previous use of the site as a metal pressing operation.

During the Planning Board review process earlier this year, Singh presented an environmental management plan that identifies which hazardous materials may be present at the site and outlines the steps that will be taken to remediate the site once contaminants are identified. The plan calls for a representative of Labelle Associates to be on the site throughout the construction process. The Albany-based firm will provide weekly updates to the Greenport Planning Board and Code Enforcement Office about contaminants found on the site and measures taken to deal with them.
That plan was part of the approval granted by the Planning Board and would not change if the site is designated a ‘brownfield’.

The plan for Greenport Crossing includes a 100-room hotel with a 52,000-square-foot entertainment center and a separate retail facility. The hotel would include a restaurant and conference rooms, which could be used for weddings and parties as well as for meetings. The attached two-story entertainment center would include a bowling alley, an indoor play area, a climbing wall, a laser tag facility, an arcade, and a sports bar. The plan also calls for a gas station and convenience store. According to Singh, the subdivision is necessary for financing the project.

Columbia County Economic Development Commissioner Ken Flood said the development is moving along as expected.
He said the Industrial Development Agency has not yet acted on a tax abatement plan for the development.
Singh said he expects to announce a franchise brand (name) for the hotel in the very near future.

Once a decision is made by the state on the ‘brownfield’ status, demolition of the former factory will move ahead.
“We have a target of doing the demolition in 2010 and hope to meet that target,” said Singh.