Skip to page content
  • Go to the main menu
  • Go to the search form
Metro

Main menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Parks + Venues
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Parks
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Oxbow Regional Park
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Camping at Oxbow
      • Blue Lake Regional Park
      • Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area
      • Graham Oaks Nature Park
      • Cooper Mountain Nature Park
      • Mount Talbert Nature Park
      • Scouters Mountain Nature Park
      • Chehalem Ridge Nature Park
      • Canemah Bluff Nature Park
      • Newell Creek Canyon Nature Park
      • Orenco Woods Nature Park
      • Killin Wetlands Nature Park
      • Howell Territorial Park
      • Mason Hill Park
      • Broughton Beach
      • Glendoveer Golf Course and Nature Trail
      • Farmington Paddle Launch
      • Boat ramps
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Chinook Landing Marine Park
        • M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp
        • Sauvie Island Boat Ramp
      • Disc golf course

      • Parks and nature activities
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Guided nature activities
        • Nature learning resources
      • Picnics and special use
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Picnics at Blue Lake
        • Picnics at Oxbow
        • Picnics at Graham Oaks
        • Picnics at Mount Talbert
        • Picnics at Scouters Mountain
        • Picnics at Chehalem Ridge
        • Caterers and amusement providers
        • Special use permits
      • Water safety
      • Pets policy
      • Hunting policy
    • Venues
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Oregon Convention Center
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Oregon Convention Center hotel
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Jobs and job training
          • Economic impact
          • Global reach
          • Hotel progress
      • Oregon Zoo
      • Portland Expo Center
      • Portland'5 Centers for the Arts
    • Historic cemeteries
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Services and fees
      • Visit the cemeteries
      • History of Metro's cemeteries

      • Brainard Cemetery
      • Columbia Pioneer Cemetery
      • Douglass Cemetery
      • Escobar Cemetery
      • Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery
      • Gresham Pioneer Cemetery
      • Jones Cemetery
      • Lone Fir Cemetery
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Chestnut Grove Memorial Garden
      • Mountain View Corbett Cemetery
      • Mountain View Stark Cemetery
      • Multnomah Park Cemetery
      • Pleasant Home Cemetery
      • Powell Grove Cemetery
      • White Birch Cemetery
    • man and boy walking on trail at Oxbow Regional Park
      Buy a parks pass
  • Tools + Services
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Tools for Living
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Garbage and recycling
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Find a recycler
        • Find your hauler
        • Metro Central transfer station
        • Metro South transfer station
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Metro South trash cam
        • Code of conduct
        • Prep your load and pay less
        • Recycling at home
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Home recycling collection
          • Glass
          • Metal
          • Plastic
          • Paper
          • Christmas tree recycling
        • Reducing waste at home
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Waste-wise holidays
          • Stop junk mail
          • Back to school tips
        • Neighborhood collection events
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • 2025 neighborhood collection event schedule
        • Report dumped garbage
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • RID Patrol work transition program
        • Ask an expert
      • Healthy home
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Household hazardous waste disposal
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Adhesives and glues
          • Aerosols
          • Air fresheners and deodorizers
          • Ammunition
          • Antifreeze
          • Arts and crafts supplies
          • Asbestos
          • Batteries, auto
          • Batteries, household
          • Bleach
          • Brake fluid
          • Carpet and rug cleaners
          • Chemistry sets
          • Cleaners, all-purpose
          • Degreasers
          • Detergents, dishwashing or laundry
          • Disinfectants
          • Drain cleaners
          • Fertilizers, chemical
          • Fingernail polish and remover
          • Flea control
          • Gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel
          • Hair products
          • Hand cleaners, mechanic or painter
          • Lighter fluid, charcoal
          • Lubricating oils
          • Medicines, unwanted or expired drugs
          • Mercury- and PCB-containing items
          • Moss killer
          • Mothballs and moth crystals
          • Motor oil and oil filters
          • Oven cleaners
          • Paint and clear wood finish
          • Paint strippers or paint scrapings
          • Paint thinners
          • Paint, water-based
          • Pesticides
          • Photographic chemicals
          • Polishes and cleaners, metal
          • Polishes and waxes, wood furniture and floors
          • Polishes, cleaners or waxes, automotive
          • Polishes, shoe
          • Pool or spa chemicals
          • Septic tank cleaners
          • Smoke detectors, ionizing type
          • Soot remover or creosote destroyer
          • Stain and spot removers
          • Transmission fluid
          • Windshield wiper solution
          • Wood preservatives
        • Green cleaning
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Air fresheners and deodorizers
          • All-purpose cleaners
          • Aluminum cleaners
          • Antiseptic soap spray
          • Bathroom soft scrub
          • Bronze, brass and copper cleaner
          • Chrome cleaner
          • Coffee maker cleaner
          • Countertop and appliance top cleaner
          • Dish soap
          • Disinfectants
          • Drain cleaner
          • Floor cleaners
          • Glass and window cleaners
          • Hand cleaner
          • Laundry bleach
          • Laundry cleaners
          • Leather cleaner
          • Oven cleaners
          • Scouring powder and paste
          • Silver cleaners
          • Spot and stain removers
          • Toilet bowl cleaners
          • Tub and tile cleaner
          • Urine stain removers
          • Wall cleaner
          • Wallpaper cleaner
          • Wet spotter
          • Windshield wiper fluid
          • Wood cleaners
          • Wood furniture polish
        • Home pest control
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Ants
          • Asthma, pests and pesticides
          • Cockroaches
          • Fleas and ticks
          • Fruit flies
          • Mice and rats
          • Moths
          • Spiders
        • Buying safer cleaners
        • Safe personal care products
        • Storm and fire cleanup
        • Online learning
        • MetroPaint
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Retail locations
          • Colors and product information
          • MetroPaint Outlet
          • MetroPaint virtual painter
            +
            Open this submenu
            −
            Close this submenu
            • Living room
            • Bedroom
            • Dining room
            • Entrance
            • Upload a photo
      • Yard and garden
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Learning gardens
        • Garden basics
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Soil amendments
          • Mulch matters
          • Soil prep for your edible garden
          • Watering tips
        • Garden problems
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Azalea lace bug
          • Aphids
          • Cabbage butterflies and leaf miners
          • Mosquitoes
          • Moles, voles and gophers
          • Slugs and snails
          • Yellowjackets
          • Wildlife issues
          • Lawn moss
          • Black spot, rust and rot
          • Powdery mildew
          • Weeds
          • Proper disposal of pesticides
        • Lawn
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Mow
          • Grow
          • Water
          • Weed
          • Lawn alternatives
        • Plants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Native plants
          • Plant a shrub
          • Plant a tree
          • Fall and winter gardening
          • Growing roses
          • Getting started with edibles
        • Backyard habitat
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Beneficial bugs
          • Pollinators
          • Protecting songbirds
          • Feeding and caring for wildlife
        • Composting
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Composting methods
          • Tips for composting success
          • Compost trouble-shooting
          • Build a compost bin
          • Worm composting
          • Worm bin trouble-shooting
        • Grow Smart, Grow Safe
        • Garden pledge
    • Tools for working
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Asbestos information for transfer station customers
      • Guide to construction salvage and recycling
      • Guide to managing paint waste
      • Guide to recycling and waste reduction at work
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Guide to choosing single-use service ware
      • Business hazardous waste disposal program
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Business hazardous waste disposal signup
      • Reducing food waste
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Preventing food waste
        • Donating food
        • Composting food scraps
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Composting options outside the Portland metropolitan area
        • Food scraps separation policy
        • Local success stories
      • Regional contractor's business license
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Contractor's business license application and renewal
        • Contractor's business license lookup
      • Tools for haulers and facility operators
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Accounts for haulers
        • Construction waste
        • Special waste disposal
        • Regional solid waste facilities
        • Forms for solid waste facilities
        • Rules, procedures and guidance
        • Solid Waste Information System
        • Solid waste authorizations
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Solid waste facility complaint form
          • License for Grimm’s Fuel Company
            +
            Open this submenu
            −
            Close this submenu
            • Updates
        • Solid waste enforcement
        • Public notices for garbage and recycling facilities
      • Travel options for employers
    • Tools for Partners
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Grants and resources
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • 2040 planning and development grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Past grant cycles
        • Brownfields assessment grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Background
        • Civic engagement grants
        • Climate pollution reduction planning grants
        • Community enhancement grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Metro Central Enhancement Grants
        • Community Placemaking grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • How to apply
          • 2023 grantees
          • 2022 grantees
          • 2021 grantees
          • 2020 grantees
          • 2019 grantees
          • 2018 grantees
          • 2017 grantees
        • Cooling corridors study
        • Housing and homelessness resources
        • Investment and Innovation grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Past grant cycles
        • Landlord incentives
        • Large-scale community visions
        • Local share
        • Nature grants
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Capital grants
          • Community choice grants
          • Community stewardship and restoration grants
          • Nature education grants
        • Parks and Nature community partnerships
        • Partnerships and social innovation program
        • Regional Refresh Fund
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Frequently asked questions
        • Regional Travel Options program
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Safe Routes to School program
            +
            Open this submenu
            −
            Close this submenu
            • Safe Routes to School safety campaign toolkit
        • Transit-Oriented Development Program
      • Guides and tools
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Community Investment Toolkit
        • Designing livable streets and trails
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Conversations about performance-based design
        • Economic Value Atlas
        • Greater Portland Economic Recovery Plan
        • Guide to equitable housing
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Build Small Coalition
        • Jurisdictional transfer assessment
        • Local transportation system plans
        • Mobility Corridors Atlas
        • Planning parks with communities of color
        • Regional Traffic and Transportation Class
        • Safe Routes to School Framework
        • Site readiness toolkit
        • Social Vulnerability Explorer
      • Education resources
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Resource conservation and recycling education
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Elementary school classroom presentations
          • Middle and high school classroom presentations
          • Distance learning
            +
            Open this submenu
            −
            Close this submenu
            • Elementary online learning
            • Middle and high school online learning
            • Community and family online education
          • Publication library
          • Community workshops and events
          • Meet the educators
      • Data Resource Center
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • RLIS Live
        • MetroMap
        • Aerial photography
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Regional Aerial Photo Consortium
        • Unmanned Aircraft System program
        • Annexation and boundary changes
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Annexation search tool
    • Small thumbnail of a Metro map
      Regional Land Information System
  • What's Happening
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Metro News
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • All Metro news
      • Housing news
      • Land and transportation news
      • Parks and nature news
      • Home and garbage news
      • Venues news
      • Resources for journalists
    • Public projects
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Willamette Cove cleanup and nature park
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Site history
        • Park planning
        • The cleanup
      • Future of Supportive Housing Services
      • Tualatin Valley Highway transit project
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Community engagement
        • Equitable development
        • Steering committee
      • 2024 growth management decision
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Expansion proposal
        • Roundtable
        • Youth cohort
      • Regional housing coordination strategy
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
      • Expo Future project
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Phase two
        • Development information
        • Project background
        • Site history
      • Blue Lake Regional Park improvements
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Project updates
        • Timeline
      • Affordable housing bond program
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Progress
        • Site acquisition
        • Background
        • Racial equity
        • Oversight
        • Common questions
      • Supportive housing services
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Progress
        • Racial equity
        • Regional coordination
        • Funding
        • Oversight
        • Stories
        • Common questions
      • Supportive housing services tax
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Tax preparer resources
        • Tax data and analysis
        • Codes and rules
      • 2028-30 Regional flexible funding allocation
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Funding priorities
        • New project bond
        • Step 2
      • 82nd Avenue transit project
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Development strategy
        • Steering committee
      • Community connector transit study
      • Regional Transportation Demand Management strategy
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Regional goals
        • Timeline
      • Honoring untold stories at Lone Fir Cemetery
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Community engagement
        • Timeline
        • Patient recognition
      • Parks and nature investments
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • About
        • History
        • Funding
        • Vision
        • Equity
        • Oversight
        • Leadership
      • Regional system facilities plan
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Background
        • Engagement
        • Values and outcomes
        • Gap analysis
        • Scenario development
        • Draft plan
      • Bulky Waste collection service improvements
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Bulky waste policy
        • Collection study
      • Metro's commitment to Black lives
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Policing
    • Calendar
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • calendar pictogram
        View meetings and events
    • Subscribe
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • newspaper pictogram
        Get news by email
  • About Metro
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Regional leadership
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • What is Metro?
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Cities and counties in the region
      • Metro Council
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Council President Lynn Peterson
        • Councilor Ashton Simpson
        • Councilor Christine Lewis
        • Councilor Gerritt Rosenthal
        • Councilor Juan Carlos González
        • Councilor Mary Nolan
        • Councilor Duncan Hwang

        • How to give testimony
        • Find your councilor
      • Metro Auditor
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • About the Metro Auditor
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Mission and authority
          • Process
          • Auditing standards
          • Audit Committee
        • Audits
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Audit recommendations
        • Accountability Hotline
      • Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Commissioners
        • Materials archive
      • Metro advisory committees
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Committee on Disability Inclusion
        • Committee on Racial Equity
        • Future Vision Commission
        • Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • How to give testimony
          • Meeting materials archive
        • Metro Policy Advisory Committee
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • How to give testimony
          • Meeting materials archive
        • Metro Technical Advisory Committee
        • Public Engagement Review Committee
        • Regional Waste Advisory Committee
        • Smith and Bybee Wetlands Advisory Committee
        • Transit-Oriented Development Steering Committee
        • Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • TPAC materials archive
          • TransPort
      • Diversity, equity and inclusion
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Know your rights
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Complaint procedures
        • Accessibility at Metro
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • ADA public notice
          • Request an accommodation
          • Accessibility projects
          • Website accessibility
          • ADA grievance procedure
            +
            Open this submenu
            −
            Close this submenu
            • File an ADA complaint
        • Language hub
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Arabic
          • Cambodian
          • Chinese
          • Hindi
          • Hmong
          • Japanese
          • Korean
          • Laotian
          • Nepali
          • Persian
          • Romanian
          • Russian
          • Somali
          • Spanish
          • Tagalog
          • Telugu
          • Thai
          • Ukrainian
          • Vietnamese
        • Public engagement
        • Equity strategy
        • Equity Dashboard
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Workforce demographics
          • Job classifications
          • Employment status
          • Payscale
          • Recruitment
          • Retention
        • Construction Career Pathways
      • Public records
    • How Metro works
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Organizational structure
      • Finances and funding
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Financial reports
        • Metro budget
        • Property tax information
        • Income tax information
        • Investment Advisory Board
      • Metro Code
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Metro administrative rules
      • Green Metro
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Green Metro featured projects
      • Contract opportunities
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • Current requests for bids and proposals
        • Doing business with Metro
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Large construction contracts
        • Equity in contracting
      • Jobs
        +
        Open this submenu
        −
        Close this submenu
        • How to apply
        • Benefits
        • Pay
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Classification descriptions
        • Labor unions
        • Diversity and equity
        • Training and development
        • Veterans' preference
        • First Opportunity program
        • Internships
          +
          Open this submenu
          −
          Close this submenu
          • Applying for internships
          • Types of internships
          • Garbage and recycling internships
        • Variable hour jobs
    • Library
      +
      Open this submenu
      −
      Close this submenu
      • Land use shelf
      • Transportation shelf
      • Nature shelf
      • Garbage and recycling shelf
      • Regional research shelf
      • Archives and special collections
    • photo of boats at Blue Lake
      Metro by the numbers

Search form

Metro News

Subscribe
You are here: Wooden ceiling

Regional Snapshot: Jobs and brownfields

How greater Portland works – and a challenge holding it back.

 
  • 日本語

Learning from Buffalo and Denver: Can tax credits help restore polluted sites?

Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park
Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park, a transformational example of brownfield redevelopment in New York State.
Metro logo

Learning from Buffalo and Denver: Can tax credits help restore polluted sites?

By Craig Beebe
March 29, 2017 10:40 a.m.

Bylined articles are written by Metro staff and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Metro or the Metro Council. Learn more

Want to clean up polluted sites? Get a bigger toolbox.

Tax credits can help clean up pollution and renew communities, three experts from Buffalo and Denver told Oregon leaders and professionals during a visit to Portland last week – but it's important to think carefully as they're set up.

There are thousands of known or suspected polluted properties – often called “brownfields” – around greater Portland, ranging in size from big industrial sites to corner gas stations and dry cleaners. Leaders, advocates and business are all interested in finding workable tools to get these sites cleaned up and renewed for better uses, including jobs, homes and commercial opportunities.

The Legislature has expanded the brownfield toolbox several times in recent years, making tools like land banking and property tax abatements available to local governments that want to use them to help spur cleanup and development.

But Oregon still does not have a tool that more than a dozen other states are using to help with particularly troublesome brownfields – those where whoever is responsible for the pollution has gone bankrupt, disappeared or abandoned the site.

Last week, three brownfield experts shared how state tax credit programs have helped make cleanup of abandoned brownfields possible in Denver and Buffalo, New York. Their visit culminated with a lunchtime discussion at the Collaborative Life Sciences Building in Portland's South Waterfront, itself one of the region's ongoing brownfield cleanup stories.

They shared tips for how tax credits can help with brownfield cleanup. Here are a few of the highlights.

Asarco plant Globeville, Denver
The Asarco smelter in Denver's Globeville neighborhood was among the city's biggest polluted brownfields. A Superfund site, cleanup here cost $22 million. The site has been reborn as Crossroads Commerce Park, just minutes from downtown.

Think from a developers’ perspective.

Brownfields represent an extremely risky proposition for developers – which is why so many sit vacant for so long, said Mary Hashem, whose development company RE | Solutions has been involved with some of downtown Denver’s highest-profile brownfield renewal projects.

A traditional development project might borrow as much as 80 percent of the money needed to build. But banks tend to steer well clear of projects on polluted sites, lest they be left holding the land (and the liability) if the project fails.

“All of that is time and money that has to be invested before you ever get to the point of being able to build that building and attract a user,” Hashem said.

So if you want developers – whether for-profit or nonprofit – to invest in cleaning up and redeveloping of brownfields, the community often needs to step in to help fill that gap.

“There is no one tool that will work for every site, but you should have a variety of tools at your disposal, so you can pick and choose and find the ones that will work,” Hashem said. “Tax credits are one of those tools.”

Brownfield panel at Metro
Panelists at the event included, from left, Marty Doster, Mary Hashem and Dave Stebbins. Doster and Stebbins have worked with brownfields in the Buffalo area for decades. Hashem is a developer based in Denver.

Tailor to local priorities.

Fourteen states have some form of brownfield tax credit, Hashem said. Each state has a unique setup that reflects its own goals and circumstances.

Some states, including Colorado, only provide a credit for the costs of cleanup and closely watch the overall commitment from the state. Legislators in the state created the program in 2014 after letting a previous credit expire. Colorado has a $3 million annual cap on its program, with sites eligible for up to $525,000 to help offset cleanup costs – a relatively small total for some projects. But even that investment can have a big payoff. The program leveraged $1 billion of private improvements in 2015 on 13 projects and nearly $850 million on nine projects in 2016, Hashem said.

Buffalo gas station
Big brownfields aren't the only ones that can benefit from tax credits. In fact, most brownfields are small sites like this abandoned gas station. New York's tax credits have helped many of these sites be cleaned up and redeveloped for retail or housing.

Properties that participate in the program also can be certified as fully cleaned up by the state when completed, which gives most banks the assurances they need to lend money. Like Oregon, Colorado’s brownfields program also offers site assessments and low-interest loans to brownfield redevelopers.

Others target certain kinds of redevelopment by adding extra incentives. In New York, developers can get additional credits for redeveloping sites in high-poverty areas, including affordable housing or manufacturing and so on, noted Marty Doster, who managed the brownfield tax credit program in western New York for many years at the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.

Those can add up to a total of tens of millions of dollars to make cleanup possible.

New York had to find the right way to define eligibility for properties, Doster said. After initially only requiring evidence that pollution would be “a barrier” to redevelopment, the state later made qualification more stringent based on precise measurements of pollution and set different standards for New York City than the rest of the state, where the incentive is more needed.

In New York, the program isn’t limited by an annual cap, so it has been able to impact many more properties. By 2014, Doster said, thousands of acres had been redeveloped in 155 sites through the program. About 50 sites a year go through the program.

Thanks to offering the incentive, he said, developers have actually sought out brownfield projects and helped bring them to the state’s attention. 74 seriously polluted sites have been identified thanks to developers participating in the program, Doster said.

“In other words, they rise to the level of a Superfund project and we didn’t even know they existed,” Doster said. “It’s really a huge benefit to get these sites cleaned up.”

Timing matters.

Another challenge: It’s never clear at the start how long a brownfield cleanup could take. For a developer, that uncertainty could be more than enough to kill a project before it begins.

Doster said this issue was part of how New York set up its program – putting the onus on the state to move quickly to let developers know whether they are eligible and will receive benefits. That makes the program more successful.

“There are three things that are important to developers. One is money and another one is release of liability,” Doster said. “But the third thing that really is important to them is timing. Our legislation puts requirements on the state to turn around applications.”

Northland Corridor map
The Northland Corridor project is one of several brownfield revitalization projects undertaken by the nonprofit Buffalo Urban Development Council. Its redevelopment will benefit from tax credits for brownfield cleanup and historic preservation.

Consider how to reduce risk.

Both Colorado and New York offer programs that can reduce developers’ risk if they take on a brownfield project by committing to a state-approved cleanup plan. Oregon has a similar program through the Department of Environmental Quality.

But even then, brownfields can be too big a risk for a regular corporation or even a government. That’s when alternative developer approaches might make sense.

In Buffalo, a nonprofit entity has helped turn around a legacy of heavy industry followed by economic collapse that left much of Buffalo’s working properties – including its waterfront – polluted and abandoned.

The Buffalo Urban Development Council has a board of elected leaders, business and community advocates, but its independence allows it to take on some massive redevelopment projects, said executive vice president Dave Stebbins.

The council can act nimbly to pursue opportunities, bear the risk and use tools like tax credits to help. They have invested in several large-scale redevelopment plans informed by considerable public input and played the role of convener, cleaner and developer.

In a city with as long a history of pollution as Buffalo, that’s no small task.

“Yes, it’s daunting. But you’ve got to appreciate, it’s really a long-term venture – a marathon, not a sprint,” Stebbins said.

By having a nonprofit entity take on so much of the risk and work of cleanup, new businesses can come in with confidence that they won’t get mired in the muck of pollution, instead focusing on creating jobs. Even though the council is a nonprofit with no tax liability, is can market brownfield tax credits to investors to help get funds to pay for complex cleanups.

Stebbins shared the remarkable success story of the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park, an abandoned steel factory around a polluted waterfront canal that is reemerging as a major jobs center with a jewel of public space at its heart.

The council is now moving forward on an ambitious workforce training and manufacturing campus project in an abandoned industrial corridor in east Buffalo. Brownfield tax credits and historic preservation tax credits will play an important role in the project, as will a variety of other state grants and public-private partnerships.

Buffalo waterfront
Thanks to brownfield cleanup, Buffalo's once heavily polluted, then largely abandoned, waterfront is seeing a remarkable transformation into a community asset Buffalo residents are proud of, Doster said. Photo: Visit Niagara.

Brownfield cleanup can create more than jobs – and that can create a coalition.

In New York, Doster and Stebbins said, the state’s brownfield tax credit has helped create opportunities for thousands of jobs – with billions of investment.

Jobs are great. But if they were the only benefit of the program, it wouldn’t achieve its full potential, they said – and it might not even have survived.

Thanks to New York’s program, Buffalo has been able to restore miles of riverbank that were once completely dominated by industry, in the process turning a river that once changed colors and lit on fire regularly into a environmental and community success story.

“Along with the development…I really get fired up about the environmental remediation that falls on the back of these,” said Doster, who also serves on the board of an environmental nonprofit. “We’re restoring the riverbank to a state it hasn’t had for centuries.”

He noted that people are kayaking on the Buffalo River for the first time in decades, and public events on the waterfont have attracted thousands of people to rediscover a key community asset.

Affordable housing advocates have also recognized the benefit of the program to advance their goals in New York’s more expensive cities, Doster said.

So when the tax credit program was up for reauthorization in 2015, the strong support of environmental and housing groups combined with business interests from some of the struggling metropolises upstate to successfully push for renewal.

Finally, there’s the issue of leadership. Whether a mayor, legislator, or governor, leadership helps create the political will to create programs that support cleanup and make sure they work well.

“You need the champion. You need someone who can talk the language and get people’s confidence,” Doster said.

Without that, the status quo is hard to shake – and that benefits hardly anyone.

“If you don’t do anything, you’re gonna end up with land that will sit there for years,” Stebbins said.

Willamette Falls wide view
Willamette Falls is one of Oregon's most significant brownfield sites. Metro, Clackamas County, Oregon City and others are partnering on work to clean up and redevelop the site.

Local reactions

In addition to their public presentation Friday, the three presenters spoke Thursday with the Oregon Brownfields Coalition.

The coalition, convened by Metro with dozens of public, private and nonprofit partners, has successfully advocated for a number of new tools in Oregon’s brownfield toolbox in recent years, including continuing to fund a state loan fund for brownfield cleanup and giving local governments land bank and property tax abatement abilities for brownfield cleanup. 

A bill in the Legislature this year would begin a closer look at adding state tax credits to that toolbox. HB 2459 would create a state task force to study the issue and present recommendations to the Legislature by December 2018.

Several coalition members said they appreciated the lessons from New York and Colorado and how they could make a tax credit program work in Oregon.

“The presentations were very helpful,” Audubon Society of Portland conservation director Bob Sallinger wrote in an email.

He noted that his organization has been interested in setting up a tax credit program that can advance goals like open space and affordable housing while “scaling the credits correctly and protecting the public interest.”

“I was also intrigued by the way the New York program addressed the challenges of creating a program to serve both a huge metropolitan area and much smaller communities--a challenge we have here in Oregon as well,” Sallinger added.

The potential benefit to communities of all sizes was also encouraging to Karen Homolac, brownfields specialist at Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. Wherever a project is, she says, developers have a common need: Make the project pencil out so they can have some return on their investment – which can be much larger out-of-pocket for a brownfield cleanup.

In exploring a tax credit program in Oregon, Homolac said, leaders should simultaneously advance public goals and make sure that developers find enough benefit from the program to undertake these costly, risky projects.

“You have to have an active conversation with developers and understand their perspective and what they have to consider as they put together their pro forma,” she said.

But when things align and a program is set up well, brownfields can go from stigmatized liabilities to sought-after possibilities.

“One of the things that was really apparent is that developers weren’t running way from these sites,” Homolac said. “They were actually looking for them.”

A brownfield near you? 

This interactive map could help you find out. Learn more about brownfields and their impacts and opportunities for greater Portland's economy.

Previous: Part 3

Does your neighborhood have a possibly polluted vacant lot? Tired of passing it every day? Let's say you want to do something better with it.
Related stories 
You are here: A snapshot of greater Portland jobs – and a challenge
You are here: Construction beams

You are here: A snapshot of greater Portland jobs – and a challenge

Read more

Dispatches: 5 stories of brownfield renewal
Eichler Park field

Dispatches: 5 stories of brownfield renewal

Read more

The Rundown: So you want to clean up a brownfield. Here's how.
Ava Roasteria: Before

The Rundown: So you want to clean up a brownfield. Here's how.

Read more

$600K EPA grant will help polluted sites in McLoughlin Blvd. corridor
Willamette Falls Legacy Site aerial

$600K EPA grant will help polluted sites in McLoughlin Blvd. corridor

Read more

 

Footer Menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Services of Metro
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Oregon Zoo
    • Oregon Convention Center
    • Portland Expo Center
    • Portland'5 Centers for the Arts
    • Data Resource Center
    • Garbage and recycling facilities
    • Metro cemeteries
  • Opportunities
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Jobs
    • Contracts
    • Grants
    • Franchising and licensing
  • Access
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Know your rights
    • Accessibility at Metro
    • Language assistance
    • Feedback and questions
    • Metro Accountability Hotline
    • Privacy policy
    • Request public records
    • Directions
  • Leadership
    +
    Open this submenu
    −
    Close this submenu
    • Metro Council
    • Metro Auditor
    • MERC
    • Committees
    • Who's my councilor?

Metro logo

Whether your roots in the region run generations deep or you moved to Oregon last week, you have your own reasons for loving this place – and Metro wants to keep it that way. Help shape the future of the greater Portland region and discover tools, services and places that make life better today.

Contact Metro

  • 503-797-1700
  • 503-797-1804 TDD
  • Send a message

Connect with Metro

Subscribe to Metro News

More subscription options

Find Metro on

Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Instagram