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ONE Neighborhood Builders


Project


Site / Project Name

Paragon Mills

Brownfield Site Address

39 Manton Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island

Site Owner

Olneyville Housing Corporation d/b/a ONE Neighborhood Builders

Clear Title

No

Owner Contaminator

No

Former Use

Textiles (Worsted Wool), Cording

Land Use

The mill is currently partly occupied with light industrial and educational uses. The surrounding area is commercial to the south, east and west, and residential to the north. The mill is located on the Woonasquatucket River, an American Heritage River.

Infrastructure

The site is within one mile of state highways 6 and 10, and within 2 miles of Interstate 95. There is an Amtrak line about .5 mile to the east; the Amtrak station is in downtown Providence, about 2 miles away.

Assessment Level

Phase 2

Contaminants

As stated in the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment report completed in December 2011 by Woodard & Curran, the property is currently listed as a State Hazardous Waste Site and a US Brownfield site. Environmental investigations identified semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and metals in soil above RIDEM Residential Direct Exposure Criteria, and in some cases, above Industrial/Commercial Direct Exposure Criteria. There is an active fuel oil UST where TPH was detected in soil and groundwater in the immediate vicinity.

Cleanup Program

Yes

The owner has secured EPA and RI DEM funds to remediate the site. Remediation planning and permitting is in progress. Remediation is scheduled for spring-summer of 2016.

Remediation

Yes

Asbestos has been removed from pipes and mechanical equipment in the building. The boiler system has been decommissioned, so the UST closure is under application and will be completed within 3 months.

Developer

Yes

ONE Neighborhood Builders

Future Use

Mixed Use

Financing Tools: Federal Programs

EPA cooperative agreement (secured); Federal historic tax credits (approved); New Market tax credits (eligible)

Financing Tools: State Programs

RI DEM TBA program (completed); RI DEM Brownfields Redevelopment grant (secured); State Historic tax credits (reserved); Rebuild RI tax credits (eligible); CDBG (verbal approval, awaiting agreement)

Financing Tools: Funds Committed

Yes, $1.25 million is committed through four sources.

Challenges

Financing

Securing a commercial tenant. In order to get construction and permanent financing to layer with the incentive financing, we need a credit-worthy tenant who will commit to a market rate rent for approximately 30,000 sf of space. (Total square footage is 115,000)

Technical Assistance

New Markets Tax Credits
Disclaimer: This publication was developed under Assistance Agreement No. TR-83576801-0 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of Council of Development Finance Agencies and EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.