Renaissance Brandon Phase II Environmental Site Assessment 901 Princess Avenue, 136 and 156 9th Street

As part of plans to revitalize the City of Brandon’s historic downtown area, Renaissance Brandon, a municipal corporation created by the city to redevelop its downtown, will conduct a feasibility study to assess environmental contamination and recommend remediation strategies for a site located at 901 Princess Avenue, 136 and 156 9th Street. This site was formerly used as a gas station, hotel, and a hide-tanning operation, and contains underground heating oil storage tanks. Building on a 2001 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, Renaissance Brandon will hire a team of consultants to conduct a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment. Through analyzing soil and water samples, they will confirm and categorize any contaminants from past land use, and will monitor for volatile organic compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Once environmental assessments are complete, the team will prepare remediation strategies (if warranted) and redevelopment options. They will use a triple-bottom-line approach that includes environmental, economic, and social factors, and present a final report to city council. This study represents an innovative undertaking for the city, which has limited experience with brownfield remediation. Study results will be shared with developers for future projects, and will support efforts to bring these properties back into productive use. (Project description from original funding application)