Secretary Martinez Announces
Brownfields Grant to Rockford

Rockford will receive $300,000 of HUD's Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) funds and $900,000 of Section 108 loan guarantee funds to assist in the remediation of a Brownfield site as part of the South Main Street Redevelopment project. HUD Secretary Mel Martinez made the announcement on November 5, 2002.

The project entails the revitalization of the Rockford's South Main Street neighborhood and the development of a commercial shopping center. The City will use the BEDI grant for site clean up and the Section 108 loan will be used by the Rockford Local Development Corporation for part of the construction of the project. Approximately $4.4 million of other public dollars have been leveraged for the project, and total project costs are estimated at $ 7.2 million.

Rockford is one of twenty-three communities in the Nation that will now begin the process of breathing new life into their local economies with the help of the HUD grant and loan guarantees.

"These grants and loan guarantees will help change the economic landscape, restoring hope to once thriving communities," said Martinez. "HUD's experience is that with some environmental cleanup, abandoned factories or other industrial sites can be converted into new centers of community renewal."

The BEDI program helps local governments redevelop abandoned, idle or underutilized facilities where site development is complicated by environmental contamination. By combining grants with a low-interest guaranteed-loan program, HUD helps communities convert abandoned or underutilized sites into useful commercial and industrial developments.