GATEWAY CITIES PARTNERSHIP, INC.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 2000
Contact: Dion Jackson, Real Estate Recycling Project Manager
Phone: (562) 817-0822 ext. 12
Email: dionj@gatewaycities.org
 
 
GATEWAY CITIES RECEIVES BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT PILOT

Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc. is pleased to announce the award by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a $250,000 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot for the Gateway Cities region.  The Pilot targets Brownfield sites within the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, Paramount, South Gate, and Vernon.  “Gateway Cities has identified thousands of acres of brownfield sites that aren’t being used to maximum capacity because of contamination.  If we were to clean these sites up, we could increase the number of jobs and economic activity in our region, benefiting everyone who lives in it,” states South Gate Mayor Hector De La Torre, whose city is serving as the fiscal agent for this project.

This achievement is significant because it is one of a very few multi-jurisdictional awards made by the EPA, and it recognizes the unique approach the Partnership has taken in designing the project for the Gateway Cities Council of Governments.  “This award was made possible through hard work and cooperation between the local cities and the Partnership,” comments Dion Jackson, Real Estate Recycling Project Manager for the Gateway Cities Partnership.

Brownfields are abandoned or underused pieces of land that may be further complicated by environmental contamination.  This Gateway Cities Pilot will identify brownfield sites with the best potential for reuse through a community-based, site selection process.  “The Gateway Cities are unlike any other region,” states Richard Proudfit, Chairman of Gateway Cities Partnership, “achieving this goal requires participation from all sectors of the community.”  A partnership of support will be built between the local communities and the private sector for Brownfields assessment and cleanup, leading to the overall economic goals of job creation and enhanced livability in the Gateway Cities Region.  Richard Hollingsworth, CEO/President Gateway Cities Partnership comments, “We are very pleased at the selection of this project by EPA, it is the first time these cities have had access to the opportunities provided by the Brownfields Pilot program.”

Founded in 1997, the Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc. is an alliance of business, labor, education and the public sector.  Gateway Cities is a region of 27 cities in Southeast Los Angeles with a population of two million people.  It is larger than many states and is the manufacturing heartland of Southern California.

The Gateway Cities Partnership is currently working on initiatives dealing with workforce development, recycling industrial land, port related traffic issues and marketing the region to attract new family wage jobs to the region.

Also awarded a Brownfields Pilot this year is the City of Signal Hill who plans to target at least five high-priority sites to serve as models for redevelopment.  Other Gateway Cities awarded Pilots in the past are among the following: Montebello (1998), Lynwood (1999), and Long Beach (1998).
 
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