DNR Awards Brownfield Grant To The City Of Baraboo

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced it awarded brownfield assessment services to the city of Baraboo to support the investigation of environmental conditions at a former manufacturing property at 105 Vine St.

The award is from the DNR's Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, which provides contractor services to communities to assess environmental conditions at eligible brownfield sites. A brownfield is a property where expansion, redevelopment or reuse is complicated by real or potential contamination. Brownfields vary in size, location, age and past use.

The award will support the assessment of environmental conditions at the 0.28-acre property located along the Baraboo River. The city plans to transition the property to park use to increase public access to the river. The future park use will complement planned redevelopment efforts for housing and commercial use at adjacent sites.

The property was most recently used for the storage and distribution of dairy products. Prior to 2004, the property was used as a foundry and machine shop and for garment manufacturing and sales. Contamination has been found at adjacent properties. The award provides the city with funding to help foster redevelopment through an assessment of the environmental condition of the property.

"The redevelopment of this property to provide public access to the river and connection to existing paths is an exciting opportunity for the city of Baraboo and its residents," said Jodie Thistle, DNR Brownfields, Outreach and Policy Section Manager. "The DNR is excited to provide this award to the city to gather the information needed to move redevelopment along the river forward for the benefit of all."

Since 2009, the DNR's Wisconsin Assessment Monies program has provided over $3.3 million in services and grant funds to more than 70 communities across Wisconsin, partnering to help clean up and redevelop often run-down or underused properties that detract from a community's potential. Because there is no local financial match required, the program grants present an attractive opportunity for communities to learn about environmental conditions. Applications for assistance may be submitted to the DNR at any time.

Interested in learning how cleaning up brownfields can help your community? The DNR’s series of on-demand Brownfields Fundamentals webinars cover planning, cleanup, liability and other topics as part of a well-rounded crash course in Wisconsin brownfield redevelopment.

The DNR has a wide range of financial and liability tools available to help local governments, businesses, lenders and others clean up and redevelop brownfields in Wisconsin, including Ready for Reuse financial awards, which may be used for environmental cleanup. DNR staff around the state are available to meet with community leaders, bankers, developers and private individuals to discuss brownfield projects through Green Team meetings.

More information about the DNR’s brownfield cleanup programs and services is available on the DNR’s brownfields webpage.