Plaza West Area Plan 2021
Plaza West Small Area Study
STUDY INTRODUCTION
In 2018, the Flint Hills Regional Council (FHRC) received a $600,000 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Assessment grant. This no-match funding can be used to identify, prioritize, assess, and develop plans for brownfield sites located throughout the member communities represented by the FHRC, which includes the City of Manhattan.
Brownfields
A brownfield site is defined by EPA as any property where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Examples of these sites include but are not limited to former filling stations, industrial sites, buildings built prior to the1980s, or properties where vehicles or hazardous substances may have been stored. Brownfields are places that stakeholders care about and want cleaned up to become an asset once again. Revitalizing and reinvesting in these properties provides multiple benefits including:
- Increases local tax bases
- Facilitates job growth
- Utilizes existing infrastructure
- Takes development pressures on undeveloped/open land
- Both improves and protects the environment.
As a member of the Flint Hills Regional Council, Manhattan has an opportunity to gain access to this grant funding. This funding creates an opportunity to complete a small area plan that can explore benefits to residents and property owners including identification of community assets, tracking of market trends, and identification of redevelopment opportunities in the study area west…. READ MORE