Pueblo nets $1 million grant to clean and redevelop properties on the East Side, Bessemer
The city of Pueblo will receive a $1 million Brownfields Grant to clean and redevelop properties on the East Side, Bessemer and Downtown, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.
The grant will fund multiple revitalization projects, including an asbestos cleanup at El Centro Del Quinto Sol Community Center. The center is located on the East Side and hosts youth programming and other special events, but needs “substantial” asbestos abatement, according to the EPA.
In a news release, the EPA stated the city identified the community center as its first priority to receive restoration funding and that it plans to use the money to upgrade services and expand offerings at the facility.
“EPA’s Brownfields grants are supporting critical cleanup and redevelopment projects in communities across Colorado,” EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker said in the release. “We look forward to seeing these funds transform blighted sites in Pueblo’s Eastside, Bessemer and downtown neighborhoods into new assets.”
The Steelworks Center of the West, a museum located in Bessemer, is another identified site. Some of the funding will be used to complete cleanup planning for possible reuse of the facility. It requires “extensive asbestos abatement and mitigation of other hazardous building materials,” which must be done before any redevelopment of the museum takes place, the EPA stated.
Other sites slated to receive funding are the Black Hills Energy Pueblo 5 and 6 power plants, which are retired and located next to the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk, and abandoned railroad properties. In 2020, the Black Hills plants were identified as priority sites and the funding will “advance” reuse of them.
The city has five years to spend the funding, said Wade Broadhead, senior planner for the city’s planning and community development department.
“The City of Pueblo is excited to receive this EPA multipurpose grant which will help our city restore a community center, restore underutilized significant historic spaces and assist the private sector in redeveloping numerous vacant places,” Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham said in the release. “This multi-year investment in Pueblo will help us clean up buildings and reinvest in our historic Bessemer, Eastside and West Side neighborhoods and turn vacancy into vibrancy.”
The city of Pueblo was one of six organizations in Colorado tapped to receive funding from the EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup grant programs. The Brownfields program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes and other entities to clean up and reuse contaminated properties.
The EPA also stated that though the funding promotes the reuse of historic buildings, it also reduces waste sent to landfills, helps limit urban sprawl, and conserves water resources, among other benefits.
Last year, the Keating School, a volunteer Pueblo nonprofit group, received $1 million from the EPA Brownfields program to clean and revitalize the historic Keating Junior High School property on East Orman Avenue.
More: Pueblo Transit to launch two new routes to expand service and shorten commute times
Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: How Pueblo will use a $1 million grant to redevelop East Side, Bessemer
