EPA Region 2 - Lafayette Village
Project, Jersey City, New Jersey
Located in the downtown section of Jersey City, six blocks
from the waterfront, the Lafayette Village Project transformed
a 6-acre urban brownfield into a 124-unit, mixed-income and
mixed-financed residential community. Lafayette Village consists
of 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom units in garden, row, and semi-detached
townhouses featuring landscaped lawns and decorative planting
areas.
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| Before
Redevelopment |
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| Excavation
of USTs |
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| Remedial
Excavation |
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| Finished
Project |
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| Finished
Project |
This project focused on restoring two city blocks of abandoned,
dilapidated row housing constructed in the 1920s and 1930s.
Lying abandoned for 20 to 25 years, the existing structures
were demolished. Environmental assessments performed on the
site revealed constituents associated with contaminated historic
fill materials such as lead, semi-volatile organic compounds
(SVOCs), pesticides, and petroleum hydrocarbons. Several abandoned
underground storage tanks (USTs) were discovered and two chromate
ore processing residue (COPR) sites were identified.
The site developer, McCormack Baron and Melick-Tully &
Associates, met with New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP) staff prior to preparation of a remedial
action workplan to discuss the concept of the proposed redevelopment
given the identified areas of concern and foundation construction
methods for the townhouses. Voluntary remediation and redevelopment
of the site occurred concurrently. Environmental and geotechnical
issues were combined to allow a unified approach to site development.
Remediation involved both the removal of contaminated debris
and installation of an engineered cap covering the entire
6-acre site.
The City of Jersey City authorized capital funding for site
remediation and received a commitment from the responsible
party to work with the city and the Jersey City Housing Authority
to remediate the chromate waste sites. Nearly 16,000 tons
of “hot spot” lead-contaminated soil was disposed
offsite. Closure of unregulated USTs occurred in accordance
with local code requirements and remedial excavation and post-excavation
sampling was performed in accordance with New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection technical requirements for site
remediation. Post-construction indoor and outdoor air quality
testing was performed, and NJDEP required implementation of
a long-term interior air monitoring program.
Institutional controls – the engineered cap and deed
notices - were implemented for this residential project. The
engineered cap serves to contain residual contamination beneath
clean topsoil, building foundations, and asphalt roadways
and parking lots. The deed notice identifies the contamination
type, the location, and the concentrations; states that the
contamination will remain onsite; establishes emergency procedures
to follow should a breach of the engineered cap occur; and
establishes a bi-annual engineered cap monitoring program
and monitoring report submission requirements.
Completed in slightly over two years, the Lafayette Village
Project replaced urban blight with attractive new housing
for the community. This successful project serves as a shining
example of cooperation between public and private stakeholders.
For further information about this project, contact Greg Zalaskus,
New Jersey Department of Environment Protection, at (609)
984-2065 or at Greg.Zalaskus@dep.state.nj.us.
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