McMinnville will use a state-administered Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grant to conduct environmental assessments on two vacant Morrison Street properties.
Tourism and Marketing Director Jordan Pupols said the grant is part of a multi-phase process through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. It identifies properties with redevelopment potential.
“There’s no financial impact in this whatsoever,” Pupols said. “The TNECD does pay for the entire thing, not a dollar out of our funds, and in fact, the money is given to us upfront, and then we pay the invoices back. So we actually get the money upfront..”
The environmental assessments will focus on properties at 605 and 619 Morrison Street, which were previously identified through the state’s Property Evaluation Program as candidates for redevelopment.
Pupols said the process begins with a Phase I environmental assessment, which reviews a property’s history, followed by a Phase II assessment involving soil sampling to determine whether contamination exists. Pupols said the evaluations are intended to help transform vacant or deteriorating properties into sites ready for future investment while increasing the community’s tax base.
The city selected Ensafe to perform the environmental work after issuing a request for qualifications and evaluating six submissions. Gunter said both property owners have signed agreements allowing the firm to conduct the assessments.
In addition to evaluating the two Morrison Street properties, Pupols said the city’s participation complements a separate effort by the Industrial Development Board, which received funding to assess seven additional properties. Once the current properties are evaluated, she said the city hopes to pursue another round of redevelopment assessments.
Pupols said the program also benefits property owners by identifying potential environmental issues and providing access to Tennessee’s Voluntary Oversight and Assistance program, which can eliminate environmental liability concerns while avoiding costs property owners would otherwise incur independently.
