OTTUMWA — A brownfields assessment has the power to take a property from being derelict and underutilized to a thriving, useful place of residence or business.

Around 30 people gathered at the Elks Lodge Thursday night to learn more about the Ottumwa Brownfield Project in that area.

The city received one $200,000 grant to assess any petroleum types of hazards on properties. The second $200,000 grant will help with any other type of hazardous material, such as asbestos or lead.

In March 2011, the team did a “windshield tour” of the city to figure out where brownfield sites were. They primarily looked at vacant lots and underutilized properties that were “at the end of their lifespan.”

Two distinct areas emerged: the railroad and Hayne Street corridor  and the Main Street corridor.

“What we normally find on the sites is they’re not contaminated,” said Robin Husman, project director for HR Green, Inc. in Cedar Rapids. “The big thing is are they underutilized and do they need assistance in terms of taking development to the next level.”

In Council Bluffs, people stopped buying land in the Implement Manufacturing District because lenders were hesitant to put a house there for fear of environmental problems.

“Land values drop and it adds blight and a negative appearance, whether contamination is there or not,” said Dave Shafer, city planner. “Lenders are requiring environmental reviews before they will loan any money on a project, and that can get very expensive. That’s what these grant funds are for.”

Shafer said the redevelopment could get people to reinvest in these areas and stabilize land values.

The derelict building highlighted in Council Bluffs has been transformed into housing, where it is now a live and work space for artists in the community’s art district.

“Over $11 million were pooled to make this project happen,” Shafer said. “It was the brownfield process that initiated it to find out what was wrong with the property.”

And the funds have already helped in the Phase I assessment of a property in downtown Ottumwa.

The property at 327 and 331 E. Main St., which has been an opera house, city bus garage, bowling alley and bar at different times, will become the Ottumwa Community Marketplace.

“Each was a step down and deteriorated it a little bit more,” Husman said.

In completing the assessments, they always look at the history of the area, including aerial photos and fire insurance maps, which can show where there may be flammable products on the site, such as coal or petroleum.

From 1941 to 2009, Planner Nick Klimek said the railroad and Hayne Street corridor saw a huge rise and fall.

In the beginning, the area developed more and more due to the successes of the John Morrell complex, but as it went out of business in the 1970s, residential density declined and more and more vacant lots began to appear.

In 1994, the Cargill Meat Solutions-Excel Corporation era began, showing a reduction of houses in the area, and by 2009, the area began trending toward industrial and manufacturing use as several industries moved in, such as Winger Contracting Company.

There are two phases in the Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) process. In Phase I, the site is researched and reviewed for possible contaminants. In Phase II, soil and groundwater samples are taken.

Many asked why they should participate.

“It’s totally voluntary; we’re not twisting anybody’s arms,” Husman said. “We’re not trying to displace anyone.”

The focus is building on existing properties where infrastructure — water, sewer and streets — already exists, she said.

“For some of you this might be a good solution; for some this might not,” Husman said. “But we’re not coming down here to buy your houses. That’s not the intent. The intent is to improve the neighborhood.”

The Hayne Street area is a commercial zone, but parts are designated with residential use, Shafer said. Properties are taxed according to their use, not to the zone.

“This is a federal brownfield act, signed into law,” Husman said. “The reason they did it was to protect people like you; if you buy a property and it’s contaminated, you are not responsible to clean up that contamination. That’s what the law states.”

Very few times do they physically have to remove soil and do cleanup, Husman said.

“What we find most of the time on these sites is lead, groundwater contamination,” Husman said. “We look at what’s the risk? Is there a playground? No, it’s commercial property so kids are not playing in that dirt. It has city water so you’re not drinking the water under the site. We put an environmental covenant on the property that says you can’t drink the water, you can’t make it residential. Then that’s basically the cleanup.”

Shafer said another meeting will be planned at a later date to discuss the brownfields project in the Main Street corridor.