The Bell Building has received much-needed attention and environmental renovation thanks to the Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund, which provided financing for asbestos and lead paint removal. The Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund is working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Cheyenne, Preserve Historic Wyoming, and the Downtown Development Authority, with the purpose to help bridge the development and environmental clean-up gap.

The American Jobs Plan targets $111 billion to meet the water infrastructure needs of indigenous people, low-income communities, and communities of color. The jobs plan provides $5 billion for such cleanup and redevelopment actions, which the proposed budget would supplement with more brownfields funding and $900 million for Superfund cleanups.

Cincinnati-based MVAH Partners wants to build a five-story housing complex in Buffalo, New York featuring 147 one- and two-bedroom apartments and seven three-bedroom rental townhomes. The company plans to fund the $46.07 million project using low-income housing tax credits, brownfield tax credits, HOME funds from the city, and permanent financing, as well as developer equity.

The newly-opened Yard 56 redevelopment project in Baltimore has brought a supermarket, a gym, and several restaurants to a location that was once a contaminated brownfield site. The developers used New Market Tax Credits to attract private capital to low-income communities, secured property tax credits as part of an Enterprise Zone, and brought equity investments as an Opportunity Zone.

From abandoned coal mines to shuttered factories, the Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University has helped communities resurrect once lifeless properties since 2006. With a $1 million boost from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Center will continue its mission to empower communities to transform brownfields.

Alset Solar was formed to pursue the development of utility-scale solar farms, providing a clean energy future to polluted or underutilized properties to supplement the power grid or provide small microgrids for independent energy. The more than 450,000 brownfield sites, 130,000 EPA Superfund sites, and 19 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land with excellent solar energy potential across the nation present a major opportunity for producing clean electricity.

Environmental justice issues remain at the forefront of the Biden Administration's agenda, with the Infrastructure Plan proposing a $5 billion investment in remediation and redevelopment of Brownfield and Superfund sites in disadvantaged communities. The plan also calls for a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources and clean transportation.

Two massive developments have been announced in Benton Harbor. Riverview Drive, across the street from Whirlpool's Tech Center, will be the site of a $22 million investment the corporation is making to create an 80-unit apartment complex. Just a few blocks over on Wall Street, a proposal has been made by developer LC Consulting to build a 55-unit complex as well that will also include a fitness center and grocery store.

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: Preserving Local Economies with Energy & Water Finance
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern

CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: Federal Financing for Energy and Water Systems
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern

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This report from Drexel University's Nowak Metro Finance Lab provides a guide to federal funding in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The authors place a special emphasis on formula funds received by local anchors, competitive grants, and funds distributed to public authorities that city leadership can leverage to boost their recovery. They clarify which entities are responsible for applying for grant funds, when funding expires, and what role city and county leadership can play even when they will not be the primary applicant for funds.

This table includes all the federal-to-local funding streams in the American Rescue Plan that reach cities and their residents. It does not include appropriations to Tribal Governments or Agency appropriations focused on program operations at the federal level with no further sub-allocation. It is a dynamic summary to be paired with the Federal Investment Guide produced by Accelerator for America, Drexel University, and the US Conference of Mayors.

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